a SAHM thread - please share your ideas!

[MOMOFMNM]

we just did the free movie today...Spongebob!! Next week LS Series of Un Events... the kids LOOOVE the movie and I love the free!!

Also for mom's at the YMCA...Lots and lots of day camps and classes for the little ones. I know sometimes they go by income if you can't afford to pay OR you could get a child membership so your kids can go to the awesome classes there at the YMCA! Free childcare for moms while they workout! I also know a mom who works there in the daycare a few hrs a week on her own schedule and gets free membership to the YMCA. This seems like a great idea! We buy a pool pass for the 5 of us for 140 a summer...this is awesome seeing as how the pool is across the street from my house and normal admission price is 5.50 per person!! I already got a deal and it is only July! We go to magic shows, puppet shows and mime classes at our library. Bakers Square restaurant has 59 cent kids pie...and Fazoli's has 99 cent kids meals on Tuesdays!! I fed three of us for 8 dollars one night there INCLUDING pie at Bakers Square!! My pie was regular price but I got 1/2 slice cheaper...ummm also I love BIG LOTS they have Fruity Pebbles for 99 cents and Boo Berry cereal for .75 cents, for a BIG BOX of cereal!! I also find chips, pop tarts, cookies there for very cheap...name brand foods at LESS than Aldi prices!!!

 

[crazymomof4]

I have to say that one of the most difficult aspects of being a SAHM was the feeling of losing my identity. When I worked, I was a person with a job and a voice in the world. It just felt like that changed greatly.

Sadly, many (or most) SAHM's struggle with this. It is due, in large part, to the fact that society's views on the importance of mothering has greatly diminished. Especially here in the US. Especially in the last 50 years. Often, women who "only" stay at home with the children are looked upon as playing a secondary role in society. It is an erroneous notion that personal fulfillment can only be found in employment outside the home. This is a relatively new concept and we, as mothers, must stop allowing ourselves to be lead to believe it. We must ask ourselves, "What could be more important than the contribution made to the future of society by women (and men) who invest themselves full-time in their children's growth and development?" SAHM's feel they are missing out on a sense of fulfillment ONLY because society fails to affirm their life's employ. This needs to change! In the seeming conflict between devotion to children and the need and desire for meaningful work, we must NEVER forget that devotion to children IS meaningful work!

Sharing some encouraging quotes that hang on my frig:

* "Bringing up a child is one of the most creative, most worthwhile and most undervalued of all jobs." [Penelope Leach]

* "A hundred years from now.... it will not matter what my bank account was, what sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove..... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." [unknown]

* "But if I was ever tempted, it was by this: Having the honor and the glory that goes with being the one who runs a home and puts children in it. For almost everyone, it's the treasure at the end of the rainbow, and I had it." [from the book, "Stella Landry" by Robin McCorquodale]

* "The cashier at the store asked me if I worked or if I was 'just' a Mom! Can you believe she actually used the word, 'just'? I take care of 2 kids, I teach, I cook, I clean, I do repairs, I organize, I plan.......does that sound like someone who's 'just' anything?" [Baby Blues cartoon strip]

 

[WDWendy]

When I first became a SAHM I stopped doing my once a month freezer cooking. I thought that time would be so abundant that I just didn't need it anymore...boy was I wrong. The freezer cooking saves me both time and money. I started with the book Frozen Assets and eventually found the 30-day Gourmet book. I took the ideas from the books and information on what freezes well and then used my own recipes (I don't like anyone else's spaghetti sauce, LOL). At one time, I had our grocery budget down to $50 per week!!!!

I won't even get started on how undervalued SAHM's are. Even my own husband didn't "get it" until after I quit my job. Now that I am at home, we aren't constantly running to keep up and life is so much better than it used to be. We are all so much more happy that it makes budgeting and giving up recreational shopping much easier.

 

[Soccer Princess]

I don't have any kids yet, but I just wanted to say that esp. if your kids are in school, I would check out being a substitute teacher. You can make anywhere between $75-$115 a day doing this. I know you need a minimum of 64 college hours here and the pay is based on the number of college hours/degrees. I have friends who do this and say it is the easiest money they have made. You can give preferences on what grades,days and areas you want to sub for as well. Just an idea

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I don't have any kids yet, but I just wanted to say that esp. if your kids are in school, I would check out being a substitute teacher. You can make anywhere between $75-$115 a day doing this. I know you need a minimum of 64 college hours here and the pay is based on the number of college hours/degrees. I have friends who do this and say it is the easiest money they have made. You can give preferences on what grades,days and areas you want to sub for as well. Just an idea

In Iowa you need to be a certified teacher with a bachelors degree and certificate or I would LOVE to do this, alas I have only an AA in Early Childhood...

