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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>OT - Cutting Costs?
slorey 06:28 PM 06-24-2013
Ok, looking for everyone's best suggestions for cutting costs. We are really struggling financially and I have lost all my dck's for different reasons, so looking for any advice to cut costs until I can find a job that generates an income! We have 3 kiddos to feed, clothe and provide for. Hubby is stressed to the max and I don't like the way things have been. Any ideas on how to generate money (legally) would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!
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Michael 07:19 PM 06-24-2013
We had an article on Money Saving Tips: https://www.daycare.com/story/money_saving_tips/

and more threads on cutting costs: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...ey+saving+tips
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Starburst 08:56 PM 06-24-2013
Here are some of my frugal tips:

1. always compare prices online for toys/equipment (anything really) before going to a store
2. always sign up for free club cards (they usually offer discounts or points where you can get a few $1s off your purchase) or coupon e-mails.
3. Try looking at your town to see if their are any $1/$0.99 stores, good will/salvation army, or any little non-chain 'ma and pa' stores where they don't charge as much as big chain stores
4. See if your town has a pantry (a local food shelter)
5. COUPONS! (ever seen 'extreme couponers'?)

Also, if you are looking for a new career look into going back to school. They have scholarships for moms going back to school and financial aid for lower income families and they will pay your tuition as well as some money to help with books and some cost of living. There are some ROP programs (depending on what your area offers and how often you go) that offer 6-months to 1 year program include dental assistant, vet assistant, culinary, cosmetology, and sometimes even medical assistants.
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NeedaVaca 05:10 AM 06-25-2013
Coupons! I have a thread in the off topic section that explains how to do it to maximize your savings! It saved my life, we were broke until I started couponing, now I can easily save $500 per month from just couponing I will bump my thread up so you can find it!
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Willow 05:54 AM 06-25-2013
Garage sale (both have one and go to others for what you need to cut costs on clothing in particular), slash your utilities (make sure everyone keeps lights off, unplug any unused appliances/electronics, ditch cable, cut your cell plans), sell a vehicle if you have multiples (no extra gas, maintenance or insurance),

I had lived "bare bones" as a single mother for so long I've continued on even now that I am remarried and my husband makes great money. If you learn to live on less, when you do have more you have waaaaaay more and end up with a hefty savings in no time flat.
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AfterSchoolMom 06:36 AM 06-25-2013
Stop any unnecessary services - cable, internet, Netflix, etc. If the kids want to watch movies you can usually check them out from the library for free.

Cut coupons and shop sales.


Do you have any allergies to animals? I don't have any DCK's in the summer, so I petsit at my house - it is super easy. I only take one pet at a time, I advertise on CL, and always get the money up front. I charge $30 per day for this, and I find that pet owners NEVER argue my rates. I stipulate that pets that come to me must be housebroken (and there's a clean up fee charged if they have accidents) and good with children.
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Lefse&Kids 06:38 AM 06-25-2013
Oh, we are in the same boat, sort of. Barely making ends meat, but I do have dck's. I'm trying to grow our business and provide a feasible lifestyle for my family. Hard work. Here is what helps us...

Commit to saying NO to the non-essentials - like the weekly donuts every Sunday, etc. It all adds up.

Do without, tough it out. Get back to basics. I am a vegan and used to buy the really good quality protein powders, patties, and etc to keep me healthy. I have since switched to PB sandwiches, bananas, and a basic vegan protein powder. (being vegan is actually cheaper than being a carnivore so it works :-) )

When we buy groceries we pick a few items on sale and buy enough to last till next payday. Our typical grocery list looks like this : black bean patties, broccoli patties, hamburger buns, 1 type of chips, 1 type of cookies, bananas, apples, peanut butter, honey, milk, almond milk, bolthouse fruit and vegetable purees/smoothies (my kids looovvve these).

We don't have a lot of variety, but that's what a budget does to ya.

If you have a Costco or Samsclub membership, use it. We have saved so much just by buying our grapeseed oil from there. (grapeseed is sooo much healthier than the other oils and is awesome for high temp cooking)

Hope this helps.

