I’m a little obsessed with saving money. I monitor my account balances almost hourly, and I’m always scheming of ways to either save more money or make more money so I can save more money. (It’s okay if you had to re-read that last sentence. I did too

My latest thing? Signing up for all kinds of newsletters and e-mail alerts.

Go to any of your favorite stores, whether it’s Target, Old Navy, Carter’s, JCPenney, etc, I’m guessing they have some way of e-mailing coupons to you. (P.S. Sign up for a baby registry at Target – they’ll send you coupons for the first year of the kid’s life, saving you money on formula, diapers, and baby stuff.)

Go the the manufacturer’s sites – Pampers, Huggies, Gerber – and sign up for their coupons. Free baby stuff awaits!

Just read this quick tip over in the comments section of ZenHabits. Want to save money on your grocery bill? Write your grocery list on last week’s receipt so you can see how much something usually costs, and if you’re getting a deal. Brillant!

Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but having a clear direction of where you’re headed financially is pure bliss.

My kids are my reason I get up every morning to go to work, why I budget, why I save, why I’m trying to invest. I realize I’m starting out with less by having my children earlier in my career, and I guess in some way I’m trying to make up for that.

I’ve been pretty successful so far. Since starting my current position in January, I’ve been able to save almost $10,000. That’s not bad for a 22-year-old, right? A lot of the lessons I’ve learned have been through trial and error. Let me share what I’ve discovered so far.

1.) Get a piece of paper and write down everything you spend. Or pay for everything using your debit or credit card and track your purchases online. You can’t save money if you don’t know how much you’re spending and how much is available for you to save. Do this for about three months and you’ll get a pretty good idea of your expenses.

2.) Once you know what you’re spending money on, calculate your income. Maybe you have one or two jobs, or maybe you have a side hustle (see my latest post on side hustles from last week) that brings in additional income. Tally up how much you bring in and subtract your expenses from that. Get a good idea on how much you have left over each month.

3.) Once you know your income, your expenses, and your surplus (here’s hoping you have a surplus!), put things on autopilot. If your cell phone bill is the same every month, have it automatically deducted. Have your check direct deposited and a certain amount (perhaps all of your surplus) deposited into savings.

4.) Most importantly: PAY YOURSELF FIRST. If you wait until all your other bills are paid off, and then you decide to save some money, you’ll probably end up saving less than if you made paying yourself a priority. Decide on a certain amount that HAS TO go into savngs each paycheck and then pay it first.

5.) Evaluate ways to save more. Once you’ve determined how much you can save, try to save 10% more, just to challenge yourself. Say you save $100 each month – after a few months of successfully meeting that goal, bump it up to $110 a month. Look at your expenses – do you need to go out to dinner every Friday? How about if you get your hair done every three weeks instead of every two? Start slow and see how much you can save.

6.) Research different savings accounts. You don’t have to settle for a dismal 0.5% interest rate anymore. Open an account with an online bank, such as ING Direct or HSBC, and get rates up to 3.5%. It isn’t much, but it’s enough to motivate you to keep saving.

So what do you all think? How are you trying to save money?

When I first found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I immediately went to the mall looking for maternity clothes.

What.a.ripoff. I saw $70 maternity tops, $100 jackets, $85 jeans. Who has that kind of money to drop on clothes that are guaranteed not to fit in a few months? I know I don’t.

Every pregnant woman wants to do the seemingly impossible – look cute while gaining weight like crazy. Your belly expands, your boobs are enormous, your thighs are like jello. Sometimes a cute top or summer dress is all you need to make yourself feel better.

What I discovered is that you can make a maternity outfit out of anything. Bottoms are a bit harder, but generally, four rules apply:

1) Empire waists are your friend. Your very best friend. Empire waists are so darn flattering for really skinny people. For the rest of us, they make you look pregnant – which is EXACTLY why pregnant women should wear them. It’s a pretty simple concept really. Also, buying shirts with empire waists allows you to shop anywhere versus the slim pickings at the maternity clothes store. Take this cute white top from New York & Company. You could definitely wear this well into your seventh or eighth month and the bonus is that you could wear it again after you have the baby. Well worth the $32 bucks.  

2) Drawstrings are your friend. Your very best friend. I bought all these cute drawstring skirts from H&M for about $10 each and let me tell you, it was the best move ever. I’m a real advocate of wearing clothes before, during and after pregnancy. Drawstring bottoms allow you to do just that.

3) If the weather permits, wear a dress everyday. Okay, so this kind of fits with #1, but dresses with empire waists are a godsend. (Or is that Godsend? I dunno.) Anyway, get a empire waist dress and you’re good to go. The bonus? Too many to name: You put the focus on your boobs (usually your best feature at this point), hide the added fat around your hips and thighs, and you don’t have to worry about finding a matching top and bottom. Throw on one piece and go.

4) Accessorize like mad. Cute flats are an absolute must. I found these cute $40 Kenneth Cole sandals and I rock them every day. The gemstones are a bit much, but I realize that they detract from the fact that my ankles are disappearing so I wear them anyway. Any little accessory that you find that makes you feel better about your changing body, buy it!

So what about you? What have other young mommies done to stretch a buck while maternity clothes shopping? Leave your tips in the comments section.

While I’m not exactly living paycheck to paycheck, I don’t exactly get the appeal of spending tons of cash on my kids clothes. Why buy $40 shoes for a newborn? Or even for a kid under 5?

As my daughter is getting older and I can’t just toss a onesie on her and go, I have to be conscious about how much I’m spending on her clothes. A co-worker with three babies of her own hipped me to Once Upon A Child.

Now I’ve seen the cutesy looking signs hanging outside the store, but I had never ventured inside and didn’t even know what the store sold.

Then one day after my co-worker told me about it, we went in.

Oh.my.

I think I found heaven.

Rows and rows of kids’ clothes. Cute summer dresses, Ralph Lauren polos, Old Navy khakis – basically JUST.MY.STYLE. 

And the kicker is that the clothes were literally half the price they would have been if I had gone to the individual stores to buy them. True, the clothes are used, but I toss all my daughter’s clothes in the washer before she wears them for the first time, anyway.

This is by far the best mommy tip I’ve ever received. Check out their website and find a location near you to join in on the savings! Let me know how your shopping trip went!