25 ways I save money

1) We do things ourselves. From haircuts to changing the oil to minor, even major car repair. We have been fortunate in the past to live next door to mechanics who taught K a lot about cars. We paint things ourselves, build things ourselves, even make things ourselves.

2) Grow a vegetable garden. 1 pumpkin plant will give us pumpkin puree to make muffins alll year. The same with a zucchini plant, we have homemade bread all year from 1 zucchini plant. 2 cucumber plants yielded enough cukes to eat almost every day as well as canning 20 jars of pickles.

3) We eat all of our leftovers.

4) We all drink mostly water, with the occasional milk or juice.

5) My kids and even I, wear hand-me-downs.

6) I try not to turn my oven on unless I have at least 2 things to go in there. This saves energy and encourages me to make homemade snacks and muffins for us to eat.

7) We keep our heat at 65 in the winter. I know some keep it lower, but with very small children I am not comfortable doing that yet. Maybe when they are older.

8) I line dry clothes. This makes the clothes last longer and saves energy.

9) K rides his bike to work whenever he can.

10) In the past we have cloth diapered to save money. Although not doing it currently, we have saved thousands in the past by doing it. It is much easier than I ever thought!

11) We borrow a ton of books from the library.

12) We reuse bags, ziploc baggies washed out, or grocery store bags for dirty diapers or other trash. This is also very good for the environment.

13) I use the Diva Cup.

14) I used a babysitting coop for years. We have just moved and I don't know anyone yet, but I am hoping that in the future I can either join one again or start one. This is a huge money saver!

15) Give family gifts at Christmas time.

16) Shopping to fill my pantry from the loss leaders of that week, not to just get what I need that week.

17) I have read and reread the Complete Tightwad Gazette many times and I learn new things each time.

18) Using cloth napkins at every meal. I haven't bought paper napkins in years.

19) I listen to the Dave Ramsey show to help me stay on track.

20) I shop garage sales and consignment stores for whatever I can find that we need.

21) We drive to go on vacation. We never fly. Flying 6 people is never going to be the cheapest way to go.

22) We plan our vacations around where we know people so we will have somewhere to stay.

23) I always use coupons for things, not just groceries! Meals out, festivals will have discounts if you buy tickets at a certain place, toys, books, etc. If you can't find a coupon for specific item, you can usually find a % off coupon for a store that will carry that item.

24) LL Bean is my weakness. I have an LL Bean credit card that I use to make my purchases (only a couple of times a year). But by having this I always get free shipping and monogramming which always saves me money. I pay the cc off as soon as the bill comes.

25) I combine errands to save on gas, I try to never go just 1 place.


Check out other people's ways of saving money at Frugal for Life.