Coupons for the Military

Speaking of coupons, did you know that you can give some of your expired coupons to military families?  

Here is a great post explaining how it all works.

Have you ever done this?

Quick Tips

Just because you have a great coupon, doesn't mean that it's frugal.  Make sure that you will actually save money if you use it.  I purchase a lot of generic items that work just as well as it's top name brand counterpart.  Most of the time, purchasing that top name brand item with a coupon is still going to cost you more than the generic brand at full price.  So, make sure you do your math!

Quick Tip

I just read a great post about laundering clothes over at Penniless Parenting.  Since I posted about something similar not too long ago, I just had to share her post with all of you.  Mine was just a quick tip, but her post is more detailed and concise.  Love it!

Quick Tip

After using a bath towel, hang it up to dry and re-use it the next time you shower/bathe.

This is one of those simple, money-saving tips that I thought everyone did - until I started talking to people about it.  I have friends who never thought to do something like this, so I thought I should share it here.  This tip is especially helpful if you have children.  If we didn't re-use our towels once or twice, I would be doing laundry all the time.

Quick Tip

There is very little need to wash your clothes in anything but cold water.  I actually thought that most people used cold until someone told me they use warm and hot almost all of the time.  With the exception of cloth diapers, I use cold water for every load of laundry.  Everything comes out clean and I don't need special detergent, either.  I just use my homemade laundry detergent.  So, cut down on those monthly utility bills by washing with cold water whenever you can!

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip

Manufacturer Coupons

If you have products that you love, but would like to have some coupons to use when purchasing them, you could write to the manufacturer.  I've done this.  Most of the time I write to them telling them how much I like their product and why.  Almost always, I'll get a 'thank you' from them along with some very valuable coupons that can't be found anywhere else.

It's even easier to write to manufacturers now because of the internet.  I usually just go to their website and find the "contact us" link and send them a quick email.  The last one I did was from a free sample that I listed on the Household Cents' Facebook page.  I ordered the free sample, and liked it so much that I wrote to the company thanking them for the sample.  In return, they sent me some pretty sweet coupons good towards that product.  (Don't tell my kids that I just used the word 'sweet' in that context.  They'll roll their eyes at me and call me a dork.)

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip!

This quick tip won't work for everyone, but it could work for some.

Instead of sending some of those monthly bills in, walk them in.  Our utilities company and phone company are both within walking distance of my home.  During the spring, summer and fall I try to walk to these companies to drop off our payment instead of using a stamp.  

This isn't huge savings by any means, but it does get me outside.  Fresh air, exercise, and saving a couple of stamps.  I can handle that.  :)

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip

If you are getting the hang of menu planning (or even if you aren't), here is another little tip that I have used to save some money on the grocery bill:

Plan your meals around the weekly sales at your local supermarket.

I get a sales flyer in the mail every Monday from my local grocery store.  This can really be helpful in my menu planning.  For instance, if I see that they are having a big sale on ground turkey and there is also a markdown on buns, guess what will be going on our menu?  Yep, turkey burgers.

Some people love this challenge and others don't, but it can save money on the grocery bill.  It's definitely an opportunity to be creative with your menu.......and to stretch a few dollars.

Quick Tip

When washing dishes or laundry, use just a little bit of detergent.  There is really no need to fill up the dishwasher dispenser or dump tons of detergent into the washing machine.  I only fill the dishwasher dispenser about 1/3 full and my dishes come out nice and clean.  For the laundry, I only add about 1/4 of a cup of detergent for regularly soiled clothes.

Quick Tip

Purchase and install a low-flow shower head for your shower.  Having an efficient shower head means less household water consumption and a cheaper water bill.  (It also doesn't hurt to train yourself to take shorter showers.)  You can get a decent low-flow/high efficiency shower head at stores such as Lowes and Home Depot.  They are also available on Amazon.com.

Quick Tip

Consider borrowing a book from the library instead of purchasing it from the book store.  This may seem like such a simple thing, but I know people who would never consider it.  

You could also look into using PaperBack Swap to save money on books.

Quick Tip

Rinse and re-use your Ziploc baggies - you can get several uses out of them that way.  After rinsing, I turn them inside-out to dry. 

(Don't re-use any that had nasty liquids or raw meat/eggs in them, though....yuck.)

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip

Find a cheap meal (or two) that your whole family enjoys and make it often. Homemade soup and bread is a very common meal around here. So is rice and beans. Yummy, healthy, filling and CHEAP.

Quick Tip

I found this article discussing "the best" times to make purchases. It's a good money-saving resource that I wanted to share with all of you.

The Best Time to Buy Almost Everything

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Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip!

Here is a quick tip for saving a few dollars:

When getting groceries, make a list before you go to the store. Make sure that you are NOT hungry when you make the list. Then go to the grocery store, again when you are NOT hungry, and just get the things on your list.

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