 

[nsmith]

Don't spend alot of money, that's the best tip. Do this by avoiding monthly bills for things that are not a necessary.

Drive an old car without a payment, two if your husband just drives to work and parks it. Get a stick shift uses less gas, a small car use less also. You don't really need a mini van unless you have more that 3 kids.

We don't have cable, my kids are fantastic readers and have wonderful imaginations because they couldn't watch TV all day. Now they will comment to me that certain kids in the neighborhood are "boring" because they "lost their imagination by watching to much TV".

We don't have any extra's on our phone, we didn't have a cell phone untill last year and we have the cheapest plan.

Cook. You can't lose weight or save money if you don't cook.

Do the wash more and buy cloths less.

Don't shop for entertainment.

You will never wish that you had spent less time with you kids and more time working.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

Don't spend alot of money, that's the best tip. Do this by avoiding monthly bills for things that are not a necessary.

Drive an old car without a payment, two if your husband just drives to work and parks it. Get a stick shift uses less gas, a small car use less also. You don't really need a mini van unless you have more that 3 kids.

We don't have cable, my kids are fantastic readers and have wonderful imaginations because they couldn't watch TV all day. Now they will comment to me that certain kids in the neighborhood are "boring" because they "lost their imagination by watching to much TV".

We don't have any extra's on our phone, we didn't have a cell phone untill last year and we have the cheapest plan.

Cook. You can't lose weight or save money if you don't cook.

Do the wash more and buy cloths less.

Don't shop for entertainment.

You will never wish that you had spent less time with you kids and more time working.

great ideas!! thanks!! We need to cancel our cable...my kids hardly watch it and we pay for it...
we did lower our cell phone service
have limited service on our home phone

but I have to say I can spend quite a bit on entertaining...something I need to cut down on...
clothes are my downfall with three girls an myself who recently went from a size 14 to 6...so YEAH I love to buy clothes

 

[Nini]

have a mini van, however, it is a used model. We do have Optimum Online because dh needs it for his business (graphic designer) as well as his "online commute" days. Thus, we have the Optimum Online, Voice & Cable package. We only pay the $34 for phone (incl. long distance and EVERYONE is long distance from us) vs. the over $100 we used to spend. We had to purchase a "Family" package to support the server, but it is covered by the lowered phone bill. We are able to use the computer and phone as tax deductions for business. Water is ALWAYS higher in summer months as we have a kiddie pool for our dd3. I have a Season Pass for a local amusement park and dd3 is FREE!!! We get unlimited drinks for free there all day long! We can meet up with her cousins and bring a sandwich & snack into the park for the kids (ourselves too!)...all it costs is the gas to get there.

Look around and compare, sometimes you can get more for the same amount of money. It just pays to compare and research your options.

 

[CouponCon]

I worked part time at a hospital before I had to quit because of my husbands job. Things just got way crazy. I do work as needed and cover vacations once in a while.

I love couponing. I cook at home and a lot more from scratch! Premade can really add up. I am able to shop more clearance. It is not very often that I will pay full price on anything. I watch what is selling good on ebay and jot it down in a notebook and watch for it at thrift stores and salvation army. Then I sell it. Also while I am there I check out the clothes. I use to be a real brand snob. Funny thing is my kids have more clothes now then they ever have and most are designer. All for a fraction of the price.

When school is in session I make lunches at home to send. Lunches at our schools are $1.65 a piece. Plus they started a breakfast program when school starts they have the option to eat a bowl of cereal, or cereal bar and juice at there desk. I believe that is around $1.10. They eat breakfast at home.

We goto the library often and check out our DVD's from them for 50 Cents a piece. They also have a lot of programs which are free. I know it was mentioned before and we have the Zoo Passes also. LOVE THEM!

 

[hsmamato2]

I try to bake most of our treats at home- running around with the kids and buying cookies etc. while out starts to add up- I hate to bake in the summer, but today it was cool and cloudy, so I baked for 1/2 the day, lots of good homemade cookies, put in ziploc bags in the freezer, so when it's hot, we'll still have them- also taste a lot better than store bought cookies and cake... because of my allergy kid, his cookies etc. are monumental in price, so that saves a TON when I put stuff up for him...
Of course, this involves stocking up on baking products when they're cheap,I had 3 HUGE bags of good choc. chips stashed away, got them at Ocean Stae Job lot a couple of months ago so cheap!
Also making a big effort to only go grocery shopping 1x a week- go with major list and coupons in hand-(saved 55% of bill last week) it seems to be our biggest expense, b/c we constantly have to replenish our shelves,unlike t-shirts, which last for months and months.

