Frugal Tip

[Sara Noel]

Think of even one item you regularly purchase that you could cut out of your grocery list.

For example, mine was chips and pop. I still occasionally buy them, but not weekly anymore.

Calculate what your savings for a year could be. It is possible to save for extras for the holidays.

It's all about working with what you have. We all make decisions daily about our money. We all have control over some of the simple decisions we choose to make.

Where can you cut back a bit? Think about it.

Sara

[Kay]

I don't know about myself... LOL ... but, IF the other half cut out his cigarettes he would have an extra $20/week. He keeps saying that he thinks of stuff he could get with that much money saved, but then he goes back out and buys another carton.

Anyone have any suggestions on how he can cutback?

One way to help to cut back on cigarettes is to tak ethe cigarettes out of the carton and packages when you bring them home. Then, put a certain number of cigarettes into the small "snack size" Ziplock baggies. Start with 20 cigarettes, then go down to 17, 15, 13, 10 etc.

Make the person taper down more slowly than you think they should and more slowly than they think they can. The baggies can be reused, and the person only carries the number they are "allowed" for that day with them.

It does something psychologically and makes it more inconvenient to cheat. It beats quitting cold turkey, and if nothing else even just cutting back is a health and pocketbook boon!

[homesteadmamma]

Neat suggestion Sara. When I cut back in buying Pepsi, I saved $45.00 per month just by stopping one Pepsi bottle per day. Many times, we drank way more than that.

Anyone else have suggestions?

[simplemom]

Wow, CJ! Yes, it can be little things like that, which can really add up in a month and a year!

I have stopped drinking pop altogether, since a month, now, so I guess I am saving some money...

To save money on my grocery list on the long run, I buy alot of things in the very large sizes(jumbo), like ketchup, mustard, vinegar, tomatoes, etc... The condiments I transfer in smaller bottles...I save a few dollars for sure, doing this.

To save more, if dh would drink less pop and eat less chips and cookies, we could save ALOT! But, then again, he doesn't smoke, drink or spend any other money else where, so I guess, he can have some treats...

I stopped buying a magazine every week. I buy one only very occasionally, if I just *have* to read it! lol

[Jerseygirl]

I have cut out so much already!!! Can you hear my whining??? I could cut out my weekly magazine, I have been buying more paper goods since kids, but since I don't pamper myself anymore very often, giving up washing a few dishes some nights is kinda my payoff.

[AmyBoz]

Our shopping list is really down to the essentials, so I guess what I would give up to save money is my stockpiling. I really only stockpile what I can get for free or nearly free, but if I cut out the nearly free, that would certainly save some money over the course of a year. We cut out soda a few years ago and the savings were amazing.

[captclearance]

I don't buy laundry soap anymore, I make it .......
I don't buy paper towels anymore......
I have really cut back on cleaning supp;ies and just keep the basics now....

[guest2]

I think for us it would be chips and pop also. We don't buy lots of this stuff, it's a treat item. But....We could cut it out if we needed to.

[justjenn]

Because, dh and I have been dealing with his layoff, we have cut pretty much everything, without feeling deprived. We rarely buy junk food, and we have cut down on the pop consumption.

[April]

I have discovered Sam's Choice soda for $.58 a 2 liter bottle and thankfully dh has accepted this change. That's a big savings from $.99 a 2 liter for Pepsi when it's on sale.

[captclearance]

April, I have been drinking Sam's Choice too !
I also have been reusing the wax paper bag from ceriel for freezing..... It works great, I am recycling and saving on buying bags....They work great and NEVER any freezer burn.......

[graci42]

Lori -- Is making laundry detergent tooooo difficult and how well does it work?

[mylittle4]

We cut out wipies by making them myself and will save $120.00 a year. My kids are 2 years apart so I have been buying them since my oldest was born had I realized this earlier I could have saved $1200.00. In just baby wipes.