I do give myself a treat for my hardwork, but its something cheap....creamer. bottom line for us, if its non-essential don't get it unless you will lose your mind without it. So I get myself creamer at most 1 once a week, but mostly less frequently.
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butterfly 06:50 AM 06-25-2013
I'm a Dave Ramsey fan. I actually teach his classes in my area. You can go to his website and get a good overview of his teachings.

Our family was a in a very tight spot financially at one time. The best thing we ever did was take Dave's class.

We cut out everything possible that we didn't absolutely need. No cable, No cell phone (yes, I said no cell phone...), We scaled our grocery shopping way back and got creative with meals. We ate mostly fresh produce from our garden and items that were on sale or items the grocery store greatly price reduced since it was close to expiration. We got our kids clothes second hand, either by donations from friends or garage sales, thrift stores... My husband and I just didn't buy clothes for ourselves for a good year plus. We had a garage sale/listed items on ebay/craigslist to sell what we could live without. We shopped around for insurance, found better coverage at a lower price (for home and auto and life)We started paying cash for things we did need. When we only used cash, it was much easier to stay on budget. Once the money was gone, we were done shopping - simple. The library entertained us for a long time. free books/movies and they often had free community events there. We spent alot of time together as a family playing board games or riding bikes - we didn't have money to do anything else.

It's not a fun spot to be in, but looking back - I thank the good Lord for our struggles. It has made us more frugal and less materialistic and more aware of the struggles of others.


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jenn 07:03 AM 06-25-2013
Check out the Money Saving Mom website. She posts some great deals.
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blandino 08:02 AM 06-25-2013
Originally Posted by AfterSchoolMom:
Stop any unnecessary services - cable, internet, Netflix, etc. If the kids want to watch movies you can usually check them out from the library for free.
This is what we have done in the past. Cut lawn services, cable, etc. We were amazed how much we could cut back.
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crazydaycarelady 08:31 AM 06-25-2013
As for generating money - maybe you could extend your hours or do care on weekends?
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Laurel 08:59 AM 06-25-2013
Originally Posted by slorey:
Ok, looking for everyone's best suggestions for cutting costs. We are really struggling financially and I have lost all my dck's for different reasons, so looking for any advice to cut costs until I can find a job that generates an income! We have 3 kiddos to feed, clothe and provide for. Hubby is stressed to the max and I don't like the way things have been. Any ideas on how to generate money (legally) would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!
All the suggestions so far have been great. I agree.

Also find out if you qualify for food stamps (or whatever they call it nowadays, I think SNAP). You might think you don't but what would it hurt to apply and see? We did it for a short time years ago when my husband was out of work. Maybe you would qualify for WIC (Women Infants Children) if that still exists. As you can see I'm not current on those things.

Don't feel one bit bad either. That is exactly what they are for.

When we were really broke....well....that is what started my childcare business.

Laurel
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My3cents 10:12 AM 06-25-2013
Originally Posted by slorey:
Ok, looking for everyone's best suggestions for cutting costs. We are really struggling financially and I have lost all my dck's for different reasons, so looking for any advice to cut costs until I can find a job that generates an income! We have 3 kiddos to feed, clothe and provide for. Hubby is stressed to the max and I don't like the way things have been. Any ideas on how to generate money (legally) would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!
advertise for kids and get your business back and running again.
join the food program for your daycare- pays you to feed the kids.

Cut out everywhere you possibly can.
Don't eat out
let your entertainment be free-
yard,garage sales, craigslist, with a list of things that you need
coupons for only stuff you will use
cut down to one car if you are not already there
buy food that is on sale from a list of what you need
have gifts be home made or recycled or just a card
sell stuff you don't need

see if you qualify for assistance to give you a helping hand up
Best-
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slorey 02:20 PM 06-25-2013
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I am currently planning a sit down with my hubby to discuss finances and what we can cut down to. Should be an interesting meeting as we don't always see eye to eye when money is concerned Unfortunately, his income is too high to qualify us for any assistance. On paper, we have a decent income, but in reality, once the bills are paid, we don't really have much, if any left over. I am contemplating a career change so I have that added stress of deciding what to do. I will consider all suggestions and hope to get some more. I really do appreciate all the guidance
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