Note 2: On my Twitter, I asked for personal advice on what to do regarding hitting $3 million. You see the whole chat thread on Twitter. There’s a lot of great advice from the brilliant people in the finance community. I was expecting troll replies or people calling me cop out for not FIRE-ing even though hubby and I both are not fully ready for all reasons besides money. But what came was a good consensus of all the concerns and “what-ifs” we had, which made me feel less crazy for thinking we’re not ready.

Note 3: We’re kicking up our fat/FIRE goal to $5 million for now. Our original goal was $3 million (liquid) but with insane inflation, we don’t feel right to retire in our early 30s. We’re also planning to have more kids someday (woo~), so we need to up that number. We also forgot to include AGING parents in that original FIRE goal. Lastly, we decided to stay in our HCOL area. We really LOVE living in the Pacific Northwest and it’s well worth grinding it out here than move anywhere else cheaper.

Note 4: I wish we had a 7 figure business or have super high sports stars salaries, but nope! We’re just the neighbor’s next door. And I find our wealth journey is more of a testament to the good old way of wealth building all of which was mentioned in, you guessed it my favorite PF book, The Millionaire’s Next Door.

OK now let’s start!

~

Are you curious about fatFIRE? I’ve always wondered how wealth builds over time. We’re creatures of pattern so we naturally look for benchmarks. Anything to keep on track of a dream FIRE lifestyle. That’s why I wanted to share this post with some half-baked lessons sprinkled in.

First of all, I’m pretty darn sure we’re not the only ones who have recently hit the 3rd million now. I know there are other 30-somethings-year-olds out there in the FIRE community with lots more $$$ now. I mean it has been a few years, and I know at least a few readers who had similar (if not better!) savings, earnings, and investments than us.

Secondly, I didn’t want to share this milestone initially because it seemed a little inappropriate, given we’re still in a pandemic. But damn this 3rd million came and left already, and we’re still struggling with the same health pandemic a year later. So what the hell, new normal.

The pandemic was one main reason why I completely skipped over the $2 million net worth update/milestone on this blog. Although our 2nd million was special too I didn’t feel like I was allowed to talk about it when a health pandemic started. Plus we had our hands full with a newborn, and newborns amidst a global pandemic definitely didn’t come with instructions.

And the last thing I wanted to clarify: nothing major happened to change wealth or accumulation.

No rich uncle died. We didn’t take up any crazy investment strategy. We didn’t get an income boost. I freaking wish!! We’re losers.

In fact, new baby coming, I naturally had to give up my Airbnb side hustle. Plus only 1 of my web businesses had the scalable success I originally hoped for.

For another 9 months, I took 100% time off to soak in pregnant-happy, stress-free self-care. I had a stellar, normal pregnancy. Yes some morning sickness, swollen feet, very mild stretch marks but otherwise, everything went awesomely. I encourage all the hard-working ladies to take a break, and have a posh, spoil me babe pregnancy! Do it for your baby and body at least!

After my glorious pregnancy and awesomeeee birth/labor experience, the shit show started. Newborns are little shits. I didn’t like her for the first 3 months. I took 6 months off unplanned. Our daughter had colic and she was classified as failure to thrive (underweight). We had to call up every specialist and order doctor scans to figure out if it’s something or not. Is it just her genetics or does she have some rare disease where she can’t eat or gain weight? Nothing ever came from the tests, scans, or blood draws. Soooo I mean my husband’s skinny even though I’ve seen him eat 4 lbs of ice cream in one sitting……..(Lol, it was a contest for a free t-shirt.)

Anyways, I did little work for over a year thanks to pregnancy and baby. My husband definitely ramped down on his work output too. He’s putting in just a bit above 30 hour weeks. So trust me, income DID NOT explain the 3rd million.

This points to the first observable that’s glaringly obvious:

Want to master your finances effortlessly?

1. Sign up with your email to download our free Google Sheet budget template.

2. Sign up with Personal Capital and use their automatic Net Worth Tracker for free. Personal Capital is a free financial service platform that helps you analyze your financial health all on one simple & secure account. This was a huge step up from the tedious dance we did before where we had to manually log in to our financial accounts (all 19 of them) individually.

1. The First Million *IS* the Hardest

After we became millionaires in 2018, I lost a good chunk of my interest in sharing our net worth publically. I mean, we already hit a big milestone, and it will be a while before we get to 2 million so why keep tracking it monthly? Isn’t it more to life? Of course, there is.

Due to our busy schedules and general desire to enjoy life rather than count the dough, we stopped paying close attention until one day…whoop, third mil. We know it’s “only” 3 million; plenty of rich people and families have 20 million, 200 million, so much more – especially in Silicon Valley! We’re not super smart or overly ambitious people so the stock market pulled most of the weight.

When they said the first million was the hardest, they were RIGHT. Here’s the broad overview of our money timeline so far:

• June 2010: $0
• Nov 2018: $1,000,000
• Feb 2020: $2,000,000
• July 2021: $3,000,000

 Relevant Reads:

• What Is The Real Cost of Raising a Child (Done Frugally and On The Cheap)
• Got Kids? Check Out These Free Rainy Day Resources for Kids
• 11 Punchable Financial Crimes According to Me
• When Having Too Much Money is Bad (The Cons of Being Rich)
• How To Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last Embarrassingly Long

2. Earnings Matters…ish?

Income totally matters…for the first million.

Suddenly in a blink, 2 million, then another blink, 3rd million. Income is definitely not the driving force behind this. It helped, but nah, no way, it’s only been less than 4 years!!!!!!

Your salary is going to be the main driving force for that first million…and you know…not having kids or blowing your money on a new boat. Our daughter was a hard second job. Ugh! It wasn’t just money spent on her but the cost of the time (time is money) put into having and raising a baby.

For women thinking of mommyhood someday: save the money first, then have as many kids as you want! Easier that way and you get the best of both worlds. That’s our plan haha.

It’s pretty unfair the responsibility falls harder on women but just how it is. Hedge your bets with an awesome husband, like mine. He’s doing I say 60% of the childcare duties as I’m studying part-time. That’s just how he is, nothing to do with me, he’s a people pleaser/caretaker type.

We took a lot of time off in the past 2 years. ZERO regrets. We bonded like a family should and family ALWAYS comes first. If our income dropped, we didn’t notice any impact at all on the net worth or our “lifestyle.”

We still pay 100% of our taxes and max out those employer-match charity donations every year. P.S. donations come automatically out of pay, and we don’t take that money out of our monthly budget.

3. It’s Totally Outside of Our Control

We don’t have much cash sitting on hand anymore. Besides the house, all else is riding in a theoretical market. No safe, no valuables, no jewelry, no boat, NO physical assets. We drive a used car (market value not included in net worth.)

This net worth growth….just numbers on a screen….has nothing to do with us nor how wealthy or not we feel. 2020 was a dark time fiscally for tons of people. I think American populists have a strong point. There is something very off-balance about the system in this country and it will come to a head eventually.

Anyway, this net worth growth has nothing to do with us; it’s interesting to see the stark contrast though. My husband and I are NORMAL PEOPLE.

Unfortunately, we are not stock market (or even regular) geniuses, didn’t make crazy money, and I assure you, most of the wealth at this point is outside of our control. We just check every few months and go ok, cool, is monies + or -.

Then we go back to enjoying a boring, family life minus money anxiety.

4. Focusing on What We Can Know

Years ago, we would have been happy with $3 million. After we became parents we shifted our attention from money and work to our (FTT) baby.

$3 mil liquid, our original FIRE figure would have us driving off into the sunset and laying on a hammock in Waikiki forever, we assumed. Now with baby girl added to the pack, we realize how restrictive FIRE can be with very young children. I don’t know the plan right now. It’s not much to do with money, it’s the unknown.

If we couldn’t have kids…I want to go to Vegas and never wake up before 7 AM again! FIRE may not be for us as we’re not SINKs or DINKS. We are traditional on that front: we have dependents young and old. Going solo is not a privilege we have as a family. We will always aim for early retirement but probably not when we’re in our early and mid 30s.

Also, I very, very much want to make sure our baby will be covered for all of her life too. She will go to a top-quality school…she has a caring sweet father….full insurance…involved parents with tons of free time for her…an amazing neighborhood in a bustling vibrant and safe city………..um………..literally everything I didn’t have growing up. I’m a little jealous of her!

Think of it!!! loads of opportunity…summer camps, international travel, holidays, dance n’ art classes, STEM classes, private tutors, bedtime stories, hugs, an actual bed frame…I don’t know, just everything I didn’t have growing up. I’ll shut up now before I start weeping.

 Related Reads:

• Amazon vs Walmart vs Target Freebie Sample Box Review
• 9 Thrifty Hacks That Will Help You Save On Maternity Clothes

BaristaFI and regular FI won’t be enough in our expensive city, especially if we have more kids. Kicking the fatFIRE figure to $5 million is a good plan for now based on 33x expenses (check out this Retire Early Simulator).

We want to maintain 80% time at work (if we can get it permanently) but otherwise, nothing is changing. We don’t hate our jobs that much yet. Plus work is a large part of our social life, and health coverage ain’t a bad thing man.

Family Expenses / Annual Budget Review for 2020

Oh maybe someone would like to look at our annual spending for the hellish, dumpster fire of 2020. We became first-time parents amidst lockdown so I can attest at least $1,000 of that total number was straight-up pointless crap for our colicky baby.

Our 2020 family spending was higher than in 2019 for reasons I will explain below.

Eating out was surprisingly low, for us. We tried to support our local restaurants but because we had a sickly newborn, I forbade my husband and myself from leaving the house. We had our meals and groceries delivered (thank GOD for Imperfect Produce deliveries, seriously.)

Medical, um, well it’s high because I gave birth in a hospital lol. The bill was $4,000 and that’s with health insurance. We hit our copay and I think it’s 10% after that.

I loved my birth experience so it was 100% worth it.

My birth was not really impacted by Covid-19, I got lucky. Boy did I get lucky.

Our hospital was discussing implementing policies…so we probably missed pandemic hospital protocols by 1 week.

I think I would have cried if pandemic protocols happened to us. I wouldn’t want to choose between hubby and doula as they did in New York City. Pushing is already tiring, imagine pushing in a mask. Poor mommies =( what a crap situation.

For mothers who gave birth in actual covid-restrictions, sister, you are a roaring lion champion of a WOMAN holy crap!

P.S. I fucking loved my birth experience!!! AHHHHHHHH!! xD I want to give birth again!! Don’t want a newborn ever, but birthing again is a hell yes! Maybe I can be a surrogate haha! I am such a good pusher, especially for a first-time birth, let me tell you, my nurses were impressed ^_^

P.P.S DOULAS ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!! If you don’t get one for birth support, you are way too damn CHEAP

We also got a new roof – which was most of the $7,000 total for home maintenance in 2020. The new roof was finished in January 2020. Hopefully, with luck, this roof will last 30 years since we sprang for premium materials and frills.

Vacation….lmao, I think a lot of us got $0 for vacation in 2020.

WST = all utilities. M.I.T =mortgage and stuff.

In summary, I think without the new roof and hospital birth (totaling over $11,000) we did fairly similar to 2019 in terms of overall frugal living.

Our monthly average was $4,300-ish and total annual family spending was $51,000-ish for our family of 4 in 2020. This includes mortgage, water, sewage, internet, everything. (Actually, for the Internet we get a full refund from work, but yeah, still a pricey year.)

