Inspired by a post of Money Saving Mom's, I thought I'd share how we save money with 7 things we don't buy.
- Monthly Cell Phone Plans
We have pay-as-you-go type phones. We rarely call or text but are glad to have phones for traveling or for emergencies. We spend probably $100 a year, max, on these. Compared to $80/month for ONE iphone, this is an $860 savings. *We do have an ipod that my husband bought and it has some games on it. I'm not completely living under a rock. I have played Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. :-) - High-end, new, kids clothes
The kids usually get new clothes from the Grandparents at birthday and Christmas. When we buy clothes for the kids, 95% of the time, they are second-hand. I get them from a local resale group or yardsales. Oh how I love yardsales! I've scored great name brand stuff at sales too! - Newspaper Subscription
I like to get a Sunday paper occasionally for the ads and coupons, but we just swing by a gas station and buy one. In my area, I have not found a good enough subscription deal for it to be worth that monthly fee. - Tanning
The doctors say tanning beds are a big no-no, so in the name of living longer, I abstain. Plus it saves money! I go a few times a year for the spray on fake tan, it works well enough and isn't damaging to my body. Because I have never been tanning, I don't know what this saves us for the year. Hundred bucks? - Gym memberships
A local place is going to offer Zumba classes. Have you ever tried it? I'm thinking of giving it a whirl, looks fun! It would just be a per class fee. We haven't joined the local gym. I have a thing against paying money in exchange for being humiliated in public (apparently I make an exception for Zumba)! - Lavish holiday giftsWe do a couple birthday gifts, and at Christmas last year the kids got four gifts ("Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read").
- Name brand tortilla chips
Kroger brand all the way! A dollar a bag. That is at least a 50% savings from the name brand.
At Money Saving Mom people were commenting that they don't buy paper towels, bread, home phone service, etc. What are some things that you don't buy?
*come by next Monday for 7 things we DO buy!
I love the "Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" gift ideas!!! Brilliant!
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I tried Zumba and liked it. Good that you can pay a drop-in fee. I finally dropped out because it was a whole hour. In mommy-time, I can get about 486 things done in an hour by myself so it was just agonizing to have to exercise for that whole hour! My mind kept skipping to all the other things I wanted to do with my hour. tick tock!
ReplyDeleteI paint my own nails- I know it sounds so simple- but I know TONS of moms who get their nails done every two weeks- that's almost 50 dollars a month- just for nails vs. my 5 dollar nail polish that lasts a year-
ReplyDeleteNo cable! We are cable-free, and too busy to miss it!
ReplyDeleteI love the "Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" too! Did you make that up or hear it somewhere else?
ReplyDeleteWe never pay for cable. This is the first time we've had it, and it's only b/c it's included in the rent. Mostly the TV is only on if DH is home.
I don't tan, I workout at home, I do our nails, buy second hand clothes as often as possible and the public library is our friend for books. What a great idea, thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteThose 7 would be on my list, also. We also cut all our hair at home. I just recently learned how to layer my daughters hair. Cutting your hair at home saves so much money.
ReplyDeleteMost of those 7 things are on my list too! We will buy name brand tortilla chips if we can get a good price on them. But we don't buy tortilla chips regularly.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy I get hand-me-down clothes for my son. For my daughter I bought clothes from ebay for the first time. I used proceeds from what I sold on ebay. It may not be a good of a deal as hand-me-downs or tag sales, but considering I was able to get a mix-n-match spring/summer 12 piece wardrobe delivered to my door, it wasn't a bad deal.
My eyebrows- they've never been waxed or done professionally.
ReplyDeleteFormula- I've always breastfed.
Recently, I purchased all necessary items to make laundry detergent! C ya later Tide!