money saving ideas, frugal, penny pinching, budget

Patricia C. Gallagher
Box 561
Worcester, PA 19490
215-272-1933
yngsparro@aol.com

Patricia Gallagher, 215-272-1933, www.teamofangels.com, yngsparro@aol.com
I am the author of RAISING HAPPY KIDS ON A REASONABLE BUDGET. Permission is granted to reproduce this article, provided credit is given, as listed above.
MOM-CENT$ CORNER – week 1

SO, YOU LIKE TO SEW?

With the high price of clothes, linens and curtains, many people are going back to the basics-sewing their own. Look for fabric sales at local stores, but if you live near a garment center, or fabric factory, materials are a better buy there. The variety is magnificent and the prices low.

For draperies and large-item projects, garment center shopping offers great selection and prices. A friend began to sew when she was unable to find flannel crib sheets for her baby. She took one of her fitted crib sheets to the fabric store, showed the clerk what she wanted to do, bought a piece of flannel in the recommended size, sewed a hem and ran elastic through it. Within an hour, she had made several custom-fitted flannel sheets.


MOM CENT$ CORNER – week 2

EATING OUT

Check your local restaurants for advertised special. Usually one night a week is set aside for a special offer. Our family regularly goes out to eat at family restaurants: one fast-food restaurant offers the $2.99 unlimited salad bar and free iced tea refills; another has a special titled “Kids Pay What They Weigh” and free drink refills; a popular pancake eatery has a “Kids Eat Free Night”; and a fourth has an all-inclusive Special Kids’ meal. Certain conditions may apply, so call first for times and days and any other restrictions.

About a half hour before you leave for the restaurant. Give the kids some yogurt, cheese, an apple, or just a little something so that they are not completely starving when you arrive. This also helps to alleviate the begging for dessert, which is how some restaurants make their money. This is one way to avoid spending more than you have budgeted for a night out at a restaurant.













MOM CENT$ CORNER – week 3

BULK BUYING

Buying in bulk can be a great way to stretch your dollar. The things to purchase in large packages or economy bottles are items that you currently need and those items you will definitely need in the future.

Sometimes the store brand is actually the same as the name brand. In many cases, one company manufactures both products with the same ingredients. Only the label is changed! They ship the same exact orange juice or soup out to different companies. You could be paying extra just for the fancy or extra packaging or for the company’s expensive advertising campaign.




MOM CENT$ CORNER – week 4

NEWFOUND MONEY-LITTLE WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR FOOD DOLLARS

There are two ways to add money to your food budget. You can either earn more or you can save more. I prefer the latter. I have tried both ways and saving money in little ways adds up to big savings.

Here are a few money-and time-savers for you to try:
For lunchbox desserts, cut your costs by separating the prepackaged snacks. Each child gets one, not two.
Add a little more water than directed to canned soups.
Don’t purchase an excessive amount of something that has a short shelf life.
Stretch your casserole portions by adding additional vegetables, rice, pasta or potatoes and substitute meats that are on sale for specific meats when possible.
When the price of chicken is low, it’s time to get out your cookbooks and experiment with some chicken a la king, chicken noodle soup and chicken croquette recipes.







MOM CENT$ CORNER- week 5

SAVINGS ON CAR MAINTENANCE

The advice of the professionals is to always take care of the basics in order to keep major breakdowns minimal. The problem with such advice is that routine care is not affordable for many families. In theory, we all know it makes sense, but for many people that leftover $50 in the checking account has a list of multiple causes putting in for a claim.

There are some things you can accomplish with the aid of a quick study of a video from the library, or an adult night course:
Replace headlights, taillights, and wiper blades
Check for worn tires, bald spots, inadequate tread
Fill tires with air
Make sure you have a spare tire and the proper tools to change a tire


MOM CENT$ CORNER- week 6

KEEPING PARENTS IN TOUCH

For fun and parent therapy, why not start a Mommy (or parent) Club. We kiddingly called ours the make the Most of Your Morning Club. Four parents and their kids is a good size for a group. Set aside one morning a week to meet at the playground armed with a picnic basket filled with drinks, snacks, or an easy lunch (don’t forget plenty of tissues and a first-aid kit). It is a great way to start off your day. You can even branch out to other places. In season, visit an apple orchard and return home to roll out some apple pies. Our spouses loved one. Or, sign the group up for the story hour at the library and afterwards treat the kids to an ice cream cone. Depending on the weather, we selected appropriate activities such as going to a pizza shop, construction site, florist shop, police station, firehouse, pet store, small airport, botanical garden and dairy farm.


