Let's share money saving tips!

[CarriBrown]

I am all on this money saving kick now... which isn't a bad thing! I'm getting to that age where money saved means a lot more than money spent so DH and I are finding cleaver ways to trim fat.
I found a website today called www.dealio.com. They had coupons for all kinds of stores! And members can write tips on saving money at certain stores (ie. Who has sales when, who has the best return policy).
Here are a couple things Ken and I have done to save money-
-We bundled our cable, phone and Internet through the cable company, saving us about $40 a month.
-We only use our cell phones for long distance calls, saving about $20 a month.
-We drain our pool for 5 months out of the year (when we don't use it), saving us about $150 for every month it is empty.
-I joined a "pet perks" deal at PetCo. You get a free bag of dog food for every 10 you buy. We have three dogs and go through about two bags a month, saving about $65 a year.
-We changed all of our lightbulbs to energy efficent. I don't know how much the cost was, but we noticed an $80 difference in this month's electric bill.
-I get coupons for both Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linen's N Things. BBB will accept any competitor's coupon and they even take their expired ones. I just bought drapes and a rod, used 6 coupons, and saved about $50.
-I used to buy fresh flowers to put in my Waterford vase... about $10 a week. I went to Michael's craft store and bought a dried arrangement on clearance for a couple dollars. Now I only buy the fresh flowers for special occasions.
-I started buying the cereal in the bags (it's like a generic brand) after Ken complained about the price of cereal. Did he ever notice a difference? Nope. Not only that, but the cheapy Rasin Brain has about three times the amount of rasins as the expensive stuff!

OK everyone- Share your ideas!!

 

[V Chic Chick]

I buy my woodshavings (nice dust-extracted ones) in a compacted bale direct from the sawmill. This costs me about £6 and lasts me 6 months. If I didn't do that, I'd be paying about £1.50 for shavings every time I cleaned out

. I've seen exactly the same stuff being delivered to the pet shop too, so it's just as good.

I found out that some supermarkets (Asda, Sainsburys and Waitrose) take vouchers when you haven't bought the product. I get recognised in one store whenever I go in, because of the number of arguments that I've had with them over their own policy.

I order loads of free samples over the internet.

I check the price /kg in the supermarket.

I make sure I have loyalty cards for all the shops I go in that do cards. I've got about £22 on one loyalty card in the space of a few months. Sometimes I've found products that they'll pay you to take away, just because you're using lots of different vouchers/offers at the same time ^_^

 

[fosterchick]

I like to keep my money too. I will go by three grocery stores to shop at one that is cheap and you have to bring in your own bags. (I have to bag my own too). I also grow my own veggies in the summer. I will look for free samples on line. I buy all my children used clothes and fix them up to be in style. My family eat breakfast food for dinner once a week to cut the grocery bill down. I heat my house with wood and then hang my clothes on clothes racks to dry instead of using the dryer. I love vinegar, I use it to clean, garden and many other uses. Here are a few examples:


Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.

Remove soap buildup and odors from the dishwasher by pouring a cup of white distilled vinegar inside the empty machine and running it through a whole cycle.

Kill grass on walks and driveways. Pour full strength on unwanted grass.

Kill weeds. Spray full strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any newgrowth until plants have starved.

Deter ants. Spray vinegar around door and window frames, under appliances, and along other known ant trails.

 

[CarriBrown]

Wow, Fosterchick... that is some good info!
As far as the clothes thing, I stay away from trends. Skinny jeans make me want to hang myself!

Another one that I really hated were the velvet sweat suits.
I spend good money on clothes but they are seasonless. It's nice being in Southern California because I can wear pretty much the same thing all year round... just throw on a light coat during the winter.
BUT If I had kids, it would be the cheapest place I could find. I have a friend that belongs to a "Mom's Club" and they swap toys and clothes.
We could never eat all the eggs we get so I swap eggs for veggies with a lady from work. I never make a big or somewhat big purchase unless I really think it over. I definatly wasn't born this way! I really had to work hard to get into the money saving mode.

 

[fosterchick]

I grew up in a home with a lot of children. I also have 5 of my own. But there is always more here. I do foster care and my neice is always here on the weekends. My mom was very thifty and I have learned to be very thirfty.

 

[SandraChick]

Yup--- no reason to give money away unless you need to! I still pickup pennies on the ground (found three dimes yesterday and I had a big smile on my face for quite some time!).

-HomesteadingToday forum has a couple of threads for being thrifty and a buy nothing thread with good tips.

