Below are our personal home-spun tips, not sophisticated investment tips. I hope some of the ideas help you to save money.
BEST MONEY-SAVING IDEA: TURN DOWN the water temperature on your water heater and learn which breaker switch controls the water heater. Flip the breaker switch off when your family is not using hot water. This will begin to save you about $30 a month or more. MORE if you keep the water heater turned OFF until your family is ready for their baths and showers. Then, when they come home, turn the water heater on and let the water heat for about 15 minutes to heat the water in the water heater. AFTER THEY FINISH BATHING, TURN THE WATER HEATER OFF! YOU CAN BUY A TIMER FOR YOUR WATER HEATER AT HOME DEPOT.
SECOND BEST MONEY SAVER: Learn how to Correctly Set the Temperature on your Refrigerator Look NOW and learn to read the dial or button which is inside the main compartment, NOT the freezer. Take time and learn which way to push the dial or button to move the temperature towards COLDER or WARMER. Be sure to read how to Correctly Set the Temperature on your Refrigerator. This knowledge and your new control over the use of your refrigerator will save you money on your electric bill.
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1. Save containers for expensive shampoos, soft drinks, other expensive foods your family loves. Buy the GENERIC types of shampoo and foods. Either substitute into the empty containers OR mix half and half with the expensive stuff. On items such as cooking oil and canned fruits, vegetables, soups and more, buy the generic NOT the brand names. Things like shampoo are so thick, you can add water and your family will not notice the difference. What they love about the expensive brands is the perfumed odor of the particular product.
a. Save money on your home-cooked meals: How to make meals you know your family will eat: here is a trick I learned from my mother: always start cooking by slowly simmering some cooking oil in a skillet then add some sliced onion or garlic. This causes your family's taste buds to start watering. Then, whatever you cook, ADD some of the cooked onion or garlic to the food. Watch it all disappear!
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2. Your internet service: If it is through your local telephone service, be aware that they usually set you up automatically with their MOST EXPENSIVE service. Be sure you get all the details as to any other CHEAPER services they offer and sign up instead for the cheaper service. Cheapest Internet Access
3. Buy children's designer clothes USED at local thrift stores. Some
thrift stores are better stocked than others. Find the ones that have the
expensive cars parked outside. This tells you that these folks are finding
used items of quality in those particular stores. ONLY BUY clothes with
designer labels. You have to hunt, but finding them are a big savings to
you. I overheard one child say to her mother in a thrift store: "Mom, these
clothes are USED!" The mother immediately responded: "Once they are washed, they
will be NEW TO YOU!" Mostly it is best to shop without the kids. I call
these clothes their "extra" clothes. They love them. If
you want, you can wash and iron them and put them in plastic bags so the kids
think they are "new". Remember, even if you shop in the MOST EXPENSIVE
STORE, someone has ALREADY tried on the clothes you are looking at, and maybe
bought them, wore them and then returned them to the store. This is why
there are SALES RACKS in the expensive stores. So forget the so-called
"stigma" of wearing used clothes. I do not care where you bought your
expensive clothes, someone had them on their body BEFORE YOU. Get over it
and trot over to the best local thrift store in your area. Go once a week,
especially on the days when things are priced at 1/2 off.
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a. Some good items to look for at thrift stores are LEATHER belts, purses, books, furniture, kids' books, games, dolls, put away for Christmas (hide really well, because kids will find them). I buy leather belts for 50 cents. You know you always need a belt for your kids' pants on school mornings when you are in a hurry, so buy a few extra.
4. To save money on cutting your yard, remove some sections of the grass and put in easy care flowers, perennials are best because you do not have to re-plant them each year. Flowering shrubs, small trees are ideas. Then dig out a big circle around each or around a grouping of plants and GET RID OF THE GRASS. Prettier yard and less expensive to care for.
5. Pet food: Buy from the grocery store, NOT a pet store. This also saves you gas because you do not go to the pet store. Buy what is on sale. If you read the labels, you will see that most dog foods, for example, are similar. They differ in appearance and this difference is FOR HUMANS to notice. So just buy a good basic pet food, not one that is jazzed up for humans to want to buy it. If your pet "refuses" to eat the less expensive brand, here is what we do: any scraps left over from the family meals, such as the remainders your children do not want, mash or chop into small pieces and MIX INTO the cheap pet food. Now, your pet will eat it as though it cost $100 an ounce! Best leftovers to mix in: leftover cooked hamburger, rice, milk, scrambled or boiled eggs, any fish (BE CERTAIN there are no bones) leftover bits of chicken picked off the bones. Never give pets chicken bones. They are fragile and break off in the pet's throat and can kill the pet. Our dogs LOVE cat food as a treat. Any cat food. Or if you do not have many leftovers, simply buy a can of cheap dog or cat food (the smelly fish kind is good) and MIX into the dry food. Yum, Yum, it will all disappear.
a. What do you do with leftover pet food after your pet has eaten all he/she wants and it the food scraps are just sitting there drying out? Don't throw it out! Scoop it up and either save it for tomorrow for your pet, put in the refrigerator to keep germs from forming in it OR simply toss it on the lawn for the wild birds to eat. YES, the birds love it and eat every tiny scrap.
6. For any items you may need, go to the internet and ask it for the item. Then compare prices and find out where to get the lowest price in your area for your needed items. Find a good website to download COUPONS. USE the coupons to get lower prices on items your family needs. Remember, however, to always double-check the price on the same item in GENERIC form because maybe it is lower priced, even if you have the coupon for the higher-priced item.
a. Go to the internet and look for FREE items, such as FREE baby diapers, pullups, etc. Try to get everything FREE you can! If you don't want it, give it to a family member, friend or neighbor.
7. When you intend to go shopping, be sure to ALWAYS take a LIST with you and STICK TO THE LIST. Eat before you go food shopping so you will not be tempted to pick up extra items. Try NOT to take the children with you because they want to pick up extra goodies they don't really need. STUDY THE STORE'S WEEKLY SALES SPECIALS online beforehand and BUY those if you can use them instead of the more expensive brands. For example, bacon, eggs, milk, paper towels, toilet paper. If you hit a good sale, try to stockpile some of the products for future use. Don't overspend on sale items, however.
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