The value of a SAHM / Frugal tips

So I envision this becoming very long and maybe it's not the very best forum for what I would like to do, but it's what I've got so let's make it work. I STRONGLY desire feedback... this post will be useless without it! So your thoughts, your best tips, or links to your favorite blogs and sites are all most welcome.

Again we revisit the topic of being a SAHM (stay at home mom); specifically, in this time of so much financial upheaval, with so many people losing their jobs, is it really worthwhile to try and keep one potential wage earner at home?

First of all, this isn't to knock any mom who IS in the outside workforce, nor to suggest that she isn't being a good mommy if she is. My own mom (who is fabulous!) spent lots of time working due to our circumstances. I myself was a working mom for a few years- not really by choice, but making that sacrifice did enable Jeff to finish his education and get a good job that lets me stay home for the long run.

What I'd really like to focus on is how being a stay at home mom can actually be a financial plus for the family.

The first obvious benefit is that of not having to pay daycare or babysitting costs. Unless you have a super duper paying job, you will end up paying a big % of your income out for childcare.
Transportation cost- how much will it cost to get a second vehicle or even just gas and maintain the family's main vehicle to use it for your commute?
Wardrobe- Will you have extra wardrobe expenses to buy appropriate clothing for working outside the home.
Taxes- will the extra income put you at a disadvantage in income tax? Remember you don't get taxed on money you SAVE, only on money you earn! So learning how to SAVE $75 on your expenses is more valuable financially than is earning $75.
Psychological benefits- I know that it is hard (especially in our society when we are being told constantly that if we aren't earning then we aren't contributing) to "sit at home" when your husband is carrying the full load of providing on his own shoulders, but you need to consider what the extra stress of even a partime job will be on the family. Most of the time, even if both parents work, the mom is still the major worker at home. It just sort of happens this way. What happens is that we get a job to help our husband out, and end up being so stressed and overtired that he gets a grouchy wife. Mommy is the heart of the home. If Mommy is having a bad life, then so is everyone else. Regardless of the bon-bon rumor, most moms I know already have a full plate so adding more to it in the form of an outside job is really not good for the tone of the household.

So...what kind of things can we do to actively contribute to the financial success of the household? This is where you come in... I need your tips. Even if you think that everyone already knows it, post it. And as you read everyone else's tips, keep an open mind... not every tip will work for every household, but some of them might be just what you need.

I'll start.
We don't pay for TV (like cable or anything like that) we have a few shows we watch and we watch them online. You can watch Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc online, also HULU.com is free and has many TV shows and even some movies for free.
Netflix is not free, but if you add in the availability of all the "watch instantly" movies available online, it may work out to be much less expensive than renting from a movie store.

We don't have cell phones. Well, we DO have cell phones, but not a plan. We get prepaid minutes from Tracfone to use for trips. Yes, the airtime does expire eventually, but paying $20 every 4-6 months to renew the phone number and get more airtime is far cheaper than any monthly plan we have ever found. Also, I never just buy it, I always search for coupon codes and get lots of free minutes.

Speaking of, coupon codes. If you are buying online, ALWAYS search for coupon codes first. I almost always at least get free shipping, if not a % off. just type in the company you are ordering from and "coupon code" in the search engine and stuff comes up. the sites are coupon cabin, retail me not, coupon codes and a bunch more.

Ebay is only a good deal SOMETIMES. I did get several super deals for Christmas gifts (a $100+ Thomas Train set for $35 including shipping) but I have also many times seen things go way too high, like within $2 of retail price plus shipping, so make sure you shop around first, especially for books, try half.com first.


For about $35 plus supplies, you can take Wilton Cake decorating classes at your local craft supply store. By the time you finish level 1, you can definitely start doing kids birthday cakes for yourself and friends, by the time you do level 2, you (with practice!) should be able to start selling them. I am out of practice now, but when I only had Joey and Jessi, I was getting orders probably once a month for birthday and baby shower cakes, mostly from church. It's not a ton of money, but it helps.

I cloth diaper. There is some question about the cost of extra laundry, but in our experience, buying disposable diapers does cost more, at least for us.

Buying bulk is a good idea sometimes. I can buy a huge bag of pancake mix from Sams for far less than buying JIffy at the grocery store. I know there are plenty of recipes out there to make your own baking mix, but the huge bags of Krusteez brand at Sams is about the same as buying all the ingredients and mixing it myself.

We recently discovered that our produce market has FAR better quality beef than the grocery store does, and for much less $.

For our family, the biggest enemy of staying on grocery budget is not having dinner ready and thus "having" to buy convenience food or go out to eat. My biggest defense against that is having a stock of freezer meals on hand. Yes, we have a plan, but to be frank, I don't stay on plan really well. I've blogged before about doing up bulk freezer meals so I won't do it again, but it REALLY helps prevent those don't-have-anything-for-supper burger and pizza runs.

We do like eating out every so often, and for us, the most frugal way to accomplish this is our local Chinese take-out place. Guess what... I can make white rice here for pennies... and ask them to substitute the rice for another side dish.

I also want to mention the option of bartering. As a society, we don't generally think of this, but it really does work. I was able to do a LOT of bartering this past year for Christmas gifts. Also, think about bartering or trading services such as babysitting. I used to clean in exchange for chiropractic treatments.

Please use the comment section to add your own best hints and links! Share ideas for cheap dates, cheap or free entertainment, and of course, how to lower household bills.
Thanks!