I’m putting the final touches on my manuscript before it heads to the publisher for edits and I’d love to have you help me out. I’m looking for specific, practical ways that you save at least $100 per year.
I’m not looking for generic tips like “we use coupons”; I’m looking for tips like “We buy our eye glasses through ZenniOptical.com for $12 per pair instead of paying at least $150 per pair to buy them locally.”
Fill out the form here to submit your tip. The more creative and well-written your tip, the better chance you have of it making it into my book!
If your tip is something I’ve not already written about in the book and I end up using it, I’ll give you credit and send you a free copy of the book when it’s published. Please note that all submissions will be subject to editing.
If I don’t end up having space to use your tip in the book, I may use it on my blog in the future.
Thanks so much for helping me out with this. I can’t wait to see what brilliant ideas you share!
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Crystal, Will you be using a person’s first and last name in your book if you use their tip?
Crystal, Will you be using a person’s first and last name in your book if you use their tip?
Saving money is not only for the young. Now that I qualify for senior discounts, my best savings is 5% off every Wed at the grocery stores. I save over $200 just by shopping on Wednesday.
While I realize that not everyone has the space to do this, we save a lot of money and earn a little too by having 4 hens which we use to get fresh eggs and when we have extras we sell them to friends and family for $2/dozen. Anyone with a little space and an unrestricted area could do this. Initially, we didn’t know how well this would work and so we went for minimal investment. We bought 4 chicks for $2 each and set them up in an unused dog kennel (20X20) and an old dog house with straw inside for a nest. Each hen lays, on average, an egg/day and because we have mild winters, they lay year-round. At an egg/day x 4 hens we average about 2 dozen/week. We keep a dozen and sell a dozen for $2.00. This gives us about $8/month which we use to buy feed to supplement their diet. This means that my dozen/week costs me absolutely nothing and I get 56 dozen eggs a year from free range chickens – well over $100/year. This has worked so well that we just bought 4 new chicks. Taking care of 8 isn’t any harder than taking care of 4. You just throw them a cup of feed every day and collect the eggs. This is a perfect chore for my 7-yr old. This is going to be his job and business, with his savings portion going to his college savings account.
We live on a small farm and have had chickens for over 5 years. I started as a 4-H project and has continued. We have about 20 hens, so we get about 15 eggs a day. With a family of 6 and lots of baking from scratch we go through several dozen a week. I have customers that I sell to each week for $2/dozen. I take them to church on Wed night and deliver. We are also able to bless families having a hard time with eggs.
Along with using coupons of course, I dont pay for much! Couponing is my fave hobby, and when Kmart doubles, I get sooo much free or almost free!
I use the Duggar laundry detergent recipe, and spend about $3 for 2-3 months of detergent.
I homeschool my children, and get almost everything from the library. If they dont have it, they interlibrary loan it.
I cut my children’s hair, and it looks great!
I found a friend who works at an upscale salon, and trade her babysitting, or things I got free with coupons for haircuts.
I have found a consignment store that pays me cash for my clothes. Often, I will just trade for the next size up. Also, our church has something called moms market. However many items you bring ( clothes, toys, books, etc ) you get to take that many home.
I thirty day cook, which saves a huge amount of money getting everything in one trip.
For fun, we play outside, spend time with friends, go to the library,church activities, etc… there are lots of fun free things to do.
I save little things I get free with coupons for birthday party gifts, and stocking stuffers. My new favorite kids gift is- save all of your broken crayons and peel off the wrappers. Break them up, and put them in liners in a cupcake pan. Bake at 300 degrees for just a few minutes, till its in the shape of a cupcake. Give them in a cute box along with a fun coloring book. I find great coloring books at Dollar Tree. A $1 gift!
My new thing is learning about natural remedies. I have found that I can cure many things with products I have at home. Apple Cider Vinegar took a burn away yesterday, peppermint oil for mastitis, coconut oil for a yeast infection, and I want to learn more!. A healthy and natural way to save on medical bills.
Just some of my thoughts!
This sounds old fashioned — but I iron instead of taking everything to the dry cleaners. Our dry cleaner charges $5 per pair of pants. It takes me 10 minutes a pair. So in 1 hour of watching CSI, I knock it all out for a week. Saves me at least $100 per month – not including the shirts too. I don’t mind and for $1200 per year, it is really worth it.
