Homemakers often buy into the lie that they don’t contribute financially. Sure, your spouse may have a tough job, work long hours, and bring home the bacon, but that doesn’t mean he’s flying solo when it comes to finances.
If you are a homemaker, you are probably doing more than you realize to help your family’s finances already. Be sure to give yourself credit for that!
But maybe you want to do more. Perhaps you’re going through a rough patch financially right now and you want to be able to contribute more. Or maybe you have a big financial goal you’re working toward.
There are lots of ways you can make a difference financially as a homemaker and stay-at-home mom.
Here are 6 ways that you can make a big impact on your family’s finances and some resources to help you do it!
1- Fix frugal food
If you’ve discussed food budgets to any extent, I’m sure you’ve found what I have: the range is enormous! There are families of six who spend less than $300 and there are newlyweds who spend over $1,000.
Homemakers have a huge opportunity to make a difference financially by making meals at home. Eating at home will definitely save you money over ordering out. You can take eating at home a step further by learning to cook from scratch. Homemade meals not only taste better and are better for you, but they are also much cheaper than pre-made food.
Check out How to Eat Healthy on $350 a Month and Why I Changed My Mind about Freezer Cooking for ideas.
2- A dose of DIY
Not every homemaker is a DIY diva, but being willing and able to do some projects yourself will save you money. A little creativity does go a long way. You can make things from scratch or repurpose old items into something new.
Whether it’s beautifying your space, making homemade cleaning and personal care products, or creating handmade gifts from the heart, DIY-ing can definitely lower your expenses. Don’t expect that every DIY project is a money-saver though. Here are some things to consider when you’re deciding if you should buy it or DIY it!
3- Rock the grocery budget
In addition to fixing frugal meals, homemakers can be smart shoppers, especially when it comes to groceries. Buying groceries in and of itself is a great way to be frugal. Establish target prices, learn sale cycles, start paying attention to weekly ads, and discover the benefits of buying in bulk.
Unless you live on a self-sufficient homestead, food is something you’re always going to need to buy. Learning how to rock the grocery budget will not only pay off now, but will continue to pay off month after month, year after year. You can even come up with fun ways to lower your grocery budget and reduce your spending without using coupons!
4- Be Organized
Disorganization can be expensive! And clutter can cost you more than you realize. Between replacing those lost library books, paying the late fees on the bills you misplaced, and buying another [you name it] because you can’t find yours and you need it now, there are lots of ways that being organized will save your family money.
Don’t underestimate the power of organization on the family’s finances. If you don’t already have a planner or system for effectively calendaring, then now is a great time to start. Keep track of bill due dates, appointments, warranties, car maintenance, and more.
5- Keep Expenses down
While your spouse may be the one to earn the money, you can be the one to make sure that you keep the money. Without a partner who is keeping expenses down and actively involved in the workings of the family finances, it’s very easy to go through that earned money like water.
You can take charge of tracking the family expenses, sticking to a budget, and paying off debt. You can shop smart and stretch your dollars as far as they’ll go. You can be creative with your resources to save money, too. Check out my 28-day challenge Frugal Fresh Start for ideas on how you can reduce your own family’s expenses in the most effective ways.
6- Work at home
I know that “Working at Home” is pretty much the definition of being a mom or homemaker(!), but in this case I’m talking about doing something to earn income from home. There are many opportunities for stay-at-home parents to earn a side income (or even a full-time income) without leaving the home. In many cases it’s a chance to create your own job– be an entrepreneur!
Not everyone wants to earn an income from home, but if you do, the opportunities are ever-increasing. One of the reasons I started blogging was the hope that I would be able to eventually earn an income from it. While it’s not the only way to make a financial contribution as a homemaker, I can’t deny that the extra income is a real contribution to reaching our family’s financial goals. Plus, it’s a creative outlet that’s good for my brain.
What you do matters!
Whether you earn an income or not, you can lead the family finances to being debt-free. In many relationships, both parties know that their finances are in trouble, but neither of them has the courage to do anything about it.
Homemakers can take the bull by the horns when it comes to debt. Get your spouse on board with your plan to get out of debt. You can help keep the family motivated and excited about your goal. If you are just starting out on your journey to pay off debt, check out my Smash Debt Quick-Start Guide to help you get organized and make a plan to pay off your debt.
You wear so many different hats as a homemaker, but because of all of your different roles, there are so many areas where you can be awesome! I hope you can see that there are lots of ways that you can help with your family’s finances as a stay-at-home mom, homemaker, domestic engineer or whatever title you prefer.
There’s no doubt that homemaking is a lot of work. We joke about bubble baths and bon-bons, but in all seriousness, running a home and a family is an incredible amount of work. But it’s work that really matters.
It’s okay if you aren’t an expert
Your kids might think you know everything (well, at least until they become teenagers), but the truth is we aren’t experts at everything. At least I’m not.
To make an impact financially, you don’t have to excel at everything I listed above. Choose something you’d like to improve on and commit to do your best.
How about you?
- What other ways can homemakers impact the family finances?
I love this. I’ve been guilty of spending quite a bit on just the two of us with groceries. I’m working on it though! Trader Joe’s gets me every time haha! I agree though, homemakers contribute a lot more than people thinking. Another one would be childcare if they have children! Childcare can be very costly.
