5 Ways We Saved in March

I love reading blogs like Frugally Blonde which share practical ways that their family has saved money.  A few months ago I decided to write my own post each month on how we save, and it has quickly become one of the most popular features here on The Orthodox Mama.

5 Ways We Saved in March

1. I Discovered the Bakery Outlet Store

I love bread.  And, with three kids who take sandwiches to school each day, we go through A LOT of bread each month.  So, I was super excited when I took my first ever trip to the Nature’s Own Bakery Outlet store in a nearby town.  I had seen the store before but had always been a little afraid to go in.  I mean, could discounted bread be any good?  Would it all be moldy?

Hardly!  The bread was all one day old bread–still far from its expiration date.  Since I would be freezing most of the loaves anyway (check out 15 Things That Frugal People Freeze to find out what else I freeze!), it was totally fine.  Within 10 minutes I had placed 6 loaves of bread, one package of hot dog buns, and a package of tortillas into my basket.  My final cost?  $5.50.  Crazy!  I will definitely be back!

Estimated Savings:  $15 (Typical loaves of the same bread in my neighborhood are $2.50)

2. I Shopped Our Hand-Me-Downs and the Consignment Store

My spring break was last week, and I spent an entire day of it changing out my kids’ wardrobes from winter to summer clothing.  At the end of each season, I place clothes that may still fit them the next year into a box.  I also have tons of clothes from my oldest son that I have saved for my youngest son.  So, by the time I “shopped” my boxes of hand-me-downs and other clothing in storage, I didn’t need very much to complete our kiddos wardrobes.

I took some of the high-quality clothing that they had outgrown to our local Kid to Kid consignment shop.  Kid to Kid will give you store credit for any clothing that they accept, and you don’t have to wait for someone to purchase your items.  With the credit that I got from our items, I was able to purchase a really nice dress for my daughter and two pairs of shorts for my oldest son–all for $.20.  Not bad!

Estimated Savings: $80 (at least that amount in hand-me-downs and store credit)

3. Used Ibotta Connected with My Store Loyalty Card

I started using Ibotta (an app that gives you money back when you purchase certain items) a couple of months ago.  However, I just figured out an even simpler way to use it!  If you have resisted using the Ibotta app because the thought of scanning barcodes and taking pictures of your receipts seemed like too much work (especially when you have kids with you at the store!), then I have an easy fix!

You can connect your store loyalty card (for most major grocery stores) to your Ibotta account.  Then, you simply look through the rebates, click on ones that you would like to use, and make sure to use your store loyalty card when you check out.  That’s it!  You will automatically get the rebate added to your account and sent as a payment.  Soooooo much easier!  Ibotta has rebates for common food items that typically don’t have coupons–milk, bananas, butter, bread, etc.  If you’re going to buy milk anyway, you might as well get $.50 back!

Estimated Savings:  $10.25  (Not bad for almost zero work!)

4. We Stayed Home for Spring Break

This is perhaps not the most “fun” way to save money, but it is definitely effective.  We are forgoing all travel this year except for a trip to see our families in Oklahoma and Texas during the summer.  It was a bit hard to see all of my teacher friends posting pictures of their beach vacations and cruises, but I have to remind myself that it will all be worth it.  We are saving money for our future and living within our means.  Plus, the kids are still little enough not to know what they were missing.  They had fun just playing outside in the beautiful weather!  We did go out to eat one day and got donuts on another, but that little splurge is nothing compared to the costs of travel.

Estimated Savings:  $400 (even a relatively inexpensive vacation would still require gas, travel expenses, food, and lodging)

5. Made Vegetable Stock

Finally, I made several batches of Homemade Vegetable Stock this month.  In the Orthodox Church we fast from meat and dairy during Lent.  (Our Easter–Pascha–is also on a different date, so we’re still in Lent right now.)  This means that I tend to make a lot of soups involving beans, vegetables, and pasta.  Most of those soups call for a vegetable broth base.  A few years ago I realized that the containers of vegetable stock that I was buying at the store often had various additives in them.  Plus, they are around $3.00 for 32 ounces!

So, I began making my own vegetable stock in the crock pot using leftover vegetable peels that I keep in a bag in my freezer.  I’ve been making a batch about once a week now.  Since I’m using peels that I was going to throw away and water, it’s essentially free.  Easy and frugal!

Estimated Savings:  $12 (savings making one batch per week)

It can be easy to get discouraged living a frugal lifestyle.  Remember, however, that the little things add up!  A small sacrifice here, a little creativity there–every bit helps.

How did you save this month?  I’d love to hear your tips!

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