[USER]

I’m trying to cut costs by baking my own bread. I’m also making our own snacks instead of buying prepackaged junk.

I menu plan and I’m very careful with my spending, but I’m still so stressed about finances.

[Lois]

So. There are opportunities to clean Airbnbs. An App called Turno.
You must pay 15 dollars for a background check. You write a brief intro about yourself.

You choose what radius you would work.
You’ll get a notice about an offer. Generally, cleanings are done between 10-4.

Sundays have a lot of opportunities.
If not that, see if a neighbor needs occasional cleanings.

Perhaps you know another woman with a child and she works at night.
You could set up a cot and make money while sleeping.

I know you are exhausted. Everyone has there limits.
Please be unafraid to ask for help.

Use food pantries. FB has sites that have your area name and Buy Nothing. You can make asks and respond when you see something being given away.

Yes, cooking from scratch is great but you might be overlooking opportunities because you are so hyper focused on old school ways.
You just need a break.

[Bethany]

If you’re doing your best, don’t beat yourself up. Continue to utilize sales, coupons, free events, the library and sale things you no longer use on poshmark, ebay, mercari, etc.

[Aurora]

stressing about finances is a habit since I grew up with parents that stressed about $. I did hit my debt free goal last year in May and I still find myself stressed about money.

I was so happy for a few days but then I started worrying again. SMH

[Amy]

We spend $135/person on groceries for the month, currently 2 here. I normally make 1-2 snacks per week and keep some in the freezer so we can always rotate things out, currently its protein balls which taste like cookie dough.

[Karen]

Something I’ve found that gives me “extra” funds is rewards apps. For instance, my favorite right now is Fetch.

I scan EVERY receipt I get from my pets’ vet to gas to restaurants (where I spend other reward points)—anywhere.

It takes some time to accumulate, but very little time to snap the receipts.

I’ve just received a $25 Visa card for what I’ve snapped in the last 3 months.

[Lisa]

Are there supplemental resources available in your community? Food banks, women’s programs like WIC, SNAP, free/reduced school lunch, etc can really give a little space in a budget to create emergency savings (1-2 months of expenses).

I grew up with a single parent and low income. We would trade childcare with other families so no funds were needed for that.

If you’re renting, can you sign a lease locking in your monthly rent rate for a longer period with a discount?

Reducing food waste (if there is any) can be huge. When you peel or cut up vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, lemon, cilantro, etc), put the scraps in a plastic bag in the freezer for future broth.

I roast a whole chicken on Sunday. Then on Tuesday put the carcass with veggie scraps in a pot for stock. Then I made soup with it and freeze any leftovers.

[Annette]

Unfortunately, the only two ways to resolve money issues is to reduce spending or increase income.

Perhaps it is time to look into a side hustle of some sort.

[Johnson]

Where is your written budget
What do you make and how many people are you supporting

[Kristi]

For baking your bread, you can buy flour (grocery store) and yeast (Amazon) in bulk and save a lot on each loaf.

I also use a bread machine to make my dough – I find them in thrift stores or garage sales for under $20 (but they are big).

You can make your own pizza dough, too! It costs about $9 for our family of 3 to eat homemade pizza and we’re big eaters

We also skip breakfast (we are all adults). Cereal prices have gotten outrageous. Can you cut down on your cell phone bill?

Subscription services? Auto/home insurance premiums? That’s something I’m about to call about!

[Elizabeth]

I feel you. I don’t have any advice, but I’ve been shopping only sale items.

That’s what we eat that week. We’ve started baking our own cookies so we don’t buy any sweets from the store.

[Barb]

A side hustle won’t work for you unless you can work from home. Then it would be extremely difficult. I’ve been a single mom and I know where you’re coming from.

If you pay for daycare, see if you qualify for subsidized daycare from the state.

Sometimes there is also a rent subsidy.

[Elizabeth]

I know where your coming from, I was there. I was a single mom, we were very tight for money. I made laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, cooked from scratch. Homemade bread, pizza and muffins were life savers.

Noodles are hearty when homemade, breakfast for dinner is cheap and a treat.

Cook big batches and freeze everything. Meeting other families in the same situation helps.

Trading and bartering with each other. Put a coin jar in the kitchen, a year of coins helps off set Christmas gifts. Shop second hand, you would be surprised what you find.

We started homesteading due to our circumstances. It was a frugal, simple lifestyle and the children thrived in it. Do you have a local food pantry?

Some of them have very high income guidelines. You got this, things will get better.

[Stacey]

One single mom I know found a Chinese restaurant that wanted delivery drivers. She took her son with her (still does sometimes) to deliver.

With the owners knowledge and permission. As side money.

[Sandy]

You will definitely save money by baking and avoiding prepared foods… You can go to the library and get cookbooks.. To get ideas and of course recipes

[Cely]

Seems the increase in cost of living is affecting everyone. I am concerned also. I found that cooking soups with beans (lentils, various beans – and veggies) saves us alot of money.

Cooking from scratch save alot. Even making your own pet food saves alot.

My pups and cats like it also. I still buy high quality try pet food, but add some home made toping to make it taste better.

I have selected a job close to home so gas bill is much lower. Learning to make things like bread, yogurt, drinks at home saves alot of money.

I cut my isp cost to the lowest I could find. Looking around to save on cell phone cost. It all starts to add up even if each one is not alot in itself.

I am also trying to learn a skill that I can on my own when I am free. This way I can control my finances and generate enough money to always keep the basics under me.

So instead of getting another job, I I use my job to pay for basics, and I am working on generating income independently.

This way I can bring in sufficient income to cover basics if I have a job or not.

[Jackie]

Think about this: for some reason we are all convinced we need snacks several times a day. Personally I think it’s because of food company advertisements.

But I very much remember that I grew up without any snacks at all. We had 3 meals and that was it. And some of those meals were no big deal.

My husband and I only have one meal a day. And we each have a very small snack about twice a day.

It has saved us a lot of money.

[Virginia]

Pantry storage and frugal food prep skills are a wonderful savings account.

Can you separate out $5 or $10 from each grocery shop for staples you can store away?

Watching staples build up can be soothing when you’re stressed about money

[Author]

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