The other day we went over five of my favorite tips for saving money. I knew that I would be addressing some more tips soon so I really paid attention to my spending habits this weekend while I was out and about and while I was home and I was reminded of a couple of things that I had actually forgotten. As it turns out much of what I do throughout my days is focus on how I can save money.
So, if you are still looking for tips on saving money, here are my next top 5 rules for saving money:
- Utilize leftovers. I use to throw away leftovers all the time. Not to intentionally waste food, but because it would sit in the fridge long enough to forget about and then it would be time to toss it. Now our leftovers go to either lunches for the next day, the same thing for dinner tomorrow or, it goes straight into the freezer for another time. Honestly though, the kids and my husband all enjoy leftovers in their lunches over PB&J, so this is what typically happens.
- Drink Water. Whether we are talking about during a restaurant meal or at home, it is much, much cheaper to just drink water. For example, when my family of 5 goes out to eat we have discovered that if we all choose water as our drink, we tend to save $10-$15 on our meal.
- Shut off lights when not in use. If you leave a room, be sure that you are turning off the light switches as you go. No need to use up electricity for a room you aren’t even in. Energy costs are one of the biggest household expenses that people face, so this is a good one to remember.
- Combine trips. Don’t get in your car to drive for simple little tasks. It’s wasteful on your gas mileage to do so. Instead, why not combine your trips to one or two weekly? You’ll save time and money doing it this way.
- Just say no to cable. Cable and satellite TV are a luxury that many of us have somehow come to believe is a necessity. We used to pay over $100 per month for cable alone and my friends, this has been one of my favorite things to cut. Not only did we gain $1200 per year, but we also gained a lot of family time together.
I would still love to hear all about your favorite savings tips! Do you have any really unique ones?
