Frugal Living

Some of our friends might say we are cheap, but we like to call it frugal. We thought we should share 20 ways we save money:

1)I'm a coupon lady. I will say it is tough to coupon and eat healthy, but there are so many items to save on that don't compromise your eating habits...diapers, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and lots of foods and snacks. I try to buy items on sale. I look for a manufacturer's coupon on those items, and either a competitor or store coupon to go with it. My goal is usually to save exactly what I spend or close to it. I always check out www.southernsavers.com. She does the work for me!

2)I play the CVS freebie game. If you take advantage of extra bucks, you walk out of the store with stuff for free! Again, check out www.southernsavers.com.

3)I buy meat when it is about to expire and freeze it.

4)We use a budgeting system through Microsoft Money and plan for the month. Having money allotted for nearly everything gives us both freedom and restraint.

5)We don't shop for clothes at the mall. There are so many other options: consignment, thrift stores, yard sales, and of course Target, Old Navy, TJ Max, and Ross!

6)Most baby items can be borrowed or bought at yard sales and thrift stores. We have been taking advantage of this lately.

7)We don't go to the "real" movies. Well, we may go on a special occasion, but rarely. We go to the Carmike $1 theater. Can't beat it! It isn't the Rave, but you feel like you are watching a movie in 1985...kinda fun!

8)This is a no brainer...we drink water when we go out to eat.

9)We read books from the library or buy them at the Salvation Army for $1. If it is a must have, we just check online.

10)Instead of cable, we are exploring our options with Netflix and Hulu.

11)There are tons of really cheap date nights offered locally. A few we have taken advantage of include: a visit to the planetarium for a special show, watching the manger scene in a cave, wine, beer, and coffee tastings, art festivals, movies on the quad, etc...

12)There are so many freebies out there! You can sign up for free samples of diapers, formula, toiltries, snacks,etc. If it is your birthday, you can sign up for coupons for free dinners and other fun stuff! We had free Jason's Deli for my past birthday.

13)We eat out once a week.

14)We check out sites like Groupon and Living Social for deals.

15)If we purchase online, we always search for a free shipping code and a percentage off the total code.

16)I serve breakfast for dinner or meatless entrees once a week.

17)I make and freeze my own baby food.

18)We don't wash our clothes just because we wore them. We wait until they are dirty.

19)We buy printer ink and other random necessities off Ebay.

20)We feel like this last one is supposed to be awesome. We are actually doing these off the top of our heads and are having a hard time coming up with this one. So, our final advice is live simply. There are many things that we just don't "have" to have. Our world is constantly making us feel like we "need" so much stuff, but we have seen that the simpler we live, the more peaceful life becomes.