Guest post from Jenny of One Loved American Girl
For many years, I was not the thrifty woman I am today. In my early college years, I stayed up on trends by staying under a burgeoning credit card bill. When I finally climbed my way out, I vowed never to go back. I am still learning my lesson by using thrifty spending habits to pay off those looming student loans and evidence of my former self.
Some of the easiest ways to save money are so downright common sense I wondered why I didn’t start with them before!
1. Re-purpose.
I love crafts. I have turned an old photo frame into a cute dry erase board. Currently turning an old t-shirt in to some tree wall art for my son’s room and an old tablecloth into a decorative canvas for my bedroom.
2. Reuse.
I have found creative ways to reuse dinners — like making Shepard’s Pie with last nights mashed potatoes and a can of beef stew or potato pancakes. My favorite thing to cook is chicken and I love its variety of uses. There are dozens of ways to re-purpose a roasted chicken breast.
3. Eliminate.
Clear out what you do not use! Since I’ve switched to ebooks, I’ve been selling books we no longer need or use on Amazon.com. Ebay is a great resource for those old baby clothes. Consignment shops, thrift stores, and having a yard sale are other ways to eliminate things that are still usable that you no longer need.
4. Search the internet.
I love couponing blogs and local Facebook groups that keep up with freebies. Often times you can get beauty and household goods freebies that come with a coupon to purchase a really cheap full-sized item.
When my friend (who is admittedly forgetful) came this weekend, I set out some little sample size shampoo, conditioners, and lotions that I receive from a freebie I found online. She thought it was so thoughtful (and did, in fact, forget her shampoo!)
5. Make friends with other thrifty shoppers.
Many groups help share deals they find, swap coupons, and keep each other up on store policies. They have helped me shave even more off of my already slim shopping bills.
6. Limit trips to the store.
This one is a big one for my family. If I ask my husband to bring home milk, he usually brings home milk and a variety of other things. So I make sure I get everything I need in few trips.
7. Stay organized.
I keep up on my pantry and fridge by rotating products that will expire soon. I also keep all my cleaning products in one place instead of under every sink like I did previously.
Another big help for my family is our “community dry erase board”. I put my list of groceries on it and allow my husband to add to it before I go shopping. I also put a list of things we hope to accomplish every day and every month. When I keep track of things — like upcoming birthdays — I never have to run out and buy a last minute present.
These super simple tips have helped me save so much more each month.
What little common sense do you do to help you save more?
Jenny is an Army wife, mother of one, savings enthusiast, attempting to learn cook, active crafter/sewer, and believer. She follows her husband where ever his job may take them and loves the military life. This year she will be attempting to savor every moment before her husband heads to deployment. Visit her blog, One Loved American Girl.
I saved the gender-neutral clothes and blankets that my two kids have outgrown… thank goodness, because I just found out I’m expecting! I donated the rest of the items to declutter.
I enrolled my kids in free preschool classes at the community center instead of paying for private classes or spending copious money on supplies for something they’ll decide they hate after 2 weeks.
I enrolled myself in a ceramics class and have been making ornaments that I will use as gifts and thank you favors.
I have found that it’s more worthwhile for me to donate things we don’t want than to have a garage sale. Our street gets little to no traffic. I get a tax receipt and I keep careful records of our donations with brief descriptions and a value, such as “Boy’s toddler Old Navy hooded winter coat $7.99”. We itemize our taxes so this saves us money each year.
I recently discovered the benefits of the tax benefit of donating vs the garage sale. Garage sales are a ton of work and I also love in the middle of no where. You can find the allowable value of donations by item on the Goodwill website. I made an itemized list of my recent donation of tons of clothes and it came to over $700.
Stockpiling items (when they are free or at their lowest prices) and weekly meal planning are the two ways our family saves the most money.
What do I do to save money?
I live near 4 stores, so go to the store often to use coupons on sales, get many items free. While in the store, I walk up and down the aisles to find “unadvertised sales”, many of which I have coupons on.
A friend, who is a grocery store employee, told me that the night before the new ad comes out, they put things on sale very cheaply. They are not on the clearance racks, but in the regular place in the store.
I lead a coupon club where I share the coupons I collect and do not use, also share tips on what is on sale where and ask the club members to do the same. I have a coupon for 99% of the items I buy.
I get e-mails from websites that tell me what is on sale where, what coupons are out on the items, and when they were in the Sunday paper. This saves me a lot of time and money.
Just learned that if I swipe my AARP card at Walgreens after they have rung up the sale but I have not paid for it yet, I get a register reward (coupon). The one I got was for $5.
If I get this urge to want to buy something, I make myself think on it for at least a week, and most of the time I end up talking myself out of it. It really works!
My mother was – and still is – an incredible impulse shopper. So, this has been something I have tried to avoid, especially after making my own mistakes financially. Now, we only carry one major credit card, and a debit/checking account card. We paid off 3 other credit cards and 2 department store cards (FINALLY) approx 7 years ago and I haven’t looked back. Whenever the cashiers ask me, “Would you like to apply today for 15% off?” I just politely smile and say no. Most of the time we know they are obligated to ask, but the answer is – and always will be – no thank you. I also avoid the impulse thing, which confounds the heck out of my mother – but gives me a little satisfaction! 🙂
Great tips! I switched to buying products from an eco-friendly store that gives me a bunch of loyalt discounts and they arre shipped to me, therefore a lot less trips to the department stores and not tempted to buy items I do not really need. We also have a very active freecycle.org group in my area 🙂
Just yesterday I went through all my old CDs and took them to a local store that buys them back. I ended up getting nearly $200! It was a great deal!
Amazon.com now buys back CDs in exchange for Amazon credit.
Just an idea (you make some money plus you declutter!!!)