I just potty-trained my twins. I am hoping this will save me a whole lot more than $100
Congrats and it definitely will! My 3 1/2 y.o. twins have been day-time potty trained for a long time, and even just finally getting 1 of them night/nap trained has made a big difference. (of course I need to get her sister on board, and their younger brother potty-trained…but just her 2 less diapers a day is 60/month). I used to buy the Pampers 176 packs on Amazon more than monthly and now I actually have a little bit of a stockpile.
We took the plunge and got rid of cable! We use netflix and online media sites and we can still see all our favorite shows. Doing this saved us over $100/mo!
We have also ditched cable. I was the best decision we could have made. I thought it was going to be a tough sale for my husband, but we’ve been able to fill in the blanks with netflix and free dvds from the library. While we’ve saved about $50 a month, I find that we are also more focused on what we watch. We’ve gotten into a few really good TV series that we watch on DVD and I feel like we’re actually more a part of pop culture than we were when we had cable and mindlessly watched whatever was on.
We recently took the plunge and cut our cable! We use netflix and online media sites to keep up to date on our favorite shows. We have saved over $100/mo!
I don’t know if you consider this a generic tip or not, but it works for me. Since I don’t deal a lot with cash, saving my change doesn’t add up to a whole lot. Instead when I write a check or use my debit card and enter it into my checkbook, I deduct the amount rounded up to the next whole dollar. If I spend $25.36, then I deduct $24.00. I keep track of my “change” in red ink beside the actual amount. When I get $25.00 in “change”, I transfer that amount into my savings. This “change” adds up rather quickly and is a more painless way of saving for me. Since I only go by the balance listed, I don’t even miss it.
A lot of banks and credit unions do this for you now. I know Bank of America’s program is called “keep the change”. I purposely will pump gas and stop at .01 so .99 automatically goes right to savings.
When I go to the grocery store, and use say $10.00 in coupons, I will take $10.00 cash back and put the cash in an envelope for whatever we may be saving for at the time. Vacations, Christmas, Braces, etc… Those envelopes add up fast, and it’s practically FREE money!
When brushing your teeth open the faucet just half way. Also, if your bathroom has several low-wattage light bulbs use only half of them. I’ve been using only 4 out of 8 light bulbs.
Whenever any of our homeschool/home office electronics begin to act up, I start looking at office supply places for a changeover to new models. The old models are always clearance priced to move them and make room. I have been able to save $100-150 on all-in-one printers by buying during the “changeover” instead of waiting till mine is completey dead. I just store the newly pruchased one and use the old one until all the ink is gone or it finally fizzles out.
Also–whenever we need to purchase a big appliance like a refrigerator or dryer, we sweep the big box home store clearance aisle. Lots of times they will put appliances that have been scratched/dented in there, for $100-300 off the original prices. We keep looking until we find ones that are dented on the sides that will not show. It only took about 1 week to find a fridge that was dinged only on the right side and we saved over $300!
I called my phone/cable/internet provider and told them that I was thinking of switching to another company. They connected me with a “customer retention specialist”, & I asked if there was anything they could do to reduce my bill. I’ve done this twice in the last 2 years. The first time, they reduced my bill by $20 & credited my account $90. The last time I called, my bill was reduced each month by $35–win, win!
Whenever we make a big purchase like a computer, bedspreads, quilts, tvs, etc. we keep looking at the price of the purchase, at least a month after we bought it to keep an eye for any sales. We have been lucky so many times to have a price match to the price we paid versus the sale, getting the money back and saving us hundreds a year.
We have “restaurant” night at our house about once a week. It is essentially leftovers, but with the “menu” printed on a large whiteboard, and mom (me) dressed up in an apron and hat as a waitress to take orders on my notepad, it turns into playtime fun. Sometimes I bring a bill at the end and daddy pays with pretend money, or I add a little mint at the end for each “customer”. If something is gone the kids get an “I’m sorry, it was such a popular dish we’re out of that already”. The kids are well aware it’s leftovers, but with fun and creativity tossed in they don’t mind.
I love this! Great idea! I always think just because we are saving money doesn’t mean we have to feel punished. What a fun way to reserve leftovers!
I always make my own bread. It cost under 10 cents to make it, and we probably eat 5 loaves a week. It doesn’t take long and tastes so much better.
I would love your bread recipe!
We make most of our Christmas and Birthday gifts and have a large extended family. Here’s one way we save $100s every year. I purchase 100% wool sweaters at local thrift shops – ones that have been marked down. My son unravels them – he loves the feel and sound of the yarn pulling loose. I wind them loosely between my hand and elbow then we gently wash them.
