I have an almost teenage daughter and a top priority is clothing. However scoring name brand items every time she wants or needs new clothes is not cheap. Today’s money saving tip is teach your kids thrifting is cool! Not only can you save money, thrifting is good for the environment.

Above is a thrift haul from Winter 2019 picked out by my daughter from Goodwill. For $17 we brought home 4 pieces. On the ride home my daughter searched the retail value of the PINK by Victoria’s Secret sweatshirt. She said, “Mom, this is over $50 alone!”. Ahhh, the thrill of savings.

Also read, Money Savings Tip: Save An Old Pair Of Sneakers For Yard Work

Do you ever feel like all you do is wash dishes, load the dishwasher, and put away dishes? In the summer months and during the holiday times I feel like I wash dishes, and wash dishes some more. I loathe washing dishes. Its one of those things that I wish I could have a magical Genie that appears to make it go away! This hatred of dish washing lead me to explore ways to not have as many dishes.

I noticed my kids where getting a new cup every time they drank something. Each one of my kids can easily use 6-8 cups a day. I have 3 kids that is a full sink full of dishes every day just from drinking cups. That lead me to invest in a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie. That $10.00 initial investment has saved me water, and soap from not having to wash those cups daily. Plus, most important my time!

Every morning I write each child’s name, and the date on a cup. The date to make sure they are using a fresh cup every day. If they drink something besides water they know they have to rinse it out. My littlest Nico has to ask me to help him rinse it out. The older kids already know to do this. Then it sits on the counter all day ready to be reused.

This tip is an oldie but goodie! We have shared this tip before here. But it is just such a good one. Last week I got in an envelope that looked like typical junk mail. I went a head and opened it just in case. Because you just never know with these sorts of things. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and sometimes you strike out.

This particular time I hit a jackpot! I got an invitation to a panel company. It even had a special code to enter. You know me I was giddy signing up the same day I got in the letter. Me and surveys are B.F.Fs. They are such an easy way to add to my Disney fund. Towards the end of the signup process. The panel company wanted to invite the other adult members of my household to be a panel member. Each one of us will get $10.00 for signing up for the introductory survey. That is $30.00 for our Disney Fund! After each survey will pay $1.00 – $5.00.

Todays money saving tip has to do with upkeeping the yard! If you have mowed the lawn before, you may have noticed the green grass stains on your sneakers.

My tip is, save an old pair of sneakers for yard work! I have one pair I call my yard sneakers, these are worn for working in the garden and mowing the lawn. This way my good pair of sneakers lasts longer and does not get ruined after yard work!

Do you do this too?

Also Read: Money Saving Tip: How To Easily Save 50% Off Your Grocery Bill

I am a big fan of having pretty nails! Nails can make you feel put together and give you extra sass. Plus, the super cute designs are hard to not be impressed by. Dipping was my jam. If you aren’t familiar with dipped nails. It is just a powder added to your nails. That creates a beautiful polished nail. Every 2 – 3 weeks I would go spend $25.00 plus a tip of $3.00 to have my nails dipped. That comes out to $56.00 a month just on my nails looking pretty!

Then I found ColorStreet! I love it so much I decided to become a consultant. It is basically a nail polish sticker. They come in solids, glitters, and designs all of which are super cute. To apply you give yourself a manicure to clean up your nails. Then you just apply the sticker and snap it off. Use an orange stick to gently smooth it out in upward strokes. If you have short nails you can get 2 wears out of 1 set. All you have to do is when you snap off the sticker at the top of one nail. Immediately apply the left over part to another nail. Repeat the same process. The whole thing from manicure to applying the polish takes me about 15 minutes.  It is so easy! They lasts about 10 days on average.

A nail strip costs only $11.00 for a solid to $13.00 for a glitter nail strip. If you buy 3 you get 1 FREE! Let’s say you decide to buy 4 glitter nail strips. That will cost you $39.00. Those 4 glitter nail stripes will last you 5 weeks. Potentially even 10 weeks depending on how long you nails are. If they only last you 5 weeks that comes out $31.20 a month! That is $25.00 cheaper than getting my nails dipped. Over the course of a year I am saving $300.00!

Magazines are expensive now and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not looking to tie up a lot of money into subscriptions.  This is where a magazine exchange among friends can be great!

I love checking magazines for recipes, then I find the recipe online and add it to my pinterest board.  Then I don’t need the magazine anymore!  Through an exchange, I can trade my  Food Network magazine for one my friend has- we each get twice the reading material for half the cost!

