6 Ways to Save Money for Single Mothers - Tips for Economizing While on a Limited Budget

Being a single mother and the sole breadwinner of my household there were small tasks I learned to do that would save money, stretch the dollar as far as I could and afford the children and I more enjoyment from my earnings. By so doing we were able to eke out a little extra for entertainment.

Here are 6 household tips that can save you money. These small steps to save money will afford you some cash left in the budget for pleasure in spite of the economic pressures of single parenthood and divorce.

1. Buy Generic And Reuse Vacuum Cleaner Bags

If you have a vacuum that uses bags (much better for clean air) you can save money by purchasing generic vacuum cleaner bags and reusing the same bags several times. Brand name bags are way over priced and not necessary for efficient cleaning. Generic bags are efficient and inexpensive costing as little as $1.00 for a package of 2 or 3 bags thereby saving you money in the purchase.

When the bag is full, place a few sheets of newspaper or a plastic trash bag on the floor to collect the dirt. Wear rubber gloves (surgical gloves work great) for sanitary purposes. Remove the bag from the vacuum hold it with the opening close to the newspaper and pull out the dust. The dust will pull out in clumps until you get closer to empty when it will become loose dirt. Do not worry about getting all the loose dirt out of the bag, it will create too much dust in the air.

When done place the bag back on the vacuum and discard of the dirt. You can do this repeatedly until the bag seems to get weak or tears. You can reuse the vacuum bags at least 3 or 4 times before to it shows too much wear and needs to be replaced.

2. Use White Vinegar To Cut Costs On Cleaning Supplies

Cleaning supplies can be very costly, especially if you are one who buys a different product for each task. One way to save money is to use white vinegar for your household cleaning. With a 50/50 solution of white vinegar in a spray bottle you can clean almost everything in your home. Toilets, tubs and sinks will not only be cleaned but sanitized as well.

This same solution will help to minimize food bacteria on kitchen counters and leave the kitchen shiny clean and aid in eliminating odors. If you prefer a sudsy cleaner you can add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid but no more. If you add suds you will do well to keep a separate bottle for cleaning glass. Suds will tend to smear on the glass and leave a film.

White vinegar and water will also remove stains from carpet and clothes. Do not use on bright colors without testing first. You might want to weaken the solution to 25 vinegar /75 water for colored items as white vinegar has a mild bleaching effect.

3. Wash Ironing Board Covers For Longer Wear

If you do quite of bit of ironing you know how spray starch can build up on your ironing board cover. You could buy cheap covers and change them often, however cheap covers never have enough elastic to keep them from slipping and/or have no padding which aids in the ironing process.

A better solution is to buy a 'middle of the ground' cover and wash it when starch builds up. These covers are durable and stay in place. Avoid purchasing the covers that have the pads attached to the cover.

You can extend the life of the cover by first turning it inside out and use the other side when the cover becomes tacky. In turn, when the starch now builds on the inside of cover take the cover off and throw it in the laundry. Once washed you can replace the cover on ironing board and use again. Repeat this until the cover is too worn. In this way the cover will last a long time and save you money that you would have spent on a replacement.

4. Darn Runners In Nylon Stockings For Longer Wear

Do you have to dress up for your job? Nylon stockings can get costly, they are notorious for getting runners too quickly. A trick is to sew the runners. It takes only a few moments.

If you are at work or out, stop the runner with clear nail polish to prevent further running. If you are at home, take the nylons off and put aside until you have a few minutes for the repair. The repair can be done during TV time. Even if you have done the quick nail polish save, a good idea would be to sew these also. the sewing will prevent the runner from getting larger.

Nylon stockings are easy to repair. A needle and thread and a darning mushroom will do the job. If you do not have a darning tool a light bulb works great. Slip the light bulb or darning mushroom into the stocking and wrap material around, hold tightly and sew. You do not have to get fancy with the stitches. Just overlap stitches and it will hold. If the runner is below the skirt line, repair them as well and wear these particular stockings under your slacks. Your work stockings will last longer and once again you will save money.

5. Less Laundry Soap For Less Fading

When doing laundry there are those items that are never very soiled. You may not want to wear your clothing more than a time or two in order to always have that clean feeling. Yet the clothes are not what you could called soiled. You are just washing out the sweat, and bringing shape back into clothes that tend to stretch out from the wear.

This tip is not for the heavily soiled items (especially kids things), with clothes that are not really dirty you can cut back on some of the soap use. This will save money in two ways. It will cut down on fading of your darker items and save on the cost of laundry detergent. Experiment with how much to cut back. If the clothes are not very soiled you can cut back as much as half and still have fresh, clean clothes without the added expense.

6. Freshen Faded Clothes with Tintex or Ritz

Have you noticed that after a few months of washing your faded black skirt is beginning to look faded. Pretty soon you decide it looks too dingy to wear to work. It is important for your job success that you look the part.

Brightly colored clothes fade quickly once you start laundering them. Rather than feeling the urgency to replace the clothes so rapidly, for a couple of dollars you can refreshen the colors with clothing dye.

Dyeing is relatively easy to do and can be done in the washing machine or in your tub. Some even do it in a large pot. With the price you pay for a decent skirt, blouse, dress or pair of slacks it is well worth your time and couple of bucks to dye some of those faded items to renew the color and get longer wear out of each item of clothing.

The two popular clothing dye brands are Tintex and Ritz. Both can be purchased at your discount department stores such as Wal-Mart. Both are equally good and bring satisfactory results. Dyeing results may not be as good if you have extreme wear in certain areas or bleach stains. Be sure to read instructions. Not all materials can be dyed effectively.

A Little Thriftiness Adds Up To Savings

Think about how many times in a month you had to buy nylon stockings for work. How often do you replace your vacuum bags? Pay attention to how much laundry detergent costs and how often you replace clothing items because they have faded. Keeping up with these daily replacements can take a chunk out of your finances.

You will find these ideas, though seeming small will add up to significant savings over time. So try it, put aside the small savings and take the family out to dinner or a movie and enjoy. With a little extra effort you do not have to feel uncomfortably crunched when it comes to saving money.