Money-saving tips for REALLY busy moms?

I am not trying to imply that any mothers out there are not busy. But in addition to being a mother to bH 3 little kids under 5, I work 40 hours a week with a 30 mile commute each way. My dh is not around that much to help and I have no cleaning help. You get the picture.

All the threads I read here about saving money contain tips that often require extra time � making things from scratch, shopping around for bargains etc. Is there anything I can do that doesn�t require significant time/effort on my part? So far I try to stock up when there are sales, buy generic (like shop rite mayo instead of hellman�s) and try to make things from scratch when possible (challah, dessert).

I am open to more suggestions of things that you�ve found accumulate to significant savings but without major time commitment? Please share.

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20484

I am sorry to disappoint, but I've found that in order to save and do it all from scratch (assuming you want variety), you need something which isn't currently on your list: TIME. You need time to coupon clip. Time to peruse the ads. Time to write down what you want to buy. Time to actually go and buy. Time to plan your meals. Time to cook your meals from scratch - do you get the picture? If you have so many hours away from the house, and three little kids, the kids would be my priority and the heck with everything else. This is not to say you should waste money, which I am sure you don't. It is to say: keep it all in perspective. Time with your kids is priceless.
I am older, with older children, and am only out of the house 6 hours/day, 5 days/week. I have to stand most of Friday making Shabbat from scratch, because I don't want to spend money on convenience. So I don't see how you, who prob work on Friday, can even begin to save money on Shabbat food. Stand all night Thursday and wreck your health? It's easier to buy challa and cake. My opinion.
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Platinum Member Joined: Nov 01 2009 Posts: 8184

I feel your pain.

Can you invest SOME time?

Recently, I bought a lot of ground beef and made them into meatballs and meatloafs. I flash froze the meat balls raw and then put them into zipper bags for meal sized portions. Then, when I need, I dump them into a crockpot with bags of frozen veggies and come home to a fresh cooked meal.

Also, I started looking for online deals a bit more. We bought a lot of tissues from Amazon. They were on a decent sale and we got a lot of them. So I probably could have bought them eventually cheaper, but this way I am stocked up at a good price and didn't have to shlep.

Look at all your bills - car insurance, cell phones etc. Can you reduce them?
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Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18276

Posted: Fri, May 06 2011, 11:08 am Post subject:

like facebook for stores like gap and oldnavy etc. they post coupon codes for savings also sign up for emails

Executive Member Joined: Sep 11 2008 Posts: 329

I was a really busy mom, but now my kids are grown up, so I have a lot more free time. A few tips:

1. Where exactly are you spending your money and where can you save? Look at big ticket items like rent/mortgage, insurance, car, and smaller recurring items like cell phone, internet, eating out, convenience foods, newspaper, magazines, coffee. Know exactly where your money is going so that can help you figure out where to focus. You need to look for bang for the buck with cost reductions.
2. Are you a good planner? Planning ahead will reduce situations where you are in a pinch for something and you will need to run out and purchase it regardless of price. For example, for Purim, plan shalach manot in advance so you have time to think of/shop for an economical plan.
3. Look at the economics of wholesale clubs - do you use enough items to make the membership worthwhile? The benefit is that if you can store larger quantities of stuff and the price is good, then you save time by shopping for those items frequently.
4. Look at Once A Month Cooking - there are books from the library that explain how to do it and there are web sites. You could spend a Sunday cooking and benefit from the time savings all month long.
5. Crock pots are good time savings measures and you can often cook recipes that stretch the use of meat and that do well with less expensive types of meat.
6. Planned leftovers, simple recipes, focus on less expensive ingredients and how to stretch.
7. Price compare and keep notes. You don't need to run around to multiple stores each week to search for bargains, but if you generally know what stores routinely have the lowest prices on certain items, just go there.
8. Don't forget - because you are busy, you have to always balance cost versus time. Sometimes you are going to have to spend some more simply to save the time. For example, baking my own challah is a non starter. Too much time for not enough cost savings.