Maybe you’re looking for recipes, like I enjoy- maybe you enjoy crafts and are looking for more ways to add a little family fun into your weeks.  At the end of the exchange, everyone takes home whatever interests them and these magazines enjoy new life, instead of going straight into recycling!

If you have a big group of friends, you could set it up where you exchange weekly- or just have a fun little get together and flip through looking for whatever you enjoy while everyone chats away.  I could find the recipes from my phone, add them to my board or save the links for later and then immediately pass the magazine on to the next person wanting to look at it!

Saving money AND an excuse to get together with my friends?  That’s a win in my book!

Extra tip:  Be sure to clip your address off the magazine before an exchange!  While it may start out among friends, you never know where that magazine could travel once it leaves your hands and it just makes me more comfortable to clip the address.

I cringe every time I look up the price of a photography session. Pictures are an important way to remember special events, or just day to day life of days gone by. You can easily spent $40.00 or more on photography session for each activity, or special event in your child’s life. That is just by ordering thru the bulk rate from school, church, or the other activities such as sports, or dance. That $25.00 a few times a year adds up. If you have 2 kids and buy 2 sets of pictures a year for various things. That will cost you $160.00 alone a year.

Instead of forking over $40.00 each time. Take your own photographs of those special events. All you need is a neutral background, digital camera, or cell phone with a built in camera. If you aren’t happy with the backdrop in your home go outside or to a park. If you want props such as a cap and gown like I did. Order your own. You can then keep it for another child or resell it. If you aren’t confident in your skills take an online class or check out a book from the library on photography. I use my IPhone on portrait mode. Afterwards I use the auto filter feature to adjust the colors to perfection.

I am not against photography sessions. There is important events in our life we will pay to have a professional photographs. Those times are few and far between in my home. In the future, I would like to take a photography class and invest in a digital camera. In the meantime this is working just fine for us.

Today I am back with a fun idea to complete at home! DIY Hair Wraps are easy and you only need 3 supplies to create. No fancy trip needed to get a hair wrap. This DIY hair wrap will last up to 2 weeks and safe to shower with.

Supplies:

• 2 Loom Bands (or small plastic elastics)
• Embroidery thread
• Scissors

How To:

Start with triple the amount of Embroidery thread per hair length you are wrapping.

Next, gather a small section of hair and add 1st loom band.

Tuck your thread under band and tie to it.

Then, start wrapping!

Finish by adding your last loom band, tying off and cutting extra thread!

Also Read: Get More Use From Old Coloring Books

Bacon wrapped Jalapeno poppers are divine! They are super pricey. Here they are $7.49 a pound for around 8. That comes out to almost a $1.00 per popper…ouch! You can make triple that for the same amount of money. They are so easy to make. I was able to make 48 for only $10.00. Each popper came out to only $0.20.

The most expensive part was the bacon. I sent my my husband to the store for me. He got thick cut bacon which is a no no when making poppers. It is hard to wrap the thick bacon just right. I had to cut it into smaller slices and use a toothpick to secure the bacon in place. Below is a breakdown of what I spent.

Bacon – $6.98
Cream cheese – $1.00
1 lb. Jalapenos – $2.00 (You can get these much cheaper from the store. I got mine from a local farmer. She charges a little more for the produce. I like supporting a small business plus the produce is amazing.)
Cheddar cheese – Free I buy a big bulk package once a month
Total: $9.98

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Recipe

Ingredients
2 package of thin bacon
1 brick of cream cheese
1 lb. jalapenos
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Slice the jalapenos in half remove the seeds and membranes. Rinse well to get excess seeds off.
2. Mix 1 brick of cream cheese at room temperature with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, a little salt, and pepper to taste.
3. Add the cream cheese mixture into the jalapenos.
4. If you have small jalapenos cut the bacon in half. Wrap the cream cheese stuffed jalapeno with a slice of bacon.
5. Grill outdoors until the bacon is cooked about 10 – 15 minutes or bake in the oven at 400 f. for 20 – 25 minutes.

I’ve talked your ears off about how expensive stamps are, and how one of my favorite money savings tips is to just not use them.  They are still necessary sometimes- some of my bills charge a fee for online bill pay, or sometimes you just want to send a handwritten letter or a physical card to a family member, especially right now.

So when that set of stamps is empty, you have two choices.  You can toss it in the trash, or you can grab a bonus sticker to make your kiddos smile.

I like to grab the bonus stickers.

We’ve had this sheet of stamps forever.  My husband loves to pick out interesting stamps when he goes to the post office, and I can’t even tell you how old this Scooby sheet is, but hey perfect timing because Scoob! the newest Scooby Doo movie has just home premiered.

