Money Saving Tips

A bunch of friends of mine got together and made a list of things we do to save money. These are little things that anyone can do, and with these tough economic times, I figured I would share them here.

Make your own foaming hand soap. Fill the foaming soap dispenser about 1/4 full with regular liquid hand soap and top it off with water. Shake. Then you have foaming hand soap on the cheap.
Make your own laundry detergent. Not only is this extremely cost effective but it’s better for the environment, too.
Buy generic. Really, it’s just as good as the name brand. In fact, I found that I actually prefer the Albertson’s brand of Strogonoff Hamburger Helper better than the name brand.
Make your own jello and pudding. It’s much cheaper than buying the individual cups and saves the landfills all that plastic.
Cut your dryer sheets in half. Works just as well.
Better yet, use Vinegar as your fabric softener. You will not get a vinegar smell (I promise). Costs a fraction of the price of softener.
Make your own hair detangler. Mix a few squirts of conditioner into a spray bottle and add water.
Utilize your library for checking out books and movies.
Grow your own herb garden.
Take a picnic lunch to the zoo (or other amusement park) rather than buying there. Check their policies, but most places let you bring in food.
Grocery shop from a list.
Use coupons! There are many coupon organizing/tip sites out there. I use Couponmom.com.
Switch your lightbulb’s to CFL’s Saves a ton of energy.
Shop the thrift stores. I have found things brand new/with tag’s!
Buy meat/cheese/dairy at warehouse stores. Take it home and divvy it up into usable portions.
Bake your own bread. Much cheaper and a lot more healthy!
Heck, bake everything from scratch! You won’t get the nasty preservatives and it’s so much more economical.
Reuse Zip-lock bags.
Plan your weekly meals.
Grow a garden of veggies.
Use cloth napkins. Saves the landfills and saves money not buying paper towels.
Make your own spice mixes. No more seasonings full of msg!
Clean with vinegar and water.
Buy and sell on Craigslist or Freecycle.
Use a pay as you go cell phone.
Pay cash for everything. Banks will authorize your debit card purchases, even if you don’t have enough funds. This then causes a bunch of overdraft fees. They claim to be saving their customers from embarrassing declines, but I say they are just milking us for all that we got!
Take your lunch to work.
Make your own coffee.
Have a garage sale.

So I hope you find something useful. Something that you’re not already trying. I want to thank the gals at Twinstuff for their suggestions to this list.

Thanks for spreading the word!