As a full time stay at home mum we are a single income household.
With the current financial crisis hitting everyone in the world I know how we all need to be far more conscientious about finances. So these are a few of my top money saving tips I’ve implemented in our home…
gas
Shaun and I are home all day (he works from home full time) so we need some heating on, but we’ve been smart! We have invested in some great energy efficient heaters from Amazon that we use. They are effective and don’t cost a fortune to run.
The central heating goes off at 8pm. We find the house retains the heat really well until 8am in the morning.
We all have electric blankets on our beds. They get turned on for 1 hour; 30 minutes before bed and 30 min once in bed. They are super light on electricity and take that chill off the sheets!
electricity
Our electricity is cheaper between 1am & 6am so we run both the dishwasher, washing machine & tumble-drier during these hours. We set them on timers when we head to bed. The other added bonus is then all 3 are ready to unpack, hang up and fold respectively once I’ve done the school run in the morning.
weekly shop
This has been a tough one for me to get my head around but I now shop online on a Sunday evening (for Monday delivery) for the week. I have a meal planner for 5-6 meals (we always get a takeaway on a Friday night) and we stick to those planned meals. Not going to the shops during the week means I’m not buying random (and often unnecessary) things because I’m hungry or whatever. Saved us a huge amount on the money side, as well as far less food waste!
money saving tips
- Take snacks from home when heading out with the kids. It’s a lot more expensive to buy a single snack at a cafe than a bulk pack on my weekly shop
- We got a National Trust family membership; paying for each visit adds up so quickly and if you visit regularly you have covered a yearly membership cost in just a few visits
- Buy essentials when on special. So many stores have essentials such as body wash, toilet paper, cleaning products, etc on sale all through the year. Check online to compare prices and buy in bulk
- Airfryer; everyone is trying to get their hands on these machines at the moment. We have 2 and we honestly use them for every single meal! They truly do save on electricity and time as they don’t have to heat up like a conventional oven. Life changing!
- The early bird catches the worm; most experiences & events have early bird special prices so keep your eyes out if there’s something you want to take the kids to and book early!
- Shop second hand for kids clothing; they grow out of clothes so fast and you will save a bucketload if you thrift. There are so many Facebook & Whatsapp groups in your area you just need to get on them.
There you have it folks, some great money saving tips that can help you take care of the penny’s so the pounds will take care of themselves!
You’re welcome!
Much love xxx