What I did to save money today

[DivaJen]

DD and I made cards instead of purchasing them.
DH and I ate leftovers yesterday instead of letting them go to waste. (And this is a big deal to me, because after about one day, I am not a huge fan of leftovers. So if they don't get eaten the next day, I'm not likely to eat them at all.)

[Lori63]

I know this is little, but with milk being up to almost $4 a gallon and having 3 growing boys, over the past few weeks I've been experimenting with using less milk or substituting water in cooking. For example, I've done this with mac and cheese, and meatloaf recipes. I wouldn't try it in cakes or cookies, but every little bit helps.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by Lori63

I know this is little, but with milk being up to almost $4 a gallon and having 3 growing boys, over the past few weeks I've been experimenting with using less milk or substituting water in cooking. For example, I've done this with mac and cheese, and meatloaf recipes. I wouldn't try it in cakes or cookies, but every little bit helps.

Having a box of powdered milk on hand can be helpful for cooking, too. I've used it before and haven't been able to taste any difference. You're right - every little bit helps.

[emily1067]

Today I stopped the dishwasher after the dishes were washed to let them air dry. I'm going to try to do this everyday to keep electricity costs down.

[emily1067]

I also follow my boyfriend around the house and turn the lights off...

[Tree0164]

Emily

Welcome by the way

That is a great idea about openning up the dishwasher and letting them air dry.

And I am the offical light switcher offer here as well

[emily1067]

Today instead of going out to eat, we're getting take out. I know that's not as frugal as cooking for ourselves, but we are saving the cost of drinks and the tip...better than nothing!

[Tree0164]

That is what we often do as well. With 3 kids it counts it down by $6 or $7 buck and then there is no tip as well if we go to a sit down resturant.

[DivaJen]

Instead of buying something, I made a dessert - a vegan one at that, as requested by the host! - from ingredients I had on hand to take to a MoveOn.org function this evening.

[terry1156]

We decided to get rid of the gardeners. In the past we didn't have the time to keep up with everything around the house, but now we do have more time so we decided it wasn't worth paying them to do things we now have time for. It means I will get my daily exercise too

[terry1156]

I have officially kicked my soda habit. I had been drinking about a six pack of soda a day, but I realized that I was doing it just out of habit. I liked something cool next to me to sip on when I was doing things and it didn't really matter what it was. So now I brew a large pot of tea (I'm experimenting with lots of different flavors) and get it in the refrigerator before I go to bed each night.

I still have my cool drink at my side but now it only costs a few cents instead of a couple of dollars a day - and it is a lot healthier for me!

[marla]

I started saving the coupons I get for a week or so before using them. When coupons are released, the products are almost alwaus full retail that week in the stores. But if you wait a week or two, those same items will go on sale. This means you can save even more money by having a little patience.

[2moretrees]

Ask and maybe you'll save. I was the store today and I wanted to purchase a hammock to hang outside between two trees I have in the front. I had been waiting for them to go on sale and they did. So I went to the store and they had what I wanted, but all the boxes where in poor condition. This really didn't matter to me, but I asked the floor clerk if they had any left where the boxes were in good condition. He checked in the back and said they only had what was on the floor. I asked if I could get a discount since they were not in good shape and he gave me an extra 10% off. I was surprised 'cause I didn't think I would get it. it just goes to show to always ask.

[crosses]

I have started cooking from scratch. When I first started I thought it was going to be really difficult and time consuming, but after a couple of weeks, it hasn't proven to be that difficult. I'm not making anything fancy from scratch like pies and cakes, but no premade meals. I'm saving quite a bit and I know exactly what is in our food now (important since DH is on a low salt diet).

[terry1156]

I have a policy I started a couple years back that before I make a big purchase of something I think I have to have, I always wait 72 hours. I found that I bought too many things on the spur of the moment. I did that this weekend. I was sure I needed a new super charged lawn mower, but put into place my 72 hour cool down period. I looked at it again today and there is absolutely no reason I need it. It would look nice and be convenient, but our current lawnmower still has life. Savings of a few hundred dollars.

[2moretrees]

We are putting off as much of our back to school shopping as we can until after school starts. I know that by delaying it a week or so, we can get the exact same things for a big discount over what we would have to pay for them now.