Money-saving tips for REALLY busy moms?

Active Poster Joined: May 03 2009 Posts: 80

I really like KOSHER ON A BUDGET. (alias KOAB, for website). Thoughtful ideas, immediate responses!

just wrote an article about freezing vegetables. If you buy, say, colored peppers when they are on sale, slice and freeze in sandwich bags, you've got immediate vegetables for omelets, stir-fry,, etc. ... and the freezing "tenderizes" them.

Enjoy your kids -- you've got the right priority!

I work full-time, shabbat and sundays are the only days with the kids. I do main cooking for shabbat, rely on leftovers/recycled leftovers during the week. But we also spend some part of Sundays cooking for week ahead. I let the children participate, which makes for a good family activities and good lessons on healthy eating/cooking.

We also don't buy expensive items and stick to very basic foods/snacks. For fruits, I stick to fruits in season. Fruit flavoured yogurt in individual pots is more expensive than a bigger tub of plain yogurt (just add jam or fresh fruits). Get ice lolly mold and freeze pureed fruits/juice--cheaper than buying sorbet, again takes little time. We only eat red meats on shabbat if we have guests. Buy a whole roaster and cut into parts, which doesn't take time but saves. I also don't buy prepared meat mains (meatballs, roast chicken etc) or salad as they're distinctively more expensive. I'm also good at finding near-expiration fresh produces discounted heavily.

Are there supermarkets that let you order on-line and delliver to your home in the evenings? It saves me time, I can look bargains online, and avoids the pitfall of inpulse spends.

Having said that, the real big saving is in non-food items. Get hand-me-downs for the kids clothing, or buy one size ahead at end-of-season sales. Don't buy books--borrow from libraries and friends. Drive less often/less distance to save petrol (really expensive here). Turn thermostat a few degrees lower in winter and put on a jumper/use less air-conditioning in the evenings.

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18318

Just placed my first subscribe&save order (with amazon mom discount) on diapers and ended up paying $30 for 206 diapers! Thanks!!

Where do you buy your cereals? My kids eat tons of cereal....

Gold Member Joined: Jul 14 2009 Posts: 2094

when you are making something anyways try to double it (or triple!) I do that while pg so that some weeks I barely had to make anything!

I think the bread machine is good to!

I agree w/ CM, you have a lot on your plate.