Working moms: How to save $100 next month

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  Posted by April Hughes Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:08pm PDT

  Who gives their kids SEVEN juice boxes? That is empty calories. You would save a lot if your kids drink WATER. Also, taking your lunch to work means you have to buy more groceries. Sure, it's cheaper, but not free.

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  Posted by Robert Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:30pm PDT

  where can i get a paday loan?

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  Posted by brittany Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:32pm PDT

  Most people i know have leftovers from dinner. If you pack those for lunch the next day that just food that is likely to go to waste and can save you 100% of your lunch costs. Anyway also I pack my lunch daily it cost me less than two dollars (even when I can't pack leftovers) I by a TV dinner some cost about a dollar they aren't the ones you see on commercials but they are pretty good I also add a cup of fruit or a piece of fresh fruit the little cups of fruit are about 2 bucks for 4-6 of them and fresh fruit is about 1.00 a lb thats 3 or 4 apples. you can spend 4 dollars a meal if want to but if your careful its not necessary to spend that much.

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  Posted by iyaloo Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:58am PDT

  thanks for the new idea ,because i never know before that Tv can consume electricity if you din,t unplug it.

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  Posted by Mildred Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:04am PDT

  ditch the daily paper-30.00 vs 4.00/mo for Sunday only

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  Posted by Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:37am PDT

  to "Awtwins" and others who feel like they are doing all they can but want to spend even less...

  this is just an idea. full disclosure, i'm not doing this myself. but your question got me thinking about consciously consuming less by setting limits. some religions "tithe" or give away 10% of their income. a diff take on that would be to say my HH costs per month are x. next month i'm capping my spend at 10% less. And that difference is going to go to charity.

  don't think you can do it? necessity is the mother of invention. until you force yourself into it, you're not going to get really creative. looking to others for advice is helpful. looking into a pocketbook with less money than you're used to will really get those ceative juices flowing.

  some off the wall ideas (again, that i haven't tried...)

  for the days you DO commute into work, go onto craigslist or whereever and look for a carpooling buddy.

  eat less meat. less meat than you'e used to, whatever that is. for me that would going from 2-3x a week to maybe 1x a week. hello beans...

  don't buy presents for a month, of any kind. instead write that person a letter. have your kid invite them over for a special sleepover event. make your husband something sentimental for your anniversary. and def don't buy wrapping paper or store produced cards.

  go to a cheaper market, like an ethnic market. buy bruised, non-organic produce, the really ugly stuff. find a way to make it edible.

  i don't know how much money you make, but there are people who make a lot less who are surviving. think like you make less and you will indeed spend less. and you might get to do something good for someone else in the process if you give those savings away.

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  Posted by DorothyD Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:06am PDT

  Cleaning up your clutter? I have been working on this for 2 months since my daughter moved back in to go back to school. I work on the computer quite a bit and I already reuse paper by printing on the backside before shredding it for recycling. Along with my daughter I received more paper clutter which I started to file away. I found my own files needed to be thinned so I now have another stack of old recipes, warranties, and etc. to use for printing purposes to save money.

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  Posted by AO Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:52am PDT

  Buy meat in bulk. For example, buy a beef round roast, slice for steak and for stew/soup meat and freeze. Instead of paying $4.99 lb. for sirloin opt for the $2.99 lb. cut that you can get two meals out of.

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  Posted by Suzanne Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:01am PDT

  Another suggestion: never ever ever enter a shopping mall. You can find everything you need (and everything you would actually need at a mall) at Kohl's or Wal-Mart. Go to Kohl's for your work clothes, bras (they have a fabulous selection), jewelry, and your more important shoes. Go to Wal-Mart for your casual clothes, purses, panties, and seasonal shoes. I found a gorgeous pair of black flats there at the beginning of last winter for $10, and I've just about worn through them, plus it's summer now, so when I was there picking up my $5 spiffy black sandals for work, I picked up ANOTHER pair of those exact same black flats (now on sale for $9) and stashed them in my closet to pull out next winter. They were just too cute, I couldn't stand missing out on them next year.

  When I go to a mall, I spend way too much money on too little stuff. Plus I always come out with make-up and junk that I didn't intend to buy (oh, Walmart for the make-up ladies - it's BETTER than the department store stuff and cheaper - there's a blog in Shine about that). I hate bargain shopping at outlets and those discount stores where everything is jumbled together and you have to sift through it, and I'm never really satisfied with the junk I buy there anyway. Stick to places like Kohl's, Steinmart (although I think they're pricier than Kohl's, but have slightly different stuff), and my best friend, Wal-Mart.

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  Posted by NYgirl Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:12am PDT

  Car pool

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