ADULTING LIFE HACKS
Over the past few years, we have really gotten creative with saving money and stretching our budget. We have learned how to save hundreds each month on groceries, cut travel costs, clothe our children without breaking the bank, and even perform some of our own home and auto maintenance.
We have spent months compiling all of our tips and tricks for you below in easy-to-follow instructions. Stay tuned for more budget ideas as we discover them. ​​
Save on Groceries
You will save hundreds on groceries for your family each month by following the steps in order below. Each step by itself saves money, but you will maximize savings by completing all of the steps.
By following our method, our family of four now spends about $150 on groceries each week. This covers three daily meals and replenishment household items such as napkins, toilet paper, etc.
In addition to lowering our grocery costs, these steps give us at least $50 combined cash back each month in the form of Instacart credits and Amazon gift cards which are put toward additional groceries and household purchases.​
The first and biggest money-saving step is switching to
ALDI for groceries. Prices are
1/2 to 1/3 less than typical grocery stores. The quality is great, and we love their premium "Specialty Selected" items.
Purchase the Instacart+ membership. Order your ALDI groceries through Instacart, and pick them up curbside. The membership pays for itself with the 5% credit back and waived fees you receive from choosing pickup instead of delivery. PLUS, Peacock is included in your membership. Get $10 off your first Instacart order!
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You may work on your grocery order in Instacart, but do NOT check out. Instead, go to Rakuten, open the Instacart store, and complete your purchase there to receive an additional 1-3% Rakuten cash back depending on their current promotion. Get $30 after spending $30 on your first Rakuten order!
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Like Rakuten, you earn by shopping through MyPoints as well as by completing surveys and games. Points are redeemed for digital gift cards at popular retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, etc. MyPoints also gives you access to the next step, MyGiftCardsPlus. Get a $5 MyPoints Welcome bonus!​​​​
5. MYGIFTCARDSPLUS
Once logged into MyPoints, navigate to Buy Gift Cards under the Shop tab. Once redirected to the MyGiftCardsPlus site, find Instacart. We purchase $500 worth of Instacart gift cards monthly with our credit card. This gives us credit card reward points PLUS enough MyPoints points for a $10 gift card. We redeem for Amazon gift cards and use them for buying household items.
THAT'S IT!
Those are our five steps for saving money on your weekly groceries. We hope you enjoy your new shopping routine and having extra cash in your pocket each month. Please reach out with any questions you may have.​​​
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*Instacart, Rakuten and MyPoints promotions may change at any time.
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**We may receive credit, cash or bonus points from Instacart, Rakuten or MyPoints for each successful referral.​
Save on Travel
We have embraced travel credit card promotions to earn lots of points on things we were going to spend money on anyway, such as Instacart gift cards. We also love that the Delta and United airline miles can be used toward hotel stays if you don't have plans
to fly anytime soon.
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*Promotions may change at any time.​
**We may receive points or miles for successful referrals.
Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after using your new Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 8/21/2025 ​​
Earn 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards Bonus Points after using your Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card to spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. ​
Earn 30,000 - 90,000 Bonus Miles after using your new United MileagePlus Card to make $1,000 - 5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months depending on which card you select.​​
Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after using your new Hilton Honors American Express Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 04/14/2025. ​
Save on Shopping
We are all about finding great deals on everyday purchases, especially on kids clothing and toys. Check out our recommendations below to save and pay a fraction of retail prices.
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*Mercari, Poshmark and Express promotions may change at any time.​
**We may receive credit, cash or bonus points from Mercari, Poshmark or Express for successful referrals.
Buy and sell all kinds of new and gently-used items on Mercari. Click here for $10 off your first order.
Buy and sell new and gently-used children's items at this consignment pop-up in Noblesville. Next sale Mar 5-8
Buy and sell fashion and more on Poshmark. Sign up with referral code ALEAL505 for
$10 off your first order.
Buy and sell new and gently-used children's items at this consignment pop-up in Noblesville. Next sale Apr 3-5
We love their discount codes and clearance prices on adult fashion. Click here to join Express Insider and get $5 Express cash after your first order.
Buy and sell new and gently-used children's items at this consignment pop-up in Westfield. Next sale Mar 20-23
DIY & More
AUTO MAINTENANCE
Stop paying retail prices for your cabin and engine air filter changes to be done by professionals. We were almost embarrassed at how simple these tasks are after watching videos for changing these on our specific vehicles. We purchased our filters on Amazon.
HOME MAINTENANCE
No more "$99 or Free" plumber coupons for unclogging your drains. We purchased this tool on Amazon and have used it to easily unclog our sink and tub drains.
Before heading to TOPGOLF, put on your activity tracker and connect it to Evidation. This app automatically syncs your activity tracker data and rewards you with points for being active. The points can be redeemed for cash. Click here to sign up and get 100 free points.