Saving Money: Part 4

Even MORE ways to save money?
You bet!
Why not?

I just can’t get enough, so I hope you can’t either! I have been doing a lot of thinking on this subject and I have to admit, there are just some things you can’t necessarily “save money” on. Some things are what they are. Yet there are MANY OTHER things and ways that we CAN save money! Lets not give up yet!

1. Garden! I know we are little past the season, but it is never too late to think about planting a garden next spring. Seeds are so cheap when you compare it to the produce it produces! Think about how much you spend in the store and even driving to the store. What if you could walk out your back door and pick whatever you needed from your garden, FRESH!

2. Air up your tires. Basically, by keeping your tires on your vehicles inflated you are saving on gas! Good deal, right?

3. Turn off the tv. Watching tv effects us more than we think. When we don’t watch tv, we are not influenced by the advertisements, by what we should and shouldn’t wear or look like. Instead, we have more time to do other things. Not to mention, I know these are pennies, but the electricity used to watch tv too.

4. Don’t spend so much on convenience foods. Fast food restaurants and frozen meals are WAY over priced! Any food that you need to just heat in the microwave, typically costs way more in comparison to if you made it from scratch (plus, making from scratch, you get 5x the food too!).

5. Get a deep freezer. What? Am I telling you to buy something? Maybe. Having more freezer room, allows you to double recipes (to prevent you from going out to eat out of sheer convenience), freeze bulk food, and allows you to stay home to eat.

6. Have a yard sale. We ALL have items we do not need. Does your neighborhood have a garage sale weekend once or twice a year? If so, set up a sale or ask someone if you can add your items to their sale. A little extra money is always a good thing – especially if you are making money on what you don’t need!

7. Plan your meals based on what is on sale at the grocery store. This takes a little extra planning, but if a certain type of meat is on sale, think about making it that week. If you have a favorite meal, instead of making it only when you crave it (and the items aren’t on sale), stock up on them or make it that week when the items are ON sale!

8. Take your credit card information off certain websites if you are tempted to buy items. For example, if you have an e-bay, amazon, or etsy account and you are tempted to always buy, with just a few clicks of a button, take your information out of the “system.” Make it HARD for yourself to buy something!

9. Invite friends over for supper, instead of going out. Simply said, but can be hard to do because it takes some planning. Think about keeping the ingredients for your favorite meal in “stock” at home so that you can make it on the spot when friends do come over.

10. Hunt, fish, u-pick, you name it. Whatever you can get from the “wild,” is typically cheaper than in the store (plus, it tastes so much better)! Get a breath of fresh air and enjoy what God has given us on this earth!

Just a few more suggestions to help you see your savings account grow, while your spending becomes less and less!