Untraditional Ways to Save Money

One thing I hear more than anything is people asking us, "How do you live the way you do on one income?"

The answer to this question is simple, we are a non-traditional family. We are considered to be a large family. My husband and I are always looking for new things to do and try, in order to save on our spending. Many of the things we do most people wouldn't even think of doing, but you know what, it saves up $1000s of dollars a year. Now for today's blog I am only going to do a general idea of the things we do, but I will post pictures and go into detail on more future blogs about these non-traditional ways we have switched to.

1.) Un-Paper Towels: how much money do you spend on paper towels in a month, well with kids and pets we were spending a ton of money just on paper towels to clean up messes. We switched to Un-paper towels, made of double layered flannel, they are washable and reuseable, you can even have snaps put on them so you can roll them up and put them on a paper towel roll!

2.) Cloth Diapering: When you have just one child, diapers may not seem like they are that hard to afford, but when you got as many kids as we do, you can run into spending $200-400 a month on diapers and pull-ups. Cloth diapering has a start up cost yes, but you can wash and reuse the diapers, it ends up saving $100s - $1000s a year depending on how many children you have in diapers.

3.) Mama Cloth: Menstrual pads is another cost that woman rack up for YEARS out of there lives, roughly 35 years we as women spend having to buy pads or tampons, depending on your preference. At $6 a box for regular pads and if you use liners on top of it you are looking at maybe $10 a month, well that adds up to $120 a year for roughly 35 years. So a few thousand dollars done the drain just because we are women. Try switching to Mama Cloth these are awesome, they are cloth pads, most come with wings that snap, they are completely washable and reusable. They come in cute designs, different styles, different materials and they are so much more comfortable. Most of you are probably saying "eww gross" but let me tell you, since I switched I have had no cramps, no irritations, and shorter cycles because there are no chemicals in mama cloth they are safer for your body. Start up cost depends on where you get them from, or if you are crafty you can make your own. But it could save you a few thousand dollars in your lifetime.

4.) Family Cloth: this is another "gross" thing that people just don't think they can do. How much a month does your family spend on toilet paper? A large family like ours can spend $11-20 a month on toilet paper. Switching to family cloth has eliminated that. Family cloth is cloth toilet paper. Now let me explain before you get too grossed out. Family cloth comes in different materials, ours is double layered surged flannel. Each family member has their own design/designs so we do NOT share cloth, they are soft, leave no residue, and clean so much better. You use them and stick them in a wet bag, when the bag gets full wash and reuse! Start up cost for our family was about $100 but again we are a large family and I bought my own material to have them made. Now I only spend $1 a month on a 4pk of toilet paper for our guests to use. Great savings!

5.) Rebel: TLCs: if you look to cook you probably spend a lot of money on containers with lids, saran wrap, foil, and other products like these. Well now you can get Rebel: TLCs, these are GREAT! I have already done a review on these you can read in my Sept. blogs. When you have bowls that don't have lids, pot & pans, or plates to cover you can pick up one of the Rebel: TLCs and cover it with that, they are completely food safe nylon, come in cute designs, and are completely washable and reusable. So no more buying foil, saran wrap, ect to cover your bowls. You can get an entire set for about $42 or you can pick and chose the sizes you know you will use for less. Or if you are like me and my husband you will fall in love with them and want more, we use ours on a daily basis, therefore cut out a HUGE cost on buying other products. 

I know most of you probably won't make the switch to any of these, but it is something I wanted to share. There are ways out there to save money, you may not think of doing them, but hey give them a try you might just change your mind. I know I did. 

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many