Thursday, November 15, 2007

Thursday Thirteen 11/15/07


13 Ways to Save Money


I read somewhere that families on average, eat out or order take out, 3 days a week. That is shocking to me. These may be no brainers or sound like common sense, but really, you can save quite a bit of cash just by making these simple changes in your spending habits. These are all things that we do or have done in our home.

1. Clip coupons and use coupon codes for online shopping.

2. Buy generic. We don't buy generic for everything but for many items, you really can't tell the difference. (for example, we buy regular Nyquil but buy generic ibuprofen)

3. Take advantage of sale items.

4. Cook! It's much cheaper than ordering out.

5. If you do eat out, take advantage of two for one meals, buffets, coupons, or kids eat free/discount nights.

6. Use your left overs. Why waste food!?! How many times is there enough left over for a lunch or another dinner? It is sickening to me when I see people throw that much out.

7. Pack a lunch. It costs much less to prepare and pack your own meal than going out.

8. Become a member of a wholesale club like BJ's, Sam's Club, or Costco.

9. Wash clothes in cold water to cut back on heating.

10. Pay bills online to save on stamps. Most banks offer online bill pay and utility companies often have bill pay on their websites.

11. Set a timer on your thermostat so that the temp drops when you are sleeping or out of the house.

12. Shop at Ebay, Craigslist or thrift/consignment stores.

13. Shop at a dollar store. While there is a lot of junk there, it is a good place to pick up items like storage containers, decorations, gift wrap, etc.

How else do you save money?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i am just slightly insane about eating my leftovers. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Nice Thursday post! I just posted my Thursday, with a few add-ons, come on by and visit!

Have a good one!

Heather said...

Some great tips. I LOVE online coupon codes. Have you seen bargainshopperlady.com? Awesome deals.

http://madamerubies.com/blog/?p=846

Britni said...

For those people that do eat out you can go to restaurant.com and get gift cards for about half the price. It definitely saves some money.

jayedee said...

wonderful list! thanks for sharing.
we've converted over to cloth napkins and kitchen towels this year. done away with all paper in the kitchen. feels good and saves lots!

Raggedy said...

Great tips!
Thanks.
Terrific Thursday Thirteen!
My TT is posted.
Have a wonderful day!
Happy TT'ing!
*^_^
(=':'=)
(")_ (")Š
Raggedy

Carrie Lofty said...

I save by never letting investment money hit my checking account. If it's in my checking account, I spend it. So auto drafts from paychecks into savings and retirement accounts are the best!

Jessica said...

Do all shopping with a no-annual-fee rewards card (and never carry a balance). You can use your rewards for treats. I have an Amazon card. Love it.

Anonymous said...

Sam's Club is great. But the danger is of buying more than you intended to when you went in!