Friday Favorites: Ways To Save The Budget

I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals today to share my favorite household money saving items that help save on the budget! Now that I stay home with The Brothers, I am always looking for ways to cut down on the bills and sometimes spending little to save a lot is key for us. I hope that you can find one or two of our favorite was to save and start saving in your own home!

Wool Dryer Balls

I was so skeptical of these baseball sized dryer balls but at about $16 I figured they were worth a shot after reading the positive reviews. Where I am not cutting our electric bill in half I am cutting our dryer time down on average by 1/4 and I am not spending money on dryer sheets. Additionally we do not use any chemicals with our laundry because of Shane's sensitive skin so I tossed dryer sheets out of our hose years ago. I do about 7-8 loads of laundry a week (keep in mind we cloth diaper and Brian washes his uniform at home) so that means that I am cutting down on dryer time by almost 2 full dryer cycles and because they also fluff and soften your laundry you save on products such as dryer sheets.

Nest

You will cringe at the $249 price tag when you look at this. You might thing this is money down the drain and really us just being to lazy to get out of bed at night to adjust the heat/AC of our home but this little wireless thermostat does save you on average about 20% of your energy bill. With features such as an away setting, the ability to program when you heat and when you cool your home, and a program that learns you behavior and needs then adjusts on its own you are saving. We have had ours just over two years and already saved what we invested.

Mint

This really does not count as an "item" but this app is the best program we have ever found. Brian discovered this easy way for us to keep track of our spending and communicate as we track our monthly bills. One way to save money...not spend it! If we know what we have already spent on groceries, household items, and family fun we are able to better plan and make choices to stay in budget. If you don't have this app yet I highly suggest getting it and start budgeting!

Essential Oils

As opposed to getting sick and spending more on medical bills we try and be proactive about our health and one way to do that is by using essential oils. I am still quite new to natropathic remedies but I did get sick a lot less this year but sleeping better with lavendar oil, disinfecting with lemon oil, and using Theieves as an immunity boost. We still use prescritions and go see a doctor when we are sick. In no way does this replace the care I recieve from a physcition and I still give my kids amoxacillian when our Pedicitirican writes me a prescrition but I try and use this as preventative care.

Homemade Cleaners

Try not and cringe to much. Making my own cleaners has been easy with the help of IHeart Organizing blogger Jen. I have saved so much money making just a couple of my own cleaning supplies such as goo gone and multi purpose cleaner. I do still buy toilet cleaner because nothing gets my toilet quite as clean but when it comes to what I wash the windows, floors, and counters with its natural and homemade and cost me pennies to make! Click on the link above and you can read all about it as well as get the recipes I use.

Cloth Diapers

I wrote about how my family cloth diapers are you can read about it here. We used the same cloth diaper stash with both your boys and we have saved hundreds of dollars!

Freezer Jars

We do our best to not throw food out and cook/buy in bulk. These glass jars are freezer safe and have saved us a lot with groceries, not purchasing disposable freezer bags, and being able to buy in bulk. With a small investment you can save time and money!

LED Light Bulbs

Another energy saving purchase just like the Nest, these bulbs use about 85% less energy and last about 20 years so you are buying less bulbs and spending less lighting your home.