This summer has been tight for us but it is a slim sacrifice for being able to be with my kiddos so we are making it work.  I wanted to share some of the things we have been doing to make things work.  I know that even people that have a 2 salary household have challenges because we have been there, too.  I have found that for our family,we live at our means no matter what we make! We just make. it. work!

In the past we have had two full time teacher salaries, one full time and one part time teacher salaries, and now one full time teacher salary.  I also babysit one kiddo to give us a little cushion but this summer I have be “off” from babysitting.  Below I will share some techniques we are using to save money & make things work!

1. Come up with a budget.  I know this is not fun to do but it will help you figure out if you are in the red.  You can’t be spending more than you make without becoming stressed very quickly.  I understand (we just had a baby and then she was in the hospital for an extra week) that things come up, but that is what emergency money is for.  We used a lot of Dave Ramseys free tools from his website to create our budget.

2. Cut Back on Bills.  Possible bills to cut back on are phone bill, internet bill, TV bill, electric bill, and so much more by being smart and calling to talk to them!  We just saved $50 a month but bundling our TV and internet. We are also not in contract with our providers so we can always call and negotiate or cancel!

3. Smart Grocery Shopping. I am not a big “couponer” but if you are that is a great way to save money.  When we are in a pinch I will plan out meals for the week before going to the store to eliminate impulsive grabs!  Also, I use the Target Cartwheel app lately and I seem to save a lot when I plan.

2. Save for Christmas.  I know many of you will think I am jumping the gun but not being stressed during the holidays is super important to me.   One way I have been saving for Christmas is keeping random gift cards that I get.  You know when you go to Target and you buy something that gets you a $5 or $10 gift card? I have been collecting those opposed to spending them.  When I have an extra few dollars laying around I also will put that into our Christmas savings!

4. Sell Things.  You can make SO much money selling items on Ebay. One mans trash is another mans treasure!  I find selling name brand items will be the easiest on Ebay because people will search for it. Also, having a garage sale is super helpful.  We are having one this weekend that will be helpful for making a little extra money and clearing out things we don’t need anymore.

What are some tips you use when on a tight budget?