Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

In this economy it is getting harder and harder for some families to make ends meet. There are articles galore on how to survive the economy, but many of those aren’t for people that are really in trouble. If you’ve had to take a different, lower-paying job, or if you were used to living on two incomes and you are now living on just one, or if higher prices are just sucking you dry, then you aren’t concerned about stock portfolios, you just want to survive every day. And you might not know how you can do such LITTLE THINGS to save BIG.

There are a lot of things that real families, in real trouble can do to pinch a penny and it will not hurt a bit.

Save on Your Utilities, Cable and Phone Services

We’ve all heard this one before, but I am going to mention it, because it is important. Raise your thermostat a few degrees in the summer and lower it in the winter. This can really add up to a lot of savings over a year’s time!

If you have a home phone, plus cell phones, ditch the home phone. You are paying a bill that has become completely unnecessary. And if you have astronomical cell phone bills due to overages, then consider a prepaid service. Prepaid isn’t what it once was. It is much better and smarter now. Most companies have some excellent prepaid plans that have unlimited options in regards to text messaging, nights and weekends, mobile to mobile, and other unlimited features. Of course with these plans you don’t usually get roll-over minutes, but you don’t get ANY surprises when it is time to pay the bill each month either. If you have Cricket service in your area, then check that one out first. It is perfect for teens!

If you don’t have a water-saving shower head on the shower, then invest in one. If you don’t have the money to invest in one (and many people just don’t right now), you can still save a ton of money by turning the water on only half way when you shower (or at the sink when you wash your hands). There is no reason to have the faucet going “full blast”. You can get just as clean on half the water. You are literally letting your money go down the drain. And never leave the water running while brushing your teeth.

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Our economy is troubling right now. Many people are losing their jobs, taking pay cuts, or losing hours so that businesses can continue to keep their doors open. The economic problems are affecting everyone, not just the people that are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts.

If you are a work at home mom or a stay at home mom, this can cause stress in your life. If your spouse has lost his job or taken a cut in pay or hours, you may be feeling the stress of knowing that you may have to go get a job to help make ends meet. I know this is something that you don’t want to do, so this article will show you some steps you can take to make sure you don’t have to get a job outside the home.

• Store

One way to save money at the store is to buy only the items that are essential. Don’t buy that awesome shirt that you just know would look great on you, don’t buy that must have pair of earrings to go with that new dress that you purchased, and don’t buy your husband that cool hat that would be an awesome addition to his hat collection. These are luxuries not necessities and so if it came right down to it, these could go by the way side.

Another way to save money at the store is to consider buying in bulk. If you have a Sam’s Club or Costco, you should consider buying your meats, chicken, and canned goods there instead of the grocery store. You will save money in the long run because these items can either be frozen or left on the shelf for several months.

One last option to consider at the store is to purchase generic items when possible. If you think about it, can you really taste the difference between name brand and generic French fries or soup? There may be certain items like cheese or lunch meat that you will want to purchase a name brand rather than generic, but if you can consider generic as much as you can.

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January can be a difficult time of year for some. If you over spent during the Christmas season or you used credit cards to pay for your Christmas gifts, you may find yourself stressed about how you’re going to pay for everything. When this happens, it’s important to find a way to eliminate the stress and pay for the bills as they come in.

The best way to do this is to live frugally for a time. Depending on how much you need to save, you may need to do this for a few months or you may need to adopt the frugal living lifestyle. There are a number of ways to make to do this and a few of them are listed below.

Going out to eat is a habit we’ve all become a custom to and it can cost a lot more money than it would if you were to make your meals at home. Depending on where you live and the place you go, you could spend $30 to $60 or more on your meal. When you go to the store to make your purchases you will spend $5 to $15 on a meal depending on what you prepare. That’s a huge savings each time and that savings could go to pay the bills.

