What are you doing to save money.

[jacks girl]

I heard this question on CNN and thought it would be great to ask you guys with Gas prices and food prices so high what's going on in your life.

Are you driving less, do you only go shopping on double coupon day. What little tips do you have to help others save money.

Since we are having to pay so much for diesel (today it's 3.92) to keep rolling I'm saving money where I can, below is some of the things we are doing now to pinch our pennies.

I buy food when it's on sale and use my food saver to keep it fresh then freeze it. Many weeks I don't buy something i could use because it's not on sale.

I try to turn out as many lights as I can. I don't run the heat or the air unless I have to. I open the doors early in the morning to try and get it cool in the house so i don't have to run the air.

I use a lot less warm water and hot water in my laundry.

I have Direct Tv and now and then I suspend my service to save money.

I have an electric weed eater, I would like to buy some billy goats but hubby won't let me. LOL. We also have all but quit going out to eat just for the fun of it. I have hubby stop at the store on the way home so we don't have to go back out to get what we need.

What do you do to help save money.

Jacks

[jacks girl]

No one must be saving money LOL.

I had to add I bought a new shower head that has a shut off valve to save money.

[melw]

To save money, i guess any tips would be helpful.

We have a solar hot water, we only turn on the booster if there is no sun.
We only use cold water to wash our clothes and use sun and wind to dry our clothes.
Use public transport instead of driving (or ride a bicycle)
Turn off lights and use natural light.
Buy things only when on special.

that is all i can think off quickly on top of my head.

But i believe God blesses me as i have work and I pay tithe every week and feel God blesses me and gives us enough to live on

MEL

[jacks girl]

I would like to have a few solar items that help me save on the electirc bill a windmill or something. right now I'm just trying to keep the windows open and thinking about putting some tires on top of my house to help keep down the heat.

Anyone out there have tires on their roof and does it really work.

Jacks

[Cymrugirl]

I guess my list in a mixture between our trying to be better stewards of what God's give us and saving money. The two often go hand in hand.

We don't make cosmetic replacements around our house. If it works, we keep it. If it breaks/runs downs, etc., we try to fix it. We suck blood from turnips, baby.

We purchased reusable shopping bags. It's good for the environment, and we get a nickel off for each one we use every time we shop.

I buy foods on special and stop at the market daily on my way home from work. We buy food, cook it as quickly as possible, and try to eat it all before making something else. We eat at home and we eat leftovers. Stuffing our freezer/fridge in the past always led to food/money waste for us.

We keep a small herb and vegetable garden. Many of the herbs are perrenials and don't have to be repurchased/replanted. They also taste a lot better. We plan our meals around what's good in our garden. We're going to try to add more perrenial foods each year, so we just have to take care of our food.

We're trying to rework our chicken cage so we can keep chickens again. For now, I buy my eggs from another woman in town who keeps chickens. The eggs are organic/hormone free/free range - and they're half the price of grocery store eggs. They taste so good!

We own just enough clothing to get the job done. If our clothes still get the job done but we're horribly out of style, we choose to be out of style.

We don't buy books we can borrow - and if we do buy them, we find them used. I prefer used books anyway.

We combine errands. We don't leave home hardly ever. (really)

The most extreme measure I took to this last year to save pennies and cut down on waste is reheating cold coffee. Not so bad. I've also used the last of the cold coffee to water my plants, and I use the coffee grounds to mulch the plants in my house. Every time I water them I get a wiff of Dunkin Donuts!

For our anniversary, instead of going out, my husband and I stayed in and cooked our own dinner. We rented a movie, let my daughter stay with her grandparents, and had a nice evening without having to tip anybody or drive some great distance. Hubby made killer filet mignon for half the price of a restaurant.

We try not to leave things on when we're not at home.

We're exploring alternate energy plans for our house. It's a 1940's bungalow and drafty in places. We hope to fix that.

We don't buy things we don't use. It can be pretty, but it also must be practical.

We own as little as possible.



:D

We're always on the lookout for ways to be better stewards of what God has given us. We were miserable failures at that for a long time! I look forward to hearing more of your ideas!

[Ransom v. Unman]

I've formed a gang of bandits, and we've taken to pillaging and looting small villages in order to feed our families.

It's working out quite well, actually.

[Cymrugirl]

*calls the crimestoppers hotline*

[Ransom v. Unman]

*calls the crimestoppers hotline*

You think we could do this without the aid of the local constabulary?

[jacks girl]

LOL I like your idea Ransom. I may see if I can form my own group. LOL

[lawi]

what i do
I make a budget and try as much as possible to stick to it…thou last month and this I have failed…got a cheap personal finance adviser from our Church

I avoid travelling when its peak hours …8am 5pm. traffic jams and hiking of fares

I avoid going home instead I Send money,..if I have to go I go with a budget LOL

I try to turn out as many lights as I can, Avoid leaving lights, computer, music on without using ..

Trying to use warm water when doing ma washing Using the hot sun in Africa …..Boil water for drinking to avoid buying drinking water

Cooking is a nightmare, to me I have been feeding in hotels [too expensive] am now trying to cook have collected several gadgets an getting my act on stage LOL

AVOID unnecessary DATES!.....

Maximize use of company’s free phones

Maximize use of free company internet


From a friend

No to big screen movies
Yes to cheap rentals/homeviewing

No to Salon Manicure/Pedicure/Eyebrows
Yes to do it myself

No to having mama nguo wash my clothes
Yes to washing my own.

Less meat in my diet
More protein veges e.g. beans, ndengu, soya

Less wheat i.e bread/chapatis etc for breakfast/snacks,
more nduma and ngwashes

No carbonated drinks,
More water, or blended fruit smoothies made from home

No more buying food
Carry packed lunch from home

No more buying newspapers,
Read it on the net (or borrow someone else!)

[Cymrugirl]

Those are some great ideas, Iawi. :)

I've done a couple of those myself, but you've got several things on your list that we would be wise to adopt.

[Pedro Von Smidt]

We have energy saving lights, a shower head that cuts back water consumption, and weights in the loo cistern that lessen the water useage also. I recycle cans bought from shop.

[jacks girl]

I have to stay alone a a lot. So I'm a chicken and burn many lights during the night. i'm going to try to get some low watt bulbs and use Christmas lights in my bathroom for a night light.

I've been trying to cool the house down in the early morning hours to keep from running
the air any more than i have to.

Keep the ides coming we need all the help we can get.

[WritingChaos]

For me I’ve always been fussy about cash. So when all this stuff hit, I just said, “stop eating out.” Saves me over $100 a week. No kidding. I also switched over to netflix, instead of blowing $40 a week on buying new BRs or DVDs. Sometimes we spent more than that. So now I pay less than $40 a month and get as many movies as I like. Now if I could just get rid of the cell phone I’m under contract for.