katclock

I do a lot of internet browsing to keep up to date on current prices; that way if I find a sale, and it's truly a good deal, I will buy.

For books, I use the library or paperback swap; I do have a couple of authors I support by buying new.

Good quality cat food and annual vet visits; no over the counter medications for them unless it's recommended by my vet.

Do routine maintenance on my car, my house, and myself to help avoid costly repairs.

Cook at home, from scratch, and use the crock pot when we will be working outside all day. (I would much rather eat out, even though we can eat cheap, it still adds up.) We filter our drinking water and keep our water with us so we never have to buy water. We try to avoid convenience stores - we always end up buying things we don't need and can get cheaper at home.

quilt1950

We did this also. Never had another car loan. Also, before we retired, whenever we got a raise we increased the amount we put into savings by 1/2 the raise. We figured we had been living on that amount prior to the raise, we should be able to continue to live on that amount. Now that we are retired, we are grateful we did that.

Jingle

I do pay ahead on our truck and pay six months of truck insurance. We pay homeowners insurance by the year, Otherwise I'm not a real saver. Just in case I don't live forever, I'm spending most of it, instead of leaving it to the kids to spend.

mhollifiel

Planting a garden and having grapevines and blueberry bushes. Freezer is from the '50s and looks like it could handle the workload of a coroner.

bearisgray

I am wondering how energy efficient that freezer is? I remember the first freezer my mom had. It was six feet long, counter high, and the walls were about six inches thick.

lclang

Buy meat on sale as much as possible. Don't use a lot of "fancy" stuff in cooking because so much just sits on the shelf after one use. Cook for the family instead of eating out. Bake my own bread for us and the birds we feed. Use leftover veggies in soups or stews. Wash only full loads of dishes and laundry. Buy clothing and household linens at thrift stores as needed. This summer we installed underground sprinklers and found out that we were watering some areas too much and others not enough and it will probably save on our water bill besides saving the labor or dragging hoses and sprinklers all over the property. Recycle used clothing, paper and plastic bags, etc.

helenhiwater

Whenever I start a project, I am always running out for "one more thing". That is where most of my stash came from. For me, saving money is carefully pricing things out, figuring a budget and sticking to it. It does take time, but save on big ticket items like a clothes budget for the year, buying cars, and yes, quilts.

lildinks2013

Re use, recycle, homemade, stock up and cut back is my motto. I try to apply this anywhere i can. I do my bulk grocery shopping once per month except for milk if i need. I save alot by doing it that way. I bake my own bread, cook my own dog food, take advantage of 10 for 10.00 at Krogers or wherever, lots of casseroles and soups and chili's in the winter , garden blessings in the summer. I freeze and dehydrate what i can. I dont preserve in jars anymore to save on electricity as well as buying jars. Composting scraps from kitchen and debri from the garden, and i have a set amt. for christmas and b-days, or it can get nuts and out of hand. Try to make homemade gifts instead of getting caught up in the electronic world. Simple living -back to basics heps save all the way around.

Shoofly1

I save enough money by not buying any packaged convenience foods, grain products, sweets, and sodas to be able to buy pastured meat on-line directly from a rancher, poultry and eggs from a local rancher, and seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit from the local farmers' market. I also got a Berkey water filter and no longer buy bottled water. In the long run this saves on medical expenses.

I don't use my credit card to buy anything except gasoline for the convenience and a few on-line purchases like the pastured meat, and I always pay the credit card bill in full each month. If I can't pay it; I don't buy it.

About one year ago I quit using a big variety of cleansers for specific purposes. Now I only buy laundry soap, dish soap, Krud Kutter, and vinegar in economy sizes, plus Soft Scrub with bleach for the toilet bowl. It sure cuts down on the clutter/money and I find they do a better job than the expensive cleansers. Also, I started using washable and reusable terrycloth rags and microfiber rags instead of paper towels.

trolleystation

Each time that I meat shop, I figure out how many meals I can get from one meat purchase. For instance, when I buy a ham steak, I get three meals from it. First meal is fried ham and mashed potatoes. Second meal is ham and scalloped potatoes. Third meal is western (ham. egg and green pepper) sandwiches. Last week I bought a ham steak and made boiled ham dinner. Leftovers went into a soup pot with some barley to make two soup meals for us. At our local Save a Lot food store, I shop early on Monday morning and they usually have meat that didn't sell over the weekend marked down. Great way to save.....................