Being a frugal mom is not easy. It takes a lot to decide what to buy and what not especially if you are a mom. But moms love to save money, and they would do so when they can. A study concludes that it takes around $245,000 to raise a child from birth to 18 years of age. Each month, they’ll buy things like groceries in bulk and will prefer spending only when necessary. If you are a frugal mom, the chances are that your priorities will be the opposite of what people would otherwise do i.e. spending. Moreover, frugal moms learn how to live within their financial means. If you want to be frugal, these tips will surely help you become one:

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1. Try Making Food At Home

It is easy to buy ready-made food from the store and feed your baby but has you tried making some at home? Think about how much buying the food from the store will cost you in the longer run. Also, packaged food lacks freshness as you don’t know for how long it stayed on the store shelf. Just buy the ingredients and prepare it at home. It will be fresh, healthy and nutritious. You can also make some extra and save it in containers for later use.

2. Use Coupons To Shop Online

Clothing consumes a significant part of your budget every month. Do it in a different way this time and buy clothes from online sites. A little research will reveal you plenty of online sites providing coupons and promo codes to purchase affordable clothes such as 10% off site wide Francesca’s coupon code and plenty of others. You need not worry about buying expensive clothes and accessories. It should be like this, "You'll likely receive useful deals on clothing and accessory by signing up on your favorite stores." That’s not all, as other deals like free shipping and clearance sales are just a mouse click away.

3. Free Playing Events For Children

Instead of buying expensive toys or paying for entertainment, frugal moms will look to take children to a local library. Why? Because they’ll have a great time listening to stories and educational games. Most libraries have a free children time for an hour or more. Children will also get to play on rides and do songs.

4. Turning Home Into Restaurant

Every weekend, frugal moms test their cooking skills and cook delicious cuisines for the family. Instead of spending $100s on a restaurant trip, moms will prefer turning their kitchen into one. They believe it is fun to play restaurant at home and it provides them quality food without spending much.

5. Compost The Leftovers

Frugal moms love composting. They’ll pile up leaves, garbage, clippings of grass and other garden waste and put them all to good use. Try composting your home waste into fertilizer. They’ll use it in the backyard and never runs out of supply as your garden will produce more of it in a week or so. The cycle continues and saves you a lot on buying expensive fertilizers for your garden. If you think you can make some for your garden at home, there is no harm in trying it.

6. Consume Less Power

Have a friendly frugal neighbor around? If so, ask her tips to consume less power. Most of the time, it is your AC, fridge, and freezer that is consuming more Power units. Keeping thermostat in check helps save a lot on power bills each month. Using programmable thermostats will also contribute to reduce the bill and keep your home nice and cool.

7. Selling Your Kid’s Outgrown

As a frugal mom, you’ll not let anything go wasted. Your children are growing fast, but their clothes cannot keep up with them. The frugal mom will do some research and look for places to sell their outgrown clothes at a good price. Sell the clothes and accessories for a reasonable price and put the money to good use, or just save it for the future. Create an account and after verification, get the clothes online and put them up for selling. Set the price, and your kid’s outgrown clothes will be sold in a while.

8. Making Craft And Toys At Home

If you are a housewife, the chances are that you often find plenty of time in hand. If so, it is time to put it to good use. Give your crafting skills a try and make cool toys from paper or old clothes. You can also decorate your home with home-made floral arrangements like Ikebana. As a frugal mom, you'll do all it takes to make your home look beautiful and attractive.

9. Buy Insurance

Sounds boring right? But it works, often when you need it most. Of course, life insurance is all about saving, not spending, so don’t be bothered if your frugality comes under pressure each time you pay a premium as it is this saving that will come in handy once you are old.

10. Do DIY Cleaning

It is true that cleaning can be costly, but a frugal mom will give her cleaning skills a try. It is quite easy to make your home cleaners at home, just buy ingredients like soda, tile washer, detergent, and acid. You can also buy a DIY cleaning guide that is readily available at any store near you. Make your cleaning stuff and don’t go out to buy those expensive cleaners. It will also save you from hiring that extra expensive carpet cleaning service again.

Be a super frugal mom and try these tips to become one today.