Money Saving Tips for Families
Source: http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/10-money-saving-tips-for-families.htm
Start the Countdown
Saving money is difficult enough when you’re only responsible for yourself. Heck, it’s hard to save money even when your mother is doing your laundry and your dad is mowing your lawn, making you just barely responsible for yourself.
Adding a family into the mix makes pinching pennies even trickier. From grocery shopping to finding a pair of pants that will fit your youngsters for more than three weeks, it would be fair to assume that your wallet seems to be leaking.
But for every one thing you have to spend money on, there are at least two tricks for making your purchase cheaper — or free. Read on to find out how your own home can start saving you money.
Respect the Sale
Think about the person you know who always gets the good deal. You know, the friend or family member who always seems to get all three of their kids winter coats for the price of one, or a month’s supply of their favorite cereal at half the price. What magic dust do they sprinkle on store clerks and cashiers to get their deal?
The truth is, they probably just know the value of a good sale. It seems so obvious, but sales — yes, those in-store promotions that have caused people’s heart to race with glee at cheap t-shirts since the beginning of time — are a must-do for families.
Consider clothing shopping. Retailers like Macy’s and JCPenney offer fairly regular sales that span clothing for men, women, and kids, along with home store items. Sales are awesome enough, but get on the mailing lists for promotional coupons from these stores and you could be adding discounts on top of discounts, as you apply the coupons to sale items.
Remember that days like Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving) loom large in shopper’s minds for a reason; the early-bird specials truly are great deals. Not so into getting up at 4 A.M for those prices? Consider a little trick that has been known to work at some stores that offer price matches: buy the item a few days before the big sale, then return it on the sale day, to get the price adjustment. Some stores won’t honor the sales price, but you’d be surprised to know how many do.
If that makes you feel guilty about being a bad person, read on for ways to save money as a family while being a “preferred” customer.
Become a Preferred Customer
We’re all used to being asked at the register if we have some sort of special card that makes us an “insider” at the store, and probably equally practiced in politely saying “thanks, but no thanks.” But think again, because joining the club, becoming a preferred customer, or getting your ticket to store rewards might be a terrific way to save your family some money — or even get cash back.
Consider chain grocery stores like Safeway or CVS pharmacies, which will actually give you a cheaper price on items if you have a (free) club card. Even better? Some grocery stores have deals with gas stations that allow you to get cents off your tank fill up if you belong to their preferred customer group. Other stores, like Fred Meyer, offer you “points” for every dollar you spend, that you can essentially redeem as a gift certificate. Spend at least $500 within 13 weeks, and you’re probably on your way to a free shopping trip. What’s more, being a member of a “club” can allow you easier returns, as the store can look up your purchase by reward card instead of needing a receipt.
We’ll talk more about grocery shopping later, but read on for a few hints to finding coupons and online deals for the family for food, entertainment, and whole lot more.
Go Online
It comes as no surprise that online shopping has made life a lot more convenient for families. Not only does it save some valuable time (and gas and headaches) when it comes to shuttling the little ones to stores, but it’s also a terrific way to find great deals for a lot of your family’s needs.
First off, the coupon sites online are nearly endless. From your favorite grocery stores to your favorite brands, you can find coupons that will save you loads of money on your grocery bills. Couponmom.com, Smartsource.com, and even specific grocery stores offer online coupons that you can print out (or load directly onto the a store’s preferred customer card). Online coupons can be a good way to find deals that actually match the brands and items you like, as opposed to buying random deals from a grocery store circular just because you have get fifty cents off.
Beyond food, there are some awesome sites that will find you ways to save money on just about anything. Consider sites like Swap.com, where you can find swaps in your area to trade clothes, furniture, or even books and DVDs. Too much personal contact? You can also simply join the site online, where you list the things you have to swap and the things you want in exchange. Much like eBay, you simply pay the price of shipping and receiving items. Sites like paperbackswap.com allow you to send and receive used paperbacks in the mail, only paying the postage cost of those you send.
Going online to save money is not only easy, but can be more fun than simply cutting coupons. While paying bills isn’t usually a blast, read on to find out how writing checks to the electric company actually saves you money in the long-term.
