If this is your first post that your reading on my blog, hello! I am a married, stay at home mom of 4, and I decided to break out of my shell and start blogging. Or pick it back up, it depends on how you look at it. I want to have a journal of what my thoughts were for years to come, as well as share tips that I think will be helpful to others. Currently my kids ages are: 11 years old, 5 years old, 4 years old and a 9 month old. My 11 year old just got his ear pierced, my 5 year old is a rock star in kindergarten (her teacher's words ) my 4 year old is full of personality and just got into super heroes (though Thomas the train is his favorite still) and my 9 month old is mobile, growls when he is excited or wants something, and loves to play. Sleep is not one of my 9 month old's favorite things this week, as he has woken up a few times each night for the past week. I shall blame this on teething, a sleep regression, or just that he wants to be the boss, who really knows anyways. And having a reason is always better than not, so you have someone or something to blame ;) .
Besides the love I have for my husband and children, I also have a knack for saving money. I might even say it's a talent to find a deal, or to be a smarter consumer. It's not something that just happened over-night either. My friends and family, know that for years I have been a successful bargain hunter. I can save on all of my families needs, whether it's groceries, household items, clothes or gifts. I also save on bills and utilize resources that some people don't even realize are available. And I brag about my deals, I would describe the feeling of scoring a deal as a "high" that I get. Since I was in middle school, and we had a budget of $100 for school clothes for the year, I learned how to make a dollar stretch. Sure I may not have had the newest fashion choices, but I had plenty of things that I liked. I guess I never really cared about what was considered "in season" but rather what fit and if I liked it or not. Not much has changed today, but the options have multiplied. I love browsing goodwill (are you aware they get target closeouts now), and we have many discounted/ wholesale stores that are fairly new to check out, as well as closeouts (Marc's comes to mind). I shop the ads for grocery deals and plan my meals accordingly. Having a family of 6 and one income, it's more important that I stretch every dollar as far as I possibly can. Just because I save money too, doesn't mean I give up quality.
I also try to be as informed as I can be as a consumer. For instance do you know about Apples to Apples: Energy choice a tool that allows consumers to shop around for their energy supplier? It's easy to do, and can save you money on your electric and gas bills by looking at suppliers, their rates, and contracts. I'm surprised that more people are not made aware of this useful tool. Have you seen the energy supply representatives coming door to door, maybe from IGS? Well with this tool you can look up the information you need as well, and maybe even switch to save money on heating or cooling costs. Just make sure to pay attention to your bill and contract, to make sure you are getting the best deal out there. There are other tools available too, and I'll go in depth in a later blog post, to really get into each one.
Research I have learned, is my best friend. We can google anything we want to get information on, and with a few clicks, we can read reviews of products and services, as well as get comparisons for a variety of things. Google isn't the only way to research things, sometimes a friend has some good tips, or a blog, or maybe even an app. When I was Christmas shopping this year, I would google items for costs to see if it was a deal I was seeing or not, also if the item had good reviews. It's a little bit of work, but it helps avoid impulse purchases. When I shop, most of the time I don't have anything too specific I'm looking for, instead I keep it pretty broad and spend time browsing. I also use coupons for as much stuff as I can, like laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, wipes and cleaning products. I used to buy the cheap detergent and my clothes weren't getting clean enough, now I clip coupons and shop the ads to get the brand name stuff for less. I used to not be a brand snob, but with my laundry pile getting bigger, I need something that works the first time in the wash, and to make clothes have the most life in them as they can. I also utilize the dollar stores, Giant Eagle deals, Aldi's, and Marc's. Again I'll write more about these later, and in more detail.
My household has been a "cord cutter" since we moved in June of 2015. That means that we do not have a cable subscription. I don't feel that we are missing out on anything, and we have other means to watch tv or movies. One of the best purchases that I got was my indoor digital tv antenna. I get local channels, plus a few more. PBS is free, and they have kids programming Monday thru Friday, and I can watch my local news. Sure I can't record, pause, skip, or rewind anything, and I have to watch commercials, but it's free TV. We also have an XBOX One, and an Apple TV that we can download apps and watch things there. Our Wii U is also a lot of fun.
The last big thing that I do to save money, besides a good budget, is to take advantage of the free or cheap entertainment. I love the library, and we go to different branches as something to do, and some have other things to keep you busy, or free kids programs. Plus with a library card, you can download an app called Hoopla, and rent items right on your phone or tablet for FREE! There are also many parks to take advantage of. And when you live in Stark County, there is the Hall of Fame festivities to take advantage of too. Downtown Canton has First Friday every month. There is a free splash park in the summer as well in Canton, and Massillon has a free wading pool. There is always something to be found in our community. I'll try to post a monthly calendar of events and again I will go into more details later. I'm just getting started here anyways :) My main point was that I have an eye for a deal, and I want to share what I have found out with others, in hopes that they can save money too. I'm not an expert, and this is just my experience and what I found that works for us. Stay tuned for my in-depth posts to come down the line as this journey continues.
Have a great day!
-C
