Money Saving Tips to Become a Stay at Home Mom

When I got pregnant with my daughter I knew deep down that I wanted to be able to stay home with her but I could not even imagine being able to survive on one income. We lived a very comfortable life and we enjoyed always going places and doing things and I did not want to change everything and put an end to our different experiences just so I could be home with my little one. So when she was born I took maternity leave for 6 weeks. I worked at a child care center so that made it a little easier knowing she would be going to work with me. I went back to work and worked for two years. A lot of changes happened at work and I knew it was time to put my career on pause.

I remember having the talk about staying home we decided we could try it out but we really had to cut back. I decided to sit down and really look at our budget to see what we could do.

Budget

Now I am not saying everyone can afford to be a stay at home mom but for most if you really want it you can make it work it will just take time and some budget cutting! When we had two incomes coming in we use to spend money like no other. We didn’t use a budget and we didn’t really care on the amount we were spending. We had fun enjoying what we were doing. So when it came time to budget I knew we could cut things out.

So before we move on with the saving tips write all your expenses out and get ready to crunch down on numbers.

Bills to cut down on

Cell Phone

If you have a cell phone plan where you are paying for a certain amount of data you could cut back on the amount your paying. Now that your going to be staying home you can simply connect to the WiFi at your house instead of using your phones data. For us we were able to cute the bill back about $20. While looking at your phone bill is there anywhere else that you could cut back (text messages, minutes, insurance).

Savings:$20/month

                 $240/year

Car Insurance

Depending on your insurance company some will cut your bill down for low mileage. With you staying home you will not be driving as much therefore you wont be putting as many miles on your vehicle. Talk to your insurance company and see if thy can lower your bill for low mileage. Another area you could save is for good driving. They put a device in your vehicle that tracks how you drive and your bill will change accordingly. For us switching to the low mileage plan on my vehicle saved around 30/month

Savings:$10/month 

               $120/year

Cable

Cable is one of those bills that to me can be easily cut out. We were paying $100/month on cable along with paying for Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu. When we got to looking at it all it was a no brainer to cut out cable. This was a huge savings! We found that we had enough different choices with using Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

Savings:$100/month 

               $1200/year

Total Savings with your main bills!

Savings:$130/month 

               $1560/year

Extra Expenses

Child Care

This expense is huge! For many families their child care bill is close to if not over the amount the pay for their house. While working at the child care center day care for an infant was 45 per day (up to 8 hours) and 35 per day or all others. For an infant at full-time 5 days a week  that is 225/week. For children toddler and up it would be 175/week. Depending on your center you could be paying less. We lived in a small town so prices were cheaper than bigger cities. I know people who pay over $1000 per month for child care. All depends on prices and hours needed.

So for having a toddler in full-time child care (8 hours/ day five days a week) you would save…
Savings:$700/month

                $8400/year

Gas

So as mentioned above you wont be driving as much with you staying home. You will be able to lower the amount spent on gas now. Depending on how far you drove to work this area may save you quite a bit. When we took a look at this we were putting a tank of gas in my car a week due to my 40+ miles of transportation to work everyday.

Savings:$120/month

$1440/year

Less eating out, more eating in

The grocery bill can be a big way to save instantly. While being a stay at home mom you will have more time to plan meals and cook verses going out all the time. Going out to eat can add up super quick without noticing. With each time of going out being at least 25$ per time say you go 30 a week. This savings is around 300 per month just depending on the amount you spend each time and how often you eat out. Now yes you will have grocery costs since you’re not going out but it will be a lot less than you spend going out. Lets say eating out is 50% more than eating at home. so this saves about 150 per month.  For a family of three we spend between 75-100 a week on groceries.  Read my post on how to save money on groceries! To save on groceries really sit down and buy only the necessity items. Limit your self on pre-packaged and frozen items. Items such as rice, beans and pasta are great money savers that go a long way.  Also think about shopping in bulk as this is a great way to help save!

Savings from going out:$150/month

                                            $1800/year

Clothes

This was one are we didn’t cut back on much because we didn’t spend much her anyway. But now that your staying home you don’t need your nice work clothes anymore. You may even be able to cut back on the cost of your child’s clothes.

Medical

There is no doubt that when your children go to child care they have a higher risk of getting sick. It’s easy to miss one day a couple weeks a year due to sickness from childcare. Since being a stay at home mom (two years now) my daughter has only been sick once. Before it was like every other month that she was sick.

Co pay bills add up. Say you need to buy two extra packs of medicine a year at $15 each along with two extra Dr visits at $25 each. This is a savings of 80/year.

Savings:$80/year

Total savings from extra expenses:$970/month $11640/year

Total Savings 13,200!

There are so many different areas that you can look at cutting back on. These are just some of the main expenses that I found I could cut back on. I recommend sitting down and really looking through everything. Their maybe other areas that you can cut back on to help save more. Utilities is another area that you could work on cutting back. Turn your furnace down a couple of degrees, keep lights off, unplug things that you’re not using ect. I hope this helps you to realize it is possible for you to stay at home because it sure is an amazing thing to do!

Other Areas

Now that you now how to cut down your bills I want to tell you some other areas that you can cut back on spending.

Shopping

Cut back on impulsive buying. Make sure to only buy the things you absolutely need. When you do need something check out Facebook market place, goodwill, eBay and second-hand store. Many times you can find new items for half the price.

Family Days

It is important to spend time as a family but you don ‘t always need to spend money to do so. Go to the park, a walk, ride bikes, or a museum or zoo on cheap day. Keep to things that are cheap.

Library

I am very big on reading to my little one. The library offers a great way to read new books without having to buy new books.

Dollar store

The dollar store is  a great place to shop to save money. Things like party items, cleaners, tooth brushes, shampoos ect. Not everything will be cheaper but you sure can find some great deals.

Switch Brands

When your shopping compare brands and prices. Changes are there are different brands that are cheaper.

Try Frugal Living

Try cutting out certain items such as paper towels. This is something that could save you in the long run. Another idea is to make your own laundry detergent.

Budget

In order to make this work create a strict budget and stick to it. Know what you have and what you can spend. I recommend creating a spreadsheet to keep up with your income and spending’s. Each month evaluate it and see if you have wiggle room or areas you can do better in.

Share your ideas!

If your already a SAHM, how do you save money?

If it is your dream to be a SAHM what are some things you can cut back on?