Looking for Tips on Saving Day to Day

[NaturallyCheap]

If you just drink water it will save you even more!

The more simple life is the better! More material more headaches!

[redsoxmaniac]

I save coupons but use them only about once a month and just coupon shop. I find it easier to handle that way.

Eat meatless once a week, great website: Meatless Mondays http://www.meatlessmonday.com/site/P...gename=a_index
I have used many great recipes from there. Meat is expensive. Reduce it in regular recipes. If a recipe asks for a pound of chicken or a pound of ground beef I try and reduce it by 1/4-1/3 and add a less expensive ingredient in its place.

Unplug appliances that are not in use. Many draw power even though they are not in use.

Use less water. If you pay for water and sewer and do a lot of outside watering, ask your water company for a separate meter for your outside water since it goes into the ground and not the sewer. I haven't done this yet but friends tell me it is worth doing.
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, wash your face etc.

waste less

[lucille]

We bought a water distiller and a bunch of reusable water bottles. You can find water bottles cheap when they start putting out the summer items at the big box stores. We use that instead of bottled water to take with. Our water is so awful and full of sediment and chlorine that a brita pitcher won't do the trick. The distiller cost about $100 but paid for itself long ago.
We also bought an espresso machine and travel mugs. I learned how to steam milk and pull shots pretty well. So instead of paying almost $4 every morning we make our own. I get whole beans at Sam's 3# for $13, they are the DePavia brand. They are pretty good if your making a mixed espresso drink. If I was doing clean espresso I would still spend the money on Illy. But mixed with milk and chocolate or something the DePavia beans work.
We make lots of things from scratch in big batches. Granola, peanut butter, chocolate syrup. The better quality options are insanely expensive so this saves us lots of money.

I also spent quite a bit of time figuring out store prices on things we buy frequently. I did a price book for a couple of months using a spreadsheet and our store receipts. Then I compared stores on items we buy repeatedly. Now we use that as a basis for our shopping lists and where to get those items.

Consolidating car trips, doing shopping only once or twice a week both save gas.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by redsoxmaniac

Use less water. If you pay for water and sewer and do a lot of outside watering, ask your water company for a separate meter for your outside water since it goes into the ground and not the sewer.

In my area (Fort Worth, Texas), the city uses your average water bill for two months at the beginning of the year (I think it's February and March) to determine the amount to charge you for the sewer rates for the rest of the year. The idea is that during those months, you won't really be doing outside watering, as the grass is just coming out of being dormant and that's when we generally get the most rain. So the majority of your water usage is inside the house and going down the sewer. It's not an ideal system but it does seem to work pretty well. And, if you're aware of it, you can be super conservative with your water during those months and pay a lower bill the rest of the year...being out of town for a couple of weeks during those months is especially helpful.

[Miss Rosie]

Before you throw anything away or donate it, take a second look at it from a point of view that considers it raw materials.

Here are a few examples.

When I went out to my dumpster last summer (I love apartment complex dumpsters!), I found a dresser with two good drawers and one warped one. I took the two good drawers, seeing pre-cut useable lumber. One of them was damaged, which made it just lumber, but the other got turned into a wonderful box shelf for nothing more than the cost of paint and hardware.

Second-hand quilts and comforters have turned into insulated curtains. Used fountains have turned into light humidifiers and, in one case, a planter for lucky bamboo. Old jeans that can't be cut off or patched are going to turn into a denim patchwork tablecloth for everyday use. Nothing more forgiving of stains than denim!

Another thing that helps is waiting for at least a day, if not longer, before making a large purchase. Use that time to research and just think about it, and by the time you buy it, you'll have found a cheaper alternative.

[bishop]

I recently switched my morning breakfasts from frozen convenience foods (Toaster Strudels & Boca wraps) to homemade biscuits with sausage, ham, or jelly. My wife makes biscuits on Sunday afternoon and I cook the sausage if I need to. Then, during the week, I heat the biscuits and add whatever meat & jelly I want.

[mbhunter]

I'm sure other bloggers have written their own list, but here's mine from a while back:

Fifteen easy ways to save fifteen bucks

[amyschiff]

KelR1 that sounds just like me... chocolate and Coca Cola! I have cut down my soda intake a lot, but still have cravings once in a while.

Water
At my old apartment the water was pretty awful (to the point that a Pur filter pitcher didn't help), so I had a 2 gallon jug with a spigot that fit in my fridge. I have sturdy water bottles that I would fill up when I went to class or work. It only cost about 25 cents per gallon, which is way better than $1+ for only 16.9 oz.

Food

I pack my lunch for work every day and try to cook my own dinner as much as possible. All it takes for me is about 5-10 minutes each evening to prepare for the next day. I basically make a sandwich of some sort for my lunch and transfer a boneless/skinless chicken breast from my freezer to my fridge so it can begin thawing.

Having meat thawing in the fridge helps me because it's harder to justify eating out-- ie. I can tell myself "what are you going to do with that chicken in the fridge if you eat out today?" (though if I think about it too long I just say "marinate it!" hehe)

Electric
I try to be really careful about turning off lights I don't need.

I don't know how much a difference it makes, but I also use the sleep timer on my tv. I almost always go to bed with the tv on, so it's pretty crucial that it doesn't stay on all night every night.

Using the Cold/Cold setting on your clothes washer might also work for most of your loads, so that you don't have to heat the water you're using.

I don't do this, but it could be useful to some people.. get a car charger for your cell phone and charge it during your commute to and from work each day instead of at your home.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by amyschiff

I don't do this, but it could be useful to some people.. get a car charger for your cell phone and charge it during your commute to and from work each day instead of at your home.

This is interesting, but I'm not sure that it actually saves money overall. The electricity used to charge a cell phone has to come from somewhere. In the car, it comes from the engine working a little bit harder to supply the extra power required by the charger and that causes the car to use more fuel. So, instead of paying on your electricity bill, you'd be paying for extra gasoline. I don't know the figures, especially as I don't have a cell phone. Perhaps it does make more sense to charge appliances in the car. But I wouldn't be surprised if, especially based on the currently high price of gasoline, it's more economical to charge a cell phone (or anything else) at home.

[lucille]

The charging the cell phone reminded me... I try to fully shower at the gym. I go during the slow time to work out so nobody is waiting for the showers. Lots of hot water, so the extra time to wash hair, shave legs etc isn't coming out of our home water bill and gas bill. Our water heater isn't very big either. But our water costs where we live are insanely expensive. So saving a few more gallons of water at home vs. the gym membership I already paid for.