December 14th, 2008 | 
Author: We have a great stickied thread on our message board titled, “So How Are You Saving $ Today?” The thread is filled with ways the ladies have saved money each day by choosing to live frugally. Here are some ways they have saved money… I hope you can glean from these great ideas!
- Wash laundry in cold water
- Use homemade detergent for washing clothes
- Eat all of your meals at home
- On warm days, hang laundry on the line outside to dry
- Knit a blanket with leftover yarn instead of buying one
- Cut dryer sheets in half
- Eat leftovers for lunch
- Borrow movies from the library instead of going to the movie theater
- Turn in books to the used book store for store credit, & use the credit to get new-to-you books.
- Shop at Dollar Tree
- Take steps to lower your heating bill in the winter
- Save vegetable seeds to plant
- Stay home & don’t go to Wal-mart!
- Make homemade snacks
- Use rags instead of paper towels
- Cloth diapers instead of disposable
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins
- Clip coupons
- Turn day old bread into breadcrumbs
- Avoid wasting money on clothes by buying clothes that are right for your body
- Keep lights & tv off during the day
- Don’t buy frivolous stuff – ask yourself if you really need it
- Bring lunch to work instead of eating out
- Use up leftovers – don’t let them go to waste
- Make birthday cards
- Watch the cash register and check receipts to keep from getting overcharged on items
- Use a calculator as you shop to help you from going over your budget
- Save gas by doing all of your errands in one day instead of little trips throughout the week
- Make a grocery list before going to store, and stick to the list when shopping
- Look into lowering your insurance premium by raising your deductible
- Buy plastic washable bottles and fill with water instead of buying bottled water
- Make homemade pizza instead of ordering out
- Use craft materials you have on hand to make gifts
- In the summer, use ceiling fans instead of the AC
- Buy paint from the “oops paint” section at Home Depot
- Shop at Goodwill
- Shop at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore for home improvement
- Do once a month cooking
- Used powdered milk for cooking
- Buy a whole chicken and cut it up, rather than buying parts
- Make meal menus
- Check paper for grocery specials in your area
- Pay bills on time and avoid late fees
- Cook from your freezer using up odds and ends
- Only run dishwasher when you have a full load
- Create a budget for your family
- Reuse Ziploc storage baggies
- Call your cable company and see if they are running any specials that will lower your bill
- Don’t pay full price for anything – buy on clearance
- Unplug appliances when not in use
- Bake your own bread
- Make homemade soup instead of buying canned soup
- Do your own oil change for your car
- Pay your bills online and save on postage
- Check Freecycle in your area for things you need
- Shop around for prescriptions. Walmart has deeply discounted prices on many medications.
- Walk instead of drive, if possible
- Take advantage of CVS’s ECBs (extra care bucks)
- Shop at garage sales
- Cook frugal meals
- Use cell phones only
- Can fruits & veggies from your garden
- Barter
- Put together a price book so you know the best places to buy items
- Rent carpet cleaning machine and do it yourself
- Make window treatments using fabric remnants
- Use the crock pot on busy days so you won’t be tempted to pick up fast food
- Research free things to do in your town
- Cook fewer meat meals each week
- Make sun tea
- Eat before you go to the grocery store
- Wear jeans more than once before washing
- Use rechargeable batteries (there’s a higher upfront cost, but you only buy them once)
- Use fluorescent light bulbs – they last longer, and use less energy
- Drink water instead of soda
- Do what UPS does – plan your driving routes to avoid left hand turns. UPS studies show that avoiding left hand turns saves time, conserves fuel, reduces emissions, and reduces potential for accidents
- Buy durable items and take care of them
- Reset the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees
- If your hot water heater is hot to the touch, insulate it to save energy
- Only use credit cards when you can pay the entire balance before your credit card’s grace period is over
- Turn off water when shaving or brushing teeth
- Buy for next year during after holiday sales
- Instead of going out with friends, stay in and play cards or board games
- Cook from scratch instead of buying convenience food
- During winter, dress warmly for bed and lower your thermostat at night
- After using oven, open oven door to heat room
- When your dishwasher gets to the drying cycle, turn it off and open the door to help heat the room
- Stockpile when you come across great deals
- When grocery shopping, always compare the item’s cost per unit
- Get rid of clutter by selling on eBay or Craig’s list
- Put a time limit on showers
- Insulate, weatherstrip, or caulk your home
- Don’t buy expensive boxed cereal
- Have a Trash to Treasure swap with friends – bring unwanted household items to trade with friends
- Repair your own appliances with the help of RepairClinic.com
- Some food (especially meat) is less expensive when bought in bulk
- Find the best gas prices in your area
- When grocery shopping, leave children at home
- Carpool for work, for school and kids’ activities, and run errands with friends
- Instead of buying books, read books online for free, or borrow from the library
- Make your own non-stick cooking spray by adding your favorite oil to a spray bottle
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Is nice to see some good articles like this one, thank you.
This is the direction the entire economy is going, better jump on in now.
This A awesome list. I used to do the oven open thing until my fire meter #’s went up high because it is a gas oven. And it was turned off. The fireman neighbor told me not to do it. I used to love the fresh baked cookie smell.
If you put a softball size ball of aluminum foil in the dryer you won’t need dryer sheets. (& it’s reusable)!
Interesting, I have not heard about this
Somebody recommended using cell phones, except you’ve got to make sure if you have teens they don’t overdo it on the texting, and that’s exactly what they do given half a chance. Get them a cheap prepaid plan like Net10 and put a cap on how many minutes you buy them. You can buy 250 minutes a month for $25 and a good phone for under $30.
To save time and electricty ($$) and eliminate waste, we purposely create leftovers. The trick is to have a plan in mind on how they will be used. On taco night while the pan is hot anyway we cook double the required ground beef, setting half aside before the seasoning goes in. Next night we have pasta night with the leftover ground beef added into the sauce. On pasta night we cook extra noodles, which become a side dish for the next night with a whole baked chicken. The leftover chicken becomes chicken enchiladas the following night….and so on. The leftovers of the actual dinner automatically become lunch the next day for some or all of us depending how much was left over and who has access to a microwave. We don’t just put the leftovers in the refrigerator after dinner, instead we all get out our lunch containers and divide everything up. The next morning the containers are popped into lunch bags along with a fruit, veggie sticks and a refillable water bottle. I can’t remember the last time we had to throw out food. I certainly try to keep the initial purchases under control, but never wasting what I did pay for is always a priority. If you add up the cost in dollars, electricity, time and effort of driving to the store, walking up and down all the aisles, hauling it into the house, refrigerating/freezing, preparing and cooking it, only to throw it away..? That would drive me bananas.
Growing children need their clothes replaced fairly frequently. There’s no getting around it. At least twice a year (spring/fall normally) I have them try on everything and sort out what can be passed to the next child, sent to consignment or donated. Then I make a list of what NEEDS to be replaced. Just because you got rid of 3 dresses doesn’t mean your daughter needs 3 new ones. Did she wear them regularly? Is she now past that dress phase? My daughter had 6 skirts we got rid of at the last clean out. She’s now in jeans mode and will only wear a skirt to fancy events, but not school. Now she has one dressy black skirt. The most frugal place to get kids clothes is from the box of hand-me-downs from older siblings and cousins. If what we need isn’t there, then we go to the Salvation Army, and as a last resort stores with sales. When kids are young they grow through their clothes so quickly that very little actually gets worn out.