Search Results for: blog using combinations to save money

Save Money on Spices

I almost fell over the other day when I saw a commercial for the new McCormick recipe ideas. You can purchase a package that contains a recipe and a card that contains little blister packs of pre-measured spices. While this might be a pleasant idea for those who want to just start exploring the world of making their own meals, all of my frugal alarms went off. That is because usually the more convenience packaging you have, the more expensive the cost for that meal. How much are you really saving in time? You still need to prep all of … Continue reading →

Using Scheduled Combinations to Save

This morning was a pretty busy day. We had a lot of people in and out and a lot of phone calls to make. This is because we used a pretty sturdy strategy to save both money and time. We used combinations. What are combinations? Well, you can have combinations in many different aspects of your schedule and your tasks. You can also call this multitasking, but I like to call it combinations, because unlike typical multitasking, combinations are planned out and don’t always happen at exactly the same time. Here is an example of our morning. We scheduled several … Continue reading →

75 Things You Can Do to Save Money

If you need or want to tighten your budget, there are so many things that you can do to save money. Pick a few from the list and get started today, or try them all. It will be nice to have some extra money available. Mow your own lawn and perform lawn care yourself. Drink water instead of flavored drinks. Get rid of the cleaning service. Perform your own minor repairs, such as patching a hole or fixing a leaky faucet. Change your oil in the car. Paint a room yourself. Hand wash clothing instead of taking it to the … Continue reading →

Saving Money at Work

Are you being frugal at work as well as at home? Here are some ways to save money when it comes to working outside of the home. To reduce the cost of gas and wear and tear on your car, try one of these tips. Or, try them all! Ask about telecommuting. Even if you only telecommute one day a week, you’ll save a lot on gas by the end of the year, especially if your commute is at least 40 minutes one way. You can also ask about an alternative work schedule. Can you work four longer days and … Continue reading →

Using Combinations to Save Money

If you take advantage of every opportunity to be frugal, you’ll soon find yourself practicing combinations. What are combinations? Well, they are a lot like multitasking. By making certain logical combinations, you can save money. (And yes, I am a fan of the television show, “Numbers.”) Here are some common combinations that will help you save. Combining exercise with an errand As I mentioned in an earlier article, I used to take early morning walks with a friend. We would walk past a local produce store. Not only did we get a good workout (five to ten pounds of produce … Continue reading →

Frugal Freezer Cooking: “Hot Pockets”

Stocking your freezer using leftovers or foodstuff that you buy in bulk on sale can really save you quite a bit of money. If you have the freezer and the room, I highly recommend doing some freezer cooking. It will give you the opportunity to have low cost meals handy and avoid eating out, and it will also give you the opportunity to eat food that you might have otherwise thrown away. These are free meals, as I like to call them. With panic in the economy, it makes so much sense to cut expenses and pay down as much … Continue reading →

New Grocery Shopping Techniques (2)

I have definitely changed the way I do my grocery shopping. The rise in food and gas prices and the frequent changes of the prices of everything has made the old grocery shopping habits to save money just not work anymore. In the previous article I shared some of my new strategies. Here are the rest. (If you missed the first part of this article, click here: New Grocery Shopping Techniques. I skip the coupons. The newspaper recently raised their cost to $1.75 for the Sunday edition, and the coupons in it have been pretty skimpy. Because I am not … Continue reading →

Optimizing Our Errands 2

This is part 2 of a 2-part series. If you missed the first article earlier today, click here: Optimizing Our Errands. After lunch, we visited the library to return books and stock up on enough reading and listening material to last us six weeks (the maximum amount of time we can hold items). I estimate that getting extra books and CDs shaved off at least one extra library trip. I decided not to take out any DVDs, since these are due in three days time and would require an extra trip back to the library. We have plenty of movies … Continue reading →

Optimizing Our Errands

So yesterday, I decided to take a little bit of my own advice and combine our errands into one day. This way, we would spend less money on gas, since we could map out an efficient route that covers each stops. This lessens the extra back and forth trips to and from the house. We would also spend less gas by limiting how often we make trips to any given place. If we designate one weekend a month, for example, to errands, then we know that we need to take full advantage of the trip, stocking up at the grocery … Continue reading →

What Did You Do Today that Was Frugal?

It seems that this question keeps coming up every where I turn. Sometimes I encounter it when I am visiting our forums. Other times I may read it in a frugal book, and of course, friends may ask me, either to get some advice or to keep me on my toes. Frugal living really is a sort of lifestyle that develops over time. You can form many frugal habits that come naturally and without even thinking. I couldn’t tell you how many lights I’ve turned off today, because I am in the habit of turning them off whenever I leave … Continue reading →