Money Saving Tips

I do these Daily Challenges by www.meyouhealth.com and today's challenge was to share a money saving tip with someone. I figured since I'm good at being frugal I could share the tips I use regularly and hopefully help some of you save a dime or two.

1. This one will probably get a tsk out of a few of you, but we are avid paper towel users. If you have kids or pets, it's kind of a necessity. We buy the bulk packages of 6 or 8 rolls that have different tear off sizes, usually Brawny or an off brand, whichever is cheaper. When we're eating we will take one of the half sizes and tear it 3 ways so we all have something to wipe our faces with, which is more than enough unless you're a messy eater like my daughter. This saves big time.

2. Don't buy shaving cream to shave your legs, pits, or in most men's cases, faces. We use leftover hair conditioner and it works better and is far less expensive.

3. Here's another tsk inducing money saver. We are Culligan water drinkers so we get 3 of the 5 gallon jugs filled up about once a week or so. We also have to buy bottled water to take to work with us so we will often refill our bottles using the Culligan water. Yes, we recycle but by refilling it cuts down on the cases of water we have to buy weekly, which really helps out. A 5 gallon jug refill is only $1.25 at the Culligan stations. Our city water isn't good enough to drink so we have to go this route. No judging please. :)

4. When I do laundry, which I sort of enjoy doing, I always wash a full load in cold water and I only use half of the suggested amount of laundry detergent per load. I do the same with fabric softener and  for the fabric softener sheets tear them in half. The cold water saves on energy and yes, it cleans just as well as warm or hot water and doesn't tear up your clothes quite as quickly.

5. Most of the cleaning I do I use white vinegar mixed with warm water. This cleans, deodorizes and disinfects any hard surface area. I use it to clean out the coffee pot, I sometimes substitute white vinegar for fabric softener, it makes a great fruit and veggie cleaner, and if one of us is sick I will soak our toothbrushes in equal parts vinegar and water to kill the germs. You can clean your windows, floors, counters, toilet, bathtub...you get the idea. Baking soda added makes a heavy duty cleaner for dirty showers or kitchen sinks.

6. I am not a coupon clipper but I find that if I make a list of everything we need and stick to the list we end up saving money by not adding nonsense to the shopping carts. We also buy a lot of fruits and veggies and less processed foods, which keep you full longer and saves on doctor's bills in the long run.

7. This is a HUGE money saver and I even find myself doing it at other people's houses. Turn off the light as soon as you leave a room. I don't care if you're returning within a minute, every second counts. Also, unplug anything you don't use regularly. The only things we keep plugged in are the refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer and alarm clocks. Everything else gets unplugged immediately or is connected to a power saver strip that is turned off nightly. You'd be amazed at the savings on your electric bill. Oh and those swirly light bulbs last longer and save energy better than the regular bulbs.

8. We eat out maybe once a week. Every other meal is either eaten at home or we pack our lunches to take to work and school. Jaida hasn't eaten at the school since she was in first grade. Not only does it save money but it's also healthier to not have the option to eat fast food on your break and school food...don't even get me started on that.

9. During summer when the temperatures start to rise we use a fan to help suck the central air from the back of the house and into our living room area where it tends to get warmer. I like to keep the thermostat no lower than 75 when we're gone or in bed and 72 when we're home. In the winter we keep it roughly about 66-68 degrees depending on if we're home and we do have to seal up our front windows which helps out a lot.

10. Last but not least, and I'm sure there is a ton of stuff I'm missing, but 10 seems like a nice well rounded number to end on, we stay fairly healthy all year round because of how we eat and exercise and stay hydrated so we don't visit the doctor for anything unnecessary like a cold or the flu or what have you. I get seasonal allergies and we all fall ill every now and then but when we do I make sure we take proper care of ourselves so we heal a lot faster without the need for antibiotics or prescription medicines. It's mostly common sense stuff like drinking enough water, resting, eating the right kinds of foods, washing your hands, ect.

I hope you enjoyed my money saver tips. If you'd like to add anything feel free to do so in the comment section. I'm always open for new suggestions in saving my pennies.