With Christmas budgets already stretched thin, it makes a lot of sense to use a few cost-cutting strategies when checking off your Christmas list. 

1. Buy online. This one is easy for me. I’d much rather purchase Christmas gifts at Amazon.com than stand in a line with 300 people fighting over limited quantities. Depending on where you live, you can often avoid paying sales tax, too, which can represent a sizable portion of a large purchase such as a computer.

Many brick and mortar stores such as Target and Best Buy participate in Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving) deals at their websites where you can find deals similar to the ones that were found in stores on Black Friday.

2. Pay with cash (for larger items). It used to be widely known that if you paid for large ticket items with cash you could expect a deep discount. That’s not always a given these days, because many stores make money on their in-store financing or branded credit cards, and would be just as happy if you financed your big purchase.

Still, it’s worth having the cash on-hand and asking for a cash discount.

3. Buy next year’s Christmas gifts in January. Some gifts are timeless, and if buying the latest hot gadge isn’t particulaly important to those on your list, you might consider picking up some gifts at deep discount after the holiday season shopping rush has passed.

Note, we like to shop for Christmas decorations around this time, too!

4. Don’t shy away from floor models. Just this past weekend I scored a zebra-patterned Parsons chair that will look great in my daughter’s room.

I asked the sales associate if she had one in the back, because the floor model had a few scratches on the legs. She returned with a disappointed look – the only remaining item was the floor model. The chair was originally $79.99, marked down to $59.99. I offered them $30. The manager said they couldn’t go below $40. We settled on $35.

I used a furniture pen to cover the scratches, gave the chair’s fabric a quick wipe down with a wash cloth, and it is now as good as new. Total savings – about 55% off the full, retail price.

5. Use coupons. I rarely purchase anything online without using some sort of coupon or promotional code. Many of these codes offer free shipping, or a discount off your total purchase. There are just too many ways to save not to do a little research.

Of course, I’ve tried to make this easier for readers in recent weeks by offering a consolidated spot here at Frugal Dad for coupons and deals. I highly encourage you to check out this area when you are ready to do some online shopping.

What are a few ways you save on Christmas gifts each year? Share your tips here and at the Facebook page where I’ve just kicked off a new discussion on this topic.

Have you ever tripped over a pile of toys in your kid’s room? Toys that seem to multiply but yet never really get appreciated or played with very much. Or perhaps cleaned out the minivan only to find a toy under the seat that seemed so important to your daughter at the time you bought it for her, but was quickly discarded for the next best thing? Both of these scenarios happened to me and I knew there had to be a better way.

A better way to teach my three young children the value of money and the proper value of the “stuff” that money buys. One of my biggest concerns, as a Dad, is sending my three kids out into the real world with no money smarts, which leads to a life of zero savings, and worse yet, a life of battling credit card debt. Here are the five things my wife and I did to turn things around in our home.

1. Teach Them To Value Money – A couple years ago, my son really wanted a Nintendo DS. The sticker price of $150 was shocking to me. But I told him, “Sure you can have one, you earn the money and save up, and I will personally take you to the store to buy one.” I then planted the seed of recycling and turning in our cans and bottles for money. He jumped all over it. Not only did he save and sort our recyclables, he also hit up all his grandparents for theirs.

After he had a sizable haul, we would take them down to the recycle station and he would unload them and even sign the receipt. He finally saved up enough money for the Nintendo DS. It was a great experience for him and taught him that money does not just grow on trees. It has to be earned by hard work and dedication.

2. Give An Allowance – My kids are just now getting to the age where they can start earning an allowance by doing chores around the house. This is also a great way to teach the value of an earned dollar.

The psychology of money is amazing to me. I have noticed in my kids that when they earn money they are less likely to waste it on something trivial. They will want to save it in their dresser drawer for something special that equals the value they have put on the money. Whereas if I give them a couple dollars to spend at the store, they will buy some candy or toy that usually ends up on the floor of the minivan.

