Thursday Thirteen~ 13 Easy Ways to Save Money

Posted on March 5th, 2008 by TheHappyHousewife

Thursday Thirteen 4th Edition

13 Easy Ways to Save Money

1. Stay home. The more you are out running around the more money you
spend in purchases, gas, food, etc.

2. When you must go out combine errands. Gas is expensive, if you can combine your errands into a once a week trip you will save money and time.

3. Pay with cash. This has been endlessly debated, but statistics show
that people spend 12-18% less when paying with the green stuff, and I don’t mean American Excess.

4. Eat at home. Unless you are a single person eating off the dollar
menu at Wendy’s, it is hard to eat out for cheaper than what you can make
at home. Strapped for time… bulk cook on the weekends so you will have
food during the week.

5. When you leave a room turn out the lights. I am amazed at how many
people don’t do this.

6. Cut your shower time in half.

7. Menu plan. Once again, this takes a few minutes at the beginning of
the week and save tons of money by avoiding extra trips to the store
throughout the week or dining out because nothing is planned for dinner.

8. Don’t grocery shop when you are hungry.

9. Make a grocery list and stick to it. No impulse purchases.

10. Make one meatless meal a week. Hey, beans and rice are cheap.

11. Get a library card. The library is free entertainment, from books to
movies, to cds, libraries are an underutilized resource in my opinion.

12. Drink more water. It is cheap and good for you.

13. Recycle. I am not talking about putting things in your recycle bin, although that is a good idea too. Before you throw something out think about how you might use that item for something else. Worn socks = dust rag, shoe box = mailing box, coffee can= storage for kids crayons. The possibilities on this one are endless. If you can reuse it then you are probably saving yourself time and money by not having to purchase something else.

The Happy Housewife

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Filed under: Frugal living, Thursday Thirteen

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19 Responses to “Thursday Thirteen~ 13 Easy Ways to Save Money”

  1. SandyCarlson, on March 5th, 2008 at 9:27 pm Said:

    All so true. Just wish I could cut those showers in half!

  2. melissa, on March 5th, 2008 at 9:28 pm Said:

    good advice!! i really need to start trying some of these…and having my kids do things like, turning off the lights when they are done in their bedrooms or bathroom!!

  3. Lauren, on March 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm Said:

    Toni, you are really inspiring me! This is the first week in a while that I’ve planned out my meals and am only making ONE trip to the grocery store. Let’s hope it works!!

  4. Barbara H., on March 5th, 2008 at 9:34 pm Said:

    Great tips! Eating out is one of my weaknesses — I love it way too much.

  5. Melissa, on March 5th, 2008 at 9:48 pm Said:

    Oh, all good tips! Thanks for stopping by! Happy TT!

  6. terry, on March 5th, 2008 at 9:57 pm Said:

    These are all great tips!!
    I stopped by to THANK YOU for commenting on my blog today for WFMW.

  7. Alana, on March 5th, 2008 at 10:07 pm Said:

    Great ideas - as soon as this baby is born and I stop craving everything under the sun I am going to start planning weekly menus. Thanks!

  8. eastcoastlife, on March 5th, 2008 at 10:22 pm Said:

    Hey, I do all those too!
    *hi-5 with happy housewife*

  9. Beki, on March 5th, 2008 at 10:38 pm Said:

    Such good ideas…as always! I need to get back to my menu planning. I have been off for a couple of weeks with everything that has been going on. It makes a HUGE difference! I think I’ll do mine tomorrow!

  10. Nicholas, on March 6th, 2008 at 12:34 am Said:

    You are so right re #4! We used to eat out a lot, at what we thought were pretty cheap places. Then the credit card bill arrived and we were shocked!. That seems to prove #3 too!

  11. beeker, on March 6th, 2008 at 1:43 am Said:

    The library is a wonderful place. In addition to books, dvds, and cds, our library hosts movie nights, book clubs, and other fun events.

  12. Deb, on March 6th, 2008 at 8:57 am Said:

    YEah I am a bad person, I do none of those……. I eat out alot and buy the books and cds.

  13. melissa d., on March 6th, 2008 at 4:17 pm Said:

    great advice :)
    #11 is so true-the library by our old house even carried current dvd’s and cd’s.

    thanks!

    happy tt

  14. Comedy Plus, on March 6th, 2008 at 4:29 pm Said:

    Excellent advice. I do most of these already. Very well done. Have a great TT. :)

  15. Brenda, on March 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pm Said:

    Great tips! We’ve probably saved $150-200 a month by not eating out Sunday’s after church. I also am doing once-a-month cooking and that’s helped even more. Plus the extra time saved only having to put a salad and/or veggie together for supper. I enjoy frugal advise. Thanks.

  16. Karen Bastille, on March 6th, 2008 at 5:39 pm Said:

    A fine list! I especially like #1 - Stay Home. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that everyone is always rushing about so - and it usually involves purchasing some “thing.” It almost always requires gasoline.
    Stay home.
    Read a book.
    From the library.

  17. Awtemnymf, on March 6th, 2008 at 6:07 pm Said:

    I must be doing something right *winks* I do all these things already!
    Yay me (————-)
    Great list!
    AwtemNymf

  18. tommiea, on March 9th, 2008 at 10:35 am Said:

    Those are all such great ideas! Thanks for visiting my TT. Happy Sunday!

  19. Natalie, on March 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm Said:

    great tips. happy T13, a few days late. i TT too!

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