Little Lady Luck Likes Lily…

I wish me or my husband were more successful people, but we’re not Forbes 30 under 30 people. Just a regular couple you probably saw us checking out at Trader Joe’s today.

• We work(ed) hard; much less hard though.
• We try our best to plan for the future and practice good-enough money sense. NO kids are not a good financial decision lmao!! But we did it anyway.
• My husband had great influences and come from a very successful family. I didn’t; I come from trailer park trash man. So let’s call this a draw!
• We have a good bit of luck (but nothing remarkable as if we had $300 million dineros…)

We DO feel lucky though. Like the Universe really REALLLLLY sprinkled me in lucky charms….or just setting me up for a total Punk’d session. It makes up for my childhood is what I tell myself.

In terms of luck, well I don’t have hard evidence…does anyone?!…but I have very specific examples that **I personally find** odd:

1. Sold our rental property at a good time

I’ve talked about this before; selling our Airbnb rental/investment property. We nab $50k – $100k even after repairs and realtor’s cut. That was because we sold it at the second-highest peak month. The local housing market is only slightly higher now but it’s been almost 3 years since then so adjusted, we sold out at a really good time. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time, but thinking back now yes it was “lucky.”

2. Stopped Airbnb hosting a month before pandemic

Our last Airbnb rental closed before my daughter was due! We planned to close earlier because I was 8 months pregnant and chasing after guests but we had some super sweet recurrent guests who love our place and I didn’t want to say no to them.

We officially closed Airbnb in February. Right before the pandemic rocked everything in the U.S. we were able to avoid all of the negative Airbnb stuff. All of it. By 3 weeks.

Headlines like “hosts overleveraged”, “Airbnb host hardships”, “Hosts face 90% cancellations” etc.

Surreal.

I was missing doing Airbnb and then this happened and I was like…OK, OK Lily….you got out at a really good time because the next 2 years are going to suck for travel.

3. Took out $1 million before Covid-19

We took out almost 1 million dollars a week or two before Covid rocked markets. Actually, I remember it was more around $700,000 plus what we already had in cash. I was 9 months pregnant – maybe don’t listen to heavily pregnant women on investing- but it worked out OK.

I told hubby, I want this money sitting safe and out of the market when the baby comes. We also had already $250,000+ in the bank so we now had about $1 million total that was no longer actively invested.

Ballsy, don’t I know it.

OHHH right my other reason/argument to hubby was I wanted to start house hunting ASAP! I thought we could start house hunting 1-2 weeks after the baby comes…fuck I’m stupid. Market was heating up for spring again and I was like, hey, all cash, our baby needs a house!!!!

Didn’t work out that way, at all. I couldn’t even sit down for weeks. So much blood, so much breastmilk ugh @_@

Note 5: we didn’t touch our retirement if you’re wondering. We didn’t touch anything locked in that would cause a tax mess. My husband would never have allowed that no matter how pregnant I was!

I didn’t want my kid to be born and raised in poverty like I was. That’s the shred of logic behind my ‘whim.’

Having that money in absolute, withdrawable figures gave me peace when our kid arrives. It was money not forever going up and down in a very theoretical space.

It proved at the time of her arrival, I was on a better footing than my parents who failed to provide. The classic poor Chinese parent uses their kids as retirement plans when no child should exist to be their parent’s retirement plan. If you disagree with that, get out and don’t ever visit my blog!

My husband was understandably adamant about emptying out our 2 main brokerages on my crazy need to “prove something.” <- his exact words.

He thought I was loopy, which yes yes I am. All the blood from my brain went to my very pregnant feet LOL. But hey, you DON’T say no to your 9-month pregnant wife.

Was there a better way of doing this? Hell yes. In preparation for our first child’s birth, we decided to create a trust fund + will for her. But ugh, we got lazy putting paperwork and signing off.

So us being lazy (HIS fault!) was what got me arguing with hubby on this insane pull-out. Covid was not fully on our radar yet I do recall my husband was already home full-time. I think there was quite a lag between lockdown and the stock market?

“It’s SYMBOLIC honey!”

So out the money comes. I was scheduled to be induced a few days later. The pandemic statistics started getting scary. People were realizing it but nothing was being done yet. Our daughter came very early in the pandemic; avoiding the Covid-19 protocol rules and staff shortages to come. Thank goodness. Any later, it would have sucked.

Who wants the full almost-pandemic covid birth story? I think every mom wants to tell theirs haha…

End of Feb until about freaking May 2020….total blur. Shit show. Especially because our baby had colic and feeding problems. All family help was canceled due to Covid. No flights in, no food around, the house was a MESS. Also, I was going through some weird anxiety mood thing…not postpartum depression exactly…I think I was just tired as fuck.

I legit thought of running away to Mexico with the $950,000 when I left to walk the dog every morning LOL. Dooooon’t judge me.

We had this enormous amount of money taken out of the market and sitting in our money market while the stock market went down like 20%-30%? I am a bit embarrassed to admit we did try to time the market throwing money back in. That makes me a hypocrite yup I know. Whatever, I was out, mentally/emotionally/physically. I hate colic.

My husband took care of the actual nitty-gritty of investing it back into the now declined post-Covid market. I recall $700k went back in at a 10% dip in late March about 1 week after. The $250k in cash he dropped in slowly (timing it.) I think we caught close to the bottom of the market for $40,000 of that $250k. I did buy a couple of thousand worth of Delta airline stock myself, I still have them. Taxes were more interesting this year for my husband, oy.

We got lucky but I would not recommend us trying that again!

Recommended Reads:

• Top 14 Reasons Why Some People Don’t Save Money
• 13 Sensible Defining Characteristics Of Upper Middle Class People

But then there’s the exception, we all have that person that we’re just “eh” about. Maybe your spouse is crazy about them and you have to keep a polite face…or a coworker that sits across from you, thus capable of annoying you to death by promxity…(been there.)

For any and whatever reason, it’s normal. We all have an “eh” person in our lives. I think in modern 2020 vocabulary…it’s filed under “The Frenemy.”

So how do you…gift to someone you just don’t like WITHOUT them knowing you don’t exactly care for them? That one can be tricky. It has to be affordable after all, there’s no point in wasting your money just to keep up appearances, but it can’t be…”I got you a keychain from the gas station.” Ya know what I mean?

Crap Gifts With Secret Messages

When it comes to giving gifts, the hardest people to give are those we don’t really get along with. However, since you’re a lawfully good individual who isn’t consumed by hate, you still want to be relatively nice to the person you hate. So why not just give them something cheap and can be used – make sure they get your subtle message if they have terrible personal hygiene or horrible organization skills.

1. Liquid Soap

A lot of us have that coworker who doesn’t wash their hands after eating or after using the bathroom. That behavior is not going to fly after 2020. You can drop a big old hint for them a thing or two about proper hygiene by gifting liquid soap. Make it less obvious by getting them an attractive decorative soap gift set.

2. Tissue Paper Flowers

Cheaper than real flowers, this is a good way to tell someone they’ve stiffed to you on a gift in the past and that’s what they’re getting now. Some people might find this one very useful actually. But a lot of time, tissue paper is deemed as a half-baked gift, a subtle way to tell someone that you don’t really give a care.

3. Dishwashing gloves

Do you have an office or roommate that doesn’t wash his or her dishes? Let him or her know by giving dishwashing gloves. Maybe he or she will finally put some effort into receiving this gift.

4. Bathroom Scale

This is for people who won’t shut up when it comes to your (or their own) body. I don’t care about how your diet is going Carol. I know you would think that you would’ve gone for a mirror instead, but a tempered glass bathroom scale will make more sense and easier to wrap.

5. Bath salts

Let’s face it, who gives bath salt as a gift? It’s a pretty stereotypical ‘unthoughtful filler’ when you’re caught without a nice gift idea last minute. Whatever, you don’t like them and hey, it’s still a gift.

6. Cheap anti-aging cream

Here’s a way to remind them that they’re AGING and you’ve taken notice! Get a drugstore brand, or if you want, a knock off luxury brand like this.

7. An alarm clock

So you have that coworker who always runs late every morning, contributing delays and inconveniences in the office. Give them a subtle reminder to come on time by giving them a cheap alarm clock.

8. A self-help book

If you hate someone for a specific reason, you might want to consider giving a self-help book. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll help in fixing his or her problem. 

The Neutral Gifts (Harmless Gifts to Annoy) 

If you really hate someone and you really want to nuance the heck out of them, these gifts might be the perfect one for them.

1. Oranges

Like the fruit…a 5lb bag of oranges hahaha. To be honest, oranges are a good source of Vitamin C, so you’ll actually help this person’s immune system. In addition, oranges are cheap. You can even write a personal message on each orange, just to make sure they got the message.

2. Glitter Bomb

FINALLY, someone made it and available on Amazoniaaaa! Glitters stick in everything, everywhere. It can be stuck on the table, on the keyboard, on documents, clothes, etc. Your recipient will probably spend a hefty amount of time cleaning the mess >:)

3. A Horrible Book

How about a box set of the Twilight series? Go to a dollar store and find a book known for its horrible reputation. Find the bane of all human literature so that they would be annoyed that they have to thank you for it.

4. Neil Breen Movies

If you haven’t seen a Neil Breen movie yet, then you’re really lucky. If a person you hate hasn’t seen Neil Breen either, don’t let this opportunity slip and show this legend to your sworn enemy.

5. An album from an artist he or she hates

There is always that someone who would loudly tell everyone they hate this “artist” every time they got the chance. Consider giving the person his or her dose of own medicine. Rebecca Black, perhaps?

6. Huge Bag of Candy

Ooh, the gift of ill health, perfect. A bag of candy is another harmless gift for people you really hate. Especially if they were shaped like dicks.

7. Oversized/Undersized Shirts

Clothing as a gift is actually decent, except if it is a size too small or a size too large for your recipient. Make sure to choose a shirt with a strong statement (e.g. “For the lazy one”) to ruin his or her day immediately. 

8. Itchy socks

Who would find value in a pair of bad quality socks? Maybe there are some who would, but for your little gift, choose the ugliest pair you can find.

Chaotic Gifts (Gifts for People You Hate)

So, you decided that you really want your hate to be known and you’re not scared to do that. Here is the list of gifts that will surely deliver your message.

1. Teddy Bear That Never Stops Singing

At first glance, the annoying teddy seems like an endearing gift. However, this beast will sing “Happy Birthday” non-stop for at least two hours. The only way to end the song is to wait until the battery runs out or by smashing the thing with a hammer.

2. Fart Card

If you would give a card, make sure it’s memorable. Fart cards send a non-toxic awful smell to the recipient (and the people around). It cannot be sent anonymously so the recipient will know that you are the one who sent it.

3. Handmade Poop Soap

This one is a gift full of cringe and pure evil. It is still a soap, so you can actually use it, but not without your mind telling you that its a poop. Don’t forget to spray some water to make it look more realistic.

4. Crap Coffee

A lot of people want to start their day with a good cup of coffee, especially in office workplaces. Let him or her start the day with a crap coffee and savor the moment when he or she had to smile if you ask about the gift.

5. Lock Box + A Wrong Key

Muahahaha…ok but be careful with this one. Don’t get sued. Locked boxes make great practical gifts. But what if you switched out the key? It’s hard to think of something more frustrating than not having the key to opening your precious box.

6. The Toilet Mug

Can you believe someone made this? Genius. Giving a toilet mug is a harmless gesture, given that it won’t really impact anything. It’s still a mug, fully usable. And that’s the point, a worthless gift for someone you don’t really care about.