3. Savings Account – When each of our kids were born, my wife and I opened a savings account for them. We add birthday money and Christmas money from the grandparent to their accounts every year. When the statements come, I make a point of talking to them individually about how much money they have and how much interest they have earned. They get very excited with the news that they have earned $1.75 last month by doing nothing at all.

The idea of saving money for things like college, or their first car, has to be planted early and often. My hope is that it will help to remove the sense of entitlement that is so prevalent with kids today.

Editor’s Note: ING Direct, one of my favorite online banks, recently added a kids savings account offering that may be of interest to parents looking for a safe place to park accumulated allowance money.

4. In Order To Receive, You Must Give – It happened the other day in the car and it gave me goose bumps. My 6 year old daughter was whining about why she could not have some toy. Tired of her whining and without thought or hesitation I quoted Rich Dad, Poor Dad, “If you want something, you first need to give.” Silence. I let that thought just hang in the air for at least 15 seconds. I could see in her eyes through the rear view mirror that her mind was working overtime trying to understand the concept.

This led to a great conversation about giving, whether it be toys you don’t play with to a charity, or time spent teaching your sister how to ride a bike, and how these things will bring you much more in return than you could ever imagine. I then explained that by being generous, people are going to want to be generous to you. By taking time to help someone else, others are going to want to take the time to help you when you are in need.

5. Personal Responsibility – They are responsible for the money they receive from allowance and otherwise. When it’s gone, it’s gone. So I tell them that it’s their responsibly to save it wisely or spend it wisely if that is what they choose to do. And definitely don’t leave it laying around the house or it may end up back in my wallet!

The idea of personal responsibility carries over into other aspects, like “You say you want dessert tonight? OK, well, let’s look around the house and make sure all of your responsibilities are taken care of. Then we can discuss dessert.” You do this enough times and you stay consistent, they will take care of their personal responsibilities long before they come to you asking for something.

Do you have any tips to add when it comes to raising “money smart” kids? I look forward to our comments. Another aspect of being money smart is using coupons when you do make a purchase. Here are some of the better online coupons on my website right now. Thank you Jason for letting me contribute to the Frugal Dad blog.

All Posters.com
Save 20% off your entire online purchase
Coupon Code: MAY50
Expiration: 5/31/11
See All: All Posters Coupons

Celebrate Express.com
Save 10% off your $65+ online purchase
Coupon Code: birthday11
Expiration: 6/30/11
See All: Celebrate Express Coupons

Childrens Place.com
Save 15% Off your entire online order
Coupon Code: W7D2011
Expiration: 6/19/11
See All: Children’s Place Coupons

Cost Plus World Market.com
Save $50 off your $200+ online purchase
Coupon Code: SUMMERFUN1
Expiration: 5/30/11
See All: Cost Plus World Market Coupons

Lands End.com
Save $20 Off your $75+ order + Free Shipping
Coupon Code: QUALITY & PIN 1207
Expiration: 5/31/11
See All: Lands’ End.com Coupons

NewEgg Electronics.com
Save $10 Off your $50+ order (New Customers)
Coupon Code: NEWCUSTOMER10
Expiration: 5/30/11
See All: New Egg Coupons

Sports Authority.com
Save $20 Off your $100+ order thru this link
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 5/31/11
See All: Sports Authority Coupons

Smart Bargains.com
Get 12% Off your entire online purchase thru this link (New customers)
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/02/11
See All: Smart Bargains Coupons

About The Author: Kyle James owns and operate a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in online coupon codes for over 700 stores, organized in 25 shopping categories. He also has a blog, where he writes about frugal living tips, creative ways to save money, and other musings about the adventures and mis-adventures of raising 3 active kids.

With the holidays coming up, there is no doubt that many of you FrugalDad readers are already thinking about what you are going to get for your friends and family members, and more importantly, how you are going to get those gifts as affordably as possible.

When you have an idea of what you want to buy – either a specific product or even a general category – shopping online can be not only fun, but it is often the shopping method that leads you to the best deal. We at CouponCactus.com want to provide you with some tips that will help you do just that.

