I saved by fixing my eye glasses at home.
I saved by making Homemade Foaming Handsoap.
I saved by making my own Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice.
I saved by eating oatmeal for breakfast.
We saved by getting more proactive with earning more Swagbucks to get more free gift cards.
I saved by working out at home.
We saved by cutting Silas’ hair at home.
The winner of the $100 Target gift card from the last How I Saved post giveaway is Lynn {lynn1015@}. Her comment on how she saved:
My most money saving thing this week is preparing full salads with protein for my husband’s lunches using Sam’s whole cooked chicken $4.98 & romaine in a bag for around $3. It is paired with marked down produce from a local produce store and he loves it! I have a salad container which is great with it’s own space for dressing so it’s not soggy at all. The chicken lasts ALL WEEK even with a generous amount of chicken daily. Lastly, my husband is surprised daily as I mix up the veggies, and protein occasionally with left overs from dinner so he’s REALLY a happy and HEALTHY husband! I’m happy for the $$ saved too!
What were some of your favorite ways you saved in October? Any savings victories or goals reached you’d like to share?
Florence says
Saved money in October by: returning all library items on time to avoid a fine, cooked & froze enough lunches to bring to work for the entire month, cooked & froze 20 dinners & stayed home more to save on gas. Also, I earned extra by selling stuff on a couple of Facebook virtual garage sale groups.
Natalie says
We saved this month by:
• I cut my son’s hair.
• I made meals from home.
• we ate leftovers.
• collected 62 eggs from our chickens.
• Walked my kids to and from school.
• washed laundry in cold water.
• changed our phone plan. Cut out $89 per month 🙂
• used coupons, shopped sales, and used our stockpile. I saved roughly $600.
• used swagbucks and other sites for amazon gift cards.
• used amazon gift cards to buy christmas presents.
• set Theremastat at 65^
• used a free redbox rental for movie night
• Paid off a debt.
• We had a “lights out” night. We turn off all lights, Tv’s, computers, phones, ect.. that use power and play games by candle light and lanterns. Our kids love it and we save by not using as much electricity.
• My husband replaced the shingles that have blown off our roof.( We have a large stack of shingles that were given to us years ago from our Grandfather.)
• My husband winterized our home.
• My huband winterized our camp trailer.
• My husband helped a friend bale and buck hay. In return we were given 50 bales of hay for our horses.
• My daughter mowed the lawn.
• My husband fertilized the lawn and sprayed the lawn and house for bugs.
• My husband changed the oil in our vehicles.
• I Replaced 2 regular lights for 2 florescents.
• Used gifts I had on hand, purchased for free or cheap, for 2 kids parties.
• And many more………
Crystal Paine says
Wow! So inspiring!
Crystal says
We made our Christmas shopping lists last night for our kids, my husbands family and my family. Everything on the list is things my kids will actually use(I hate the gifts they play with once and are done with!) and WE ARE UNDER BUDGET! I was able to order most everything on amazon with swagbucks giftcards I have been saving up. The rest of the things I can get on amazon I should be able to get enough gift cards before Christmas to pay for it. We will be spending very little this year out of pocket!
Julie says
My kids have been on a Whinnie The Pooh phase lately, and I was so excited to come across a used copy of a Pooh audiobook on Amazon for pennies. I thought it would be a great thing for our family to listen to on our Thanksgiving travels. (And I even had swagbucks amazon gift cards to more than cover the cost! I was excited)
AND THEN, on a whim, I decided to click on over to our library website. And found they had the same CD available for FREE DOWNLOAD via freegal.
Total savings is only $5 – but it has made me ridiculously happy!
Tina says
I quit smoking to save money. My husband and I spend about $80 a week on cigarettes and I realized that is how much I spend on food. I have been about 3 weeks without one. Some days are harder than others. When I want one, I go on a walk instead and think about my free groceries. My husband hasn’t quit, but he stopped smoking around me. Just that change has taken our smoking bill down to $20 a week.
Julie says
Congratulations to you and your husband! That is an accomplishment and I am proud of you.
Tonya C says
I have a addiction for the “thrill of the hunt”….so it’s just part of life for me.
Some of the things that are the norm for me; my hair cut and colored at the local college – cosmetology dept…..$15.00
Once a month Good Will store has 10 for 10 sale, what every I buy and my kids don’t like for themselves I sell to Plato’s Closet and instantly get my money back and more.
I have won entertainment concert tickets off the radio and turn around and sell them less than face value on Craigslist.
I have to admit that I don’t do well on the grocery part…need to buckle down in the area.
Sarah Arrieta says
I decided to shop our pantry this week and not do a full grocery shopping trip. Will only need to pick up some milk and some produce.
JP says
I like it! I haven’t thought about how I’m going to save this week. What a great reminder.
1. Not go out to dinner this week, but stay at home and cook (something yummy!)
2. Refrain from traveling to Boston to see my college roommate (we’ll catch up another time)
3. No breakfast out on the weekend – cook at home!
Robyn says
I have a Swagbucks account, but I am unsure of how it really works. I primarily use my phone for my browsing and searching. How do you usually earn points with it?
Crystal Paine says
If you do a search for Swagbucks here, you’ll find dozens and dozens of articles with ideas on how to maximize your Swagbucks earnings.
Jenny says
This seems really insignificant, but I was pretty excited. I fixed my laptop mouse! I dropped it and the left click stopped working. I bought a new one, but came home and found that it clicked too loud. It really annoyed me and I returned it. I looked online and found some youtube videos about fixing your mouse. I took it apart and messed with it a bit, put it back together and it worked! So, I saved $25!