 

[mommy22gurlz]

Another thing is if you have a Super Walmart buy your groceries there, I personally hate going to Walmart because it is always so packed but if get there early on a Saturday or Sunday morning it's not so bad and I spend an average of about $35 - $50 less than if I had gone to the regular grocery store.
Tina

Also I just found out that Walmart matches ads from other stores. What I did this past weekend was I got the weekly ads for our four local grocery stores and sat down and made a list of all of the things in each ad that were on sale that I buy. I took my list and my 4 ads (which they don't even look at). And as they scan each item I just said for example "that chicken breast is 79cents/lb.at Kroger" or "those are 3/$1.00 at HEB", and they just simply overrode the prices for me!! I was so excited, I took the ads incase they were to ask but they didn't, that is a GREAT way to save on groceries.

 

[nsmith]

great ideas!! thanks!! We need to cancel our cable...my kids hardly watch it and we pay for it...
we did lower our cell phone service
have limited service on our home phone

but I have to say I can spend quite a bit on entertaining...something I need to cut down on...
clothes are my downfall with three girls an myself who recently went from a size 14 to 6...so YEAH I love to buy clothes

That is so funny that you mention entertaining, that is the one area that I will not give up. I have a big family and lots of friends. I would rather spend money seeing everyone than have STUFF.

My group of friends from high school started a dinner club years ago. We have 6 couples that meet every other month. When it is your turn to host you provide the entree, bread and butter for the table and wine for the table. Everyone else brings the rest, appitizers (2 or 3), salad or soup, starch, vegtable and dessert, everyone brings any alcoholic bevs they may want to have during the night. Lots of time we call each other ahead and pick up a big bottles of wine to share. We end up with a delis dinner, hours of conversations and inexpensive drinks.

We plan the next night at the table so we have lots of time to find a sitter.

Sometimes we arrive and find out that everyone has an overnight sitter, thats the nights we really HOWL!!!!!

 

[crazymomof4]

Just wanted to "pop in" and say, "WELCOME TO THE DIS BOARDS" to
mommy22gurlz and nsmith

 

[RumpleMom]

Remember to take coupons when you go on vacation, use them at the grocery store. We also use coupons from national chain restaurants ie. Pizza Hut.

 

[lbgraves]

I stockpile our groceries, paper products, & HBA items. I buy alot of what I can get free or cheap so that I don't have to pay full price for those items. I have taken a break from my major couponing over the summer because I simply cannot get to the stores with the kids in tow as much as I would like to. I have two freezers stocked with meat, a pantry with vegies, & sides so I really only need to pick up bread (at the outlet store), milk, some cheese (since I freeze that when it is on sale too), and yogurt. I buy the kid's clothes a year or more ahead when the stores clearance them out at 75%. By the time they fit into those sizes I have matching items to go with everything. Christmas & birthday gifts are bought on clearance too & put away until they are needed. I have just about every single Harry Potter Lego set up in the attic. The kids will have a huge HP Christmas in a couple years & they were all at 75% off! The kids have more name brand clothes than I ever thought I would buy them. I shop at consignment sales, check out the goodwill thrift shop, and buy large lots on ebay. I also shop online clearance sales with codes for discounts and usually only when there is free shipping or .99 at Kohls (love the quality of their clothing!). The kids have Disney clothing in at least two sizes ahead of what they are now wearing for swim suits and PJs which makes them happy & they cost me less than a generic one at Target or WM.

 

[nsmith]

Just wanted to "pop in" and say, "WELCOME TO THE DIS BOARDS" to
mommy22gurlz and nsmith

Have been a long time lurker and posted under different user names that somehow stopped working . So my posts don't really reflect my total responses.

I have learned so much from these boards and feel I can trust the information I have received from them.

Peace,

 

[crazymomof4]

Drive an old car without a payment,

Currently battling DH on this one. We are one month away from being "payment-free" and DH is complaining that the car "isn't running right". He always starts saying that when he wants a newer car!
I was looking forward to socking into the savings what we've been paying on the car or using it for some home improvements. I'm going to stall him for as long as I can.

 

[nsmith]

Currently battling DH on this one. We are one month away from being "payment-free" and DH is complaining that the car "isn't running right". He always starts saying that when he wants a newer car!
I was looking forward to socking into the savings what we've been paying on the car or using it for some home improvements. I'm going to stall him for as long as I can.

You know we always try to remind ourselves that a few repair bills are less costly than a fixed montly payment.

Two years ago our "good" car blew a head gasket ($1500 repair, car only had 70,000 miles). Well it was no longer our good car but we went back and forth on whether to repair it or not. We decided to sell our "old" car we used the money to pay for the repair (even though the repair man advised us not to) and took a home loan to buy a "new" two year old car (24,000 miles). We haven't had another repair on that car in two and a half years, that repair only cost us $30.00 a month compared to another car payment of at least $200.00. My husband only drives it back and forth to work ( a few miles). I know most people don' t think this way but most people are in debt