7. Prank SCENTED Candles

These prank candles will smell pleasant at first, the recipient might even love them. However, after the 40% was consumed, the smell will turn into something nasty. Get Apple Pie to Dirty Fart and gift it away :).

8. Rock in a Box

When it comes to gifts, a heavier box might mean a more expensive gift. Raise their expectations high and let it crash when they figured out it is just an rock. 

What Is a Tea Bag Made Of? 

In general, a tea bag is a sealed packet of dried tea leaves which can either be made of whole-leaf tea or shredded tea leaves. Although the mesh in the bag is usually non-biodegradable, the tea leaves inside can be used for a lot of things. 

Is It Safe To Re-use Tea Bags? 

Reusing tea bags is usually safe unless you’re doing sun tea and you’re not experienced to do so. You might risk getting yourself or other people poisoned because of wrong preparation. Sun teas are made by using the sun’s heat instead of brewing the tea in the conventional matter. However, if the heat is not enough to steep the tea (usually from 170 to 200 degrees), bacteria growth might lead to poisoning. 

How To Properly Store Tea Bags 

In most applications, you’ll need to use the used tea leaves dry. But for storing tea bags, you should put water on it, enough to keep it moist. Keep it in a jar or cup and store it in the refrigerator. This is to minimize the chance of mold and bacteria growing in the tea leaves. Check your tea dust once in a while for funky smell or discoloration. If it looks and smells bad, throw it away.

“That’s Interesting!“

• Panhandling: How Much Money Do Panhandlers REALLY Make?
• How To Make Money As An Instagram Influencer (Internet Fame That Pays?)
• 39 People Who Got Richer AFTER Quitting Their Day Jobs
• Can Being a “Friend-For-Rent” Really Make Extra Money?

59 Things You Can Do With Used Tea Leaves

For Beauty Remedies

1. Hydrating Dry Skin 

Don’t you just hate it when you have those itchy patches of dry skin? With used tea bags, you can refresh your skin in no time. All you have to do is to re-brew the used tea bag, cool it down, and spray it in the area affected. 

2. Restoring Hair Shine

Re-brew the used tea bags and let it cool down. Use the rebrewed tea by pouring it in your hair and leaving it for ten minutes before showering. This trick has been used in ancient times to give women smoother and shinier hair. Depending on what your exact hair needs are, you can read about the types of teas that have different hair benefits.

3. Reducing Dark Circles

If you want to reduce the puffiness in your eyes, a quick frugal fix is reusing old teabags. Refrigerate the tea bags if you want to use it as a cold compress good for anything from mild eye irritations, dark circles, puffy eyes, to minor eye injuries. For a warm compress, let it cool down to room temperature level. Just make sure that all the excess liquid is squeezed out first. 

4. Tea for Body Scrub

Body scrubs are so easy to DIY, you don’t have to pay $30 for a tub. DIY tea body scrubs are a natural and frugal alternative trick to add to your skincare routine. Dear Crissy’s tea scrub recipe for a body scrub only needs two bags of green tea bags, sugar, and melted coconut oil. 

5. Eliminating Bad Breath

Tea leaves are known to be effective at eliminating odors. In fact, according to a study from Kashan University, gree tea mouthwash can actually reduce plaque and gingivitis. If you want to make a tea-based mouth wash, steep your used tea bags, combine with some baking soda, and let it cool down.

6. DIY Tea Face Scrub

Used tea leaves are still rich with antioxidants and TLC “good stuff” (tartaric, lactic, and citric acid). Pop up a used tea bag, mix it with honey, and gently rub the mixture in your skin. Let it sit in your skin for five minutes and then rinse off properly. You can check out a more detailed detox recipe here.

7. Revitalize Dry Hair

If your hair is damaged or turning gray, its time to do a hair revamp. Graying hair is caused by follicles dying. To make it dark again, steep three used tea bags and one tablespoon of rosemary on it. Let it rest overnight before straining the content. Spray the mixture after shampooing. 

8. DIY Face Mist

If you add hydrating elements to tea’s antioxidants, you can create a great face mist. To make one, steep your used green tea bags and add your favorite essential oils, jojoba oil, and water to a spritz bottle – that’s it!

9. Smooth Your Chapped Lips

Dry lips are an annoying problem during winter and cold weather days. Chapstick can only do so much to prevent drying out, but it doesn’t add moisture. And if you’re unfortunate like me to be allergic to chapstick… After you use your tea bags, place it onto your lips directly. This will help moisturize your lips and plump them back up.

10. Tea & Henna Hair Dye

If you want a temporary, all-natural hair dye, you can use henna with black tea for a black dye. It’s temporary, but it gets the job done at a cheap price. 

 Recommended Reads:

• 22 Best Sites to Score Free Product Samples By Mail ?
• How To Make Money As An Instagram Influencer
• 12 Salon Secrets to Save Hundreds of Dollars Off Your Manicures ?

For Practical Household Uses

1. Easy Carpet Cleaning

Carpets are prone to dirt and unpleasant odors. To freshen up your carpet, all you have to do is to dry out used tea bags and baking soda. Mix the two ingredients and sprinkle it in the bad spot. Leave the mixture for 20 minutes before vacuuming the area.

2. Revive Old Wood Furniture

Do you have a woodworking restoration project? You can use tea bags to polish your work without spending too much money. Re-steep used tea bags and use soft wag to polish the wood surface.

3. Eliminating Odor

Like charcoal, tea leaves are known to reduce or eliminate funky smells with ease. Dry out a fragrant tea bag and place it in the smelly area that needs a little pick-me-up.

4. Cleaning, Shining Mirrors & Glass

Mirrors are notorious for being one of the most annoying things to clean. It shows fingerprints, grease, and dust easily. To avoid leaving smudges while wiping, you can use a weak diluted black tea solution from a used teabag. Soak soft rags in the solution and use it to wipe the mirror.

5. Revamping Old Clothes

Black tea is also a good dye for clothing, not just for temporary hair color. Steep several used tea bags to make a strong tea and pour it into a container with clean water. Soak your old clothes in the solution for several hours and then apply dry heat to seal the color. Add in a dash of regular table salt into the tea liquid to help seal color.

6. Make an Air Freshener

By adding your favorite essential oil, you can transform a brewed tea bag into a DIY air freshener. Add a few drops of essential oils to the brewed bag and attach it to the affected area. Add in more oil drops anytime you need it and hang it up in an area that needs refreshing.

7. Mice Repellent

Mice and pests are not fond of peppermint. Simply grab a good scented tea bag (ie. peppermint tea) and add in more peppermint essentials oils. Hang the bags of this strongly scented mixture to places that you want to keep rodent-free.

Recommended Reads:

• 10 DIYs For The Most Common Insect & Pest Infestation (On The Cheap)
• DIY Solutions To Common Plumbing Problems to Save Money

8. Easy Fireplace Cleaning

Cleaning up a fireplace can be tough work if you don’t know how to deal with the fine ash particles. By pouring damp tea dust or tea leaves into the ashes, you can scoop it up with more ease. Adding tea leaves reduces fine particles to escape in the air, as well as reduces the smell in the fireplace.

9. Cleaning Cookware Grease

Washing greasy cookware is a pain in the neck, but that doesn’t have to be the case. For an effortless grease removal, pour used brewed tea bags with hot water into the dirty pan and let it sit overnight to soak.

10. Preventing Cookware Rust

Black tea leaves have a weak acid called tannic acid which converts rust into a protective barrier that prevents oxidation. All you have to do is to rub a damp tea bag to your cookware after washing them.

11. Soothe Your Dog’s Paw

Teabags can also be used to give relief to your pet’s paw during the winter. The tea’s properties are also beneficial to your pets to regenerate and hydrate their paw. 

 Recommended Reads:

• What To Do When You Cut The Dog’s Nails Too Short (Free Home Remedies)

12. Clean Cast Iron

Cast iron is tricky to clean. You can’t use the dishwasher, soap, or steel wool on it. We have a beautiful cast iron pan in our home…but getting a proper seasoning on them while being so limited in cleaning makes it a rare use in our busy family kitchen. But if you have a bag of old black tea, rubbing the surface with damp tea bags erases the old food smells and lessens the grease. 

13. Natural Floor Wax

Just like in woodworking, the tannin in a used tea bag can be used to shine wooden floors. Depending on the size of the floor, you might need a lot of used tea bags.

14. Absorb Shoe Odor

A dried-out used tea bag can be used as a deodorizer to absorb the stinky odor coming off worn shoes. Put bags of dried out seeped tea bags inside your shoes, and the odor will be eliminated out over time. 

15. Polishing Leather

The tannin in the tea can also polish leather effectively. In fact, tannin is used traditionally to cure leather. Rub the used tea bag to clean your leather shoes.

16. Potpourri

A potpourri is a mixture of dried plant materials used for its decorative and fragrant uses. Adding a dried used tea bag can infuse your favorite tea fragrance with your favorite potpourri mixture. 

17. Campfire Starter

For an easy DIY campfire starter, using tea bags are cheap and easy. All you have to do is to dip the used tea bag in melted candle wax and set it aside until it hardens.

18. Cat Deterrent

Used tea bags are an exceptional all-natural cat deterrent. Cats just tend to avoid tea altogether. If you don’t want any cats digging or urinating in your garden (without hurting them), just scatter around your old used tea bags. 

For Improving Food 

1. Tenderizing Meat

The tannin in tea leaves is a natural tenderizer. Additionally, the natural flavor of the tea will add savoriness and sweetness to the meat. Just add your used tea bags to the marinate. Note that this tenderizing technique works best on red meats like pork, beef, and lamb.

Recommended Reads:

• 51 Healthy Frugal Dinner Recipes You Can Make for Under $2
• 25 Simple 5-Ingredient Meals for Under $5 to Feed a Whole Family
• 35 Scrumptious Meals You Can Cook Under 20 Minutes (20 Minute Recipes)

2. Make Tea Eggs

Even after usage, there are still tons of flavors left in used tea bags. By using both new and old tea bags in one tea egg brew, you will get a slightly stronger flavor for tea eggs. Tea eggs work best with black and red tea varieties, opt for dark soy sauce along with dark teas (it gives the best color).

3. Tea Fused Pasta & Grains

Another way to reuse tea bags is by adding flavor to pasta and grains. Even a simple oatmeal dish can be leveled up.  Before cooking, soak your tea bags to the pot of water before it boils. Remove the bags when you start cooking your pasta and grains.

4. A Tea Cocktail

Who said that you can’t mix tea and liquor together? Tea cocktails are known for being refreshing and relaxing. If you want a nice long island tea in summer, be creative and experiment with the liquor of your choice. As a general rule, use one tablespoon of used tea leaves for every six ounces of spirit. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour. 

5. Make Sweet Tea Syrup

Love Southern comfort recipes? Try this classic! If you like to infuse sweet tea flavors in your cocktails, tea syrup is your best bet. To make this concoction, mix three teabags, a cup of water, and a cup of white sugar in a saucepan. Let it simmer and keep it in a jar. 

6. Make a Cold Brew

A cold brew is also called Sun Tea, is a way of steeping tea leaves using cold water. Most people use sun tea for its distinct flavor (because of lower temperature during extraction) or just a quick way to get their cup of tea. Use at least 10 tea bags (or more if used) in a gallon of water and let it sit in a very warm place, but not directly under the sun.