After they dry, the kinks are all gone and I can reuse that yarn for all kinds of things – the favorite being felted slippers. Family and friends LOVE to get these handknitted gifts and we are saving loads of money and recycling as well! It’s a win-win-win situation!
By summer my daughters jeans have holes in the knees. So instead of going out and buying play clothes for the summer I simply cut off from the knee and have a great pair of capris she can play in all summer! Plus with the extra fabric we tape close one side and make “sleeping bags” for all her “babies”. She has so much decorating them too. Saves alot when you figure one pair of capri or shorts are $5-10.
We just did this with my daughter’s favorite pair of pants! But I let Kaitlynn cut up the extra fabric and “sew” stuff for the rest of us.
It saves alot of money. Also those shirts that have the “layered” look alot you can cut the arms out of and it looks just like a regular t-shirt! I found a few at Sears on a big markdown and got her 5 shirts for $4, after I cut the sleeves out they were ready for summer.
Talking about vacations. We are a family who loves to camp. We go to a state park that has camping facilities. tent, yurt, and cabins. Comparison to an overnight stay at a local motel down the shore. We save alot. The beach is not to far away. Maybe 10 minutes away. And there are plenty of stores to find food for meals. Our menu for example: one night steak, one night chicken, another night we have lobster that is steamed at the shoprite(preordered). That saves us money to go on the boardwalk if we want. Our activities are fishing, kayaking, metal detecting. Also, we spend time on the beach. If you want to swim in a pool, there are some camping areas that have pools.
We put tape over our lightswitches.
It made me realize very quickly how I turn on a light out of habit once I go into a room. Sunlight usually works just fine. Having tape on it definately makes me think twice about turning it on. And at night…some of the tape gets temporarily removed. In about a year we’ll save $100!
Freecycling is a wonderful way I’ve found to save money. Obviously, you might not save $100 every year, but when you are buying high-priced items like furniture, electronics, & appliances, it is very possible to save even more than $100 per item. Yes, you might need to buy a slipcover, sew a hole, or do some repairs to electronics, but it’s well-worth the money saved. I also get coupon inserts this way which helps on our food budget considerably. As well, spring is a good time to be on the lookout for perennials that people are dividing & giving away via freecycle.
I buy groupons, daily deals etc.. from those sites BUT only the ones that I will really get value out of. I love pedicures in the summer, and have a favorite salon, so 1/2 at that particular salon is a great deal I will use (not one 45 min. away). I love the ones that are things I can do with my daughter too, I have gotten mommy and me yoga classes, gymnastics classes, children museum passes and zoo passes. They are great for a fancy restaurant too for special occasions like a birthday or anniversary.
This may sound basic but I pay my bills on time. One or two late fees or extra interest can quickly add up to $100. Plus paying on time means a higher credit score…which most likely results in a lower interest rate on future loans.
I also have a “gift box” that I keep stocked with potential shower, birthday, thank you, or housewarming gifts. Anytime I see something on sale or get a free gift with purchase that would be a good potential gift, I add it to the box. Makes for less rushing around too!
When I’m making a trip to the store to pick up only a few items, I forgo a cart and either carry the items in my hands or in a hand-basket. This keeps me from picking up those unnecessary but “I have to have it” items that can quickly blow the budget. I save A LOT of money this way.
I take the clothes my kids outgrow to a local resale shop. I started in January of this past year. Just from September to December I made over $80.00. I wish I had kept track all year. P.S Most all were hand me downs or garage sale finds.
I have a book on natural and homemade remedies and I buy herbal supplements like echinacea (I also have a wonderful family doctor who will communicate via email), so unless my children are deathly sick I don’t have to spend the $20 copay (and gas) for a doctor visit over every little illness.
Our local grocery store gives you 10 cents off when you spend $100 at their store. We maximize our gas savings by buying gift cards there for places we normally shope – home depot, lowes, restaurants, etc, – and are able to get even more cents off a gallon of gas. My parents do the same thing and when they went to get a snowblower at Lowes the guy there told them to go to the grocery store to get the gift cards there…they were able to save 50 cents a gallon that week by buying $500 in gift cards towards their Lowes snowblower.
Can we submit more than one?
My tip for saving money on groceries is to explore food from other cultures.
Over a year ago, I started cooking homestyle Japanese food. Most of the recipes I’ve learned emphasize vegetables and use small amonts of meat. Because the recipes are all so delicious and use inexpensive ingredients, our dinner costs have decreased while our quality has increased. We’ve also learned that Japanese food is more than just sushi and tempura! When my husband brings his leftovers to work the next day, there is always a interesting talk around the lunch table.
