{"id":20757,"date":"2014-08-19T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/frugal-living\/?p=20757"},"modified":"2020-04-27T16:08:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T20:08:45","slug":"tedious-tasks-save-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/frugal-living\/tedious-tasks-save-money\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tedious Tasks that Save Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

By contributing writer <\/span>Laura<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes it seems like I have more time at my disposal than money, although lately I feel pressed for time too! Besides\u00a0being a frugal gal who likes to save money,\u00a0I simply dislike\u00a0wasting\u00a0items that can be\u00a0reused or repurposed. I feel resourceful and creative when I challenge myself\u00a0to stretch our family budget and make the best use of what we have.<\/p>\n

Any person who considers herself a penny-pincher will probably admit to occasionally (or perhaps frequently) participating in tedious, time consuming tasks in the name of saving\u00a0money. Each person can evaluate whether she feels it is worth the time to participate in various tasks that will help\u00a0cut down costs. So here are a few\u00a0tedious and some unusual tasks that I’ve done to save money and flex my frugal muscles.<\/p>\n

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1. Wash Plastic Bags<\/h3>\n

Reusing plastic baggies is somewhat\u00a0common among thrifty folks, I believe. I personally hand-wash my plastic baggies, which include sandwich size, snack size, gallon size, etc., so that I can reuse them. Some folks may wonder why I wash and reuse plastic bags, even if I can get a great deal on them at the store. If I can get them inexpensively, isn’t it better to just dispose of them and move on to the next fresh pack?<\/p>\n

Although, yes, I can get great deals on name brand plastic bags when I pair manufacturer coupons with a great sale or store promotion, I still feel it is worth it to reuse and stretch my\u00a0current supply while they hold up and still function well for storing food and other items.<\/p>\n

2. Wash Swim Diapers<\/h3>\n

This is an unusual task\u00a0that I first learned about when researching different ways to save money on diapers<\/a>. Did you know you can wash disposable swim diapers and\u00a0reuse them? If you’re spending a lot of time at the pool with a child that is not yet potty-trained, you can quickly go through a pack of swim diapers, which are more expensive than regular diapers.<\/p>\n

So instead of throwing away that swim diaper after one use, put it in your washing machine and dryer. You can reuse it a few times, allowing you to stretch your dollars. This isn’t really a tedious task, in that it doesn’t take much more time to wash and dry, but it is an unusual concept to most people who are accustomed to disposing of them after one use.<\/p>\n

3. Clip Coupons<\/h3>\n

Clipping coupons and pairing them with a great sale or store promotion has helped me strategically save thousands of dollars per year on groceries. Now, as with any hobby or activity, you could spend hours clipping coupons and planning out your shopping trips to maximize your savings, but thankfully so many bloggers, apps, and online forums now do all the hard work for you!<\/p>\n

So even though clipping coupons can<\/em>\u00a0be time consuming and tedious, I’m a strong proponent of realistic<\/em>\u00a0couponing: simplifying your coupon clipping and shopping list to what is manageable for you. You might consider clipping coupons tedious, but you can definitely spend a reasonable amount of time clipping coupons without getting burnt out.<\/p>\n

4. Wait in Line for Free Food<\/h3>\n

Some people may baulk at the fact that I’ve spent\u00a0a lot of time\u00a0waiting in lines for free or extremely cheap food. With so many restaurants offering special promotions for grand openings and special days,\u00a0such as National Flip Flop Day and Free Cone\u00a0Day, there are a lot of opportunities to get freebies. I can tell you, collectively over the years, I have spent hours waiting in line for free food,\u00a0since these events are often crowded and popular — hey, they’re giving away free food after all!<\/p>\n

For me, it is often worth it to wait in line, if I have the time to spare and my kids aren’t having a complete melt-down.\u00a0You can save a lot of money over the course of a year, when taking advantage of these special free food promotions.<\/p>\n

What other tedious or strange tasks have you done to save money? Be sure to leave a comment and share with me!<\/p>\n

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