Monday, October 20, 2008

Money Saving Tips

Let's face it...living in this world is expensive!! I realized last month I spent $417.44 on food and household items. For TWO people. Dave is a meat man. Meat is EXPENSIVE. I think he eats too much and I am going to make him go anorexic. When we have kids I am going to be broke. Granted right now I do have a freezer & cabinet full of food so I will not really have to go to the grocery store for two weeks except of course for meat. We don't have a budget, but after looking at the total I spent last month, we need to set one up. This month, I am doing things a little differently, so I have done research on how to save money.

Here are a few things I have been doing/have started doing:
  • I wash all clothes in cold water. After the wash is done I shake each thing out before putting them into the dryer. If the clothes (especially jeans and heavy items) are in a ball it will take longer for them to completely dry. I read this somewhere and it does seem to work. I am not sure exactly how much money I am saving..but oh well :0) I also get the clothes out of the dryer as soon as they are done to prevent them getting wrinkly and me turning the dryer back on and wasting money.
  • Coupons. I have bought the past few Sunday Times which include the Sunday coupons. I only clip the ones for items we currently use. I am not going to use a coupon just to use it if we are not in need of the item. I try and pair the items up at Food Lion or CVS depending on if they have certain sales that pertain to these items, thus saving MORE money.
  • Have breakfast for dinner. Pancakes & Eggs are pretty cheap, so we're trying to have breakfast for dinner at once a week.
  • Do holiday shopping after the holidays. Once a holiday is over, everything related to that day is marked at least 50% off! I am going to try and just get minimal Christmas decorations this year and stock up for next year after Christmas is over.
  • Pay off your credit cards. The best bet is to not have ANY credit cards..but hey, we're human! I have two credit cards and currently they are both totally paid off. I am the type that would rather have money in the bank than no credit debt. I do pay it off though. Dave has one credit card that he pays his off every month as well. Oh and he has NO debt. (lucky!) He has no college debt, or car debt. Soon I will have school debt to pay off...not looking forward to that!
  • Make your own laundry detergent. Found this website. I want to try it out!
  • Drink water at restaurants. Restaurants typically charge between $1.50-$3.00 for a drink! That adds up!

What are some tips you have for saving money?

Speaking of SAVING money, Came across this giveaway that is giving away a book on saving money! Wooohooo!!

22 comments:

Inspired Kara said...

Aldi, Aldi Aldi!!!!

Mamarazzi said...

ah yes great tips! i think we are ALL feeling the pinch of the economy. it's gonna get worse. gotta cut corners somewhere!

Weeksie50 said...

I always order water when I am dining out.. other than that.. I pretty much suck at saving money..
I have the best intentions but I fail miserably...

Anonymous said...

Water in restaurants, cold water in the washer, short showers, no heat or AC unless it's NECESSARY, and we stretch our groceries as far as possible. I try to make meals that will have leftovers, thus providing another meal. And the breakfast for dinner thing is true, and tasty! (who has time to cook all that in the am anyway?) I also buy hamburger in bulk, then separate it into 3/4 lb and put in freezer bags. It's cheaper this way and I can control how much we use. And we don't have "good meat" as often (steaks, etc). This economy sucks.

Whitney said...

Good things to know! And with this crazy economy, I need to start putting some of these to good use!

LyndsAU said...

those are good ideas and i already do most of them trying to save every little bit i can! :)

New Girl on Post said...

We probably spend $400 on groceries a month too, for two people! It's ridiculous! We do eat a lot of meat though and it seems like buying vegetables and fruits are expensive too. So much for eating healthy!

Finding Liz said...

I also spend about 400-500 a month on groceries for two people...it's nuts. I blame it on my husband...he eats too much. :)

-I use cold water to wash clothes
-clip coupons and match up with sale items
-try to buy food items on sale and make up recipes/meals for the week that way.
-keep lights off! It drives me crazy when no one is in a room and the light is on.

ROXY said...

You are awesome!! Thanks for all those great tips! My husband and I just started working on a budget....mainly because of those enormous grocery bills. My hubby is a meat guy too. I've been getting the meat in bulk and splitting it up into meal size portions and freezing it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon:)

Lump said...

great tips!! I'm still trying to get the hang of the "pay off credit cards" bit. That one is SO DIFFICULT. ;)

Kristina P. said...

We've cut going out, somewhat, but I think that's mostly due to my husbands schedule.

Honestly, we need to do better. I really shouldn't eat out as much as I do.

just a girl... said...

lol, i used to go to the store and never look at prices. Now I have to add them up, ughhhhh. Love breakfast for dinner. I have been driving less and stalking the ac.

LyndsAU said...

I tagged you :)

LyndsAU said...

you sure can girl :)

Angela said...

great tips... i never really think about food money before, but yeah they are expensive. bf and i would spent $100 buying food at wholefood and usually only last about 3 days.

Lindsey said...

I just found your blog and I'm loving it!!!

Unknown said...

we spend so much on food, it's ridiculous!

However, eliminating ALL credit card debt was the BEST thing we could have done. Makes all the difference in the world and really, once you have to spend your cash on something, you want it less :)

Great tips. love the breakfast for dinner!

Liz said...

Good list. I don't turn on the furnace or AC unless I can't sleep at night.

~Liz
www.AGiveawayADay.blogspot.com

Belinda said...

Your post inspired me to spend less today at groceries and actually look at the prices. Was very proud of myself.

Unknown said...

those are GREAT tips! i do most of those as well. we have a new strict budget we follow weekly, for gas, food, etc. we work hard to make it work, find great deals, and not spend money on the little things, like eating out, etc.

great post!

Whitney said...

STILL read you!? Girl, how could I NOT read you!? You are so much fun!! You were one of my very first bloggie friends - I will ALWAYS read you! :)

Princess Abigail said...

Those are all such brilliant ideas!

I was born with a hole in my pocket ... no matter how much money I earn, there's always too much spent by the end of the month. And I can't even blame it on having 3 expensive kids : its because I own over 100 pairs of shoes!!!!