Moderator Joined: Sep 30 2009 Posts: 1355 Location: NY

I second Tamiri: the key is to put it all in perspective. If something is going to kill yourself/ruin your health then it is probably not the right measure for you. You need to make sure you live within your budget but find ways that work for you.

The key to cutting on time is to find people who all ready did the bargain searching for you. There are lots of bloggers who write about finance and deals (I am one, but I am still growing my blog and figuring out this whole blog thing). Find one that matches your lifestyle and follow them, reading hteir posts and letting them do the searching for you. Obviously the Seraph peniless parenting style approach is not for you because you work full time, but that does not mean there isn't a good blog out there for you.

Buying bulk and then portioning and freezing is a great method and not that time consuming.

If you have internet at work this can also really help you by letting you do circular browsing/deal hunting during work downtime (obviously very dependent on the office. some would not let this. Where I work people are doing all sorts of things on the web because we need to kill time while various things are incubating).

There are also things that become pretty automated once you set them up, like choosing the best phone plan when it is time to renew your contract. You will have to a decent bit of upfront research, but it pays off for the rest of the year. Tracking your expenses for a month or so will be annoying and take time, but then you can really see what you can cut etc.

Htazlacha!
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Silver Member Joined: Feb 28 2011 Posts: 669

Try to figure out what parts of being busy are also expensive:
1. Make coffee at home to save the couple dollars at the store
2. Make some use of your commute. If you are on a train, take that time to clip coupons, if you are in a car, see if you can get into a carpool to save gas money, or at least listen to a book or lecture on tape-- possibly one of those great books about personal finance.
3. if you have available net time, use Mint.com-- it shows you exactly where you're spending your money every month.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48136

SV, you might be doing the best you can. You should be applauding yourself !

Thanks everybody for the respones (CM, you are too nice Embarassed

)

I currently have BJs membership but I find that it just adds another item to my errands list and I rarely make it out there which is a waste. OTOH I find that diapers and detergents are MUCH cheaper there.

I agree with those that mentioned making sure all the time investment is worth it in terms of savings. So for example challah is $5 a piece where we are (OOT) so it's definitely kdai to make my own. I make it usually once in two weeks and it's not that much extra time in the kitchen (I use Seraph's recipe, its great!)

And like you mentioned, spending time with my kids is definitely a priority that's why "cook-all-day Sunday" would not work for me since that's the only day I have with them. So I try to go to parks etc.

I am in the market for a new landline because I think we could definitely cut down the costs there, otherwise I don't see how any bills can be any lower....

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18276

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18276

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Last edited by 1Life2Live on Fri, May 06 2011, 12:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

OP- I'm in the same situation. A few things I do-

Use my dishwasher. I barely ever use paper/plastic plates and utensils. The prices of paper goods can really add up. I also don't have to spend all night washing dishes.

Amazon subscribe and save. I know it was mentioned before, but the prices are great and it comes strait to my door. I don't have to make time to shlep to costco.

Check out if your company offers employee discounts. For example, my company offers 23% off Verizon plans. You can save money without really doing anything.

Cook a lot for Shabbos, since that's the only time I seem to really cook. This way I will hopefully get 2 nights of leftovers out of it. If I make a kugel for Shabbos, I try to double it and put one in the freezer.

Shop during my lunch break. Doesn't always save $, but definitely saves time. I work near Target, CVS, Shoprite and a mall, so I use my lunch break to shop for odds and ends that I need. If my kids need a bathing suit or more socks, I go during my break, so I don't have to go at night or on Sunday. I also try to print out a store coupon before I go...
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Posted: Fri, May 06 2011, 12:26 pm Post subject:

Moderator Joined: Sep 30 2009 Posts: 1355 Location: NY

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 24 2008 Posts: 6528

another blog- http://beautyandbedlam.com

Shop infrequently/buy bulk! It saves money, because the more store trips, the more money spent, and if you buy from bulk wholesalers, you can save a huge amount of money.
And obviously, it means less time actually spent on shopping!
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