Category: Money Saving

It seems like each time I go to the store the prices have gone up again.

Everything from apples to zucchini is outrageous in price.

Here are my 15 money-saving ideas. Let’s get started:

1. Every time you go grocery shopping, take a menu with you. Plan your meals two weeks in advance and then write down what you will be cooking that particular week and take the menu with you.

2. Buy only the things you need for the meals that week. This will save you both time and money. Just remember to never go grocery shopping when your tummy is growling at you. Eat before you go so your checkbook will not have its tongue hanging out after you have finished paying.

3. Buy ground meat in the larger package and when you get home with it; divide it up in order to get two meals out of it instead of only one.

4. When you buy grapes, divide them up into snack packs and place them into Glad snack baggies.

5. Make that gallon of milk go farther by adding 1/3 cup of water to one part milk.

6. Use Carnation instant milk in the box.

This is great to use in mashed potatoes and any other dish that calls for the use of milk.

You cannot taste the difference. The instant milk is a fine powder and you just add water to this.

7. Go to your local Dollar store to buy all of your condiments and snacks. You can buy pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, and all sorts of snacks. At a dollar a piece you cannot bat that price at a regular grocery store. Toilet paper and paper towels can also be purchased at a Dollar store.

8. Help make your shampoos last longer by adding water to the bottle as you use the shampoo. You can also do this with your body washes.

9. Instead of buying a package of chicken legs or breasts, you can buy the whole chicken and spend $2.00 less by doing so. You can also use the gizzards and other parts of the chicken to season soups with. If you boil your chicken save the broth and store it in an airtight container and use the broth to add flavor to rice dishes, pasta, and soups. Add chicken broth to mashed potatoes too and bring the flavor out more.

10. Grow your own garden. You can plant lettuce, tomatoes, onions, celery, radishes, and cucumbers. They will be chemical-free too. Nothing tastes better than a fresh veggie right from your own backyard. Cherry red tomatoes are a snap to grow. One little bush will produce tomatoes faster then you can pick them.

11. Grow your own mini lemon tree. Lemons are great to add zest to drinks and cooking dishes.

12. Grow an herb garden indoors or outdoors. You can have an herb garden wither sitting on your kitchen windowsill or if your backyard is big enough you can plant one outdoors. Plant one that is the right size for you.

13. When you buy big bags of chips, instead of leaving the bag of chips sitting around for everyone to dive into when they want a snack what you can do is take Glad snack size baggies and fill several of them with some chips. By doing this each time when someone wants to munch on chips as a snack they can have a baggie of chips and won’t eat the whole bag in one sitting.

14. Do the same for popcorn.

When you buy a box of popcorn and as soon as you are ready to pop some, take one bag from the box, and when the popcorn is popped take several Glad snack size baggies and fill them up with popcorn.

This makes your popcorn last longer and everyone will not eat too much popcorn each time.

15. If your family likes pretzels put some pretzels into Glad snack size baggies and make every bag of pretzels go farther.

What do you think? Have your own ideas to share? Tell me in the comment section below!…

Are you tired of all the frugal advice out there that is anything but frugal?

Read any magazine or watch any morning news show and you will see advice such as, “Save $200 by purchasing these $100 shoes instead of those $300 shoes!”

This advice is useless to those of us who really need or want to save money – we would never have spent $300 on shoes in the first place!

To be truly frugal, don’t get your advice from magazines or television shows – the best way to learn how to live on less is to take advice from people who are actually doing it.

I’ve compiled a list of the five best ways to save money by living frugally from people who know the real meaning of living on less.

1. Save money by staying at home.

It is almost impossible to not spend money when you’re out and about.

With the exception of going for a walk or bike ride to a park or other free place, you will no doubt spend at least the cost of the gas you used to get to wherever you’re going.

Once you are out, it is very easy to give in to the temptation to buy something to eat or drink or impulsively purchase something at a store.

Staying home is a sure-fire way to save money for most of us.

2. Learn to eat on a budget.

People spend a lot of unnecessary money on food. Buying food at the grocery store to prepare at home is almost always cheaper than getting pre-made food at a restaurant.

Even those of us who are not naturally talented in the kitchen can learn to cook decent meals and save a ton of money by not eating out.

To save money on groceries, a few simple rules are to buy cheaper cuts of meats, fruits, and vegetables in season (or frozen), and only limited convenience foods.

Eating good quality yet inexpensive foods at home is something everyone who lives well on a budget does.

3. Find cheap entertainment.

Going out to the movies and having cable television can be very expensive.

You can save well over $100 a month by getting a subscription to Netflix or something similar instead.

The library is also an excellent source of free entertainment.

Check out your local newspaper online for listings of free things to do around town. Go outside and enjoy the free sunshine and fresh air!

4. Shop around for the best price on necessary purchases.

It pays to shop around for necessities.

Everything from car insurance to new shoes for the kids can have a wide range of prices.

Don’t settle for the first price you find – look around and you’ll probably find something similar for less.

Frugal people are not shy about negotiating a better deal to save money.

Don’t be afraid to ask your credit card company for a better rate or the salesperson at the furniture store to lower the price on a piece of furniture.

Using coupons along with sales at stores can be very worthwhile once you get the hang of it, but only if what you are buying is something that you need and would buy anyway.

5. Don’t buy the stuff you don’t need.

This tip may sound so simple that it shouldn’t be stated, but it is actually a lot harder than it looks.

We are bombarded by advertising everywhere we go, and it is very effective at getting us to buy things we don’t need.

But every frugal person will tell you that the key to saving money is to not spend it. The next time you think you need a new shirt, gadget, or book, take time to think it over.

You will probably discover that you only want it and can live perfectly well without it. With a little effort, you might find the object you want for free by using the library or Freecycle.

Of course, there are many other ways to save money, but every frugal person I know does these five things. See how much money you can save by choosing to live frugally!…