Everyone plans their budget in different time increments. I plan mine by the month. At the end of each month, I like to see what ways I was able to save money. Each month is little different. Some months all I was able to do was cook from scratch and use coupons. Other months I have a lot of different ways I saved. Here is how I was able to save money over the month of July.
Used gift cards
I was able to use gift cards that were part of incentives at Matt’s work to finally replace our living room air conditioner. Previously, we had been using a loud, energy hog 8000 BTU window unit. I replaced it with a quiet, Energy Saver model that is 10,000 BTUs. This is a better size for the are it is trying to cool. After gift cards, I paid under $35.
Stayed with friends
We had a competition 4+ hours away. To help break up the trip, we stopped halfway and stayed with friends. This was especially helpful when the competition ran over by 2 hours. We would have been getting home at almost 3am if we hadn’t stopped. It is so much cheaper to stay with friends than to get a hotel room for the night.
Took advantage of free shipping
My husband needed to order some chainsaw parts. I was able to sign up for the mailing list and received free shipping, which saved us $11. I also placed an essential oils order while Native American Nutritionals was offering free shipping. Their shipping is usually fairly affordable but I $3-5 is still $3-5.
Split a meal
After a competition, Matt was hungry so we wandered the fair for a minute. He forgot just how expensive fair food is so we decided to stop on the way home. Neither Abby nor I were really hungry so we split an order of chicken nuggets and fries at a little road side burger stop. I kind of wish I had a burger as they had lots of specialty ones but there was no way I would have been able to eat more than half. By splitting a meal with my daughter, I was able to feed all three of us for $15.
Used fabric I had
I made some nursing pads for a mom friend who is due with a little girl in a couple weeks. I purchased the flannel and terry cloth on sale but I had some PUL fabric left from making training underwear for Abby. PUL can be quite expensive so it was great that I was able to use some scraps.
How did you save in July? Leave a comment and let me know!
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