Next, I’d like to explore the best of Indian and Chinese cuisine. I’m sure every culture has dishes that are very inexpensive to make using what is most readily available.
I did invest in a few basic Japanese cookbooks but they’ve more than recovered the investment in what I’ve saved in shift in our diets to include more vegetables and a BIG decrease in the amount of Asian take-out we desire.
I embrace my natural hair color and save over $200 in salon costs/year!
I buy our formula through Discovercard.com that links you up to Target.com. This gives us 5% back. I save up our cashback bonus until we have $20 saved and then trade it for a $25 giftcard to Bed Bath and Beyond. I save up the giftcards until I have enough for something we need. Then I get the 20% off coupon for a big item or the $5 off a $15 purchase for a smaller item. So far I have purchased 2 shower curtains, 2 shower rods, 2 tub mats, 2 sets of shower curtain hooks, a soap holder, wedding gifts, and the Emerilware set of pots and pans….All free!
I forgot to add that Target offers free shipping and the formula is the same price in the store. Also we pay our credit card off every month so we don’t incur extra fees that way.
Instead of buying expensive new kids magazine subscriptions, look on ebay for full former years in excellent condition. You can get them for a fraction of the price.
We have been saving about $167.76 a year just by me simple cutting my husbands hair every 2 weeks instead of paying someone else to do it. I knew someone who had been trained in a beauty school and she showed me how to do a very simple mens hair cut so it always looks like he had it done professionally but it wasn’t. I figure the cheapest price I have found for mens hair cuts is about $6.99 times that by 2 weeks and it averages out to around $167 and change. We now have a daughter and i have been trimming her hair too so the savings just keep adding up by doing this.
We save at least $264 per year by drinking water, as a family, instead of juice and/or soft drinks. With a family of 5 daughters, ranging in age from 2 to 20, we can drink a LOT of beverages. So more than 10 years ago we decided to train our girls to drink water at home and at restaurants. Thankfully we had only 2 daughters at the time and now the older ones train the younger ones. We buy an occassional gallon of orange juice as a splurge and and two gallons of Organic Milk a week. Other than that we only drink water in our home. The girls know the milk must last the full seven days until the next shopping day, and it’s amazing how careful they all are to pour the milk sparingly on their cereal and to drink every last drop! We only eat out a few times a month but with beverages averaging $1.50 to $1.75 each, we save at least $5.50 each time we go out for a meal by ordering only water to drink. If you average the cost of 2 containers of Apple Juice at $1.50 each (and we could easily drink 2 a week), we save $12.00 a month by not drinking juice at home and $11.00 a month on not buying beverages at restaurants (based on dining out 2x’s a month). That means we save a minimum of $264.00 a year just by drinking water. Not only is it a frugal habit, but it is a healthy one besides!
I’ve thought about this over the past days and the only thing that seems worthy enough to share is that I cut all of our hair. One pair of hair clippers for men cuts both my husband and sons hair. My girls and I stick with scissors! But, even if we went to a beauty school the cost savings are HUGE! Plus, it is convenient and I can do it whenever it fits our schedule. One extra benefit – I save the hair to keep squirrels away from my veggie garden (only works sporadically) but that is a savings in food as well!
To speculate how much we save on this – I’ll average:
Husband hair cut every six weeks: 9 (per year) x $15 = $135
My hair cut every six – eight weeks: 8 (per year) x $25 = $200
Boys hair cut every eight weeks: 8 (per year) x $15 = $120
Girls hair cut every twelve weeks: 4 (per year) x 2 girls x $15 = $120
Total: $575, not including tipping
One pair of hair clippers is around $25 and we’ve had these for over seven years! So, over the seven years we’ve saved thousands of dollars!
My husband is about to start a new job that will be on our normal route to our kids’ daycare and then my job. We talked about carpooling, even though it really wouldn’t save that much gas (his new job is literally 2 miles from our home now!) The clincher – after my husband called our auto insurance and was told we could save about $120/year by him changing his coverage on his car (now that it won’t be a “drive to work” car). Apparently they don’t charge you as much to insure your car when you’re not driving to work daily – imagine that! Talk about easy money, and if it’s convenient for you too, why not??
We heard that if you pay medical bills with cash that you can often get a discount. We now get 20% off of all of our bills at the local doctors office. That saves several hundreds of dollars in the average year (we have a family of 6). It never hurts to ask!
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