The Little Things Count!

After my post last week on how I saved money on not having to spend money on a new makeup bag, someone told me that I probably could have purchased one at Dollar Tree for only $ 1.25. The insinuation was that it was just a small amount of money. If she had read all of my blog posts over the years, she would have understood that small amounts of money really add up. That is the point of much of what I write.

We all know that we can save lots more money on the big things. The example in the same post was the $500. we saved by purchasing and installing our induction motor on the furnace. But just how many big things in a year can you save money on? Hopefully, the big things don’t come along a lot in your life.

We prepare for the basic things every day by saving our money so that we don’t have to worry about how to pay our school and property taxes, our insurances when they come due, pay for repairs on a vehicle or buy a new or used one, pay any medical or dental bills or the insurances on them. But those are just the basic things that everyone has to pay for. But other things happen so you have to be prepared for all of it.

We save small amounts of money almost every day of the year so that we are always prepared for the big things to happen. Because they eventually will. There are so many small things that add up especially in your lifetime. I can attest to the fact that if we had not saved on the large and the small things, we would not be as comfortably retired as we are. We would not be able to help other people who need help in our community. So many people in our community need help especially the elderly. I watch for those people whenever I am in a store or pharmacy. I have paid for people’s prescriptions that they can’t afford and most recently a man who was in his 80’s grocery bill. I don’t need thanks for any of that. I am just making a point.

So how do I save on the little things every day? I take the time to think about every little thing every day. I check prices and keep a price book for groceries which is not easy in this period of inflation. I often check online to see who has the cheapest price. If I need something beyond food, I find the best price, put it in my cart and let it sit for a couple of days. Then I go back and order it if it is really needed. So many times I end up just deleting it because it really wasn’t a necessity.

I take immaculate care of our home and possessions so that things last for years. We don’t let little things go, we take care of them. Just yesterday I was caulking windows.

When I do a load of wash, I do it in the best way possible using the proper cycle, a small amount of laundry detergent, the proper water level for the clothes that are in it and most loads are done in cold water. If I use the dryer, I hang the clothes immediately when they are dry so that I don’t have to run the dryer again to get the wrinkles out. I hang many clothes to dry to save on electricity.

I use my dishwasher for everything but pots and pans which I do by hand. I don’t let the water run while I am washing them.. I put a small amount of soapy water in one sink and a small amount of clean water in the other sink. Just enough to wash them. I use white vinegar in my dishwasher dispenser instead of buying Jet Dry.

I take navy showers and save the warm up water to use for something else during the day.

I always cook using the cheapest appliance that I can energy wise. Utilities are so expensive.

When running errands which I will be doing today, I take the route that uses the least amount of gasoline. I calculate the cost online.

We don’t let the water just run while brushing our teeth. We only turn it on to rinse. You don’t even have to wet your brush before you put the toothpaste on.

We rarely waste food. I keep good control of our produce. What I can’t use when it is starting to get old, I freeze for soups or smoothies.

Every time that I get groceries, I make a list. I always check my pantries and refrigerator to see what I need. I stick to that list unless I see a sale that wasn’t advertised that is too good to pass up. I always look for reduced price meats. After I make the list, I go over it before I go to the store to make sure that there is nothing on it that I can make cheaper from scratch. Many times I cross off items before I leave the house. Then at the store, I check the rising prices on each item and if I deem the price too high now, I won’t buy it. Instead I will make a substitute or we will just go without it. The last time I went to Top’s I crossed off half of the items that were on it.

I buy most of our gasoline at the cheapest station which is usually the cash station that is always on my route. I will get gasoline at Top’s when the gas points I have make their gas cheaper than the cash station. That rarely happens. We maintain our car which is almost 11 years old and it has never had to be repaired. We put air in tires to keep them where they should be according to the manufacturer’s manual. We do oil changes on schedule along with other fluids being checked. We wash the car and clean the inside regularly.

Basically everything that I do or touch everyday, I think how can I do this better and/or cheaper.

I could go on and on but I don’t have the time today. Anyone who doesn’t know how to save on the little things, go back and read my blog from the beginning. There are so many tips in each post. I don’t monetize my blog because the whole purpose of it is to teach and help family and friends. So it does not matter to me if you go back and read it. Just a suggestion if you are struggling in this economy.

Now I am off to go to our bank to invest in a very large CD for the third time in 6 months. Without saving money on the little things every day, this would not be possible. Then off to Top’s. So look for a grocery haul from both them and Walmart this week.

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