As a stay-at-home mom, living on one income means I have to be extra intentional about every dollar we spend. Last month, I challenged myself to cut costs without sacrificing the quality of our family’s life. The goal? Save at least $500 in 30 days.
I was shocked by how quickly the savings added up once I focused on small, daily changes.
In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly what I did to save $500—all strategies you can start today.
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1. I Stopped Grocery Shopping Without a Plan
Before this challenge, I’d pop into the grocery store several times a week, often leaving with things I didn’t need, especially if my kids came along 🙄 .
This month, I committed to meal planning and shopping once a week.
Here is my free weekly meal plan. No emails. Just free.
Here’s what I did:
- Checked store flyers and built my meal plan around sale items.
- Used apps like Fetch and Ibotta for coupons and cashback.
- Stuck to a list—no impulse buys.
Savings: $150 in one month just by eliminating extra trips and sticking to sale items.
2. I Embraced the Pantry Challenge
I decided to use up what we already had instead of buying new ingredients. That meant digging into the back of my pantry for canned goods, frozen veggies, and dry pasta.
The result?
We cut our grocery spending by another $100 by skipping a week’s shopping trip entirely and I used up food that was about to expire. Heres to zero waste!
3. I Made Sure We Used All of Our Subscriptions
We were paying for two streaming services, and an app I forgot I even had. I canceled the app immediately and reassessed if we used our streaming services.
Savings: $20 in one month.
4. Sold Unused Items Around the House
I listed toys my kids had outgrown and baby items my son has outgrown on Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark.
I set aside an hour each weekend for this and made:
- $50 from kids’ clothes
- $80 from baby gear
Total extra income: $130 in one month.
5. I Switched to Generic Brands
Instead of buying name-brand cereal, snacks, and cleaning supplies, I bought store-brand versions. Honestly, no one in my family even noticed the difference.
Savings: $20 in one month.
6. I Reduced Utility Costs
I focused on easy, no-cost changes:
- Turned off lights and electronics when not in use.
- Did laundry in cold water.
- Adjusted the thermostat by 2 degrees.
- Called my car insurance and switched to a cheaper option
It may sound small, but our monthly electric bill dropped by $35.
7. I Limited Takeout and Coffee Runs
Instead of ordering pizza on busy nights, I raided the freezer for easy dinner backups like frozen left-overs from the months previous meals.
For coffee, I used my coffee machine at home instead of hitting the drive-thru. This last one was the most difficult because your girl loves Dunkin’.
What really helped was taking my premade coffee with me. I have a Yeti coffee mug and it is seriously a life saver. I highly recommend investing in a yeti coffee mug.
This cup is the real deal. It’s durable, easy to clean and comes in so many cute colors. Personally, I went with red.
Savings: $50 – $150+
The Final Breakdown: How I Reached $500
- Grocery planning: $150 saved
- Pantry challenge: $100 saved
- Subscription cuts: $20 saved
- Selling unused items: $130 earned
- Switching to generics: $20 saved
- Utility bill savings: $35 saved
- Limiting takeout/coffee: $50-150+ saved
Total: $500 in savings & extra income
Takeaways: You Can Do This Too
The key to saving money as a stay-at-home mom is intentionality. You don’t have to cut out everything you enjoy—you just have to be strategic. Start with one or two changes and build from there.
If I can save over $500 in a month without feeling deprived, you can too.