7. Perk Up Bouquet Garni

Infuse a herbal flavor to your soups and stocks by adding used tea leaves in your bouquet garni. Bouquet garni is a collection of herbs (for example, include thyme, bay leaf, and parsley etc.) wrapped together to flavor your soup and is fished out later after the usage. To make your own bouquet garni, wrap your used tea bags with the herbs of your choice using a cheesecloth.

8. Season Your Rice (Ochazuke) 

Ochazuke is a flavored bowl of cooked leftover rice, usually with green tea or dashi. The rice will then be garnished with toppings like nori, scallions, or wasabi. Reheat your leftover rice while steeping the used green tea bags. Add your preferred garnish and pour your tea on top of the rice. 

9. Make Your Oatmeal More Flavorful

Instead of your usual milk or hot water, why not try to cook your daily oatmeal with tea? Steep your used tea bags and pour them in your oatmeal. Start with your favorite green tea before trying other kinds of tea with bolder flavors.

For Medicinal Purposes

1. Reduce Sunburn Inflammation

Tea leaves have medicinal properties too, and one of them is reducing inflammation. Black Tea is specifically used for this purpose because of its stronger tannic acid content. Unwrap the used bags and steep them with room temperature water. Apply the tea gently in the affected sunburned area. 

2. For Treating Bug Bites

The same soothing component that tannins provide in sunburn inflammations is also applicable for treating bug bites. Instead of using black tea extracts from a teabag, gently apply the cooled down teabag to the affected area directly and leave there. Green tea is recommended.

3. Relax By Taking a Herbal Bath

Having a tea bath is a cheap and relaxing alternative to having a paid spa session. The smell of tea, in general, is therapeutic and helps relax you after a bad day. To make a tea bath, just add the used tea bags to your bathwater. Chamomile is a great tea to start with if you haven’t made a tea bath before. Also, try to add a few drops of lavender essential oils as it’s been proven to help relax sore muscles.

4. Treating Acne

Teas, especially the green tea variant, can help in making dreadful acne disappear. A lot of tea components can help in reducing or removing acne in the skin. The first one is the catechins, which are both have anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. Green tea also has epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which reduces oily skin.

5. Treating Wounds

The anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties of tea are not only used to treat acne. According to medical research in Iran, green tea extract can help wounds heal faster. These leaves are even considered effective in helping surgical wounds heal. 

Related Reads:

• My Christmas Emergency Room Trip: The Best Present I’ve Ever Got

6. Treating Poison Ivy

The unfortunate few of us that have run-ins with poison ivy, accidentally or not know it’s never fun. By brewing used tea bags and applying it to the rash for 10 to 15 minutes, you will feel rash relief. Take note: avoid touching the tea bag after, it can spread the poison ivy.

7. Removing Warts

Brewing used tea bags and applying it gently to the wart is an effective way to naturally remove painful, unsightly skin growth. After steeping tea, wait until the soaked tea bags cooled down, apply it to the affected area, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. 

8. Soothe Swollen Gums

Swollen gums are often caused by gingivitis, infection, or dentures that don’t fit properly. While these problems have a lot more complex and expensive solutions than just tea, lessening the symptoms is a lot easier to take the edge off. Gently press a room-temperature wet tea bag into your gum to ease the swelling. Note: Avoding using tea bags and discuss other methods with a pedictirian or dentist as children are more sensitive to caffine in tea if they are having teething & gum pains.

9. Soothe Small Burns

Black tea bags can be repurposed as medicine for small burns. Pressing a wet tea bag in a small burn can initiate protective skin coagulation and soothes the affected area. 

10. Helps Promote Hair Growth

Most tea variants have quercetin and EGCG that promotes healthy hair growth. For the best results, using green tea is recommended. Rinse your hair with the tea water extracted from used tea bags. You can also try this with a combination of rinsed rice water.

11. Calm Razor Burn

One of the cheapest remedies for healing pesky razor burn is brewed tea leaves. Get a bag of your preserved black tea bags, soak it in water and squeeze out excess liquid. Gently apply the bag to the irritated area. 

12. Canker Sore Removal

Canker sores are small white ulcers that appear in the mouth. These sores are very painful and prevent you from enjoying any food. You can apply tea extracts from used tea bags to canker sores to speed up the healing. 

13. Soothe Skin Blisters 

Skin blisters, particularly in the hands, can be treated with used tea bags. The tea bag works by draining out any excess liquid that makes these blisters terrible. Similar treatment to canker sores, just apply the extract from the used tea bag to soothe the blisters. 

14. Provides Toothache Relief

Tea leaves have been proven to give relief to inflammed gums by gently applying the extract to the affected area. You can rinse with a mixture of peppermint tea and a pinch of salt for added relief. 

15. Removing Toenail Fungus

The toenail fungus appears when a crack in your nail buries itself to your skin. In the best case, you will only have discoloration in your nails. In the worst case, it’s very painful and tricky to treat. One home remedy for a mild case is to use black tea bags and apply it to where the toenail fungus developed.

16. Cure Sore Throat

Both chamomile and peppermint tea can temporarily lessen the pain caused by a sore throat. Lemon and honey also contain anti-inflammatory properties that you can mix into diluated tea for added benefits to tea’s natural astringent properties. 

For Gardening

1. Speed Up Compost Pile

Organic things like used tea bags are often thrown in the compost pile to give nourishment for garden plants. Open up the bag (some manufacturers use plastic for bags so watch out) and throw the leftover tea leaves inside onto the compost pile. 

2. Fertilizer and Fungus Fighter

Teabags have a considerable amount of nitrogen which can fertilizer a potted plant. Brew the used teabags and set the tea aside to cool down. Use the tea in watering your potted plants. 

3. Improve Rosebushes Health

It takes a lot of experience and effort to perfectly grow rose bushes. To add more love to your plants, sprinkle the soil with used dry tea leaves. Cover it with mulch right after. The nutrients in the tea leaves will be added to the soil if you water your roses.

4. Help Ferns Grow

Ferns also love the tea extracts because of these plants love acid. You can make the soil a little more acidic by watering them with tea (either brewed from new or used tea leaves) once in a while.

5. Grow Seedlings

A lot of gardeners use containers to start growing their seedlings. For a cheaper alternative, you can substitute containers with tea bags to jumpstart growing your seedlings. Put the seeds in a moist tea bag and wait for the seeds to grow.

6. Retain Water In Roots

Last but not the least, tea bags can help plants retain water in the plants’ roots. Tea leaves have a high amount of potassium and phosphorus that help water retention and reducing weed growth.

I remember some extra rough years growing up. My family qualified for public assistance, but my parents never took advantage of the government aid that was there. Partly because of pride and the other part because they weren’t aware of all the help that was available. There’s no shame in the times when you need help, especially if you are a single parent. Moms have it hard enough already. Everyone struggles in their own way. I wish my parents had sought out public assistance, it would have made things a little easier growing up.

Lots of families experience financial hardship here and there, even for families with two working parents on the line like mine. After becoming a first-time mom this year during COVID-19 and struggling through those brutal first months, I just can’t grasp how insanely difficult it must be for single moms who only have limited income sources. According to a report from the US Census Bureau, 30% of families with single mothers are under the poverty line. 

With some diligent research for a newly single mommy pal of mine, I was able to compile a resource list of U.S. government (both state & federal) deployed programs to aid single parents on a continuous basis. Here are some of the most popular financial aids for single moms (and dads) with no or low income.

Note: This list is applicable to only U.S. residents.

 Relevant Reads:

• What Is The Real Cost of Raising a Child (Done Frugally and On The Cheap)
• Got Kids? Check Out These Free Rainy Day Resources for Kids
• 11 Punchable Financial Crimes According to Me
• When Having Too Much Money is Bad (The Cons of Being Rich)
• How To Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last Embarrassingly Long

Financial Aid For Single Moms

1. Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF)

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF is one of the major financial aids by the government. With this program, qualified participants can receive cash, childcare, and work aid from their local government. Cash assistance is based on the parent’s household income and the number of dependencies under 18 years old. 

Requirements:

• A child or children under 18 years old 
• Monthly income meets the income guideline

Official Website: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/tanf

2. The Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) 

The Women, Infants, and Children Program or WIC is a federally administered program aimed towards pregnant women, infants, and children under 5 years old. Participants who are at “nutritional risk” are prioritized. When eligible, the participant usually receives monthly food packages or vouchers they can use to purchase specific food items. 

Requirements:

• Children up to 5 years old
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• People who are at “nutritional risk”
• Homeless people and migrants with “nutritional risk”

Official Website: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic

 Related Reads:

• Amazon vs Walmart vs Target Freebie Sample Box Review
• 9 Thrifty Hacks That Will Help You Save On Maternity Clothes

3. Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)

The Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program or FMNP is a program that lets beneficiaries buy eligible fruits and vegetables from participating farmer’s markets at a discounted price. Coupons received via FMNPP can be used on these locations: local farmers, farmers’ markets, and roadside stands. Since FMNP is connected to WIC, WIC beneficiaries are automatically eligible to receive benefits. 

Requirements:

• Same with WIC program

Official Website: https://www.fns.usda.gov/fmnp/wic-farmers-market-nutrition-program

4. Unemployment Insurance 

Unemployment Insurance is a government program that gives help to unemployed individuals who are not the fault of their situation. Each state has its own different rules, so check out the link below benefits expectations and application process in your state. This benefit usually lasts up to 26 weeks to help you get a boost in job searching. 

Requirements:

• Unemployed through no fault (it means that getting fired or quitting a job is not valid)
• Must meet wage requirement in the current state 

Official Website (Find Your State): https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/UnemploymentBenefits/find-unemployment-benefits.aspx

Recommended Reads:

• How I Made Over $2,400 on MTurk With This Survival Guide
• 11 Real Ways You Can Make Money With Your Car?
• Can Being a Friend-For-Rent Really Make Extra Money? – Rent A Friend Review

5. Additional Child Tax Credit

Known as Child Tax Credit or CTC, this program lets family breadwinners deduct tax credit to the income tax amount.  Anyone with children under 17 can claim tax credits. The tax credit will depend on the number of children you have in your family. If your payable tax amount is reduced to zero after subtracting tax credit, the amount you owe is also reduced to zero. In addition, you can refund up to $1,400.

Requirements:

• Must have children under 17 years old at the end of the tax year
• Adjust gross income of $200,000 or less

Official Website: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-tax-credit-income-limits-and-maximum-credit-amounts

 Relevant Reads:

• Frugality Is a Lifestyle That You Might Be Doing Wrong
• Facebook Bragging Can Be Annoying – And Ruin Your Finances Too
• Download Our Free Google Budget Sheet ?

Electronic Benefits Transfers (EBT):

6. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 

This program is the biggest food assistance program of the US Government. SNAP is formerly known as Food Stamps, but are renamed last 2008. It is very similar to WIC in essence, but the eligibility and benefits are different. The WIC program is focused more on women and children who are having difficulties in getting food to remain healthy. On the other hand, SNAP has a larger scope and benefits but has more restrictive eligibility requirements. Beneficiaries of SNAP will also receive discounts when shopping in a SNAP Retailer store.

I tried to get myself on the SNAP challenge as an experiment and failed miserably.

Requirements:

• The beneficiary must have a household monthly income below 130 percent of the poverty line ($1,778 for a 3-person family as of 2020)
• State-level specific requirements

 Relevant Reads:

• How To Properly Dispute A Medical Bill & Save Some Money

7. National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

The National School Lunch Program or NSLP is a federal program that is available for both public and nonprofit private schools around the country. It provides free or low-cost lunch for children who are members of low-income families. Schools should provide meals that meet the standards set by the Food and Nutrition Service and the United States Department of Agriculture. 

