Money Saving Hacks | How to Save Money as a Homemaker

Saving money is easier than earning more. Damming the flood of expenses is a mind game. Here are the Money Saving Hacks that I use to support my frugal mindset to save money as a homemaker that you can easily do too!

I have gathered these Money Saving Hacks to encourage you to find the little streams of money that are flooding out from your home. The idea is to take a look at your life and home at the moment and notice the little and simple ways you can save money by living frugally, resourcefully, and creatively. These are all hacks that I myself have used at some point in my life, some are that I am using all the time, some only certain moments when it was needed. Feel free to take this post as your inspiration to find the ways that suit you and your family members to take that easy step to tweak your family finances.

Start with small and easy things and add up slowly.

1. Reuse instead of single-use

Reusing saves you both money and time. Anything that lasts longer than one use is a win. You wouldn’t buy a new toaster after every use right? It sounds silly. It would cost a lot. But think about things at your home that are not very expensive but are used often. It is maybe one cent now but think about using a new 365 times a year… You do the math and use common sense. It’s the simple things that will do the big savings in the end.

Tips on how to start to save money as a homemaker with the easy swaps

• Coffee filter. Find a washable coffee filter or use a French Press. 
• Dishcloth. Look for a reusable dishcloth that is made of bamboo or hemp. They are both very absorbent and less stinky when wet for a longer time. I use the Bamboo Dishcloth by Finnish Kierti. I have two. One is in use and the other one I toss in with laundry to wash up and rotate. Simple. 
• Paper wipes we haven’t actually used for years, instead we use cloth wipes with our toddler (wiping those little fingers and mouth in the kitchen) and I wash those with laundry now and then.
• Clingfilm. Use beeswax wrap or boxes instead of cling film. You can find beeswax wraps in different sizes or DIY ones with the instructions of Farmhouse on Boone. 
• Diapers. Try cloth diapers instead of disposable ones. I have found that even sometimes used it saves a bunch of money. Check Facebook Marketplace for thrifted ones or find your local Cloth Diaper Facebook groups.

2. Borrowing instead of owning

There’s no shame in frugal living, it is a smart way to live. When you are at the point of buying something stop for a moment to think the ways that you could get it for free. Borrowing and exchanging are both good options.

Tips on how to start to save money as a homemaker with borrowing

• Instead of magazine subscriptions check what your local library has. Download the FREE Libby App, and get free access to millions of ebooks and audiobooks too! You just need to connect with your local library card. 
• Borrow as well the children’s books from the public library. The selection is more comprehensive and you can change the books to new ones when they lose interest. No need to buy new all the time.
• Change your audiobook subscriptions to free channels like LibriVox, free public-domain audiobooks, that are read by volunteers from around the world. And if you have a good voice and some time, well, you can read there too! 
• Does your mom have a sewing machine? Ask to borrow it. Do you have a vegetable spiralizer that you barely use? Give it or loan it to someone who is just starting and is interested. The exchange economy makes good friends and the threshold to ask for favors and help decreases over time.

3. Repair & maintain instead of throwing away or letting dust

Take a look at the things you own at the moment. Make a mental note if something needs to be repaired immediately and do so. The other ones take one at a time to get in the habit of maintaining your belongings to keep them in good condition. Value the things that you own. And if someday you want to sell your old bike you can ask for a higher price than when you have just left it to dust. If you don’t use something sell it. You get more money and more space.

Tips on how to start to save money as a homemaker with repairing

• Repair the clothes you own when they are torn up. If you wait too long they will be irreparable. Trust me. The smaller hole in your pants is easier to fix and the result is neater than trying to fix a bigger tear.
• Take care of your shoes. When you buy, buy quality – they last longer and can be fixed. I have been walking only with Ecco’s shoes for maybe twenty years, and they do last long and are easy and inexpensive to repair by shoemakers.
• Do at least yearly a checkup on your car, bike, baby trolley, or whatever you drive, and take time to clean well add oils, and check the gear. It is cheaper to maintain than let one problem cause another bigger problem.