How do you sell your CDs to Amazon? I would love to do this!
Just go to amazon and search for the cd (just like if you were going to buy a copy).
On the right side of the page under the price and buying options there will be a small “trade in here button”.
Voila! Prices for me ranged between 30 cents and $7. Most were between $1 and $2.
You don’t have to pay for shipping–they give you the option of Printing a prepaid label for UPS or USPS.
Growing up my Mom always had the first meal she made with a piece of meat and then the second. One of the things that I think would help me would be being better about having an inventory and a list. I write a list, but then I get to the store and see something and I am like, “I think I am out of that”…only to find I already had an extra stashed in the back of the cabinet.
The only time I veer off my list is when I pass something that I forgot to put on it, but we are really out of or almost out of it. For example, on my last grocery trip when we passed the eggs, I remembered we only had 1 left so I threw a dozen in my cart. If not, we would have ended up making another trip to the store. So sometimes this is not a bad thing, only if you are really sure you are out/almost out.
Never pay late fees, go shopping at less stressful times so that you have time to compare without a million people waiting around you, plan for things that you know you are going to need and start pricing them ASAP so that you will know a good deal when you see it, not everything at auctions, Craig’s List, or garage sales is really a deal.
Know exactly what you want and wait for it to be the right price……..time either makes you want it more and get the right deal or decide it won’t work………
Keep an eye out when shopping for other things, like yesterday I got 2 shower curtains, a shower curtain rod and rings at Target for $15. I was looking for window treatments, but just hit up the clearance and these are all things that I will need in 4 weeks, just hadn’t started looking yet as I had windows on the brain……….
When I want to make a new recipe I read through the ingredient list and if there is something on there I don’t have I go through what’s in my pantry/fridge/freezer and see if i can swap for something I already have. This saves a trip to the grocery store which will inevitably lead to buying other items. I’ve also been avoiding the grocery store altogether and shopping at my local farmer’s market. I can get eggs, milk, cheese, bread, meat, fruits, veggies and even beans and spices there. That way I avoid all the “extra” things I’m tempted by at the grocery store.
We deliberately plan for repurposing meals. Today we had pinto beans and cornbread. the beans will be the basis for bean patties for one meal. Another meal will include the beans and a half pound of hamburger. A fourth meal could be refried beans for a Mexican plate. One burner, one Dutch oven full of dried pinto beans, and five meals.
The left-ever cornbread will go into glasses of milk for a snack. Maybe that’s a southern thing.
When I am shopping for myself, or with others, I ask the question: “do you like it or do you LOVE it”? If the answer is like it, put it back. If it is love it, maybe step away, come back and if you still love it, buy it.
The other thing I think about is “can I make it myself” cheaper or better. Laundry detergent uses only 3 ingredients.
Most convenient foods are easy to make and convenient if you think ahead by putting together the dry ingredients together before you actually make it.
I went on vacation recently and realized that there was no dishwasher soap, but I found that we had the ingredients on hand to make our own and save a trip to the store. (love the internet!)
My daughter is ready for a big bed and I really wanted a trundle bed for her. so the last several months I have looked around. I found a free bed frame and a bed frame with trundle on craigslist for $30. I am in the process of refinishing the wood frame I received free with paint and supplies I already had on hand from previous projects. When I am finished I plan on selling the extra frame for the $30 I purchased it at. I have one mattress So my daughters bed will cost a total of 1 twin mattress. When I am finished I plan on posting this endeavor on my blog. It just blows my mind that with a little creativity and time you can save a lot of money. A friend of mine recently bought her daughter a twin bed with a $500 price tag… ouch.
I love to re-purpose items too (like this produce bag I turned into a free kitchen scrubbie: http://thepeacefulmom.com/2012/03/06/tuesday-cleaning-tip-diy-kitchen-scrubbie/ ).
I had to laugh. That is totally what my wallet looks like. Almost exactly! 🙂
I make my own homemade natural cleaners. There is nothing like saving money, knowing what ingredients are in every cleaner I make, and knowing that I am being more environmentally friendly.
These are fabulous tips. I’ve discovered through time that less is more. Everytime I go to Target and I look at the cart of things I tell myself that all of those items has to find a place in our home — that truly helps me distinguish the difference between good deals and needed.
Wonderful post!
Rachel
One thing that helps me is to not ask myself “is it a good deal,” but to ask instead “do I need this item and will I use it?”
Know yourself! My husband will get exactly what I ask him to get, and only if he knows it’s a good price. I, on the other hand, get to the store, find things we are low on, pick them up….it’s a downward spiral I tend to justify because I am so busy. So know in your own household who is the best shopper!
We have the free Cozi app on our smartphones. It is a shared family calendar, but also has shopping lists. We have one for just regular groceries, one for Sams, and one just for stuff we want for around the house. This way either of us can add to the lists and if the other one stops at the store for something, we can look at the list and grab those things as well. For example, DH loves sandwiches and brings them to work a lot. I tend to bring leftovers, maybe a sandwich only once a week (I get tired of them, he doesn’t). So, I usually have no idea we are low on cold cuts. If I stop at the store to get whole milk for our 1 year old, I can look at Cozi and see that he needs lunch meat. This saves us from having to make an extra trip to the store (thus buying more usually as you point out).
We also use the “things we want for the house” list we created as a running list of things to keep our eyes out for (not emergency-we-need-now things). I wanted a new doormat for the front door. Put it on the list, then if I am at a garage sale or at a big clearance blow out at somewhere like Kohls I can look at the list to see what we want. Otherwise I forget and after I get home I say, “Oh, I should have looked at the doormats.” Things can stay on this list forever (some have been on it for a year since we got the phones) just waiting for one of us to see a good deal.