Allison says
I have a shorter commute now than when I got my car insurance policy, so our rate was being calculated with the assumption that we drive the vehicle a lot more than we actually do. After explaining this over the phone, they reduced our premium by $10 per month!
jen keith says
prepping and cooking tons of yummy veggie dishes so we can easily reheat them throughout the week!
Lori Sharp says
We just moved to Hawaii, for my husbands job, and had to go 2 months without pay ( long story, 2 weeks to get into the system, 2 weeks to wait for the next pay cycle, took 2 weeks off for a half ironman etc etc).
WE were TIGHT..
Sat down and rehauled our finances with Dave Ramsey’s Plan.
– washed/reused ziplock bags
– Pack husbands lunch every time he works
– Made a costco trip with friend and divided everything (and the price) in 1/2
– Only ate out twice (both meals were under $20 ) in 1 month
– Cooked every meal (all but 2 mentioned above)
– Made my own laundry detergent (detergent out here is $20 and lasts 2-3 weeks) , mine costs $15 and a month a weeks later still using the first batch and should last another month
– Not purchasing ANY clothes but being thankful for what I have
– Selling items on local FB for sale group site
– going to garage sales to find items instead of walmart (paid $5 for a printer, for coupons of course, that also had 2 full ink cartridges, and 2 half used cartridges inside still)
– Found a bakery thrift store and paid $1.89 for buns instead of $4.38 store price
-being extremely creative with meals and using pinterest. “Just how many meals can I use my bulk ground turkey I bought.
– Not minding eating the same meal 3 times in one week “honey I hope chicken stirfry is ok again”
-Instead of eating out with friends, suggest and had a potluck lunch
-Instead of buying “cheap books” at goodwill, going to the library and using their inter island library loan program
Just to name a few
Vickie says
I’ve been using our leftovers from dinner more now making sure nothing is wasted.
I’ve reused the large bags from the pillows we bought from Aldi’s for trash bags.
Went to my daughter’s house and found the elusive library book. That alone saved me paying $26.00 for the book.
PamAlabam says
I trimmed my own hair. I can’t cut it but I can easily extend the time between cuts by about 3 weeks and over a years time that really adds up.
I have a pair of craft store needle nose pliers for jewelry making. I used them to fix a necklace that had a link come undone. I probably fix a few things each year with those pliers.
I have some too-light foundation that I got for practically nothing using coupons. Now that I’ve lost a bit of my summer tan, I am mixing the lighter foundation with my regular foundation to get just the right tone. I mix them right on my face–a dot of each side-by-side is easy to mix and spread over my face.
Davonne Parks says
We paid off a debt in October! And I came home from Allume with $93 extra because I didn’t spend money on a ton of extra stuff when I was there 🙂
Crystal Paine says
WOOHOO!!
Lana says
I cut my husband’s hair.
My husband fixed our dryer.
My husband purchased and replaced the speakers in our TV. It is like new now for only $18!
I planned menus and we ate at home more than usual.
We paid cash for a two day getaway with money saved from our eat out money.
I put 40 plants into my garage to overwinter on a dolly that my husband made from an old piece of wood fence. They can be rolled out for sun and watering on nice days.
I did all of the Christmas shopping for our oldest son’s family so that I can send them home with them when they visit this month. A ton saved on shipping costs here.
Janell Poulette says
I use freezer meals. I do a better job of budgeting my meals and I don’t have an excuse to eat out if I have a meal I can heat up or throw in the crock pot.
Christine says
I like to make a big crock pot full of beans and serve them with onions and a little shredded cheese on top. One cup of pinto beans costs about 10 cents, has 245 calories, and have a lot of fiber. Plus, they’re delicious. They are also good with rice, of course.
Jean says
Christine, how do you season them? I’ve cooked dry beans and they seem bland so I think I’m missing something. Could you share your crock-pot beans recipe?
Christine says
I don’t really have a recipe. I don’t add salt until after they are done cooking. Sometimes I add chopped garlic. I just put some beans in a crockpot with a lot of water. You don’t have to soak them. Of course, they say if you soak them, it helps with gas problems. I don’t know if I have ever noticed that or not. I like the plain taste 🙂 Some people put onions in them. I like to put fresh onions on top when I eat them.
Jean says
Thank you so much for the reply and info!
Traci says
There is a recipe on this site from several months ago – and it’s great!! I’ve used it many times. Try searching “crockpot refried beans” and see if it comes up ;o)
Christina @ The Frugal Homemaker says
If you eat ham on Thanksgiving/Christmas save the ham bone and cook that in your beans – adds so much flavor!!
Yvette says
To season, I add onion and garlic powder, ground comino (cumin), and chile powder when I cook them and save the salt for when they are done cooking also. I make a large amount so I can freeze some in bags for dishes that need beans later or just to have with rice and cheese, also.
Victoria says
We actually won’t see this savings until later but we saved by calling around in October to compare prices for a medical procedure I need done in November. Last time I had this same test done locally it cost us more than $600 out of pocket, by calling around to a larger centers we found a facility that charges our insurance just over $400 so by the time we get our bills after insurance we will have saved $100’s of dollars and our only additional cost will be the gas and time spent driving 45 minutes each way. We have done this for a surgery I needed as well, driving 3 hours saved us $1000’s that time. It does help that my husband is and RN and knows all the terms that need to be asked about, but I think anyone could do it for non-emergency tests and surgeries.
Kim says
Washing in cold water and hang drying laundry. Only exception- towels, gotta have the fluff!!
Christine says
Oh, I love the “hardness” of hanging towels out – it exfoliates. lol