Another way to save money and live more frugally is to use price matching and couponing. Depending on the store you go to and the coupons you use, you could save as little as $5, but you could save a substantial amount which could total $50 or more each time you go. $50 could buy a tank of gas or pay your electric bill, so the savings with this option could be tremendous.

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The New Year is in nine days and if you’re struggling to make ends meet or if you want to set a goal to take a vacation in 2012 you may need to consider doing to frugal living in order for it to happen.

Setting frugal goals is a wonderful way to spend less and have more and the New Year is the perfect time to make that happen. There are a number of things you can do to make it happen, but it’s best to start now so you’ll know exactly what to do to make it happen. Here are a few suggestions to help you set the frugal goals for 2012.

I would say the area you’ll see the most savings when it comes to living frugally has to be at the grocery store. An easy way to save at the store is to purchase generic items whenever possible. Now you make find that’s not always possible or you may not like the generic item and if that’s the case you’ll need to purchase name brand, but if you can’t taste the difference, you should do it. For example, we don’t like generic cheese, but we don’t have a problem with generic soup when it’s used in a meal and not a stand alone item.

Another way to save money at the store is to use coupons. Now you must be careful on this because there may be times when you have a coupon for the name brand product, but if the price isn’t lower with the coupon and you don’t mind a generic, you need to go that route. You’ll need to pay close attention to the prices and quantities or you’ll end up spending more than what is necessary.

One last technique that will help you save money at the store is to use price matching. If your store offers this, you should take the time to write down the price of items you need at other stores and then ask the cashier to match it if it’s higher at the store you’re at. This is a practice that not all stores follow, so it’s important to check before you take the time to do it.

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If you are a work at home mom, you probably find yourself worrying about your finances quite often. When you are unsure of your income from month to month, this can add stress to your life. You know home is where you want to be and you know being your own boss is your dream, but worrying about the money was never supposed to be a part of the big picture.

There are many ways you can save money so you can live your life without stress. It honestly depends on you and your family and what you are willing to sacrifice or give up to be able to continue to stay at home.

As moms, we know how to stretch our dollar as far as possible. For some this may come very easily, but it may be really hard for others in the beginning. There are many things you can do to make this dream of yours continue.

Being a frugal mom is the way to go. This article will give you some tips and tricks that will help you stretch your dollar and make it go a long ways.

• Phone

For some, a landline is a must. That may be the only way you will have an internet connection. If this is the case, think about your cell phone. Do you really need one? Is it possible for your husband to have one and that’s it? If you spend your days at home and your evenings and weekends with your husband, what is the point in paying for the service?

Another thing you need to do is talk to your phone company to see what features you can eliminate to save you money. There is no point in paying for those features that you are not using.

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Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it can put a huge financial stress on you if you don’t have the funds. If you’re already living paycheck to paycheck or you’re barely getting by, Christmas can push you over the edge.

Here are a few gift ideas that will help you save money and have the ability to give a gift you’ll be happy with.

Dessert mixes are the perfect gift idea and the cost will be much less than a gift would cost. The ingredients will make several mixes so you’ll have the ability give several of them as gifts. There are receipts online for brownie mixes, cookie mixes, and many others.

Another way to save money is to make treats and give them out as gifts. You can make a plate of cookies, a tin of fudge, or a bag of rice krispie treats. Ribbon and a bow make it even more special.

If you find the funds you’ll have for Christmas are low, using these frugal gift ideas, will give you the ability to have enough money to give the gifts you want to give and you’ll know the people receiving them will enjoy them.

Saving money or becoming debt free is not easy for anyone. It’s hard to change the way you spend money and it’s even harder to put extra money into bills instead of going out for dinner or purchasing a dress or shoes, but the outcome will be worth it after a few months of doing this.

You need to stand strong and avoid purchasing things that are not necessary to your survival. While it would be nice to have a new pair of shoes or a new TV, it’s not necessary in order to live your day to day life. It’s purchases like that, that make us use credit cards, which in turn causes more debt.

