Money-Saving Tips from My Mom

In honor of Mother’s Day this month, I thought it would be nice to share some of the money-saving tips I learned from my mom. When I think about many of the things I am doing to help our financial situation improve, I realize my mom did many of these things as I was growing up.

Always shop with a list.

I remember my mom going around the kitchen, peering into the pantry, refrigerator and freezer, and then jotting things down on her shopping list. She just used a piece of paper, but she made categories: Fruits and vegetables in the top right corner, dairy items on the left, and so on. With her list organized this way, she didn’t have to backtrack in the store. I remember she always just wrote “Meat” if she needed that. Then she checked to see what was on sale when she got to the store. She didn’t buy things not on her list.

Plan your meals ahead of time.

My mom never had a formal meal plan. But I also do not remember her rushing around at 5:00 trying to throw together what was for dinner that evening. She had a meal plan. It was just in her head, not on paper. We lived out in the country and rarely went out to restaurants, so there was no quick trip to the fast-food place if dinner was going to be late, or if she forgot to thaw the chicken. Even if you don’t do a written meal plan, have an idea the evening before of what’s for dinner the next day. It will make life easier.

Keep clutter to a minimum.

One thing I remember about growing up was that our home was neat and tidy. I think that is where I get my preference for having an organized home. It’s not super-organized yet, but it’s coming along. Keeping clutter at bay can help finances in many ways.

First, you can better know what you have and find things more easily if you don’t have stuff crammed into every available nook and cranny. This keeps you from buying things you already have. Or, (and I’ve done this) buying something you know you have, but you just can’t find it. Secondly, if you are trying not to have clutter in the first place, you will not buy things that are not necessary. Finally, having less clutter will give you more time. A home with less clutter is easier to maintain. Spending less time tidying up will give you more time to do other things, whether that is doing something you enjoy or doing some activity that helps you save money in some way.

Stay home more, and when you leave, combine your errands.

Today’s society seems compelled to go, go, go. We live three miles from town now, so it’s a short jaunt in to grab one thing or another at the store. My mom didn’t do this. For one, a store of any size was a drive. We went to town maybe once a week and did all the errands we needed to. Another thing my mom did was made sure we ate before we went to town. Rarely did we have a meal in town while we did errands.

With all the activities kids are involved in these days, staying home more can seem like an impossible idea. I wasn’t in a lot of activities until high school, and I was often able to share rides with friends until I had a car. If I had young children in activities now I would limit the number of activities and also try to find a way to take turns picking up with a friend.

Have a backup.

This is one of my favorite money-saving tips. Running out of something is one of the main reasons to make that trip to the store for just one thing. And of course, if you go into a store, the possibility that you will pick up something besides just that one thing is pretty high, and you’ll spend more money. This can be avoided by having a backup of those frequently-used items. When the shampoo is half-empty, get a new bottle and store it under the bathroom sink. Then when you run out, you’re covered.

It didn’t occur to me until later in life that my mom did this. She was an expert at planning ahead. The first item I did this with in my home was ketchup, as I had one daughter whose life motto was “Ketchup with every meal!” We used a lot of ketchup.

You don’t need a huge pantry to do this. And you don’t need a backup of every single item you use. Stocking up can be difficult when your budget is tight. So watch for sales and try to buy the next container of your backup item before you run completely out of it. I find this to be so helpful in minimizing extra trips to the store.

Cook and eat at home.

My mom told me something the other day that I never knew about her: When she got married, she really didn’t know how to cook. As soon as she was old enough, she got a job, so when she wasn’t in school, she was working. She had little opportunity to learn to cook. But, she said she got her Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, followed the recipes and taught herself to cook. And now she can make anything she wants to.

I grew up eating simple, homemade food. My mom had me in the kitchen with her and she was a good and patient teacher. Having kids help with something usually makes whatever you’re doing take twice as long. But my mom knew it was important for me to learn how to cook. I am thankful she took the time to teach me.

If cooking at home is something you feel you have a hard time mastering, find a basic cookbook and try a few recipes. Or, ask someone to help you learn a few things.

Our food budget is an area where we can save a lot of money, but it takes work and dedication.

Don’t be wasteful.

We had lots of no-waste rules in our house. Turn off the lights if you’re not in the room. Turn the water off while you are brushing your teeth. Don’t take a super-long shower. Only wash full loads in the washing machine. Don’t use five paper towels to clean up a mess when two will do. Only have the television on if you are actually watching it. Take only as much food as you will eat. These lessons taught in my early life have stuck with me. I still do all these things. Little things add up to savings over time.

See the potential in things.

My mom loves antique furniture. She would find old furniture and refinish it. Over the years, she created a beautiful collection of antiques. She was able to buy the things pretty inexpensively, because a lot of people didn’t want to do the work it would take to restore the pieces. She would patiently strip and sand off the layers of paint and varnish and then put a new coat of varnish over the wood.

Most of our furniture was bought used. With her resourcefulness and creativity, she created a beautiful home for not a lot of money.

I do the same thing. I don’t have the lovely antiques she does, but many of our furnishings are things we found inexpensively and made into something nice for our home. Even our little house was a major fixer-upper. It’s still a work in progress.

Staying home can be fun!

We lived far enough out of town that there were no trips to the park for fun. Our little farm consisted of five acres. We had a swingset, a bunch of farm animals and dogs and cats, a big garden, a pond and lots of room to run. We learned to amuse ourselves playing in the dirt, playing baseball or basketball, riding our bikes, and running through the lawn sprinklers. So, my brother and I were never bored. (We also had chores.) We played board games when the weather was bad. My mom and I loved to play Scrabble. And I remember being at home was plenty of fun. My mom was also awesome in that she encouraged us to read books often.

We are trying to create the same atmosphere for the grandbabies. They have a fenced yard to play in with a sandbox and a slide, and a safe area to ride their little riding toys. So we don’t have to drive to town to the park.

I’m sure there are other things my mom did to stretch the household budget, but these are the ones that I remember the most. The things I learned from my mom are helping our family live within our means. I am thankful for her example of how to have a happy, fulfilling life on a budget.