Requirements:

• If the child’s family participates in SNAP 
• If the child is enrolled in any Head Start Program
• Family size and income 
• Children who live with families living below the poverty line
• Check the income guideline here

8. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

TEFAP is another food assistance program from the US Department of Agriculture. USDA foods are distributed to people who qualify for these benefits. Each state has its own guidelines for food distribution (food that beneficiaries receive can change depending on the market and agricultural conditions). Instead of directly giving vouchers or food packets, TEFAP partners with local agencies to distribute the food (e.g. food banks, soup kitchens, etc). You can check out the list of food usually distributed by TEFAP in this webpage.

Recommended Reads:

• 51 Healthy Frugal Dinner Recipes You Can Make for Under $2
• 25 Simple 5-Ingredient Meals for Under $5 to Feed a Whole Family
• 35 Scrumptious Meals You Can Cook Under 20 Minutes (20 Minute Recipes)

Free Health Care And Education Programs

9. Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

The Children Health Insurance Program provides healthcare for children under low-income families. Healthcare services like routine check-ups, prescriptions, dental and vision care, immunizations, and inpatient/outpatient care are covered with this program. Although each state covers CHIP, the requirement varies from one state to another. You can apply for benefits by calling 1-800-318-2596 or via the Health Insurance Marketplace online. 

Requirements: 

Check with your state for more specific requirements and information about CHIP. 

10. Pell Grant

Single moms who want o go back to school can take advantage of the Pell Grant, a federal program that gives assistance for low-income students. Unlike student debt, you don’t really have to pay the government to give you cash assistance. The help you will receive is usually the gap between your expected family contribution and your cost of attendance. For example, if your cost of attendance is about $15,000, but you can only pay for $10,000, the remaining $5,000 will be shouldered by the program. 

Requirements: 

• FAFSA form
• Citizen of the United States
• Enrolled in a certificate or degree program at a participating college
• Undergraduate or vocational students only

 Related Reads:

• 4 Profound Things I Wish I Knew Before Growing Up
• Effective But Semi Illegal Ways To Pay Off Student Loans
• Top 5 Financial Mistakes I’ve Made In My Early 20s

Housing And Utility Bills Help

11. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Housing Assistance

The Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD provides subsidies for low-income families. HUD will work directly with property owners to lessen up the rent expense of families in the program. Because of this, the family beneficiaries will only pay for a discounted monthly rent expense. 

Requirements: 

• Applicants must past the income limit requirement (check out the income limit requirement here)

12. Low Income Energy Beal Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

The Low Income Home Emergency Assistance Program is another financial assistance that aims to help low-income families by reducing their utility bills. Like HUD, the government works directly with energy providers for the LIHEAP aid. Eligible families can choose between one-time winter assistance that can range from $45 to $450 or a crisis intervention program where the utilities are about to be shut off due to payment difficulties. The second option can net $300 worth of benefits during the summer and $800 during the winter. 

Requirements: 

• LIHEAP income eligibility (check your local LIHEAP office) 

 Related Reads:

• Guide To Living In Your Car When Renting Gets Unaffordable
• 10 Genius Ways to Live Rent Free & Without a Mortgage
• Used Car Buying Tips: Private Seller or Car Dealership (Which Is Better?)

State-Specific Aid Programs

Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) 

The Minnesota Family Investment Program or MFIP can be described as “teaching a family how to fish, and sharing your catch at the same time.” In conjunction with the Diversionary Work Program or DWP (where parents receive employment help), MFIP gives cash assistance until the family’s finances are better. This program is aimed at children and pregnant women and usually runs for up to 60 months. 

Requirements: 

• Pass the income test
• Owns assets not more than $10,000

New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP)

The New Hampshire Employment Program is very similar to MFIP. The only big difference is that NHEP is aimed to give help to able-bodied people. As a level-up to MFIP, NHEP has programs that give GED-Equivalency Diploma, on-the-job training, and job search assistance. 

Requirements:

• Able-bodied and is between 16 to 60 years of age

Kansas Successful Families Program

The Kansan Successful Families Program is similar in benefits to both MFIP and NHEP. It is designed to help families who want to improve their financial situation while getting basic necessities at the same time. 

Requirements:

• Able-bodied and under 60 years old
• At least one child under 19

Related Reads:

• Debt and Suicide – Why I’m Proud To Be A Grown-Up Tattletale
• The 11 Perks of Growing Up Poor

Where To Get Help During COVID-19 Lockdown?

There are millions of families and individuals who are currently affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. The situation is now affecting the economy, businesses, and families who rely on monthly income to get their basic needs and will likely have no emergency savings. To help people in low-income families, the US government created the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES. Here are the information and programs relating to this act. 

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – FPUC is an unemployment aid that provides a weekly allowance of $600 on top of the regular Unemployment Insurance benefits.
• Pandemic Unemployment Assitance (PUA) – PUA temporarily expands Unemployment Insurance to people who are self-employed, freelancers, and independent contractors. 
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – PUA provides benefit coverage extensions for people who already exhausted their Unemployment Insurance benefits. This extension lasts for 13 weeks. 

But don’t worry. This article is not to be the bearer of bad news. On the contrary, it brings very good news! We’ll talk about the 10 genius ways to live rent-free that’s legal too! Ironically more legal than living in your car in some places!

Can you imagine how amazing it is to live rent-free? The main point is: month after month of not paying anything on rent will be a major game-changer on anyone’s budget. If you can hack it right. During our mad savings phase, we were able to live completely mortgage-free and even make extra money on Airbnb as full-time hosts.

Was it considered extreme? You betcha! But we were able to hit new net worth goals every month and save more money than we could ever save from our regular day jobs!

If you are renting, instead of using the money to pay rent, you can set it aside for something else. You can use it to pay off your debts like high-interest credit card debts or student loans – much faster than cutting back on smaller budget items like groceries or entertainment.

If you don’t have debt then you can use it to save up for a down payment on a new house so you’ll never have to worry about keeping up with the upward pace of rent.

? Related Reads:

• The Hefty Financials Costs Behind Owning a McMansion
• The Confessions of a Houseporn Addict
• 30 Tried-and-True Hacks To Lower Your Electricity Bill

Have Others Pay Your Rent

Every person needs a suitable place to live and that’s why housing is a true necessity. You can get creative sharing your space and in return, they can pay your rent. That sounds a lot like swindling, yeah? But no. You are not swindling anyone. You could actually be helping other people out by providing them a necessity. As mentioned, these are perfectly legal methods to living without any rent or mortgage if you want to try it out.

1. Get Roommates

Did you know that more and more adults are sharing their living space? Pew Research released its findings in 2018 and said that 25 million adults who own or rent their household share it with another adult. Getting roommates is the most common way to live without paying rent. But to make this work, you need to get enough roommates to cover your rent.

Let’s assume you are renting a 3-bedroom unit for $1,500. Get 2 more roommates and have them pay $750 to rent one room each. That should completely cover your monthly rent! In fact, if you want some extra money, you can even add another roommate.

Of course, these figures will vary depending on where you live. Just make sure that you will charge fair rates – or else they will look for another place to live. 

Just remember: it is also important to choose the right roommates. You will be living with these people. You want them to complement your personality so you can have a blast living at home. Be ready with rental agreements, house rules, etc. You have to make sure they can afford to pay rent. Don’t be afraid to ask for references and do background checks, better safe than sorry.

2. Rent To Sublet

Here’s another option for you to live rent-free. Split or create rentable space and sublet another unit or two. You can charge a higher rate to other tenants who need it by offering what traditional landlords don’t. I recommend looking for local college students or people who work nearby.

But won’t you get in trouble with the landlords? Well, that’s where you need to pay a little bit of attention. Make sure you look closely at the contract to make sure the landlord does not say anything specific about subletting. If there is none, then you are free to use it as you wish.

My mother rents and sublets out her San Francisco converted basement. She formed a good relationship and entered the sublet agreement with her landlord by being a consistent and good tenant for many years. So there it is: my mother the 67-year-old, low income, retired woman…living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Her 2 bedroom converted basement with 1 bath, backyard, and full kitchen…get this...she only pays $300 a month for! The current monthly rental price for a place like her converted basement (remember this is San Francisco!) is $3,600! Isn’t that clever of her?

If you are lucky and clever, you might end up with a landlord that is practically hands-off when it comes to the property. That means as long as you pay the rent, they won’t really check or care.

Something I wanted to note: for half a decade, my mom has been an excellent tenant with on-time payments. She even developed a friendly relationship with the landlord (offering homecooked food occasionally and even emergency babysitting).

Recommended Reads:

• How I Made Over $2,400 on MTurk With This Survival Guide
• 11 Real Ways You Can Make Money With Your Car?
• Can Being a Friend-For-Rent Really Make Extra Money? – Rent A Friend Review

3. Hosting a Vacation Rental

If the other two options don’t sit well with you, then here’s another one: vacation rentals! AKA Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway are the 3 major tech frontrunners for online short term rentals companies. I’ve personally hosted on all 3 platforms. They were all fairly similar experiences as far as hosting goes.

I just slightly preferred Airbnb’s website and app interface. You can list your property on all 3 websites to get the maximum booking, just make sure you keep your calendars up to date so no dates accidentally overlap.

If you happen to have an extra room in the unit you are renting, you can sublet it on Airbnb. If that place has its own separate entrance, that’s even better. (Not that that’s a necessity, our Airbnbs only had one entrance.)

So why not join the 150 million registered users of Airbnb! Data reveals that at least 2 million people are staying in various Airbnbs at all times. People like how affordable Airbnbs and short term rentals can be compared to pricey hotels. Guests can get all the freedom while they travel. No one is limited to a kitchenless hotel room in the heart of the overly busy, loud, or shady parts of town.

What is great about this option is the fact that you can charge a higher rate per night if you don’t mind minor cleaning in between hosting your guests. You can charge up anywhere from $50 to $100+ per night not including your cleaning fees. If the average stay is 3 nights, you can get $300 after one visit. If you can just arrange only one visit per week, you get $900 a month to cover rent. Most of the time, you will get a lot more than just one booking per week.

If you want to charge a higher rate, you can offer amenities like faster WiFi, basic breakfast, private parking, large fenced pet-friendly yard, excellent host reputation, 4.5+ star reviews, professional photography, weekly stay discounts, etc. That should help you earn some extra money. This will work really well if you live in a tourist hotspot but that’s not mandatory either.

Our Airbnbs were not in a tourist hotspot, we actually live close to the quiet suburbs of Seattle. What I found was many Airbnb guests liked the safety and quiet tranquillity of more suburban Airbnb rentals. They also get to see more of the city’s soul vs the city’s tourist front.

 Got Some Space? – Rent out a spare room on Airbnb! This was my claim to fame. I made $71,000 on Airbnb last year while putting in just 12 hours a week. I’m not even joking when I say there are tons of hosts even more successful than I am.

4. Buy a House & Rent It Out

This no longer makes you a renter but it will give you a more secure mortgage. You will become an official homeowner and live mortgage-free. That’s even better than free rent because you get to keep the paid off house in the end!

Homes with mother in law units or multi-unit buildings could be a great approach to living rent-free. For our family, we are specifically looking for a mother in law style house because of the flexibility of MIL properties in a populated city. MIL units have been an on-going trend that has proven to be lucrative and popular for homeowners.

