My passion for pinching pennies over the years has always been one of my favorite things to do. Finding ways to stretch a dollar as far as I can, to me? is fun. Five years ago, I decided to seriously look into all this couponing talk that I was reading about online and seeing on TV. I read allot of blogs, and taught myself how to do it. Binder in hand and 6 newspaper a week I started my venture into the world of clipping coupons and saving. I remember my first trip with my binder and lists of deals. I saved 62% ( yes, I kept a log) on my grocery bill! I couldn't believe it! It was from that point on, that it became almost a game to me. A challenge to see how much I could get for the smallest amount of money. Within a few months, I had a stock pile of enough razors, shampoo, deodorant, shampoo, toilet paper, detergent, cleaners, pasta, sauce, cereal & breakfast bars to last me at least 6 months...all while cutting my bill in half if not more. I recall a few trips where the cashier actually had to pay ME! It cant get any better than that!
I think sometimes people are embarrassed to use coupons..almost as if that is just admitting your "cheap" or poor. Or worse, I hear people say "I just don't have the time". Using coupons to me , simply put..IS SMART! Why pay more for something if you don't have to? It doesn't matter if your rich, poor or middle class..saving money just makes sense. Its not a matter if you HAVE to.
Over the years, I have found so many ways to cut my expenses other than just couponing. From eating out, to car repairs, to doing things differently home. Here are some of my ideas on how to S-T-R-E-T-C-H a dollar without a whole lot of work!
- NEVER buy anything online without looking for a coupon code first. www.retailmenot.com is the BEST place for codes. If your ordering something online and it has a space that says "Enter coupon code here"? ..then that means there is one. Go find it!
- If you shop allot online consider joining Ebates (www.ebates.com ). Its free to join and so simple to use. I joined them last year just prior to doing allot of online shopping for Christmas. I will be getting my second Ebates check in the mail in February for $48.54! How awesome is that? That is close to being my weekly spending for groceries. Taking this a step farther, also look for deals on things like optical or health needs. I paid only
- Plan your meals around sales. If chicken is on sale this week for $1.99 lb..but ground beef is $4.29 a lb. this week? Guess what? Chicken it is. I just makes sense. Keep a watch too for the best season for fruits and veggies. Whatever is being harvested that month, is most likely going to be your best deal at the grocery store.
- Take about 10 minutes out of your day to figure out where the bulk of your expenses are going. Whether its going out to dinner, or entertainment like movies or bowling...look for coupons or special savings for those events on certain days. Mondays and Tuesdays are great days to go out to dinner if you have kids. Allot of places have "kids eat free days" on those days. Eating out for less is also pretty easy. Take time to flip through those magazines you get in the mail, or just google for your favorite place to eat for coupons. Saving as much as 1/2 off your bill, if not free meals is NOT uncommon.
- Make meals that can stretch into a different meal the next day. BE CREATIVE! A roast with veggies and potatoes one night can be creatively turned into a stir fry the next day. ( veggies cut up, meat sliced thin or chunked, and tossed in your favorite Asian sauce over rice) Voila, one dinner turned into two! You can do this with SO many different dishes. Just takes a bit of thought!
- No matter what you are getting ready to buy? Check Amazon FIRST! I cannot tell you how many purchases that I was getting ready to make in a brick and mortar store that I found for sooo much less on Amazon.
- Have family nights on Friday nights instead of going out. Find a great pizza deal in your local area ($5 pizzas here in Florida @ Little Caesar's), rent a couple $1 movies from Redbox, get some $1 candy & munchies from your local Dollar Store, turn out the lights and get out the sleeping bags! Done. Fun night and cheap!
- Did you know that rinsing out your detergent bottles can give you at least 2-3 EXTRA loads of wash? With the price of Tide these days, this is a must!
- Is Milk a huge expense in your house? Buy a gallon of Whole Milk, pour half of the gallon into a empty gallon and dilute it with 1/2 water in each. Tadah! 1 gallon is now 2 and tastes pretty much the same as 2 % or 1%!
- Use your plastic grocery sacks as mini garbage bags in your kitchen sink and in your bathrooms. While cooking dinner or cleaning out your fridge, place one of these bags in your sink and open up. Place all your trash or scraps in this bag and take directly to the outside cans when you done. Garbage bags are expensive! This cuts down on how many big garbage bags you use a week! I can get by with only 1 a week sometimes. This could be stretching a box of 20 garbage bags into 5 months!
- Don't throw out over ripe fruit! Make a quick bread or cake! Apples & Bananas are great for this, as is Peaches or Pears. A quick crust or a few eggs & flour and voila! You have a great cheap dessert!
- Re-cycle your clothes. Kids clothes sell at Garage Sales for maybe 50 cents...and adult clothes? maybe a few pennies more..Consider selling them on Craigslist or Ebay instead and then use that money to rebuy clothes from the same source! I hated buying NEW play clothes for my son when he was smaller and was outside getting them tour up all the time. Buying a lot of jeans for $10 or shorts for the summer was so much less expensive than buying new! Shop Thrift stores too!
- Turn off the A/C and use fans. Don't turn on the heat and wear socks! We bought two of those in/out fans and put one at each ends of our home. Pulls out the heat..pulls in the cool air. No A/C needed and we cut our electric bill by 47% for the past 3 months. When its cold? Open your blinds. Use mother natures heat to warm your rooms! Put on an extra blanket and trade in the Florida flip flops ( Florida's state shoe!) for some warm fluffy socks or covered toe slippers! Got a fireplace? Use it! and reverse all your ceiling fans to pull that heat throughout your home!
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