Little Ways To Save Big Money

In this economy, more and more families are struggling to make it. The fact is that small things quickly add up and if you take the time to make some small changes you can help reduce the stress on your family financially bit by bit helping to keep you afloat in today’s economy. These simple ways you can save money can help your family just a little bit. Build on these one at a time and make changes as you can afford them for bigger savings.

Remember that this is coming from a mom who is struggling just as hard as you with inflation, and reduced income due to business being slow both for me and my husband’s job. These are things that have helped me and continue to help me lower costs day after day.

Reduce product use

One thing that can make a big difference is to make steps to reduce product use for everyday things. My family would go through one of those big jugs of dishwashing detergent every week because often it would get poured into the sink in large amounts, poured all over dishes instead of kids using the dish pan, or simply spilled from the bottle falling over while open.

When we switched to a pump bottle for our dish detergent we instantly reduced how much product we go through. In fact, a bottle that used to be a weekly purchase became a monthly purchase saving us about $15 a month. This didn’t cost us a dime because I used an empty hand soap pump. We got the hand soap on clearance for only 35 cents a container when clearance shopping. That one product change saved us $180 a year at current prices.

After that, we started moving other products to pump bottles like shampoo, conditioner, and creams for hair. For thicker creams, we had to add a small bit of water but this further reduced cost in fact, adding water to things is a great way to save.

Add water to products

Some products like thick creams for hair can be thinned out slightly to help get the most use of them. Adding water to things like your shampoo bottle to shake and use the last little bit up is a great way to get one more use from a product and save a little money.

This can be done with other things that are very concentrated and can have this same treatment. If you leave the lids off of products by accident you can think them back out with water for a good amount of savings.

Use spray bottles

Diluting your favorite cleaning products is essential to get a good clean without wasting product. Instead of using cleaning products straight out of the container dilute them into a spray bottle. This will make your cleaning products go much further and help make it easier to get a streak freed clean. Spray surfaces with your diluted cleaner and wipe up with microfiber clothes instead of a paper towel for the best clean at the lowest cost.

We do this with Murphy’s oil soap, Fabulosso, and products like Lysol. Yes, we like to make some of our own cleaners but we also know that sometimes we need the convenience of premade products. Not to mention sometimes when we find a sale this ends up cheaper than making my own.

Ditch the disposables

Don’t get me wrong. I love the convenience of paper towels for things like cleaning around the toilet, and really nasty messes but I have found that most things can bedone with reusable options. One small way we save big money here is to use microfiber rags for everything we can. We attach them to a Swiffer-style mop base giving us the convince of a dust or wet mop for small jobs without the cost of pads. We fold them up and place in a basket in several areas around the house for quick and easy cleaning.

When the kids were younger we cloth-diapered helping to save a lot of money. this can be a bit of an investment but you can get a pack of flour sack towels at Walmart for about $1 each, less for the bigger packs, and get a new cover each week until you have enough to get by on. After a few weeks, you will no longer need to purchase any disposables. Saving thousands of dollars between birth and potty training.

Cook more from scratch.

Small things made from scratch can be a huge savings over time. When we got a waffle maker I started to make hundreds of waffles a week while doing things like scrolling on social media, pinning recipes on Pinterest, and doing lessons with the kids. This reduced the cost of breakfast and even snacks while providing them with a better quality product than frozen waffles from the store or a box of cereal.

Each week we look for something else we can do ourselves at home to help lower the food bill. From the popcorn maker to making large batches of soup and chili for the kids to munch on you would be shocked at how much you can save when you cook intentionally.

Remember that little things can add up to a big savings much faster than you realize and soon enough you will see things get just a bit easier.