Just another DAD post. (actually it’s about saving money)

From time to time I do blog about my experiences as a new dad who primarily stays at home to watch and care for my lovely daughter. Right now I wanted to share just a small insight that I had and my wife has taken to new heights. Like many people, we are on a tight budget and trying to save any money we can while still living the kind of lifestyle we would like to. Now we don’t spend extravagant amounts of money are take amazing vacations. In fact, a great night out for us is typically a run to Five Guys or Chipotle and then a movie from Redbox. Saving money is pretty hard, but we have discovered a new method to help us save money. GIFT CARDS!

I know you are probably thinking, “Gift Cards? How does that save you money?” Well, we discovered that Kroger Grocery stores gives you extra fuel points when you buy gift cards. We use those fuel points to save money on gas, and when gas is around $3.50 a gallon, we can use all the savings possible. I mentioned this idea to my wife and she has taken off with it. She figures we are going to go out to eat anyways, we might as well use a gift card and get the fuel points. GENIUS!!! There are some limitations so you have to check the rules etc. But last week we filled up both our cars and a gas can for less than $70. We saved around 10 cents a gallon. Okay, so it’s not a ton of money, but the idea is that we are spending that money anyways, so if can scrimp or save a bit whenever we can, then think of how much money we can save in the long run.

I wondered if there were any other ideas for saving money that you have found easy and useful? Feel free to comment and let us know.