The new year is almost here, and I always like to get a head start on my resolutions because I LOVE New Year's resolutions! I love fresh beginnings and big dreams and new plans. So fun! Something that makes my list every single year is our finances. Last year was to pay off our debt which (AHH) we completed! 2017 will be my first full year as a stay-at-home mom, and with just our one sweet baby boy I think I'll really have time this year to devote to developing some big money savers. I have a whole notebook of house projects I'd love to accomplish in the coming year which will take some extra cash, so here are five ways I plan to save money in 2017.
1. Cloth Diapers
I'm pretty sure the day we announced we were pregnant with Walker I had three people ask me if I would be cloth diapering. My answer: NO. Too much mess, too much work, too gross. However, we did receive enough free diapers to last us until now (a year), so I haven't really considered the cost of diapers until now. Although I did use the free diapers regardless of brand in an attempt to save money, I am really trying to reduce our waste as a family so when purchasing diapers I have only considered eco-friendly brands which are significantly more expensive than generic brands. With a year plus of diaper time ahead of me, I ate my words and purchased some Bumgenius organic cotton cloth diapers to try. I actually found some very lightly used ones on Ebay (don't judge). Probably the most natural, eco-friendly and budget-friendly diapering option. When comparing to a monthly subscription to Honest diapers, this will save me over $750 this year.
2. Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Okay it's no secret that I LOVE The Honest Company. Everything they make smells sooo good, and every one of their products has the cutest patterns and packaging. I have been subscribing to their cleaning supplies bundle for about six months now and have really enjoyed it. However, with a focus on saving money in 2017, I am going to try my hand at making my own cleaning supplies. I actually bought a 5-gallon bucket of homemade laundry detergent from a fundraiser for $35, and it has been six months and it's less than a fourth of the way used. So assuming it will last us another 18 months that's $17 total in 2017 that I will be spending on laundry detergent. I looked up a homemade dishwasher detergent that will cost about $6 for the year. I can use ingredients I already have in the house (baking soda, vinegar, etc.) to make homemade all-purpose spray, toilet cleaner, etc. So even if I double the amount I think it will cost to clean my house with homemade supplies this year, we are looking at under $50 (WOW). When compared to the cleaning supplies subscription I have been buying, this will save me $400 this year. I realize that the subscription is more expensive than generic brand cleaning supplies, but I am pretty passionate about all-natural, eco-friendly, non-toxic, etc. products, so making my own should kill two birds with one stone.
3. Consolidated Trips
Right now to break up the day, I drive to Springfield (15 minutes away) at least once a day if not more. I split up my grocery shopping and toiletry shopping and house project shopping to different days and don't really plan my trips very well. I currently fill up my car about three times a month, twice for normal use and once for our monthly trip to St. Louis. In 2017 I am going to attempt to only drive to Springfield twice a week. Even if I have to drive there three times a week it should cut my normal gas usage in half, taking out the third fill-up each month. Over the year that should save me about $480 (one $40 tank of gas x 12 months). Plus I'm excited for the challenges of planning out my trips and finding fun things to do at home or in Ozark to break up our day. An added bonus - reducing our family's carbon footprint.
4. Meal Planning and Home Cooking
I currently meal plan on a semi-regular basis, but this is an area that I know I can beef up my efforts and do better. My goal is to reduce our grocery shopping bill by $15-$20 per trip (we shop once a week). I also have days when I'm just feeling lazy and we order pizza or eat out. Each time I let that happen we are easily adding $25-$30 to our monthly budget. I'm not saying we are never going to go out to eat in 2017 as a family, but if I can reduce that to once a month or once every six weeks, we'll be saving money for sure. I also plan to cook a vegetarian meal twice a week to save money on the meat. It will be fun to learn how to create a balanced meal without meat, and I'm excited to try it out. If I can reduce our overall food cost by just $20 a week, that's $1040 in savings for the year!
5. $25 Date Nights
Tom and I really enjoy going out together, and we try to go on a date every month. We probably spend about $40 on a date for food and dessert, sometimes more if it's a nicer restaurant. I think it would be fun for our monthly dates to give ourselves a $25 limit. We tend to stick to the same restaurants and the same entertainment, so this will save us money and force us to get creative and get out of our box a little more. Even with the conservative calculation of $40 per date, dropping it down to $25 will save us $180 over the year.
So altogether these are 5 things we will be doing in 2017 for a total savings of $2850. Which should cover my notebook of house projects. Yay :)
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