Over time, when you begin to pay off your debt, you’ll be able to make those purchases, but when you’re first starting out with debt reduction it’s important to use as much of your money as possible to pay off the bills. When you get to a point where you have two or three bills paid off, you can use a small amount to purchase a little something. Maybe as a reward for your hard work, but it’s important that you don’t go overboard and put yourself right back into debt again.

Are you the head of the household of your family and need some tips on making your life a little simpler? Those that work, take care of the kids and pay the bills have a hard time keeping everything organized. Below are some tips to help budget your household and some maybe even have some fun doing it.

Keep your financial records current. Keep a filing system and create folders for items such as receipts, tax returns, billing statements, bank statements, credit reports, etc. Keep everything in one designated place so it is easy to find when you need it. For your mail, have one designated place to put it daily when you receive it. Most all of us have misplaced our mail at one time in our life. Misplaced mail could mean late payments, which means late charges. Set a specific time of the day or week to handle all of your bookkeeping and stick to it. When I speak of bookkeeping, I speak of paying bills, filing bills, going through your mail, etc.

If you have online banking with your bank, set it up. I cannot tell you how easy it is to pay my bills with my online banking. The day I receive a bill in the mail, I will log into my bank account and schedule the payment. The bank then sends the payment by mail or electronically and has it paid on the date that I scheduled it to be paid. This service is even free with my bank. It saves time writing out checks and I also save on the postage.

Get your kids involved in your budgeting. Pay your children an allowance. Have them use the allowance for things they want to buy like candy, movies, toys, games, etc instead of just giving them money when they need it. Having your children pay for their own stuff with their own money will teach them at an early age how to spend wisely.

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Paying off bills is something we all imagine and dream of on a regularly basis, but it’s not something that’s easy to do. You may find it’s easier to pay the minimum amount due each month and use the extra money you have fun and play a little. While that’s acceptable, it’s not a good idea due to the amount of money you’ll spend on interest charges.

The best thing to do is pay $10 or $20 extra a month on a bill that is close to being paid off or one that has a small amount of interest each month. Once that bill is paid off you need to add the monthly payment you were making to the next bill with the low interest or small balance. Continue this process untill all of your bills are paid off.

You may find at first it’s hard to put more money into a bill, but it can be done. You may need to give up some things for a short amount of time, but if you’re series enough about paying of your bills, you’ll find a way to make it happen. Here are a few suggestions for saving money so you can get the bills paid off quicker.

1. Go out to eat twice a month instead of four times.
2. Brew your coffee at home instead of going out to Starbucks each day.
3. Pack your lunch instead of going out to eat.
4. Buy your pop at the grocery store instead of going to the convenience store.

Think about the things you purchase on a regularly basis and then either stop purchasing them as often or stop purchasing them all together. Once you do that you’ll have the money from those purchases that you’ll be able to apply that to the bill each month.

Once your bills are paid off, you’ll be able to have the things you want and you’ll be able to do the things you want. You’ll be able feel relaxed and you won’t be stressed about it. Giving up a few things for a while will make it worth it when you have more money in the end.

Saving money is important when you’re short on funds, when you hate to pay full price, or if you’re trying to save for something you need or want, but can’t afford. Whatever your reason is for wanting to save money, you can make it happen when you buy used instead of new.

When my boys were little, I hated to pay full price for clothes because they grew so fast. I could buy a new outfit only to have them wear it two or three times and then it didn’t fit anymore. When this happens, it’s hard to spend money monthly on new clothes when you have to buy diapers, wipes, and food for them as well.

While there are still garage sales, in the winter time, they don’t have those. So what do you do? I found a fan page on Facebook called Casper Mama’s Upcycle. It’s the coolest thing ever. People post things they are either looking for or have for sale and people post if they have questions or if they are interested in purchasing.

I’m not sure if there are other communities that have these, but it’s definitely something you should check out. No matter if you have baby clothes to get rid of or if you’re looking for furniture for your home, this is the type of fan page or site you need to check out. It’s awesome!