Don’t Waste Money!
Challenge yourself to stop one money wasting habit each month, and soon you’ll be saving nearly $400 a month!
I’ve kept each challenge simple and “bite-sized”, and you’ve got a month to master it! There are so many ways to save money, but focus on just one money saving challenge at a time.
Stop Paying Full Price for Groceries
This month, really pay attention to everything you pick up in the grocery. Look at the price per unit…it’s the tiny little print on the shelf tag! Always look for a cheaper alternative…could you buy a different brand that’s on sale, could you find a coupon or could you buy the store brand instead? Simply switching to store brands will cut your grocery bill by about 25%!
Stop Paying Full Price for Just About Everything
Get in the habit of checking Plastic Jungle every Monday, and buy discounted gift cards for your upcoming purchases. The inventory of discounted gift cards changes daily, and they take about 1 week to arrive in the mail. My wallet always has discounted gift cards to Home Depot, Office Depot, Petsmart and Target…these are stores that I regularly shop, so I might as well save a little money! Discounted gift cards offer no-brainer instant savings. Even better, nobody will know that you didn’t pay full price!
Ditch the Drive-Thru
Starting today, eliminate the drive-thru! That’s right…no Starbuck’s, no stopping for a quick drink, no fast food breakfast, no quick snacks on the way home. Every time you get the urge to “do the drive-thru”, put that money in a jar. I think you’ll be surprised how much you have by the end of the month! Let’s do the math, if you eliminate your daily $4 run to Starbucks…that’s $28 a week, $120 a month, $1440 a year! Now, add to that your daily fast food run, and we’re talking about some serious money over the course of the year! Why don’t you try making The Budget Diet’s Starbuck’s Copycat Iced Latte Recipe, and use the money you save to buy new living room furniture?
Eliminate Bottled Water
Do your children take bottled water everyday in their lunchbox? Do they come home and grab another bottle of water to take to sports practice? Do they sit in front of the TV with bottled water when you have perfectly good tap water? If you’re buying a case of bottled water a week, that’s about $5 a week, $20 a month and $240 a year! Save the money, save the earth and save yourself from hauling another case of bottled water!
Earn Cash Back for Online Purchases
Shopping online? Start your search on Ebates.com, and you’ll discover money saving coupon codes plus you’ll earn cash back on your purchases. Get started now because the cash back will really add up with all your Christmas shopping! Won’t it be wonderful to get a big fat check from Ebates after Christmas?
Stop Impulse Purchases
Before you make a purchase, ask yourself one simple question…is it a want or a need? If it’s a “want,” make yourself wait at least one day before purchasing because once you get home you may realize that you really didn’t want the item. While you’re waiting, do some research to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
Get to Know Groupon
Subscribe to Groupon’s Daily Deals
, and discover huge savings on fun things to do in your town along with ridiculously good deals on gifts and getaways! I recently purchased a round of golf for 66% off.
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Image(s) courtesy of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Our biggest issue is letting food go bad. I kick myself every time I don’t get to produce before it starts to wilt or otherwise go bad. I’ve tried to stay away from things that I know I’ve let go bad in the past, but it still happens!
Try to plan your meals and buy produce just for those meals then it’s bound to get used up!
I am a big “Frugal” thinker, but realistically I think that I can do better! My boyfriend and I live together….he brings 3 bottles of water to work with him every night, and we both usually keep one by our bed side. We usually buy the 35 pack that walmart now carries, and it may last 2 weeks give or take. So for us it is roughly $8 to $12 a month on bottled water. We always say that we need to go ahead and buy refillable bottles and a filter of some sort & then a few days later go to the store and buy the case
Also, we try to keep our kitchen full of a variety of foods that we can make dinners and breakfasts, only going out maybe once or twice every two weeks if that…but I did notice that the other day when we went to the grocery store we spent roughly $100 on junk food, even after coupons…we bought chips, canned soups, soda and beer…I realized that I couldve easily bought one bag of chips instead of 3 & can make my own soups from scratch…
It sounds like you know how to save money, but you need some motivation! How about saving for a big vacation or new furniture?
I think that your savings ideas are great! However, there are some places in the country that the tap water is not only nasty but bad for your teeth! The tap water that is withing a couple hundred mile radius of our town is super hard. It is undrinkable and that can be attested to by out-of-towners who get the unfortunate experience of trying to drink Iced Tea made with it at the occasional restaurant that serves it! We buy both bottled and bulk drinking water. It just can’t be helped unless one plans to drink soft drinks etc., which are way more expensive. I have been fortunate enough to drink tap water in other states on vacation and I have no idea why someone would buy bottled water if their tap water tasted like bottled water.
I’m thankful I’ve never lived in one of those places! Will a water filter not help?
As a vegetarian we keep a lot of produce in the house. Sometimes we don’t get around to using it all up right away and it is coming to the end of it’s “good” life span as a fresh fruit or vegetable (as lamented by your first commenter). My suggestion is to freeze the item in question for later use! Many fruits you can just chop up, put them in a bag and throw them into the freezer, there are ways to can fruits using *only* sugar and the fruit itself, no pectin, etc. Vegetables often need to be blanched before freezing them, but it still allows you to keep them for a future soup or other meal. Also, save the ends and various cut off pieces of your veggies and freeze those until you have enough to make home made vegetable broth for soups.