I simply cut around the image on the side of the stamp sheet and voila- Miss Bongo has a fun new sticker- and I laugh maniacally because I got one little bonus out of that sheet of stamps.  Sometimes it’s the tiny victories, y’all, and it makes the kiddo so happy.

Toys, toys, and more toys! The never-ending piles of toys. Some get played with often, others are only used for a few hours after purchasing, and then there is those toys that are hand me downs from other family members that have sentimental value. For most families toys can easily takeover spaces and create overwhelming feelings. Then add in your child wanting the new bright and shiny toy advertised on Youtube Kids or on a commercial. You are left deciding if you want to bring yet another toy into your home. Knowing that more than likely it will only be played with for a few hours then pushed aside. If only there was a way to get ALL the toys played with. This thought process lead me to start rotating out our toys in our home.

It is a super simple process. When you first start it will take a little bit of a time investment to sort things. After that its a simple hour long process biweekly or monthly depending on how often you rotate your toys. The basics is your just sort like items together, place them in clear shoe box, or sweater boxes, and you rotate them out how ever often you decide. Just by doing this simple step everything will get played with. Plus you will be amazed at how your child’s face lights up when you bring out different toys. Its just like you bought a brand new toy except better because it was something you already own!

1. Sort the toys in like type piles (example Disney figurines, animals, Lego’s, and so on), throw trash away, make a sale pile for things no longer played with in good condition.
2. Put the same type toys in clear plastic shoe boxes, or sweater boxes. Label the boxes.
3. Leave out the most loved toys. The ones that your child plays with daily and never gets tired of. Those will stay out all the time.
4. What is left divide out in half. Leave half of those bins out. The other half store in a closet.
5. Figure out how often you want to rotate the toys. In the school year we rotate them out once a month. During the summers every 2 weeks.
6. Before you rotate the toys out. Reorganize the bins, and throw out any trash.
7. Rotate out the toys that where put up with the toys that where out.

If your kiddo is like mine she has many coloring books and gets bored with them easily. Here is a simple tip to get more life out of old coloring books.

Chances are the books are not completely used up. Go through page by page and pull out “clean”, uncolored, pages. Then, staple together and voila! A brand-new coloring pack.

This is a great way to get even more use out of coloring books your child may have grown bored of!

Also Read: Save Money By Collecting & Using Free Samples

Finding leftovers lurking in the deep dark depths of your fridge is like finding gold at the end of a rainbow! When you first hear leftovers you think gross who wants to eat that. Especially if its an undesirable that has been pushed to the deep depths of your fridge shelf’s. I challenge you to change your mindset. Instead of thinking gross, think how can I recreate this leftover undesirable into a whole new dish. That my family and I will be excited to eat. Let’s face the facts if you just put the undesirable food on the table it will go untouched once again. Now if you hid or recreate the undesirable into a new dish most of the time it will get eaten up. I like to pretend I am on Chopped. That makes it more fun and exciting.

Some of you are probably thinking who cares if I throw out that little bit of food. It doesn’t matter. Ohhh, but it does friends! Why you ask? Well, first up you spent your time shopping for those ingredients, putting them away, and preparing that undesirable. Second, you spent your money on that food. Even if it’s just a pennies worth of food. A penny is a penny, 10 pennies add up to a dime, 10 dimes add up to a one dollar, and so on. Over the course of a week you could potentially be throwing $5.00 or more in the trash can just by not eating the leftovers. Would you throw a $5.00 bill in the trash can? I bet not!

There is a few ways I get rid of leftovers in my house. I am constantly rearranging my containers to have the leftovers towards the front of the fridge. That way it makes it hard to forget about it. Most days of the week lunch is leftovers. That gets rid of most things. Every 3 – 4 days, I take a few minutes to open all the containers in the fridge and see what I have left. Then I start thinking of ways I can recreate those things that have been in the fridge for a few days. If I can’t come up with anything or we are just tired of eating whatever it is that is left. I will freeze whatever that thing is. Almost everything can be frozen. Frozen foods are a life saver on nights that I am just not feeling it or if the day got away from me. Instead of ordering pizza or going thru the drive-thru for $30.00 and up. I can spend the same amount of time and energy on heating up the once undesirable frozen leftover. Remember that undesirable is costing me nothing!

