" Saving money in motherhood "

Hey momma!

Are you having a hard time saving money? Do you feel like the more you make , the more your bills take? Well this article is for you. In this economy , it's important for us to be smart with our money and save for rainy days. My mom always called me cheap growing up. I was always the one looking for a good deal and then I grew older. Moving out of my mom house , handling bills on my own. I really thought I had it going on. I would spend money on anything I wanted and didn't think twice about it. That is.... until I found myself living check to check. Ohhhh and here comes motherhood. What was once cool turned into a nightmare. I learned quickly that this wasn't the life I wanted for me or my family. I started doing research on saving money and where to start. Honestly, it was rough in the beginning. I would make all these excuses and have a negative opinion about it. Which brings me to my first point....

Change your mindset momma!

Everything starts in the mind. Growing up, all I knew was living check to check and though I always wanted different , I didn't know where to start. I started to think crazy thoughts and eventually they would spiral out of control. Do I have enough? If I don't spend it, then I would lose it right? What happens if I lose my job? and though all of this things could happen , I allowed the thoughts to control me. One day , I decided to write down all of my fears about money and ask myself. "Is any of this stuff true?"

"Do I have enough"- YES

"Did I lose all of my money" - NO

"Do I have a job" - YES

"So why are you allowing this to get in the way of your saving ?"I really had to be honest with myself. It's not always easy but this is the only way to face the fear of handling your money. From that day forward, I felt a lot more confident about managing my money.

Budget momma!

Listen, I love to splurge on fancy coffee. There was a time when I would get a coffee daily, maybe two. I remember listening to a podcast when the man talked about how much people spent on coffee alone. He discussed the costs and how more of us could invest that amount in stock. If that wasn't a reality check then I don't know what is. I calculated the amount I spent weekly and thought about all the ways I could invest that money in other areas. Ultimately, I decided to make coffee at home on most days saving me close to $40 a week. I guess it's safe to say I created a budget for my coffee splurges. Budgeting can start off a bit rocky but as you continue to do it, the confidence will come momma. Take advantage of S.L.C's free budget worksheet today. Download or print and begin to manage your money better. You got this!

Look for the deals !

I am definitely the person to grocery shop at three different stores in a day. Most days I look at the store app beforehand and search for the deals. If it's something I need, I clip the coupon. If I don't find certain items on the app , I grab a sales paper. Chances are I have a grocery list in hand as well, so checking for items come easy.

This is just a few things that I do to save

money. I have friends that get coupons in the mail. You can take advantage of those as well. Whatever suits you best, do it. You would be surprised by how much money you can save on a good deal momma!

Automated Saving and Online banks

There was a time when I needed(emphasis on needed) to have my funds withdrawn automatically to a savings account. If I seen it, I would spend it. Now that I have a little more discipline lol it's better but honestly, I find this to be effective for my household. It's so tempting to spend money that we see. If we could avoid that, then why not? This is something that worked for me and still works. Also, I want to suggest opening an online bank such as Ally financial. This bank allows you to have an account without a debit card. Yes, you can transfer money in and out, it just takes time. Enough time for you to decide if you really need it or not. Again these are options to consider but always do what works best

for you momma.