Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items!
Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It’s a passion. Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn’t love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
Here’s how I do it.
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That’s it! Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I’ve gotten back more than I actually paid for the item.
Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it’s about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this? I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me “Crazy”, wouldn’t it? But a lot of folks just don’t know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I’m lovin’ that idea!
As the editor of www.simpledebtfreeliving.com, I’m always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I’m not the only one. Then we can put my family’s worries to rest. They think I’m really crazy.
Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday:
1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -
The great sandwich bag conspiracy
The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It’s not like it’s going to the moon. It’s just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich!
You’ll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time.
2. Don’t buy it if you won’t use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they’ll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message.
Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can’t live without. For me it’s my blender and my food processor. Although, I’m seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it’s worth the money yet. Especially when I’m so close to a bread outlet. But, you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I’m not counting the coffer maker it’s kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..
It’s little things like the example above that identify frugal living.
3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There’s nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That’s what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it’s a good value! Informed Consumer - More Savings
Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping myself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - a self-help plan, ideas, and resources for personal budgeting, debt management, frugal living, and extra income opportunities. Money saving tips help balance your budget and maximize everyday savings.
Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items!
Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It’s a passion. Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn’t love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
Here’s how I do it.
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That’s it! Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I’ve gotten back more than I actually paid for the item.
Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it’s about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this? I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me “Crazy”, wouldn’t it? But a lot of folks just don’t know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
My local drugstore (which by the way is a national chain) often advertises items free after rebate. Hey, that cuts down on a lot of work for me. Easy Money! I e an also lucky enough to have a grocery store in my area that offers rebates and offers double coupons (sometimes even doubling $1 coupons as a special promotion). Needless to say, with six mouths to feed (myself, my husband, and four kids) I’m lovin’ that idea!
As the editor of www.simpledebtfreeliving.com, I’m always looking for new ways to save money. Visit us and follow one of the e-mail links to share your ideas or just let us know how excited you get about frugal living! Let me know I’m not the only one. Then we can put my family’s worries to rest. They think I’m really crazy.
Here are a couple other ways that I save on items we use everyday:
1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve -
The great sandwich bag conspiracy
The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It’s not like it’s going to the moon. It’s just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich!
You’ll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time.
2. Don’t buy it if you won’t use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they’ll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it..well you get the message.
Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just can’t live without. For me it’s my blender and my food processor. Although, I’m seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it’s worth the money yet. Especially when I’m so close to a bread outlet. But, you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I’m not counting the coffer maker it’s kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn?t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe..
It’s little things like the example above that identify frugal living.
3. Always get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There’s nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That’s what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it’s a good value! Informed Consumer - More Savings
Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping myself and others become and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - a self-help plan, ideas, and resources for personal budgeting, debt management, frugal living, and extra income opportunities. Money saving tips help balance your budget and maximize everyday savings.
How to Save Money and take the Vacation You Always Wanted.
Many people don’t realize how much money they spend on convenience and boy does it add up. I am going to share some of my frugal and practical tips of how to save money for the vacation you always wanted. Before we get started make sure you setup a vacation savings account, if you don’t have a savings account setup look into an ING Direct savings account.
Now that you have an account to put all of your saved money in, you will have to determine what is important to you. Is that cup of Star Bucks coffee worth having to drive to Gulf Shores for your vacation? Doesn’t a trip to Hawaii sound better? Now cutting out your Star Bucks won’t pay for your vacation to Hawaii, but it will pay for the plane ticket. If you are getting a cup of star bucks 5 days a week at $4 dollars a day that equals $20 a week. Which turns into a savings of $1040 dollars a year. Is that cup of coffee that good? Remember you don’t have to cut back completely you could only get Star Bucks two days a week and over a year you would save $624.
If you go out every weekend to see a movie, you can save a bundle by cutting back. Instead of going to the movie, rent the movie at the video store. If you rent a movie instead of spending $8.00 on a ticket and spending $10.00 on popcorn and drink, you spend only $6.00 on a movie at video store. If you have to see a movie in the theatre, choose to go once a month. Whether you cut back or rent you will save $12 dollars a week or $624 dollars a year.
Shop around for home and car insurance. Many people assume since they have been with X insurance company for so long that they have the best rate. WRONG! Shop around every 6 months or year when your policy runs out. This can save you a bundle. I have two vehicles, a 2001 Ford F150 and 2002 Mazda Protégé. We were paying around $2000 a year for full coverage insurance with $500 dollar deductible. When my policy ran out I did some calling around for the exact same coverage through a different insurance company my yearly premium went to $1400 that’s a savings or $600 a year.
Here are a few additional tips to help save money. Disconnect or reduce your cable or satellite TV channels and you will save $10 to $80 dollars a month. Bring your lunch to work 4 out of the 5 workdays will save you $20 a week. Cut back on dry cleaning can save you $10 dollars a week. Send your kids on the bus instead of driving them to school you can save $5 to $10 dollars a week.
If you do the just a few of things I mentioned above you will have over $2000 dollars in the bank for that vacation you have always wanted.
By: David Adams