As moms, we all know how hard it is to stretch a dollar. There are just so many expenses to take care of with the kids, house, car, pets, groceries, and, well you catch my drift. We are always looking for some small ways to cut back on certain things in order to spend it somewhere else. Well, even if you have a family budget set, here are just some tips to think about while pondering how to cut back and what to cut back on:

• One of the easiest cuts to make to a budget is cable television. If you currently have digital cable, consider downsizing to a regular cable box for a few months. Simply making a call to the cable company to check if there are any special deals can help as well. Hey you may get lucky, there may be a new promotion on a movie channel that they could offer you for six months or so!

• Instead of going to a spa or a salon, try giving yourself some at home beauty treatments. It is relatively easy to give yourself a pedicure and manicure, so why pay top dollar at a salon?

• With the new technology in home hair color, you no longer need to be a licensed cosmetologist to achieve good results. If you don’t want to mess up your highlights, you can at least try stretching out your salon appointments by touching up your roots at home.

• If you subscribe to any magazines and find that the newest issues comes before you have had a chance to read the previous issue, consider canceling the subscriptions. Even if you do read them regularly, consider canceling anyway. Chances are, you can borrow the same magazines from your local library or snag a friend or neighbors old copies!

• You can stop eating out as much as well to save money. Instead of spending the money on take out, set an amount to spend on groceries and eat at home.

• If possible, consider consolidating different services that you are currently paying for. For example, your insurance company will give out a multi-policy discount if you have both your car and house insurance through them.

• You may also be able to use the same company for your internet, phone and cable. If the company offers a group discount on these services, you could save hundreds of dollars a year.

• Is it possible for some members of your family to take public transportation or carpool? Riding a bike is good on the pocket, but is also good for a person’s health as well as the environment.

• The next time you need to make a purchase, consider purchasing used items, which can easily be found on Mommy Auctions and other great sites!

• Instead of buying books with your hard earned money, pay with books you’ve already read. There are plenty of book stores which allow you to bring in used books for store credit. There are also many book swaps online and in local communities.

• Your local library can be a source of free books, movies, and CD’s. Just remember to return them on time or you will end up being charged for fines.

• If it is possible, turn off the air conditioning and open a window to save on electricity in warm weather months. Buying energy efficient light bulbs is another way to save on electricity each month.

• If you have a large car payment, is it possible to trade in the car you have for a vehicle with a lower payment? Or perhaps you can buy a used vehicle outright? By doing this, it is possible to save anywhere from two hundred to six hundred dollars a month, depending on how much your current payment is.

If a person were to cut just $20 off of five different expenses each month, they would have an extra $100 that they could use to help pay down credit card debt or save for another purpose. These are just a few of the many ways to save extra money each month. Of course, each mom is unique and has things that they consider luxuries as well as necessities. Taking a look over your budget will help you decide which items are must haves and which things can be held off for a few months. Good luck saving!

Do you have a money saving tip that you would like to share with other moms? We’d love to hear it!

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 12:45 am and is filed under Money Savers, A day in the life of being a Mommy!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.