MOM CENT$ CORNER - week 7

SHARING CHILDREN’S TOYS AND CLOTHING

Creative sharing will help you rid your overflowing closets of decorative picture frames, kites, roller blades, and spinning tops. You can clear the garage cluttered with sleds, old bikes, jump rope and other items that have long since lost their appeal by sending them to greener pastures on the other side of your fence – your neighbors’. The toy box treasures no longer prized needs to be recycled for someone else’s toddler. And all of that “stuff’ lying around your house – the Barbie lunch box, the xylophone and jackets that no longer fit – need to find a new home. Before you give it to Goodwill, throw it in the trash or take it to a consignment shop, look around to your neighbors and friends. Many people in these tough economic times would be grateful for usable hand-me-downs of clothing, household items and playthings.
Neighborhood toy and clothing exchanges are a great way to recycle what you do not need and lend a helping hand to someone who would appreciate your good junk. You, in turn, may find that your own charitable cause will be enhanced with a much-needed
desk, tricycle, or scout uniform.


MOM CENT$ CORNER –week 8

CLOTHING THE FAMILY

The eleventh commandment should be “Thou shalt not pay full price for anything.”
Why should you when you have end-of-season sales, rummage sales, designer warehouses, consignment shops, as well as several other alternatives.

Here are some tips for buying bargain clothing:
When clothes shopping for the family, try to find some items that can be worn “all weather.” For example, I have a jacket that I can wear with a winter wool skirt or as a light cover-up with a summer dress.
Volunteer at a thrift shop .In addition to feeling good about helping a worthy cause, you often have the opportunity to purchase the bargain items as they are displayed.
Avoid outfits that require dry cleaning, especially for kids. Read labels carefully. Wash–and-wear outfits are desirable for kids-after one wearing, their outfits need to be washed. Also, rather than wash a whole outfit, try to remove just the stain thus preserving the overall freshness of an outfit.


MOM CENT$ CORNER – week 9

OUTLET FEVER

Outlet stores can be of two types, manufacturer-owned stores or mass merchandise stores. At a manufacturer-owned store, the manufacturer of the product may have extra stock, slightly flawed merchandise or leftovers from a previous season. Their own stores sell the goods at a discount price, sometimes as much as a 60% discount. Mass merchandise stores such as Marshalls, T.J. Maxx and Filene’s Basement, on the other hand, buy the leftovers from a variety of sources and pass along the savings to you in the form of a large store selling many brands of clothing and housewares.

The following tips should help you get the most from your shopping trips.
· Make sure your proposed purchases are really a bona fide bargain. Don’t assume because they say it is that it is.
· Check store policies. If merchandise is returned, will you receive a cash refund, store credit or are all sales final?
· Only buy goods that are today’s fashions and are in great condition.
· Pack a little bag with a snack or two and a drink. Factory outlets rarely have places to eat and smart shopping is hard work.
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MOM CENT$ CORNER – week 10

TIPS FOR DECORATING A CHILD’S ROOM

Some children have specific ideas about how they would like their rooms decorated.
Their idea of a child’s delight may not be your vision at all. Your flowered-print bedspread pales in comparison to the Pokemon one they saw in a friend’s bedroom.
Their personalities, ages and tastes will affect what they want in the room you plan to “facelift.”

· Jazz up a dull area with some glow-in-the-dark paint. (How about stars painted on the ceiling or rocket ships blasting off?)
· Inexpensive odd rolls of colorful wallpaper purchased at garage sales are great as shelf paper in a kid’s closet.
· Reproduce the pattern on the bedspread as a design on the wall.
Always check the “cut up” bin in a home center. The pile will have lots of interesting odds and ends such as colorful molding, plywood, pieces of Formica, and decorating accents.