4. Be intentional instead of unplanned

When you plan ahead you have fewer options to step out of your food budget. With planning you have also less food waste which is money in the trash. Directly. Keep your eyes open in your kitchen to what you could do differently or use later to do something else. Follow your spending habits in grocery shopping and what goes into the compost. Buy or make less that next time. Freeze the extra meal if you know that you won’t be eating it the next day. Do not make too tight monthly budget, that will just make the mind game harder when you overstep. Make it realistic and find ways to save simple ways to get financial security.

Tips on how to start to save money as a homemaker with intentionality

• Buy bulk food that you use often. For example, spices, rice, or other dry storage items are way cheaper in bulk when you get the lowest prices per kilo.
• Buy whole foods instead of ready-made. Takes more time, but you get more food with less money when cooking from scratch.
• Reduce food waste. Start with the little things. If you brew too much coffee or infuse too much tea (or Glogg!), instead of throwing it just pour it into a glass bottle and store it in the fridge to enjoy an iced version later like an iced coffee. If you have only the small inconvenient bits of cheese left, grate them. Then roll in a bit of potato flour to avoid them sticking together, and freeze. Now you have grated cheese ready for you in the freezer.
• Bake your own bread, even once in a while, it makes the difference. If your bread has gone dry, don’t throw it away, tear it into smaller pieces, let it dry completely, and buzz with a food processor some bread crumbs for cooking.
• If you have a hard time staying on the food budget consider meal planning for some time to get on track of your monthly expenses.

More money-saving tips for grocery stores and on frugality

• Preserving the Garden Harvest: Simple Approaches to Long-Term Food Storage | Melissa K. Norris in Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast
• One Month Meal Plan: How to Make Your Own – Contentment with Simplicity 
• How to Make a Sourdough Starter (Easy and Simple) – Stretch and Folds 
• Frugal homemaking tips | Ideas for saving money every day – The Everyday Farmhouse 

5. Do it yourself or thrift instead of buying new

Sometimes it makes more sense to make it yourself than buying a new one. You are the best expert in your own household. Think about what ingredients or materials you have already and whether you could use them in a new way. Paint them, change the covers, dye the fabric, or just move to another place to freshen up the room. Use things like wine boxes and make easily new furniture with almost no cost to you. Use thrift stores and your creativity and in the long run you will see the big impact at the end of the month.

Get more inspiration from my fellow bloggers to save money as a homemaker

• DIY Leave-In Conditioner – Our Oily House
• DIY Laundry Soap – Mollys Suds Style Recipe – Unhurried Homemaker 
• How to DIY this simple citrus-scented vinegar! – City Folk Homestead
• How to make a beautiful home on a budget! – The Homey Lif3
• Ikea Hacks blog posts How to make the mass products into slow-craft – Hemmafix med Monica Karlstein (in Swedish)

6.  Sustainable choices instead of quick fixes

We tend to be in a hurry to fix things. When doing quickly we miss some inexpensive opportunities. Invest in time and sustainability to get those cents saved. I have said it before and I now repeat it. Keep your eyes open. Think about what you buy the most often. How could you reduce the cost by making it or a part of it by yourself, or by choosing a more sustainable or low-cost option to make it last longer so that you can buy it less frequently?

Tips on how to start to save money as a homemaker choosing sustainability

• Instead of rubber bands use yarn or mini cloth pins to keep the bags closed.
• Liquid dish soap. You basically pay extra for the package and the water. Choose a cube of dish soap or make it yourself even (link below)
• Switch a liquid shampoo to a shampoo bar.

DIY tutorials to take the next step

• Homemade Bar Dish Soap – Heart’s Content Farmhouse 
• Simple Shampoo Bar Whiteout Lye – Parks Elevated Design 

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Get more inspiration from my other homemaking posts