If you have a stellar credit rating, you can get a really low rate on a mortgage, especially these recent times, mortgage rates are at historical lows. To be specific, for first-time homeowners, you can look for FHA loans. If you don’t have a full 20% down payment saved up but you have a very stable income + income streams then consider other types of bank loans that you can use.

If you have enough funds, you can renovate the property so it looks like a duplex. That way, you can live privately in one part of the house and have the rest rented out.

Jobs That Lets You Live Rent Free

Having someone else pay for the rent seems easy but not everyone wants to share their space. The good thing is it’s not the only option that you have. You can also use work to get free rent, and there are tons of work out there the will provide you a bed if you can provide a good service.

5. Rent-for-Work

There are work programs that will not pay a lot of cash – or maybe none at all. But these will allow you to live in the owner’s property completely free. This is great for those who do not mind living on a farm or local family business where you can live and work.

If you live on a farm, you might be tasked to clean stalls, help milk the cows or manage the crops. Most of it will be manual labor so be prepared to get a little bit physical. If it keeps you fit then it shouldn’t be so bad. The other option is living in a local family-owned hotel/bed and breakfasts for free in exchange for hotel cleaning services or being the hotel’s maintenance technician.

The major concern about a rent-for-work set up is, unfortunately, it’s not always a full-time job. Being a live-in farmhand might only be possible during harvest time. When there is nothing much to do, the owners might not need your services anymore. To avoid seasonal work, make sure you make a special arrangement with the owner/landlord, they might allow you to stay. At worst, just be prepared to move around after a couple of months. Adventurous people should find this quite appealing.

To find these jobs, create a professional profile and make sure you are clear and honest with your details. Websites like Indeed, NextDoor, and Craigslist are good starters. Just remember to be careful with the contact you get online.

6. Work as an Au Pair (Live-In Nanny)

How about working as an au pair? An au pair is a fancy word for a live-in nanny, they provide childcare in exchange for a free room. If you love kids, exploring other countries, then this should be very fun for you. You get to live rent-free, even earn a little spending money (the average seems to be around $400/month but the terms differ wildly by individual families), while joining an exciting new family. Nanny.org stated that the median hourly rate for a nanny is $18 in 2017.

You get to live rent-free in a nice, safe, family home. Au pairs are used all across the world by wealthier families. After all, only affluent families can afford to hire a live-in nanny. The terms each family sets are totally different. You can set your own terms too. For example, some au pairs do not offer cooking services unless it’s specifically for the children. Sometimes, employers will give benefits and freebies to live-in nannies so they can stay longer (especially if their children have bonded with you).

To become a nanny, you don’t always have to look for an agency, although it would give you quicker exposure. Another option is creating your own profile on Care.com or AuPair.com. They can connect you to families looking for reputable nannies. Make sure that you are clear that you are looking for a live-in situation. Keep your eyes on Craigslist as well. You might find someone there that you can work for.

Recommended Reads:

• 10 Babysitter Apps To Jumpstart Your Babysitting Career & Get Hired
• 7 Flexible Online Teaching Type Jobs From Home (Side Hustle Ideas)

7. Become a Building Manager

What do you think about becoming an apartment building manager? If you want to live rent-free, this is another great option to consider. As the building manager, you are usually given one of the lower apartment units to live in for free.

An apartment building manager is responsible for taking care of the concerns of the tenants. This means there is a possibility that you will be getting phone calls during odd hours. It’s part of the job. Among your responsibilities include facilitating repairs, making sure the common areas are functional, clean, and safe, etc.

This live-in job will make traveling hard since you are essentially on-call 24/7. But what’s great about this is you can work another job while being an apartment building manager. Just make sure you can attend to the needs of the tenants even while you are working your other job.

To get started on this job, look for an apartment management company. All companies have different rules and requirements, so make sure your resume and credentials are impressive. Make sure you check your responsibilities carefully so it will fit in with how you want to live your life.

8. House or Pet Sit

Sometimes, homeowners want to go on a long vacation or need to travel a lot for work. Our family has hired a house + pet sitter combo before. We have a dog and every December we have to take a week off away to see family. Having someone house sit and pet sit for you is a huge lifesaver. Needless to say, it’s a job that comes with a high level of trust. We’re talking about a very expensive asset and a member of your family!

This job will allow you to live rent-free but it would also mean you will be going from one house to another so always have a back-up place to live in case an assignment falls through – like crashing with a close friend or family member (even staying short term at an Airbnb.)

There are long-term house sitting options like taking care of turnovers for Airbnbs/vacation homes. You can take care of the vacation home and host guests for them while the real homeowners are away. Essentially, house sitting and pet sitting jobs are quite flexible. You can even find owners looking for houseboat sitters.

Admittedly, this is not as common as the other work-related options on this list. But it is an option that you can keep an eye out for. When we stayed at an Airbnb in Portland, we met a young live-in Airbnb host who lived rent-free and her job was to clean up and manage the owner’s Airbnb properties.

Living With Family

If all else fails, we can always turn to our family. It’s normal for adult kids to move back and live with family, especially these days. Pew Research can attest to that: about 14% of shared households are between relatives. I didn’t fully move out myself until I was 24 (and some of my belongings are still at Ma’s house!)

 Related Reads:

• 4 Profound Things I Wish I Knew Before Growing Up
• Effective But Semi Illegal Ways To Pay Off Student Loans
• Top 5 Financial Mistakes I’ve Made In My Early 20s

9. Move Back With Parents

This might seem embarrassing for some adults but if you want to live rent-free, this is one of your best options. This is actually great for those who just got out of college and are paying off their student loans. It will also help you save some money for your own place someday.

Of course, you don’t want to be a free hoarder. You can pay for something else – like the electric bill or the groceries bills. That way, nobody, especially your folks, will feel like you are taking advantage of them. Just make sure to clean up after yourself. And submit to the rules of the house – even if you are already an adult.

If your folks have a garage or a basement, you can ask to have it renovated so you have your privacy. There is no need to move back to your old room. Having your own place and entrance will help you feel like a responsible adult – while living rent-free in your parent’s home.

10. Stay With a Relative

Do you have an older relative who needs help around the house? You can volunteer. You can take care of them and they can let you live there rent-free. You can mow the lawn, tend to the house, etc. Sometimes, a relative may just want to live with someone they know. Maybe they don’t want to be alone. So offer yourself to help with that could be a great win-win. Remember that this is great as a temporary arrangement until you get into a stronger financial situation.

 Related Reads:

• 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Feel Embarrassed To Attend Community College
• How I Paid Off $20,000 In Student Loans Working Part-Time
• 15 Money Things Young Adults Overlook That Matter

Extra Tips to Living Rent-Free

As awesome as it is to live rent-free, you need to be very careful before you take the plunge. All of the options above are legal and will not land you in any real hot water. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be cautious, here are some other key points you should know about:

• Rental income is considered taxable income (unless you made under $600/year). Leave around 25% of that rental income for your taxes. Make sure you include it in the taxes you will file each year.
• Read the contracts carefully. A lot of the rent-free options above will involve a contract or two – whether it is a lease or a job. If there is something you do not understand, consult an attorney (you can get free legal advice on Reddit too). Although contracts are tedious and very boring, it’s practical and for your own safety.
• Make sure you are insured. Renter’s insurance will help cover the properties you get. Renter’s insurance isn’t very expensive and will ensure that an accident will not rob you of all the savings you will get from living rent-free.
• Don’t be too greedy in charging or subletting rent. This will ensure that the turn-over rate of your tenants will not be too high.
• Never take advantage of someone. This is especially true when you are going to live with someone – a relative or an employer. Be considerate of their private lives and know your place in the house.
• Google is going to be your best friend on your search for a rent-free arrangement. Be thorough with all of your research before you enter into a formal arrangement.

If all goes well, you should be able to save a lot of money by living rent-free. You can set yourself up to be a property investor. Just make sure that you do not waste the opportunity to put extra money aside while living rent-free. It will really help set you up for a more secure financial future!

Let’s order these seventeen different apps and then also each get a full meal. Oh and how about another round of margaritas! Yes, we’ll split the bill.

– Unfrugaled Friends

I like to think that I live within my means without any real sacrifices but my spendy friends and family definitely throw a wrench into my frugal lifestyle.

So over years of trial and error, I developed some special techniques that let me fly under the frugal radar, save lots of money, AND keep all my friends happy! Today, I want to share these with you!

Who am I?? 

I’m Leif of FiveYearFIREescape.com! I retired about a year ago and my wife Lina retired a few years before I did. Our family is mindful of spending but we don’t budget (blechhh).

We have a big, crazy goal to travel around the world with our family, and most random expenses just don’t compare to it, making saving money really easy for us. 

We have two kids and I live in a very expensive city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (it’s no Bay Area though). Living there makes retirement harder but my family made it with the best side hustle ever (although it’s considered cheating to most people), some impressive saving, simple investing and a lot of real estate.

And that’s essentially the lessons we like to share: Saving. Investing. Living. 

Oh, I forgot the best part. 

I’m obsessed with doing everything in a time-efficient way. I always felt pressed for time so all of my investments are geared towards minimal time investment, and my blog is a reflection of that. If it takes time, I will bash on it…

 Related Reads:

• 9 Money Mistakes To Avoid For Debt-Free Living
• Don’t (Nicolas) Cage Yourself In Financially
• 4 Practical Budgets For People Bad With Money

So Back to Troublesome Friends:

It’s not a conspiracy set out against your thrifty goals. Going out for dinner and drinks is the status quo in most social circles.

You tell yourself that you’ll just get a glass of water and something cheap, but somehow you still end up gagging a little when the bill comes. 

What went wrong?

Mathematically it is 800x harder to say no to things once your friends are already saying yes. 

(True story: I was trying to be frugal and my friends all suddenly wanted bottle service. It was not a cheap night.) 

Is it just me or is everything expensive now?!

So perhaps the obvious solution is to just dodge going out altogether. “Nah, I’d rather stay in tonight.“

But pull that trick too many times and you will be declared as lame! The worst of all the things to be!

The truth is, you should be able to have fun. You’re young, and finance isn’t about sitting at home.

And you shouldn’t have to find a whole new group of friends just because you decided to take the plunge into living with some kick-butt personal finance strategies. (Unless you never liked those guys anyway.) 

So how do you get the best of both worlds? 

Bring Your Friends into Your Goals

I used to have this one friend who had the same money-saving idea, but his excuse was always “No, I can’t afford it.” I mean it got to the point, but it was such a downer.

He eventually turned into a downer himself and basically disappeared. 

My wife and I didn’t want to start bumming people out, so we came up with a way more inspiring alternative. 

We NEVER say I can’t. We tell our friends about our goals. We get excited. We share pictures. We say why this is a big deal to us and get them onboard with OUR goals. 

They’re our friends, after all, they should care. This message is positive, it keeps us in control, and people love it. 

By the way, a big tip: share a goal that your friends and family can get excited about with you.

Jumping to saying you want $3,000,000 by the time you’re 40 so you can quit working won’t get much buy-in.

But saying that you’re saving up for a Hawaii vacation (or a house, Beyonce concert, motorcycle, or whatever) will get you some serious street cred.

 Related Reads:

• 3 Signs When Being Frugal Doesn’t Work & What To Do About It
• Why Rich People Penny Pinch When They Don’t Have To?
• At What Age Does Being Broke Stop Being Cute?

