If you’ve fallen on hard times, I gotcha covered. As a single mom, I was abandoned by my husband of 14 years out of the blue. The kids and I ended up in a homeless shelter and I’ve worked HARD to get to where I am today.

I know you’re feeling lost and alone right now, but I promise, you’re not! There’s help. This saving money resource guide will help you discover your next steps toward putting your life back together. We’ll do this piece by piece, step by step, okay!! 🥰💕

Saving money is your first step. What does it MATTER HOW much you make, if what you make flies out the window?! The more you know about saving money, the more you save. But you’re a busy mom. You don’t have time to scour the web for articles to help you when you’re just looking to save on one topic.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know, all broken out by the topics you want to learn the most about to start saving money NOW!

Be sure to bookmark this page! I know you’ll wanna come back to it over and over!

Saving Money Resource Guide

Your first step is to utilize EVERY free program you can designed for low-income people. 

Each state will vary, but look for programs like: 

Food Stamps – there’s no shame, if you’re in a rough spot, to get food stamps. Don’t let ANYONE tell you that it’s wrong or bad. 💯 If you are not cheating or manipulating the system, if you need them, GET THEM! Use them. Because that’s what they are designed for: to help people who need them. It doesn’t mean you’ll be on them forever, but there is a point where you might need them. That’s totally okay!

WIC – it stands for Women Infants and Children. They give you free food vouchers, based on how many kids you have. They give free milk, eggs, bread, and those kinds of basics. If you’re not already on it, search that. Your food stamps office should know the information for WIC.

Telephone – they have a program for low-income families that reduces your bill $13/month (depending on what state you’re in). You’d have to call them to find out. If it’s a cell phone, they might not, but if it’s something like a landline or main telephone company, try it and see if they have any low-income programs that reduce your cost.

LIHEAP – sometimes it’s called LEAP, depending on the state, but they pay like $100-$300/year toward your power bill!!!! It’s free money if you’re low-income. It’s a super secret program, most don’t know about it, but every state has it. If you don’t know, call the power company and they should know. If they don’t know, keep calling the power company every day until you find someone who DOES know about the program! Usually, it’s at the community center. 

Food Pantries – look around for food pantries that help you. You can get boxes of food for free.

Start a garden – if you have the space for it, start a garden! You can trade things with your neighbors too or even online. Sometimes on Facebook Marketplace, I’ll see ads of someone with a grove of trees wanting to trade for other fruits/veggies. Some things you can grow indoors, like green onions! No dirt necessary!!! Here’s 7 fruits and veggies you can regrow from your initial purchase at the store!!!

Next, find everything you use/need for free.

That’s the first step. Use as many resources as you can to get everything you can for free. Here’s some of the best things I did during that stage of my income:

During the summer, people will have curb alerts or free yard sale leftovers for free. Check Craigslist and your Facebook Marketplace in your area for them. Stay on it, because you can get some really cool stuff free doing that! That’s the first place I started after getting out of the homeless shelter. 

Use samples. Search the internet for how to score free samples from companies. Do this to get products free also!

Earn quick money through survey companies. I did this too, because it’s about $3-$5 per survey and surveys take 15 minutes. It’s a great way to earn some side cash while you get set up. Here’s my list of the best survey companies to go through.

Free printables. This list would NOT be complete without free printables. Can’t afford a gift for a friend, but want to make them feel special? No problem, grab a free printable off my site. Want to get free training, Bible studies, and kids activities that are Christian based but can’t afford them? No problem. Go to my shop here where EVERYTHING is free!!! Free printables can save you a BOATLOAD of money and really help you get to the next income level!

After you have gotten everything you can free, get everything ELSE super cheap. Here’s how to do that: 

Shopping:

I know it seems like an oxymoron- save while shopping? But, there are justsome things we all have to buy. For the things you need to purchase, you might as well save money while doing so!

• If you shop at Target, a Target Redcard Debit Card is a must! You get 5% off your order EVERY time you use it!
• Ebates – Shopping with Ebates earns you $$ for shopping!
• Paypal debit card. I use my Paypal debit card as a checking account, basically. I don’t have to balance AND they give me 1% cash back to boot on every purchase I make (when selecting “credit” when paying either online or in the stores).
• How to Get Household Products Free Without Coupons

Food:

We all have to eat, and food is one of the few items in our budgets we can really control! Here are some ways you can save on your food bill.

• One Simple Trick Saves $125/Week On Groceries
• 3 Biggest Tricks to Save Money on Meat
• Save on Groceries with Portion Control
• Save Money on Eating Out
• Save Money on the Holiday Meal
• Freezer to Save Time and Money
• 106 Top Tips Save on Groceries
• How I Feed My Family of 5 on $100 or Less Each Month {The Fundamental Home}

Babies/Kids:

I know I go counter-culture when I say this, but kids aren’t really that expensive to raise…at least how I do it. Here are some articles to help you save money with your kids.

• Baby on a Budget
• How to Get Kids Clothes Free
• Save on Kids Snacks
• Save on Kids Activities
• 10 Secrets to the Best Prices on Diapers {Passion for Savings}
• 10 Brilliant (and Doable) Ways to Save $1000s on Baby Costs {The Krazy Coupon Lady}

Home Decor:

Everyone wants their home to not only be comfortable, but a beautiful place that represents you and your family! You can have a fabulous home on less! Here’s how I do it.

• Create an Elegant Nursery on a Budget
• Where to Find Budget Friendly Decor
• How to Create an Elegant Home on Less
• How to Decorate a Home on a Budget with Fashion Accessories
• Best Furniture Upcycle Ideas on Pinterest
• How to Decorate on a Tight Budget {The Bold Abode}
• 7 Stores You Need to Shop When Decorating on a Budget {Passionate Penny Pincher}

The Kitchen:

Kitchens can be a place where you spend A LOT of money if you are not careful! Here are some ways to spend less in your kitchen.

• Save Money In The Kitchen
• Money Saving Gadgets Every Frugal Home Needs
• How to Remodel Your Kitchen on a Budget

Beauty/Personal Care:

A lot of women spend massive amounts of money on beauty, but you can still look amazing on less. Here’s how.

• Save $160 on Salon Costs (start cutting your own hair – it’s not as hard as you think!)
• Natural Highlights for 25 Cents
• 50+ Essential Oil DIY Recipes (using things you have around your house!)

Bills/Utilities:

I wrote a whole course on how to save money. One amazing section is about reducing your power bill- by up to 50%! You can see it here. Here are some other great resources to lower your bills.

• 20 Ways to Save Money on Your Monthly Bills
• 15 Things I Don’t Spend On
• How to Live on $700/Month
• How to Live Well on $18k/Year
• How to Create a Budget That Works for You

Car/Vehicle:

The driving and operating costs of owning a car can be expensive. Here are some ways you can cut down the costs.

• Why You Should Drive Your Car Until it Dies
  
• 25 Ways to Save on Gas

After you’ve gotten everything FREE, then saved money on everything else you can, next and finally, pay retail prices, but only after you’ve gotten everything free and saved all the money you can, should you pay retail for things. This is advice that I have lived by in poverty and in great wealth and it’s always served me well! 💖