-I use wood shavings from a couple of cabinet makers in town. I supply a garbage can, they fill it. They like it cuz they don't have to pay to haul it off. I use it in the coops and in the garden.

-Garden- to stop weeds, I put several layers of newspaper around annual plants (carboard around perenial plants) and then put 2-3" of wood shavings over the top. At the end of the year, I rototill it all in. Weeds hate it, worms love it (means free worm castings too!). THis also saves money on watering, as the water does not evaporate as fast. This year, i'm going to put soaker hoses UNDER the newspaper...even better! I Also use vinegar in the garden- mostly to keep weeds from growing in the rock driveway- WHite vinegar+few drops of orange oil...spray on plants preferably on hot sunny day. I have to do it more often, but I don't like using pesticides- especially since my hens freerange.

-Go to your local grocer and find out if they have bruised or wilted produce (tell them it's for chickens). They will often give it to you for free---I return with fresh eggs every once in a while. What I've found is that often, the stuff they throw away still has plenty that you can eat yourself too (but don't tell them that- they'll get in trouble!)

-I vaccuum sealer---I buy bulk, separate, and vacuum seal. Works great. You can take advantage of sales as things last a lot longer (both in the fridge and the freezer)

-I have a free source of wood, I just have to cut and split it--I haven't turned on the furnace in 1.5years- Saves me over $100/month during the colder weather.

-I yard sale and go to auctions. I've gotten good deals...I bought a whole industrial cart load of tiles for $30 last month, then turned around and sold 1/3 of it to a neighbor for $20, and I'm using another 1/3 to redo my wood stove area. That leaves me another 1/3 to sell...I should come out even or ahead, with "free tile" for my use.

-Join your local freecycle.org group--I love the idea of getting something for free and keeping it out of the dump. I also post things I'm giving away for free. If you dont have freecycle, join craigslist...they have a free section and the rest of the posts are often cheap.

THere's my $ saving tips off the top of my head.
Sandra

 

[prariechiken]

I have worked at 2 different soap plants [company names withheld], here is some tips...

bar soap; open the cartons and let them dry out for a couple of days. Bar soaps are so packed full of water, (pays big time when the company can sell you water!), that when setting in your shower, the added water from the shower so saturates the bar that alot of the actual soap is lost down the drain. A dryed out bar will last longer in the shower.

light duty dish soaps; the "bubbles" you see in your sink is actually an added sudsing agent, not the paste that does the cleaning action. Use recomended amounts if not less, you may not see as much suds in the sink, but the soap is still doing its job

 

[cookinmom]

Wow, lots of good ideas. I have a recipe for making your own laundry detergent, if anyone wants it. I haven't tried it yet, still rounding up all the stuff, but I intend to make some in the near future. The lady that sent in the recipe says it costs her 68 cents to make 2 gallons of detergent, which will do 40 - 60 loads of clothes.

 

[4H kids and mom]

I have a few pet related ones that save us a bundle.

~I give our dog and cats a little garlic once a month. Never had a flea. EVER. (And their coats are nice and shiney!)

~Call/email pet product companies and compliment their products, or say you are thinking about switching. They'll send you free samples! Once, 8in1 pet products sent me a box of three bags of food (one for birds, one for dogs, one for cats), several containers of treats, toys, and loads of coupons. I went online and priced out what they'd sent, to find that the box of samples was valued around $80!

~I use Sweet Scoop kitty litter (its organic) and can put used litter in my compost and also will be using it in my worm pit for worms for the chickens.

~Switch your dogs/cats to a food that has no corn in it. You might pay a little more for the bag of food, but you'll notice they need to eat less, meaning the bag lasts far longer, and not to mention there will be less poo to pick up in the yard. Dogs and cats are carnivores, and can not only not digest corn, but it holds no nutritional value for them. Pet food companies use it because its a cheap filler (like the icky things in some hotdogs....you get the idea). Its like watered down beer. lol Also, on a health note, once switched, your pet will be less likely to suffer a food allergy, and some studies suggest that foods laiden with corn lead to other ailments. Switching may save you hundreds in vet bills, not to mention the heartache of loosing a pet to something preventable, like Lymphoma (which is directly linked to the excess of sugars in the pancreas caused by undigestable corn.) Its cancer, and its fatal. I lost 2 ferrets, and a cat to it before I switched everyone. From now on, the only ones in my house that get corn, are the chickens!

 

[fosterchick]

cookinmom I am interested to know how to make the laundry soap. I have seen some before. The problem that I have is finding the stuff to make it with. Thanks