3 Go-To Phrases To Stay Frugal

We use this phrase: 

Not today. We’re saving up for a wicked ______. How about we get together at our place? We’ll cook a stir-fry!

Let’s break this down. 

1. Say no. After you say no, stick to your guns

Don’t succumb to peer pressure. If they’re your friends, they’ll understand. If you give in once, it’ll be that much harder next time. By the way, this doesn’t mean NO forever. We’ll get to this later. 

2. Remind your friends of a thing you’re saving up for

It helps if you’ve talked about this before, and don’t spring this up as a last-minute plan change. But it’s up to you. 

And don’t fall for the argument that one dinner certainly couldn’t hurt your goals. It’s not about the one dinner, it’s about being in control of how you spend your money. (Besides, like I said, this isn’t a NO forever.) 

3. Offer a cheap or free alternative

It could be a hike, a simple coffee, wandering Ikea with no intention to buy anything (be strong!), or dinner at your place. Get creative, there are tons of things you can do for free. 

I wish I was as convincing as Rick’s heist bot.

“That’s Interesting!“

• Panhandling: How Much Money Do Panhandlers REALLY Make?
• How To Make Money As An Instagram Influencer (Internet Fame That Pays?)
• 39 People Who Got Richer AFTER Quitting Their Day Jobs
• Can Being a “Friend-For-Rent” Really Make Extra Money?

Prepare To Get Major Respect! 

Our go-to phrase is magical in that it’s so casual and easy and yet it demands respect. 

First of all, you’re saying no and being strong about it. That’s badass. People love badasses.

Then you’re sharing your goals and everyone respects people with a vision for their life. 

“You’re saving up for Argentina? That sucks!”
Can you hear someone saying that?
No, of course not!

It’ll be more like “Wow, you’re amazing! When are you going? I want to do something like that too but I keep going out to expensive dinners!” 

Lastly, you’re offering an alternative. Your spendy friends will probably give you a sigh of relief to hear that they can spend ten bucks and bring a bottle of wine instead of fifty at the bar.

Everyone wants to save money, they just haven’t thought about how to get out of these tricky social situations or developed the backbone to follow through. 

 Related Reads:

• How Much Money Does Our Frugality Save? (Spoiler: $56,000+/Year)
• Eat Ugly, Save Money? Imperfect Produce Review (+ FREE COUPON)
• Everything ‘Married…With Children’ Did That Kept Them Poor

So That’s It? No More Outings?

The thing to remember is that you don’t have to say no every single time. And you don’t have to say yes every single time either. The important part is that you made a conscious choice. Your dreams vs today’s outing and you are in control.

I actually love to go out with my friends for beers, take my wife out for dinner, and I even go clubbing sometimes. But here’s how I keep it frugal: 

1. Make it an event.

When we do come out, we *assist* our friends in making a big deal about it. It’s like our scarcity is a bonus feature. And we treat it like a special occasion for us as well, not some same-ol’ dinner. 

2. Avoid drinks!

I know, I know, but drinks are what really adds up at the end of the night. You can be the DD for the night if you want to avoid the peer pressure, or you can also…

3. Pre-drink.

I swear, I’m not some dumb frat jock, but this is the one lesson from college that’s stuck with me. Drinking at a bar is expensive. Drinking at a house is cheap. If you do want to consume copious amounts of alcohol do it at home. Invite everyone and make it a party (don’t drive obviously…do I need to say that??)

We have skipped going out plenty of times because our pre-drinking party got too feisty. It made for a better night anyways 

“Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.” – Frank Sinatra

We Kicked It Up a Notch 

Most recently, we used our go-to phrase to minimize gift-giving over Christmas for our family affairs.

For context, we’ve been trying to do this for years – not just for the cost-savings, but because we really don’t need or want extra stuff. 

 Related Reads:

• Why Do Mail-In Rebates Exist?
• 8 Ideas to Giving Special Christmas Gifts (Even When You’re Broke)
• 14 Inexpensive Wedding Ring Alternatives For Nontraditional Couples

Nor do we want to rack our brains coming up with fun but useless gadgets to give as gifts. Our family never accepted the gentle nudges about our minimalist ambitions, but this year was different.

We used the magic phrases: 

1 – “We’re really focused on planning our upcoming 4-month eurotrip.“
2 – “We realized that it doesn’t make sense to get gifts we won’t use for months AND we really want to save up so that we don’t have to worry about finances while we are away.“
3 – “How about we all just get something small for the kids but no big gift exchange?”

It worked! (To an extent.) I think our family will ‘forget’ next year, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. 

When you invite your friends and family into your dreams and goals, when you share your why it becomes easier to get everyone onboard with YOUR dream.

What about you, have your friends ever made it hard to stick to your frugal goals and what have you done about it? Tell me below! Or visit me at FiveYearFIREescape.com, Twitter, or Facebook. I’d love to hear your story.

I guess it’s one of those rare instances that the laws of fashion don’t apply. It’s not just another cute cardigan or a pair of shorts that every brand makes. It’s a very specific period for a woman’s body. A lot of maternity brands specialize in only maternity clothing. Lastly, it’s also a relatively short period of a woman’s lifetime when you’re actually showing a bump so the quality and longevity to price scenario don’t apply.

With a baby coming, let’s budget for clothes conservatively! Because babies are expensive!

But I didn’t want to go too cheap on maternity dresses! Comfort should be #1 especially when preggo! Shopping online can be risky with sizing, especially if it doesn’t fit well while your body is growing and changing every day. I started as a size XS and by the end of my pregnancy, I was a solid M.

Navigating through this myself for the first time I’ve slowly learned these frugal maternity clothing tricks without sacrificing on clothing quality and comfort. So worry not, there’s always a way to be money savvy & frugal when it comes to anything

Do You Really Need Maternity Clothes?

Yes, yes you do. A lot of changes happen during pregnancy, especially in the mom’s physical body. This is especially notable during the last months of pregnancy, where annoyances such as backaches and swelling become more frequent and almost unbearable. You are carrying a new life, you should at least have comfort and all the love you deserve.

It is the time when being comfortable is more important than being fashionable, at least for sane mommies-to-be.

The specific need for types of maternity clothes boils down to preference. It’s reported that on average, an expecting mother spends about $500 for maternity clothes alone. And most pregnant women start to buy maternity clothes around the second trimester.

Essential types of maternity clothes you should get your hands on while pregnant:

• Maternity belt / Bellybands
• Muumuu dresses
• Loose dresses with a slit cut up the side on the legs (recommended by our doula)
• Maternity leggings over the belly
• Your husband’s old sweatshirts and hoodies
• Flowing kimonos
• Under bump (low cut) underwear
• Postpartum (high rise) underwear
• Sleeping nursing bras with no underwire
• Hand-free pumping bras

Yes, the list of absolute essentials is a bit long but fortunately, other clever moms all around the world discovered some tricks to stay comfortable and fashionable without breaking the bank. Read on to learn about different hacks and tricks to avoid buying unnecessary maternity clothes!

1. The Rubber Band Trick

Whether you like it or not, jeans and tight pants are your first wardrobe casualties. As your baby bump starts to grow, so does your waistline. Maternity jeans can range from $30 to $100. After the pregnancy, it is likely that you’ll ever wear these jeans again. The Rubber Band trick will allow you to wear your regular jeans during the first trimester. All you have to do is to tie a rubber band or a ponytail in your jean’s button. Insert one end of the rubber band through the buttonhole. Hook the rubber band back to the button, and that’s it.

2. Modify The Pockets of Your Jeans

The rubber band trick will last you at least until the 2nd trimester. As your baby bump keeps on growing, you’ll probably need to find another solution to accommodate furhter along. But don’t throw your jeans away just yet, you can still do one last hack to use it during the remaining months of your pregnancy.

To do this trick, you need to have a sewing kit, thick elastic, and a scissor. First, you need to remove the whole pocket from the jeans. Next, use the pocket cut out to measure the elastic you’ll need (about double the length of the cut out). Last but not least, sew the elastic in the pocket area of your jeans. 

3. Go for Long Maxi Dresses

Practical moms like to buy things that they can use several times to minimize expenses. The idea of maternity dress which can be used after pregnancy has been around since the 18th century using short gowns. In this modern age, the Maxi Dress is the choice to make.

Maxi Dress is basically a form-fitting tube-dress made with cotton or polyester. You can find different varieties of prints and neck designs. What makes this appealing is that you can buy it for under $20 (half the price of a maternity dress) and you can use it after your pregnancy.

This is me wearing the same exact sunflower maxi dress my mom worn when she was pregnant with me. Can you believe this cheapy, yet super comfy dress lasted 2 generations?

 Related Reads:

• How Much Money Does Our Frugality Save? (Spoiler: $56,000+/Year)
• Eat Ugly, Save Money? Imperfect Produce Review (+ FREE COUPON)
• Everything ‘Married…With Children’ Did That Kept Them Poor

4. Try Wearing Stretchy Dresses

Most moms-to-be would buy loose-fitting dresses in order to become more comfortable. Loose clothing can accommodate the baby bump without restricting movement. But let’s face it, loose clothing (shirts, dresses, etc) are very unflattering when you’re pregnant. I didn’t want to look more..like a whale. Darn nature! Loose fits cover the area underneath the baby bump and hang like a curtain.

Instead, show your baby bump to the world by using form-fitting clothes made out of stretchable fabric. No more “hanging curtain” space beneath your baby bump.

5. Invest in Leggings, Kimonos, and Tunics

Tunics, flowing kimonos, and leggings are great additions to your maternity wardrobe. These are very comfortable to wear, available in different patterns + materials and can be purchased for cheap. Use flowy and stretchy tunics and add some spice with a scarf or a necklace.

Tunics and kimonos can be bought for less than $5 each secondhand. I purchased 4 kimonos on sale secondhand from Thredup and my total came to under $30 including shipping and taxes.

You can get one for just a little over $10 on Amazon. Once your pregnancy is over, you can still wear them!

6. Borrow Some of Your Hubby’s Clothes

This could be TMI (too much information) but I’m sitting here, writing this up…in my husband’s Adidas boxer briefs. Perhaps, the easiest way to save money by avoiding maternity clothes is to borrow your partner’s clothes. Even a regular button-up shirt is big enough to replace maternity clothing. And you don’t even have to change anything. Just take a few of his wardrobe pieces (shirts, sweatshirts, underpants etc.) and poof! Comfy new PJs for the (temporarily) bloated miss mom to be!

My old underpants no longer fit comfortably after the 2nd trimester. I don’t even want to tell you how comfy his boxers are. There’s no way they would have fit me before but now his boxers and briefs are perfect. It’s almost embarrassing how comfortable they are. Bonus, the clothes I’m stealing from my husband smells like him, reminds me of him, makes me happy because I love him :D!

7. Revamp Your Undergarments

Besides raiding your husband’s underpants drawer…there’s also the growing girls. Changes in the body shape do not only happen in the baby bump. When your breasts are starting to grow because of milk production, you might find yourself in need of a bigger bra. Instead of buying a new pair, a lot of moms recommend using bra extenders instead. All you have to do is to sew the bra extender to your current bra and you’re ready to go. A set of six extenders only costs about $6 while a new bra can cost $15+ or more. Another thing is simply investing in sleeping nursing bras (the super comfy ones without an underwire.)