I love this…and fully agree with every single one. That said, my favorite thing is to rock my family’s grocery budget! 🙂
I think too that when you put a value on a particular activity you are performing, say laundry, or cleaning the home, it is much higher than just what you are saving. If you were to work and then pay for the house cleaner, you would pay the house cleaner out of taxed dollars, so really you are saving even more than the cost of the house cleaner if you do it yourself. Same goes for DIY projects.
All questions of money aside, though, I think there are intangible values to being a homemaker, whether you work outside the home or not. Having a well-organized, clean, inviting, and nurturing home benefits your family even if you don’t have anyone over. It feeds the soul, and you can’t put a price on that.
Thanks Jenni. I agree! 🙂
Okay, this is going to be long, apologies in advance. But it’s something that is very interesting to me. So here goes –
Firstly I want to clarify that a homemaker does not have to be a stay at home wife or mother; many homemakers work for an income outside of the home. Nor does a homemaker have to be a woman; in fact I think men should be encouraged to embrace homemaking too. Children should also be taught homemaking. These skills are important.
I have thought about this an awful lot over the years, and there is very little about homemaking that does not add economic value to a household income. Take cleaning – When you clean your home you are killing germs, which improves your family’s health, saving on doctor’s bills and saving on days off work. My husband has horrible asthma; as a kid he ended up in hospital hooked up to a ventilator at least once a month. Keeping on top of dusting and vacuuming means he can go about his daily life instead of taking copious amounts of time off work because he can’t breath. Laundry – In addition to not making your family into social outcasts by making them wear dirty clothes, properly maintaining your clothes means they last longer and so you save money on replacement costs. The same goes for properly maintaining anything: you save on having to replace it. Yard work: Where I live an overgrown yard is a fire hazard, meaning, if you don’t keep up with the yard work and there’s a fire, you’ll probably lose your home. Even if that’s not a risk for you, yard work will add value to your house; it may also improve the longevity of your house (e.g. keep ivy at bay, trim branches that might fall on your roof and mean costly repairs, etc.) Cooking not only saves money in the purchasing and preparing of food but can also impact health outcomes thus saving even more money in the long run. Gardening can save money, but not always! My parents once spent $50 building a wonderful garden bed and got a single sweet potato out of it. But if you know what you’re doing, producing your own family’s food can save a lot of money. Canning and preserving that food can save even more money, as well as giving your family fruits and vegetables to eat out of season which will again help keep them healthier. My great-grandma used to have an acre in garden every year; she also raised her own chickens (for eggs and meat), turkey, ham (for meat) and cows (for milk); she sold the excess and products made from milk to her neighbours (my mom says her ice cream was the best in the world); and supplemented the household income significantly. Most of us aren’t that talented. But if you are, think of the wonderful economic blessing that is to your family.
Almost any talent you have can be used to enrich your family’s life – not just spiritually or emotionally but monetarily. If you’re good with sewing you can save money over buying clothes and toys. (Note: A lot of this has to do with how cheaply you can source fabric! With the cost of fabric these days it’s often cheaper to buy this stuff new.) If you’re good with woodworking you can make toys or perhaps even furniture. If you’re musical you can sell music lessons; if you’re smart you can tutor; etc.
I haven’t really thought of a way ironing adds anything to the family income. I mean, obviously, if you or your partner has to wear ironed clothes to work, doing it yourself saves over paying someone else to do it, but can’t we just agree that ironing is a waste of time and it’s okay walk around wrinkled?
Likewise decorating the home is not likely to add to the family income, unless you have to entertain for work. But having a nicely decorated home means you might want to spend more time at home, which saves money. Being organised, as Stephanie mentioned, definitely saves money.
So, I know this is too long – but it’s a topic that is very dear to me. Homemaking – no matter what type of homemaker you are – is very important, not just emotionally but also economically. Be proud of those talents! Use them to make your home a beautiful, calm, peaceful place!
Can I just say “amen” to all of this Becca? Thanks for taking the time to share all of your wonderful thoughts and insights. I whole-heartedly agree. 🙂
Oh, and I also must add that we are kindred spirits when it comes to ironing. The only time I iron is when I’m sewing and I need to press seams. I splurge and get wrinkle-free dress shirts for my husband and hang them up right after they come out of the dryer.
I think another thing is to make sure things don’t go to waste. Food would go to waste all the time before I could use it when I was a busy working mom struggling with meal planning and prep and all my other responsibilities, but now that I no longer work outside the home I’ve been able to save a lot of money just by making sure everything gets put to good use (food and other things too!).
I purchased the homemaking bundle and have been loving the resources I’ve looked through so far. Seriously awesome!
You’re totally right Kathryn. It’s really easy to waste food when you’re busy and not planning your meals well. 🙂 I’m glad you’re enjoying the bundle too!
Thank you for sharing these handy tips. I especially love #1, there are nights that my family eats rice and beans (and they love it too!), but it sure saves a lot of money just making food at home. We spend about $2 for the entire meal (that’s including all the fixings), you can barely get a cup of coffee for that anymore.
I think that homemakers are some of the most important people in the financial world, I take a lot of advice from my sister who is a stay-at-home mom. She usually finds new ways to do things that save a lot of money.
My kids love rice and beans too! 🙂 I agree– homemakers are much more important than society gives them credit for.