Jessica's reply to the other post made me think, so I wanted to come over here and post some ideas for saving money.
- the biggest place most people find to shave their budget is on groceries, here are some ideas for that.
- coupons
- clearance (check the mark down meat bin, find out when your store marks down the meat (and produce) and be there that same day
- loss leaders, most stores offer items at a loss to get you in the store, buy only those and stock up on them
- keep a pantry, having food in the house helps to circumvent eating out on a whim.
- when you shop, put things away to make meal prep easy, for example, if I buy ground beef and know I want to make meatloaf, I mix it up then and there and freeze it and then cook it in my crockpot.
- remember your crockpot is your friend when it comes to saving time and having good food on the table when you get home from work.
- REMEMBER your time is money....so saving a quarter on something when it takes you an hour to go thru the sales papers and your coupons isn't very frugal (my opinion)
- also remember sometimes conveniences while more expensive can be money savers, for example, buying convenience foods that I can prepare quickly on busy days are still cheaper than eating out.
- Combine your errands so your not just running your gasoline out.
- Remember turning lights off (and unplugging appliances that are energy drainers) will help with the utility bills
- Take some money off the top of your check (even arranging to have it deposited directly into savings if you do direct deposit) is the easy way to save, it you dont see it you dont miss it.
- Examine your payroll deductions, especially if your letting the government use your money all year.
- Shop thrift stores, yard sales and consignment stores. Name brands can be found there at bargains (just got a awesome pair of mudd sandals for 1.00 a couple of weeks ago)
- if something seems over the top for you, examine it, to see how you can tweak it to fit your circumstances.
Please my regular readers who are frugal and have any more ideas, post comments.
also make a menu and shopping list and stick to it. It makes it harder to impulse buy. And I agree. I use my crockpot a lot.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! My husband and I have attempted before to make a Calendar of the thing we will eat and on what days. We stick to it for a few weeks but then end up breaking away. It takes dedication!
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