I’m not sure about you, but I know that for me, money is tight being a single parent.  Over the years I’ve found a few tricks, saving me thousands of dollars over the course of a year.

• CUT THAT CORD!  I’m ashamed to say, this was probably one of the scariest decisions I made!  But it was also where I saved the most money per month.  I had a major satellite provider but didn’t have any of the special channels, and I was still paying well over $200 per month for service, which translates to over $2400 per year.  In comparison, I opted for all 3 of Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix.
  • Amazon Prime $119 per year and an Amazon Fire Stick which you can get HERE
  • Netflix $10.99 per month
  • Hulu $39.99 per month.  This is for the Hulu Live option, which gives me all of my favorite channels live so I can still watch my favorite shows like Ghost Adventures and #LivePD.

This comes to $60.90 per month, or $500.79 per year, which translates to a savings of $158.26 per month, or $1899.21 per year!

I have to admit, I was a little concerned that I would miss some of my favorite shows.  What I quickly learned, is that I really only have about 6 shows I really like.  And if they aren’t offered free on any of these, I could always buy a new season for typically $15.00 to $25.00.  So in September when American Horror Story comes out, I can purchase the season on Amazon for $24.99!  The whole season!  I’m still saving a ton of money even if I add on a handful of series seasons.

• ANNUAL PASSES
  • Your local Zoo – I don’t know what I would have done without my zoo passes!  The passes paid for themselves after 2 uses.  Tight on money but can’t stay in the house another day?  Pack a lunch and head to the zoo!  While little kids enjoy doing the same thing over and over, I suggest not seeing all of the animals every time you go.  Break it up over the trips, so that you stay engaged as well.  Even though my children are older now, I still hold on to the Zoo passes.
  • Museums – Same idea as the zoo, we had annual passes to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for years.  The kids had their favorite exhibits, plus the Museum was always adding new content and exhibits to keep it exciting.  And many cities often a multitude of museums to choose from; Nature and Science, Children’s, Art, even Botanic Gardens.
• FREE DAYS
  • I debated if I should include these, but decided to in the end.  Your local zoo and museums will typically offer free days once a month or so.  While free is wonderful, sometimes the tradeoff isn’t.  Be prepared for zero parking and huge crowds.  If you have a calm demeanor, then go for it.  Personally, driving around trying to find parking and feeling overwhelmed with so many people, isn’t worth free to me, even when money is tight.  I personally prefer to get the passes and avoid the free days.
• THRIFT STORES ARE YOUR FRIEND
  • Not all thrift stores are created equal.  Each one will have a different selection, so visit the stores located in higher-end neighborhoods.  And remember, not everything you find in a thrift store is used.  Goodwill often carries brand new items from stores such as Target.  Most of their overstock inventory ends up in a Goodwill at one point or another.  And learn which days are sale days.  Thrift stores typically have something like half of on Saturdays, or discounts on certain colored tags that are at the end of their rotation.
• ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING
  • This one not only saves me money, it also saves me time!  Most grocery stores are getting into the online shopping, where you order your groceries online, they do the shopping for you, and then you either pick it up, or some even deliver.  My local King Soopers charges $4.99 for this service.  But in return, I get 90 minutes of my day back not having to shop.  They also take the regular paper coupons, plus they offer additional internet coupons not available to people who shop in the store.  I also save by not throwing in a bunch of food that is not on my list for the week that I don’t need, nor did I plan for.  I pick my menu for the week, create my grocery shopping list, and order my items.  It’s so much easier to skip the extras when they’re not staring you in the face!  So between my time, the coupons, and not having additional food that I don’t need, the $4.99 is well worth it to me.
• HONEY
  • So this actually works.  I was totally skeptical.  It’s a free chrome browser extension.  If you ever purchase anything online, you’ve got to install this extension.  The way it works is crazy simple.  You shop just as you normally would.  You’ll see the Honey logo appear when it finds coupon codes, or a cheaper price somewhere else.  Here is an example of what you’ll see.  This amazing Serum can run upwards off $20 in the store.  On Amazon, I searched and found it for $16.84.  Honey popped up and said I could save another $3.39 if I buy it from a different vendor.

When you hover over it, this is what pops up, giving you the chance to swap out the product.

Honey really is that simple!  Sometimes it applies a coupon code right to your purchase when checking out.  It really is an amazing tool.

So there you have it.  I personally do and use every single one of these tools.  The amount of money I have saved over the years is immeasurable, while still being able to get the kids out of the house to have some fun.  I hope you found some new tools to implement that can help keep some of your hard earned cash in your pocket!

What are some of your favorite money saving tips?