1. Start and vegetable garden and plant your favorites. Some easy vegetables to grow are tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and spinach.
2. Buy all your household items and groceries in generic. You will save a lot more money without giving up much. Most of the time generics is just as good as the brand names.
3. Get a library card, and get books, movies, music and magazines for free. You also get free access to the internet and a nice quiet place to read.
4. Change all of your incandescent bulbs to LED or CFL bulbs, they last longer and will save you over time.
5. Cancel your home phone service and use your cell phone, or get a cheaper VIOP phone service.
6. Refinance you mortgage. If it is possible to reduce your interest rate by one percent or more, use a refinance calculator to determine if refinancing will save you money over time.
7. Plan your meals according your weekly grocery circular. Doing this saves time and money and you don't have to worry about what to cook.
8. Drive your car for as long as you can. Once you paid off your car, you can start banking that extra money.
9. For cheap movie rentals find a Redbox vending machine near you. Their movie rentals are only 1 dollar a night.
10. Save money by not reducing your paper towel use. Use cloth napkins or wash cloths instead.
11. Shop at the dollar stores. They have most of the household items and some groceries you need for cheaper.
12. Make your own household cleaning products and laundry detergent. You can find simple recipes online.
13. Bring your leftovers to work for lunch.
14. Instead of spending money eating out and other entertainment, invite your family and friends over for game night, cookout, or potluck
15. Reduce your internet speed, and stop overpaying for the faster service.
16. Save money from bundling your cable, internet, and phone bills.
17. Stop getting a refund check. Increase your exemptions on your W-4. Check the IRS website to calculate the number of exemptions and get more money throughout the year to break even.
18. Get a high interest online savings account and let your money work for you.
19. Stop paying for bottled water. You get the same water at home from your faucet. Invest in a filter for your faucet or your water pitcher.
20. Do not finance your mortgage for years. You will save thousands in interest by financing for 15 years or less.
Have bills an expenses you're not sure how to pay? Saving money on bill and expenses is easy!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Money Saving Tips Maximize Savings on Everyday Items
Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It's a passion.
Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn't love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That's it!
Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I've gotten back more than I actually paid for the item. Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it's about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this?
I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me "Crazy", wouldn't it? But a lot of folks just don't know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I'm lovin' that idea! I'm always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I'm not the only one. Then we can put my family's worries to rest. They think I'm really crazy.
Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday: 1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -
The great sandwich bag conspiracy The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It's not like it's going to the moon. It's just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich! You'll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time. 2. Don't buy it if you won't use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they'll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message. Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can't live without. For me it's my blender and my food processor. Although, I'm seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it's worth the money yet. Especially when I'm so close to a bread outlet. But, you can't beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I'm not counting the coffer maker it's kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..
It's little money saving techniques on household items - like the example above - that make frugal living a reality.
3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There's nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That's what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it's a good value.
Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping myself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - a self-help plan.
Money Saving Techniques - Entertainment
Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn't love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That's it!
Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I've gotten back more than I actually paid for the item. Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it's about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this?
I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me "Crazy", wouldn't it? But a lot of folks just don't know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I'm lovin' that idea! I'm always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I'm not the only one. Then we can put my family's worries to rest. They think I'm really crazy.
Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday: 1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -
The great sandwich bag conspiracy The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It's not like it's going to the moon. It's just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich! You'll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time. 2. Don't buy it if you won't use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they'll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message. Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can't live without. For me it's my blender and my food processor. Although, I'm seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it's worth the money yet. Especially when I'm so close to a bread outlet. But, you can't beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I'm not counting the coffer maker it's kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..
It's little money saving techniques on household items - like the example above - that make frugal living a reality.
3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There's nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That's what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it's a good value.
Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping myself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - a self-help plan.
Money Saving Techniques - Entertainment
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