New ways for the extremely frugal to save $5 a month

[inneedofhope]

I have done the popcorn re-popping, and also MYO micro-pop with paper lunch bags and a little bit of oil. I have an air popper that pops most all & I like stove top, too, so I try to use those options more than the micro.
I do not drink coffee or alcohol. Mt. Dew is my downfall. Buying in bulk saves me alot over buying single serve. And forgetting my lunch costs me alot as well. So, for the rest of August I will focus on remember to bring my food and drinks everyday.

[alotofgooddeals]

I work in a plaza that has a dollar store and i usually go there on my lunch break to pick up a few things...tomorrow i will bring my lunch so i can avoid this store and save myself a few dollars...

[Scarlett]

Let us know how it goes with the popcorn! And good luck. : )


Scarlett

[dwnloom]

So far....I have rode my motorcycle back and forth to work 9 days out of 11. Not too bad....now if I can make the rest of the month....

[nuisance26]

~I must have some need-to-refrugal trigger that pops up this time of year because I suddenly felt the need to try this challenge again. It's one year later and I'm slacking off in some areas. Here's my list for June:

1. Switch from Netflix to Amazon Prime= save $2 , really more if I count the benefits of free 2 day shipping and free Kindle borrowing
2. Reuse coffee grounds again with consistency= save $5
3. Make, don't buy summer outfits for toddler= save $5 each outfit(had planned on buying 4)
4. Air dry 10 laundry loads=$5(only reason lower utilities in CO is annoying, more work for less pay )
5. make homemade root beer instead of buying soda for pizza night= save $3
6. make grape jelly instead of buying= save $10
7. print and use coupons again= goal savings at least $5

Savings Goal=$50

Anyone want to join me again in this?~

[savvy_sniper]

I stopped using my truck unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. I ride my Harley instead. I have a backpack for carrying a few small lightweight items and I have a bag that attaches to my backrest. So I can even do some light grocery shopping. I get TONS better gas mileage on the motorcycle than the truck.

I already do so much to save time/money that it is getting hard to come up with new ideas/ways.

[known2him5]

I must have missed this thread originally. . .

~ a friend had a pecan tree come down in a storm this week. . . going to see about bartering some gluten free baked goods (her dd is gluten free) for some of the wood to make Christmas gifts Figure to save at least $20 (this includes the cost of baking supplies)
~ Got a bed sheet at a yard sale for free, has a large hole in the center. . but the edges are in great shape. Making cloth napkins this week, from it. It's a nice, good quality sheet. Looks like it got caught on something and ripped. Saving $10 at least, as I'll get 12 napkins from the sheet.
~ vaccinating our pets/livestock ourselves instead of having the vet do it. Saves us close to $100/year.
~

[JerryG]

~So after seeing Sara's article about overused frugal tips posted again it got me thinking. There really are 1000's of little, obscure and boring ways to save a little bit. If you do enough of them you will see a significant savings. But it's always a challenge finding new ways to save when you're already a very frugal person.
I'm in the mood for a frugal challenge!
So, I've been writing a list of things I can do this month, that I wasn't previously doing, that will save $5. There are tons of things I do already like cloth diapers, leftovers for lunch and using the internet to find shopping codes to buy things cheaper online. I'm sure that's the case for most of us frugal people. I'm not counting those for my list, just new goals and renewed goals for the next 30 days.
So how about challenging yourself to find some things you can do this month that will save you $5? It can be something new to you or something you used to do and will renew.

Here are mine:
1. line dry 5 loads of laundry
2. only drink coffee that has been made with reused grounds
3. cut tv time in half-less than 3 hours a day for everyone-includes video games and exercising
4. drive 30 miles less-1 less trip to town, 1 less trip to my mother's- I don't think I'll be good at tracking this this way so I'm going to put $5 less gas in the tank and when the tank is low, I don't go!
5. make a dozen bagels and 16 hamburger rolls instead of buying at Aldi
6. make 2 pairs of lounge shorts for ds instead of buying at Goodwill
7. cut off and hem ds' too short jeans for summer shorts instead of buying at Goodwill
8. alter two of my long sleeve tees into tanks for summer instead of buying at yard sales
9. drink 3 less alcoholic drinks
10. towel dry dishes in the dishwasher instead of running the heating element
Total savings: $50
I'm going to print out my post and put it on the fridge to keep motivated. Anyone want to join me?~

Okay - I'm good on most of these. Line dry, no TV, reduce driving, re-use what you already have, don't use heating cycle in DW, I DO not make bread (cuz' I suck at it) I DO buy it at the discount bread store.

However - Um, no - I will not reuse the coffee grounds. I'll put more water in the coffee pot to make more at the same time that it's on, but no way will I reuse the next day. Not only does it not taste the same, it's quite nasty, and I'm not Starbucks person.

[TigerGirl1226]

I've read that lots of you have weddings and graduations to attend in the next few months. I'm not even going to get into what you should or shouldn't spend on the gift, but the price of greeting cards has gotten outrageous! I went to Micheal's and got a box of blank cards that are in a rainbow of colors so I can generally match the color of the school or just use a generic and I probably spent less than the price of a "good" card. Plus you can hand write the sentiment as opposed to signing your name to someone else's. A box will last more more than 1 year and may cost $4.

[ARCMOMMY]

I am going to try to quit drinking coffee. $20/month since I make mine at home.
Line dry as much as possible.
Close off rooms that use no AC
Clean out the pantry and shop only 4 times for milk/bread ect.
Only drive 6 times this month and include shopping trips in this.
Have a yard sale- will be de-cluttering everything!!!!!!! Goal is for $150

Hopefully this will all help me out with about $350 all together. Most of it will come from the lack of grocery shopping and the yard sale but hey whatever works right.

[Incognito]

I always re-pop any popcorn kernels that don't pop in my hot-air corn popper. Just save them, and remove the half-popped kernels, and pour the unpopped kernels back into the chute. Most of them will pop large and fluffy.

[nodmicks]

Lots of great ideas here! I'm searching for ideas to help me out with my savings goal.
Just to add to the card idea: The Dollar Tree has great cards for .50 each. I recently had to buy 6 cards. They are much nicer cards than Walmarts bargain section.

[mauimagic]

So glad to see this thread pop up again!!

I have slacked off a bit on grabbing breakfast at the drive through - this summer will be a good time for me to work on this for sure - more time to plan.

Have done really well at minimizing trips to the other side.

For this summer, I will be making coffee in my one pot coffee maker at school.

Need to think more about this - shall return!!