 Relevant Reads:

• What Is The Real Cost of Raising a Child (Done Frugally and On The Cheap)
• Got Kids? Check Out These Free Rainy Day Resources for Kids
• 11 Punchable Financial Crimes According to Me
• When Having Too Much Money is Bad (The Cons of Being Rich)
• How To Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last Embarrassingly Long

8. Make a DIY Ruched T-Shirt 

Not a fan of loose maxi dresses or form-fitting stretchable clothing? You can still wear your regular shirts or tank tops, but a bit of a hack and craftiness is needed. Ruching is a technique that makes oversized shirts and dresses fit more by folding the extra fabric into a fashionable ripple design.

To perform this hack, you need an oversized tank top or shirt, a sewing machine (or a sewing kit), scissors, and elastic. Pin the elastic on the side seam of the shirt and stretch it to the bottom. Let the sewing machine do the work by ruching the elastic all the way. And done, your regular oversized shirt is now a DIY maternity dress.

9. DIY Your Own Belly Band

Belly Bands is an amazingggg tool to have during pregnancy. I wish I got it sooner! I was skeptical at first when I purchased my Jill & Joey belly band I thought I would end up returning it – but this little strip of stretchy, velcro fabric lets you feel comfortable and supported at the same time.

Maternity belly bands can be bought on Amazon for $15-$50 dollars depending on how fancy you want to get. Can you dupe it for cheaper? Oh for sure! It’s simply a piece of support fabric positioned to help you leverage a jumbo belly. Not rocket science but makes a big difference!

With creativity and a piece of an old small shirt, you can have your own band for free. Pick a shirt that you don’t wear anymore. It’s better if you can get a shirt with a dark or gray color. Cut the shirt from armpits to armpits to make it a tube. Finally, sew elastic on the top side and stretchy lace on the hem. You can now use the DIY band to feel supported. Your back will probably thank you too!

 Relevant Reads:

• Frugality Is a Lifestyle That You Might Be Doing Wrong
• Facebook Bragging Can Be Annoying – And Ruin Your Finances Too
• Download Our Free Google Budget Sheet ?

How To Find Great Deals In Maternity Clothes

1. Borrow or Buy Secondhand 

If DIYs and other dress is not for you, or only peculiar maternity clothes make you feel comfortable, the best way to get your hands on these items for free is to borrow. Chances are if you have a friend that has second-hand maternity clothes, she’ll likely sell it to you for a “friendly” price or even for free.

2. Rent Designer

If you want amazing quality for cheap, renting designer maternity clothing could be for you. But what if you’re the first one to have a baby among your group of friends? You can still find some secondhand maternity clothes in thrift stores. But if there are no secondhand shops in your area, the best option is going to rental stores online like MineForNine. You can borrow an item that costs $125 for $45 for a month.

3. Thrift and Shop Online

When I need clothes, I go to Goodwill or Thredup (my favorite online thrift store). They have limited maternity inventory but the prices are fantastic. Maternity consignment shops can also be found all around the country. If you want to try on physical goods before buying it, taking a look at consignment shops is worth considering.

Online sites such as Amazon, Target, and other big-name retailers usually have a huge selection of maternity clothes. You can find great deals and even clearances occasionally. Buying on these Big Box stores on the spot can cost more money but you can cut expenses by getting the Amazon Baby Registry & Target Baby Registery Bonuses for 15% off everything. Complete the steps to these baby registries and unlock freebies + discounts across the board. Make the preparations, stock up your shopping list, and check out with the 15% discount.

4. Social Media (Facebook Marketplace)

Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are both go-to places for me. There are lots of moms on Facebook selling sell their pre-loved items for a fraction of the retail costs. I love these websites for bulk baby/toddlers clothes, cloth diapers, and secondhand furniture.

In this age where every transaction is almost instant, a lot of marketing efforts also shifted their way into the digital age. But one marketing relic still exists and a lot of companies still leans on old-school mail-in rebates.

Digital rebates already exist are being offered by a lot of online shops. In hindsight, there should be no more reasons for companies to engage in traditional mail-in rebates. But even in the era where digital advertising dominates as the next big thing, mail-in rebates still exist.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of mail-in rebates. I don’t think anyone like messing with mail-in rebates. They are troublesome to redeem, takes forever to process, and hard to keep track of. But in reality, mail-in rebates are still a thing in the United States. I’ve done them for Macy’s, Kohl’s, and other big-box stores in the past. All to my annoyance mind you, but hey, free money, I guess?

 Relevant Reads:

• Frugality Is a Lifestyle That You Might Be Doing Wrong
• Facebook Bragging Can Be Annoying – And Ruin Your Finances Too
• Download Our Free Google Budget Sheet ?

What Are Rebates? 

A rebate is an amount of money returned to a buyer after he or she successfully reached the requirement of a certain purchase. The requirements are usually purchasing an item in a specific period (e.g. get $50 back if you buy on Memorial Day weekend) or in a specific quantity (e.g. get $50 back if you buy 100 pieces).

Unlike discounts (which are presented before payment), rebates are given after purchase, either via cashback or via store credit. Mail-in rebates are usually used in electronics, food, household, and pet products.

What you need to do if you want to claim a rebate is fill out the rebate form after making the required purchase. You will then need to send the form in along with your proof of purchase and UPC code by a certain deadline.

You will then need to mail off everything in person at a post office or drop it into the mailbox.

Third-party rebate processors will check your claim and decide whether your rebate form will be rejected or not.

The process is usually done in about six to eight weeks.

If done right, using rebates is an effective way to save money. But mail-in rebates also require more effort and follow up. If you the mail or rebate check was misdelivered or lost, you would need to follow up with every party from your postman to the company. You also need to keep track and remember the deadline of these things.

With efficient handling, it is a way to save decent money especially on bigger or recurring purchases like a new refrigerator or an annual subscription of air filters.

 Related Reads:

• 3 Signs When Being Frugal Doesn’t Work & What To Do About It
• Why Rich People Penny Pinch When They Don’t Have To?
• At What Age Does Being Broke Stop Being Cute?

5 Reasons Why Companies Love Giving Rebates

These mail-in deals are still popular to deal hunters who want to make every hard-earned penny count. Companies still love giving rebates because of the five reasons listed below:

1. Majority of people usually forget about rebates

Ha! What a rip-off! One of the reasons why companies still send out rebates is the fact that the majority of customers forget to mail in their requirements after the purchase. According to a statement by Consumer World, 60% of rebates are never redeemed. Companies are hoping that their customers will forget to mail rebates, which causes a justifiable rebate rejection. And if the rebates are rejected, the company doesn’t need to release funds at all while still getting their sales numbers.

2. Rebates serve as a push to buy paired items

Another reason why mail-in rebates still exist is to draw customers to make a purchase. There are even products that offer rebates for the full purchase price or up to 80% of the original price, just to entice shoppers into buying.

While rebates can serve as a way to save money, it is also used for making additional sales. Notice that most of the heavily rebated item will usually require additional items. What would you do after getting a great rebate deal on a mattress? When you’re already in their store, might as well buy a foam topper and new bedsheets too, right?

“That’s Interesting!“

• Panhandling: How Much Money Do Panhandlers REALLY Make?
• How To Make Money As An Instagram Influencer (Internet Fame That Pays?)
• 39 People Who Got Richer AFTER Quitting Their Day Jobs
• Can Being a “Friend-For-Rent” Really Make Extra Money?

3. Speeds up inventory turnover 

Items under rebate promotions are usually overstocked items or products that did not sell well at full price. Usually, stores will sell these items at a discount. Rebates are also used to reach the customers who won’t make a purchase above a certain price think they are getting a steal deal.

4. Gather personal data to improve marketing strategies

Since most of the rebates require personal information to complete, this information will likely be used as advertising data by the company. Most rebates will explicitly warn users that the company will take user information and use it for marketing strategies. Don’t be surprised if the company will mail you again in the future with their “recommended products.”

5. The delay will keep them from giving the rebate immediately

One of the most frustrating things when it comes to claiming rebates is its long delay. It usually takes a month or more before you know if the rebate was accepted or not.

By the time you get your answer, you might’ve forgotten all about it, or the rebate deadline period has already passed. This delay is actually because rebates are handled by third parties so it usually needs additional processing time. Companies prefer the delay so that they won’t have to release the fund right away, keeping their cash flow higher.

5 Tips To Rebate Like A Pro

A mail-in rebate feels like a dreaded process even to the most frugal of us. All the follow-up, filling out forms, giving out personal information…it makes me feel like I’ve already earned the rebate. In reality, I’ve got 1-3 months before I’ll see a rebate check if it was approved. Here are some tips if you do find a good rebate worth sending in:

 Related Reads:

• How Much Money Does Our Frugality Save? (Spoiler: $56,000+/Year)
• Eat Ugly, Save Money? Imperfect Produce Review (+ FREE COUPON)
• Everything ‘Married…With Children’ Did That Kept Them Poor

1. Know where to find good rebates 

If you’re still determined to save money using rebates, the first thing you need to do is to find great ones. One of the best places to start searching is your Sunday newspaper coupon inserts. Check the stores for promotions, you’ll likely get deals and offers including rebates. Lastly, there are times when you can find items that have rebates while shopping, so always keep an eye for rebates. Online stores usually discount their products directly, but there are also occasional mail-in rebates available.

You can find good mail-in rebate deals using the Slickdeals app or the Dealnews app.

2. Don’t forget your UPC Barcode

The UPC barcode is the numbers located in the box or the packaging of the product. Some rebates require the UPC barcode in order to complete the process, while some rebates do not require it. Just to make sure, check your rebate form for details and fill out the UPC bar code anyway (or cut it from your purchase).

3. Opt for an online cash rebate instead

Online rebates are also available to sites like Newegg and Macy’s. The typical instruction in claiming a rebate is to cut the UPC code from the product, register the rebate on the website, fill out the form and send it via regular mail. You will then have to wait for a few weeks to get your rebates.

Sometimes to prevent popular rebates claims, companies would pull the rebate forms down from their sites. With the form not in the rebate application, your rebate will likely get delayed or rejected. That’s why it’s good practice to print forms from online sources immediately even before deciding if you will go ahead with the purchase.

4. Use mail-in rebates for your next big purchase 

The nature of mail-in rebates makes it a pain in the neck for most of the customers. Mail-in rebates shine the brightest if you’re planning on making big purchases (usually in electronics, appliances, or bedding.) If you’re planning to get rebates on small purchases, stack your items, but separate your transactions.

If you have other promotions such as coupons and discounts, make sure to take advantage of those along with the rebates (if you’re allowed to). If you shop with online, you can check out Amazon’s Rebate to see if you can claim rebates on your Amazon items.

5. Make a copy of your files before you mail them

After filling up the form and making sure that every document is inside your envelope, it is time to mail your rebate. But before that, you might want to make a copy of all your documents and keep them in another envelope. After keeping a copy and mailing the original, you should start tracking your rebate. You can do this by using a spreadsheet or other rebate-tracking services.

Related Reads:

• 11+ Companies Offering Free (or Seriously Discounted) Internet At Home
• 40 Everyday Household Items You Should Buy Secondhand Instead of New

Conclusion

Can mail-in rebates save money? – For sure, most of the time if you handle it right!

Is it worth the hassle? Eeeee, well that depends.

If it’s a good rebate deal and you were planning to buy the item anyway, then there’s no reason to not send it in. But a rebate should not be the make it or break it decision to making the purchase. A rebate should only be the icing on top.

These days, a mail-in rebate offer of $5 to $10 dollars off just makes me annoyed. But our refrigerator had a mail-in rebate of $150, which was definitely worth it to send in, just keep in mind to follow up and make sure your rebate comes through.