My favorite way to use up leftover meat with a gravy or sauce, and veggies is to add it to a pot of beans. It is super simple all you have to do is rinse the beans, and sort them. Add about a pound of beans, leftover meat with sauce, veggies, and some chicken or beef bouillon to a pot, slow cooker, or instant pot. Then you add water I like to have about 4 inches of water above the beans. That makes it soupy but not too watery. Cook until the beans are soft. Regular pot and slow cooker takes about 6 hours on medium. Instant pot use the bean or stew button on mine it takes 45 minutes. This recipe works with any variety of meat with sauce, and veggies. I have never had a bad combination. It always tastes delicious!

Next time you are shopping for an item you buy frequently, compare all sizes. The cheapest is not always the best deal, as seen above with this medicine at Dollar General.

Breakdown:

Naproxen Sodium 50ct $3.50 
Total: $3.50 for 50

Naproxen Sodium 200ct $9.50
Total: $2.38 per 50

In fact, the 200ct bottle is like getting more than 50 tablets for FREE (compared to the shelf price of the 50ct).

Time is one of the most valuable things we have! Many of us never have enough time to do all things. One of the ways I like to save time is by once a week cooking a larger cut of meat. With many stores starting to limit the amount of meat we are allowed to buy as rumors of a meat shortage circulate. Buying larger cuts or packages of meat is one way get around the limits. There is lots of options including ham, whole turkey, brisket, roasts, and many more. Often times these types of meat will come in 7 lb or larger packages. These types of meats are often cheaper than other cuts and will last for several meals.

1. Recreate new dishes from leftovers
A larger cut of meat can make several different meals saving you time and money. I find my family is more likely to eat leftovers if I fool them into thinking they are not eating leftovers. A beef roast costs $13.00 for almost 6 lbs. Here is an example of how I stretch it into 3 meals. Day 1, I make a beef roast with potatoes and carrots in the Instant pot. Day 2, I make french dip sandwiches out of the leftover meat and juice. Day 3, the little bit of meat left I mix it with mushrooms, sour cream, or cream cheese to make a strogonoff type dish. Eat that over pasta. You can always freeze the cooked meat for a later use. Precooked meals come in really handy on those days when life just isn’t going you way.

2. Larger cuts are fattier and more flavorful.
Often times the larger cuts of meat are full of fat. Fat equals flavor. Flavor that you don’t have to add in with additional oils or seasonings that cost you money. You can always cut off some of it if you feel like its an excessive amount. If you are really thrifty you can save the excess drippings aka fat and reuse it for cooking other dishes.

3. Larger cuts of meat can be made into smaller portions. 
If the larger cut is just to much for your family, or you know they won’t eat your recreated meals, you can chop the larger cut into smaller portions. All you need is freezer bags or quality reusable containers, and a marker. Label and date a freezer bag. By labeling the bag you know exactly what is in the bag and when it went in the freezer. The date helps you remember to eat it that way you don’t risk it spending to much time in the freezer and getting freezer burnt. You will be saving money by cutting the larger cuts into smaller portions yourself. Stores pass on the cost of paying a butcher to chop the meat into nice neat small packages. Often times by charging more for those nice neat packages.

Have you ever priced your pet’s necessities on Chewy.com? I started shopping with them a few years ago and I love them. They have so many amazing things for pet owners.

#1 – Multiple Autoships – Do you have multiple needs for your pets? Maybe your cat’s food needs to come every 5 months while her litter needs to come monthly. Or your dog needs a certain set of treats every 2-3 weeks for training? With Chewy’s multiple autoships, you can have one for each need. Plus you get 30% off your first autoship right now!

#2 – Lower prices – My cat is on this super fancy cat food that the vet put her on for UTIs. It is $$ but the autoship from Chewy’s allows me to pay less for it than anywhere else.

#3 – Wide selection – You can find a little bit of everything on Chewys. If your pet needs it, they likely have it!

#4 – Outstanding customer service – The few times that I have needed help from Chewys, they have been there for me with outstanding service. They help me to handle any order issues, pet food questions and anything else that arrises.

If you haven’t priced your pet’s needs on Chewys, take a minute to see if you could save more by shopping with them. And then pocket the amount you save this month by using Chewy’s into your Disney fund!

Here is a fun one! Save money by upcycling. In this case, we upcycled an empty Milk Jug into a toss game!

What is Upcycling? It is to reuse normally trashed items into something new, giving it a new purpose.

To Make Milk Jug Toss Game:

Materials: empty milk jug (cleaned out well), markers to decorate, something small to toss (we used small pom-pom balls)

Then simply cut an opening for the “mouth” and have your kiddo draw a face!

I have a basket I toss random “material” into for our next project!

Also read: Save Money With This DIY Jewelry Cleaner