Mom knows best – we all say this in our times of need like a mantra. True enough moms know most things – food, life, money – and how to deliver the same well at the right moments.
Most mothers are stay at home moms be it by choice or not. Being a stay at home mom means their primary source of income becomes their husband, who are typically the only breadwinners. So, mothers everywhere have devised many clever tips to save up and maximize what money they have.
These are few tricks that worked successfully and saved a lot of money for your moms. And guess they still are feasible and work for us. Enjoy these simple tricks that will save up a ton.
1. Buying in bulk
It is a well known fact that buying in bulk is most of the times cost effective. Moms may not exactly know the science behind it they sure did know that buying in bulk meant getting it for cheap. We call it purchasers having high bargaining power but back then it simply meant your mom could actually save up a few so that you could get that one extra candy when she came back home.
Buying in bulk still stands as a good way to save money. We can buy things like instant noodles, biscuits, toilet papers, and more in bulk.
2. Bargain Ninja
You might feel why does your mom enjoy bargaining with the vendor for Rs.10. Its because saving Rs.10 was lot back in the days. The value of money may have gone down and the inflation up but she still fights for that Rs.10. She is a woman of habits will work to save whatever she knows she can.
This is another something we should learn from your mom. Shopkeepers have a very high margin on their items, we should learn to bargain at least a little if not totally like your mom.
3. Home Garden
You might have seen this. Moms everywhere have a small little patch of home garden where she grows her veggies. They have a styrofoam farming set up in their kausi, literally known as Karesa Bari. This saved a lot of money and gave them some time to relax and enjoy seeing their hard work grow.
It’s still applicable today because the prices of the vegetables today are off the charts and you will get good organic veggies out of it.
4. DIY
DIY is now all the hype at the moment among youngsters. But it is a modified version of what our mothers did. You need not buy containers to store your beans and masala, they came from the various powdered drinks like Horlicks. The recipes for the pickles you so dearly loved were all homemade. They even made DIY cushions right at home.
DIY can save a person a lot of money, just repurpose any product that has lost its value to make it valuable again.
5. Selling unused and recyclables
One person’s garbage is another’s prize. We hear this and forget it, our mothers on the other hand used this mantra. They have sold off old papers and glass bottles for money. Because why not sell it if there are people who want it. They were saving the environment while they made money.
We can sell the books we don’t need or read anymore, recycle plastic bottles today to earn some and save some.
6. Use of Change
Coins for us are just something we find in different corners of our house or different pockets in our clothes. As children, we were handed coins for most stuff while our parents kept the big money for other purchases. She knew the value of those coins even when we didn’t.
Try collecting all those coins and they will make up at least a hundred rupees. Keep a tall jar for all the coins you have and get it changed at the bank when it fills up.
When you talk to your mom, time and again she might have mentioned how your spending habits are crazy. She also must also talk about how she managed to keep it all together in so little money and you in awe wondered how your mom managed in so little money.
Well these are some tried and tested ways she has kept it all together back in days and these evergreen methods still lend a hand in saving your money.
Are there any other tips your mom has that are not mentioned in the list above? Do leave us a message in the comment section below, we would also like to know them.
Cover Phograph: http://blogs.worldwatch.org.
