There are so many simple things that we do every day to save money that many people new to frugality may not realize. I became aware of this when a friend came over to see my stockpile. I showed her why I buy powdered lemonade in bulk. She asked me why I didn’t tell her about that a long time ago. I have been doing these things for so long that they are second nature to me now. But it was an aha moment that made me realize that not everyone knows about these things.
So I have been compiling a list for all of you. Here they are:
– Almost all of our meals are eaten at home. It’s healthier and cheaper than fast food or eating out in a restaurant.
– We drive as little as possible. When we do drive, we do a lot of errands at one time. Now that we are going to the YMCA, we run many of them afterwards. We run them in a circle to be as fuel efficient as possible.
– I take Navy showers. Wet down, soap up and rinse off. I turn the shower off while soaping up. This saves on water and natural gas to heat the water. When we are at our swim classes at the YMCA, we shower there.
– Most of our laundry is hung to dry. I use EcoEggs to wash our clothes instead of detergent.
– Last night I cleaned our dishwasher using powdered lemonade. It is so much cheaper than the dishwasher cleaner you can buy. They both have citric acid. I have been using it for years and it does a great job.
– I use vinegar instead of Jet Dry as a rinse agent in my dishwasher.
– I cover my pots on my stove to keep the heat in so that our food cooks faster. I use a burner that is perfect for the size of the pot.
– I turn off the oven 5 minutes before things are done. Afterwards, I leave the oven door open to let the heat out into the room.
– We rarely buy bottled water. We drink filtered tap water.
– I don’t drink soda. Hubby does but he has been drinking more and more homemade iced tea lately than soda.
– We have given up most snacks except for popcorn, tortilla chips, and potato chips. Both kinds of chips are used in meals.
– I buy 99% of Hubby’s clothes from LL Bean. I wait for sales and use coupon codes when possible. The clothes are classic and wear like iron. They last a long, long time.
– We wear casual clothes 99% of the time. Lots of T shirts, shorts and jeans. I buy mine on sale with coupons from either Kohl’s or J.C. Penneys. If we are doing something in the yard or washing the car, we wear old stained clothes. I do the same to clean.
– I haven’t purchased floss in years. Between the samples the dentist gives us and a stockpile of Reach that I got for free after coupons, we are set for years. The dentist also gives us toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash.
– We use every free sample that we get. Right now I am using travel size shampoos from our last Disney World trip to take to the gym with me for when I shower.
– We never wear shoes in the house. Our white carpeting looks new and it is almost 9 years old. We shampoo it ourselves rather than hire a company to do it.
– I clean my toilets with cheap Equate dental tablets and a brush. Put it in and let it dissolve and wash the dirt way. Right now I am using all natural toilet cleaner that I got for free.
– I use a pump bottle in the shower to dispense shampoo. It prevents me from pouring too much.
– We purchase our razors and blades from Dorco online. They are cheap, work as well as name brands like Gillette and the blades last so much longer. I also like the fact that any blade fits any razor head.
– We don’t let the water run while washing pots and pans or dishes in the sink. I fill the sink a little ways on one side with soapy water and then the same with rinse water on the other side.
– I use cold water to wash clothes unless I have an exceptionally dirty load. That rarely happens though.
– We check the furnace filters once a month to see if they need changing. On the advice of my furnace people, I use the cheapest furnace filters from Home Depot or Lowe’s. They advised that the more expensive ones block air flow.
– Anything involving money, we take care of right away. We don’t procrastinate. For example, we got a survey from our school district yesterday. They gave us a code to take it online. They want to charge us $ 35.90 more in our school taxes next September so that they can give a discount to a certain class of people. I jumped online very quickly to vote no. They wanted to know why I voted no. I advised we pay a fortune now with no kids going to school there. I also told them we are senior citizens on a fixed income and we don’t get a discount. I don’t understand why the school is pushing this discount. They had us vote on the same issue a few years back and it was voted down handily. Now instead of a vote, they want you to go online and vote. How many people will throw that stuff out from the school and not look at it? You can bet the class of people it involves will all vote yes. I am going to be furious if this goes through but we only get one vote.
– We keep our home clean and organized. That is the best way I know to take care of/and find our things so that we don’t have to replace them.
– We wash our own car in the driveway except for winter time. We go to the car wash then.
– We use our outdoor fireplace in the Fall and Spring. We collected leftover wood from when they were building homes in here. We are still using it. Now they will be building again soon so I will be collecting it again.
– I keep an online inventory of our stockpile and freezer contents so that I always know what we have and can make meals from those items.
– I also have updated my price book so that I know where to buy items at their cheapest.
– And the biggest thing we do everyday is track our income and expenses. You can’t save money unless you know where your money is going. Do this for just three months and I think you will be shocked at what your expenses are.
That is enough for today. I will post more another time.
What are the simple things that you do to save money every day?