I love saving money! Last night I had my birth control prescription transferred to Kroger so I could get $25 added to my Kroger plus card! I bought 5 bags of groceries with that $25 and my only out of pocket expense was $2.72 and $10 for the prescription. We also use coupons at the grocery store. We typical have coupons for things that we use or eat frequently like, Pop Tarts, chips, toothpaste, toilet paper, and our favorite desserts! Growing up my mom was crowned "Coupon Queen" by my brother and I so needless to say, I learned the value of saving money through coupons. My dad is a big fan and advocate for only buying groceries from stores that triple your coupons and for that reason he has gotten tons of free grocery items. It has recently been on my mind lately to share everyone the way we save money because I think, I may be wrong, but I think we're 1 of very few young couples that are fanatics about saving money.
Tip #1 - Your electric bill. We always turn off lights as soon as we're done using them, even if we know we're going to return to the room in a few minutes. We have also turned our refrigerator and freezer down to the medium, recommended setting. Lots of people don't know that just by simply lowering these temperatures, you can save a few dollars a month. We only use cold water to wash clothes. The average cold water load of laundry costs 1.5 cents while the average hot water load costs 38 cents. We have two thermostats and we have them set for different temperatures. We have the upstairs set at 73 and downstairs set at 74. For most people that is too hot, but since our house has mostly hardwood floors and ceiling fans in every room, we are able to stay cool. Just by running ceiling fans, you can lower the temperature in your house by 2 degrees. We also have thermal curtains in our bedroom and dark curtains in our guest bedroom since those are the rooms that let in the most light that saves us 10% off our electric bill. We unplug appliances when we're not using them like our toaster and George Forman grill. And we never leave our computers or labtops plugged in or left on if we're not using them.
Tip #2 - Coupons! You can find coupons online, in the newspaper, and in the mail. I recently discovered that Moe's and Red Robin have an eClub that sends you a coupon for free stuff on your birthday. I know this is only 1 day out of the year, but if you like to eat out this would be a good deal for you. We typically save $10-$15 every time we go grocery shopping. Even if you have to buy a newspaper for $1 to get these coupons, it's worth it for the amount you'll save. We also look for online surveys that offer deals like, some fast food places will give you something free or $1 off for completing their online survey. For example, Chick-fila's survey gives you a free sandwich! It take 5 minutes and you save money for the next time you go there. And pay attention to radio and TV ads, sometimes advertisements will say "come get 10% off now until Saturday" and that's the only way they advertise those deals, not through coupons. And most places accepted their competitors coupons. AC Moore, Jo Ann Fabrics, and Michaels all accept each other's coupons.
Tip #3 - Buy off Craiglist! Almost everything in our house was bought off Craiglist. Here's what we bought - a matching coffee table & end table, dining room table, chairs, & matching hutch, 2 couches, an entertainment center, our bedroom set - headbaord, footboard, 2 nightstands, dresser with mirror, and armoire, 2 light fixtures, patio set with umbrella, a free standing mirror, a vanity stool, 2 matching bar stools, and 2 pieces of art. Buying all this stuff new would have cost us at least $5,000. By buying all of it off of Craiglist we would able to pay less than half of that, we saved a ton of money!
Tip #4 - Don't be afraid to negotiate. We bought our dining room rug new, but we didn't pay full price. We saw the price and we weren't willing to pay it so we asked the sales guy, "is that the best price you can give us?" and he took off about $25. The worse someone can say is no. I'm not suggesting that you go into Wal-Mart and start negotiating, but when it comes to furniture stores, auto repair shops, mattress stores, and individual sellers, always negotiate. We saved $250 off our mattress set because we negotiated. We also got a sweet deal on our monthly cable! We now pay $30 less every month, that's $360 for the year! Don't be afraid to call your cable company and ask for a better deal.
Tip #5 - Buy in bulk when items are on sale. For items that we use all the time like, toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, and soap, when I find it on sale, I buy more than one so I won't have to buy it as often and I can save money.
Tip #6 - Go to the grocery store less often. We buy groceries every 2 weeks. We save money on gas, time, and taxes by only going every 2 weeks. We spend about $94-$120 every grocery trip. Most people, depending on the size of their family, will spend about $100 every week. By going every 2 weeks and spending about $120, that's only $60 a week. And never go to the grocery store when you're tired or hungry! When you're tired or hungry you will buy more food and items you don't need without even realizing it!
Tip #7 - We hardly ever go out to lunch during the work week. I see lots of people going out to lunch or having their daily Starbucks and it always amazes me because I view that as a waste of money. You figure the typical lunch is $5-$7 and if you go out to lunch everyday that's $25-$35 every week. Even if you only go out 2 days a week, that's $10-$14 every week. And I'm way underestimating the costs here. By taking our lunch to work everyday, we're saving $40-$140 a month!
Tip #8 - Use cruise control, even on short trips in town. My car and Nick's truck are not the best on gas mileage, but by using cruise control even when we drive to work, I bet we are making our gas last an extra 20 miles. Nick's truck now gets 20 miles to the gallon, when it use to get 17 miles.
Tip #9 - Vacation. Before you even leave to go on vacation, decide how much you're going to spend. If you decide on $200, take $200 cash and only spend that amount. A lot of extra spending is caused convenient access & unconscious use of debit and credit cards so by deciding on an amount before you leave and only taking cash & a credit or debit card for emergencies, you will save money. And of course, shop around for best deal on hotels, rental cars, and airline flights. And find coupons in brochures for restaurants, amusement parks, and other attractions while you're there.
And lastly, I'll leave you with what I would say are obvious money saving tips -
only run the dishwasher when it's full
turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth
use the microwave instead of the stove to save energy
shop around & compare prices for big ticket items
save boxes, gift bags, and tissue paper & re-use it
go to the dollar store & stock up on cards - birthdays, get well cards, etc.
bank shop for the highest checking and saving interest rates
at a restaurant, split an entree with someone & order water
buy in season - school supplies and dorm decor are on sale so stock up on office supplies and home decor stuff while it's on sale
I hope by sharing all this with the world, at least 1 person will learn a new way to save money. Thanks for reading!
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