web analytics

Medium Sized Family uses affiliate links. If you click a link, we could earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read more.

Share or Save This

This has not been our most money saving week ever.  Going back to school is always expensive, and as the kids get older it only becomes more costly.

But I guess we’ll keep them anyway.

I also took care of some home maintenance things this week.  It was good to get those things done, but it made the budget feel extra squished.

All that said, I was able to find some ways to save money, too!  So let’s get to that favorite Friday ritual…

Here are the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week.

5 Ways We've Saved Money This Week 47. Looking for money saving tips? This blogger shares ways her family has saved each week. There's a whole series of ways to save money here.

Read through the archives here if you’d like to see over 230 ideas for saving money!

Dress.  I was checking out my Goodwill for some clothes.  I happened to get there on 99 cent day, which was a bonus!  I found a dress on the rack that actually fit pretty well.  As I was checking out, I noticed the dreaded “dry clean only” notice on the tag.

Rats.  But I decided it was worth a 99 cent gamble.  I brought it home, turned it inside out, and threw it in the wash.  I hung it to dry.  And it worked great!  I got a deal on a pretty dress because no one wanted to mess with a dry clean only label.

I’m surprised at how often throwing something questionable into the washer works out.  Clearly there’s a reason these things get a label like that, and if it were a valuable item either in cost or sentiment, I wouldn’t take the gamble.  But with bargains or items that are so far gone I’d have to throw them away anyway, it’s worth a try.

Pictures.  School pictures, to be precise.  Do they ever turn out right?  Sometimes my kids bring home a good one.  But most of the time they’ve spilled something on their shirt (odd, because they left the house clean and haven’t had lunch yet at picture time).  Or have a goofy look on their face.  Or wore the exact same shirt as his brother did in his picture.

Plus, by the time I pay for a package that would cover enough pictures to give to the grandparents (times 4 kids) , I’d be spending a fortune.

So I’ll be paying a friend who will do a family shot for the same price that I would have spent to get only 4 kids’ pictures taken.

French Horn.  Here’s a simple lesson you’d have thought I’d learned by now; check out prices before promising a child he can play the instrument he’s most interested in.

Our oldest learned the trumpet last year, but he most wants to play the French Horn.  Since music is his forte (pardon the pun), I wanted to encourage this any way I could.  Until I found that even used French Horns are selling for upwards of $1,000.

(jawdrop)

So while I look for a deal, we’ve decided to rent one from a local music company.  Renting is not the most frugal way to do this, but it can buy you some time to find a better deal.

Prescription Savings.  No, we don’t have to buy an Epipen (have you seen the price on those this year?).  But many of our prescription costs have skyrocketed this year.

Sometimes the doctor can be a good resource for finding cheaper medications that work with your insurance company.  But another thing to explore is asking for discounts at your pharmacy.  Most employees at the pharmacy are experts at finding coupons or programs put out by drug companies and other organizations to help you afford the medication your family needs.

So be sure to ask about this.  And if your pharmacy can’t help you, shop around for another pharmacy.

Propane.   Summer is a much more affordable time to purchase your propane or gas than the colder months.  So I called our propane provider to lock in a lower rate.

I had to purchase my winter propane all at once.  That made me happy that I’d been saving for this in a special account.  Not to mention how nice it will be to call for more this winter without worrying about how I will pay for it.

Those are the 5 Ways I Saved Money This Week!

If you’re trying to save money so you can reach your dream of being a stay at home mom, be sure to check out the steps we took in order for me to be able to stay home with our kids.

How to be a stay at home mom

 

Did you save money this week?  Tell us all about it!