Money Savin' Mama

     Since having my kiddos, I have definitely made more of an effort to be more intentional and less frivolous with my spending. I feel like a lot of my mama friends are in the same boat (kids are expensive, y'all!) and we often share money saving tips and tricks with one another. Over the past couple of years, I have found some things that work (and other that don't) but figured I would share some ideas here in case anyone has resolved to save more money in the new year. The Snee Fam is anticipating some big changes in 2020 so I am really working to save as much as possible these days. Here are some things that have worked for us:

Rakuten (formerly Ebates)

     I have used Ebates for YEARS (and I still call it Ebates even though the name has formally changed to Rakuten - whoops) whenever I shop online and it's literally the easiest way ever to "make" money.  Whenever you are going to make an online purchase, you sign into your Ebates account, search for the store you are buying from, and click through via their site. Basically you are earning the referral / affiliate commission for yourself. All of the stores give a different percentage back but you get a quarterly check or paypal transfer with your earnings. It adds up and is definitely the easiest way to make some extra spending money with little effort. I tend to rack up a particularly large amount after doing online Christmas shopping so that's always a nice little post-Christmas treat to get that first payment of the new year. There are TONS of chains that participate (think Target, Amazon, WalMart, Best Buy) so it's consistently been worth using. 

Receipt Scanning Apps

     There are soooo many apps out there where you can scan your grocery / retail receipts and earn points/gift cards/cash. I have tried a few and there are three in particular that I now use religiously. The points add up quickly and I have gotten tons of gift cards for simply scanning my grocery receipts after each shopping trip.

         Receipt Hog: I've used this app for years now and it's definitely my tried and true go-to receipt app. My strategy is to scan receipts all year then "cash out" around Christmas for some extra holiday spending money. You get bonus points here and there, too, so it all adds up!

         Fetch: This is one app I started using fairly recently after a mama friend recommended it and not only do the points rack up super fast, but they have some of the best reward options out there. In the first month I redeemed points for both Amazon and Dunkin gift cards (which my little donut lovers were happy about!)

         BoxTops for Education: This is the third place I scan every receipt to and while the money doesn't actually go to me it benefits our designated school so that is a major win for all! After you snap and submit the pictures of your receipt it lets you know how much your school has earned. It's an easy and awesome way to help your local school earn money; Our school uses it towards playground equipment- how cool! Make sure you link your account to your school :)

Coupon-ing

     So, an 'extreme couponer' I am not. However, I am always amazed at how much money I can save by hopping onto coupons.com and spending a couple of minutes searching for and printing some coupons. Recently someone also told me to download the Giant Food app (this is a regional grocery chain) and digitally load coupons onto your loyalty card- this is too easy and the savings adds up. It's definitely worth the five minutes max it takes and I figure coupons help save me an average of $5-10 per grocery trip. 

     

'Early Bird' Christmas Shopping

     Some of the best sales of the year, especially on toys, are in July-August so I try to start stocking up on Christmas gifts early to avoid a massive spend all at once. This past year, I was able to find insane toy deals during Target's summer toy clearance and was able to stock up on kiddo favorites like Disney princesses and Monster trucks that way. It definitely helped to have my gift closet half full by the time Thanksgiving weekend rolled around.

Groceries & Meal Planning

     Not only does meal planning save us tons of stress during the week, it also saves a ton of money. Being organized with meal prep and writing out a menu prior to the big Sunday grocery haul makes it so much easier to shop, cook large batch meals (leftovers for lunch!) and share ingredients over the course of a few meals. Being organized means one huge onion can be used in fajitas one night, a stir fry another night, and maybe even as a pizza topping on Friday. Just little stuff like that adds up. We end up eating take-out way less when we buckle down and meal plan and we end up wasting less food because it's bought with a purpose. My bestie got me into the habit of using our "old" bananas for baking a weekly batch of muffins and little things like that really make a difference in how much food you can re-purpose before it goes bad. 

     I've also noticed recently that getting to Aldi here and there to stock up on random stuff can really save money, too. Some of the things I buy there at a major discount are raw almonds, olive oil, flax seed, granola bars, and toddler snacks (toddlers snack all day long...literally nonstop). I actually started going to Aldi when another mama friend was like "girl you are missing OUT" and literally took me and showed me the ropes. I've been hooked ever since!

Beep Beep! The two grocery helpers make shopping fun...and expensive!

While none of these things are major, they all help to save money here and there and IT ADDS UP! Every little bit helps when you're raising tiny humans. If I am missing any major money savers that your families use, I'd love to hear all about them!

Cheers to 2020, friends ♥