1. Always check online and ALWAYS check for Coupons

Many frugal shoppers clip coupons from the paper and take them to the grocery store, but there are still many who are unaware that they can use coupons (also called coupon codes or promo codes) online! Making a habit of checking prices online and checking for coupon codes each and every time you shop will shave serious money off of your budget.

If you use Mint.com or a similar budget/finance tool, try keeping track of your online purchases and start adding up how much you’ve saved over time – you’ll be surprised!

2. If you know generally what you want to buy, but not from what store – Let Coupons and Cash Back Guide You

Price comparison sites like Pricegrabber and BizRate are great for checking prices at different merchants for a specific product, but they don’t include discounts from coupons. Plus, if you only generally know that you want to buy some shoes, or a laptop, then start with our category pages on CouponCactus.com, which will allow you to “drill down” to a specific category and view all of the best coupons for stores in that category.

By allowing the coupons and discounts to be your guide, you can browse merchant pages for exactly the product you will eventually buy, all the while knowing you’re going to get a great deal!

3. Take advantage of free shipping whenever possible

Many online merchants offer free shipping by default when you place an order over a certain amount. You can often find “coupons” that will give you free shipping on those orders as well, but check the merchant’s site to see if they offer it without one so you can use a better coupon or combine the free shipping with the coupon. Eliminating shipping charges makes online shopping an even clearer winner over in-store shopping.

4. Check to see if the merchant offers a discount when you sign up for their newsletter

Many stores will give you an extra discount off your first order when you sign up for their promotional newsletter. It’s easy enough to forward those emails to a special folder or unsubscribe later if you don’t find value in them, but it’s certainly worth signing up if they are offering 10% off!

5. If you’re not getting cash back, you’re missing out

It’s easy to see a coupon on a coupon site or in an email (sometimes directly from a merchant) and click through to use it without thinking about how much cash back you’re throwing away by doing so.

Even if the cash back for a specific store is only 2-3%, it’s certainly worth the extra 15 seconds to come to our site, sign in, and click the coupon to save that much more.

We allow you to easily see the cash back you’ve earned on each of your purchases, and what you’ve earned on purchases from friends and family members you’ve referred. Over time those numbers add up, and you’ll get a nice check or Paypal payment each quarter.

Why Are You Stockpiling Food?

Stockpiling food can vary dramatically in scope and size, depending on your purpose. Some families choose to store enough food to last a year, including drinking water, while others may target a shorter disaster recovery period, such as 7 to 30 days.

Others may choose to just have a few extras of common staples around, helping prevent last-minute trips to the store or in case of short-term financial shortfalls.

Using Coupons to Build an Inexpensive Stockpile

One of the more interesting stockpiling tips I’ve run across is buying staple foods with coupons. Most families don’t buy a year’s worth of food in one trip, mostly because it’s expensive. But if you learn to combine sales and coupons, you can easily and inexpensively build your store. For example, if you have coupons for canned tuna and your store runs a great sale, buy as many cans as you have coupons for.

I’ve even heard of people paying others to clip coupons for them and mail them. A simple query of eBay for “tuna coupons” revealed some promising leads. For about $1.00, I can bid on a lot of 10 coupons for $0.55 off a pouch of Bumble Bee premium tuna (I like the pouches for survival scenarios because they can be easily opened with a knife. In fact, we keep several packs in our bug out bag).

If my local Kroger store had a sale on Bumble Bee tuna pouches, it would be a great time to get some additional coupons and stock up. It’s important to note that coupons themselves are not for sale – that is a violation of most manufacturer’s terms. You are merely paying someone else for their time to clip from various sources and mail.

Rotating Stockpiles Based on Expiration Dates

Stockpiling food over time is also a good idea for food safety and freshness. By buying products over a varying time period, you will get different expiration dates. When you buy new food, rotate your stock like grocery stores do–always put the new food in the back, so the oldest food is in front. That way, you don’t run the risk of having a forgotten item expire in a back corner of your store room. Keep an eye on the expiration dates–it’s no good to stockpile expired food, so you’ll want to use items from the front of your stockpile periodically.

Another consideration for learning how to stockpile food is your storage space. Ideally, a cool, dark area such as a basement will help preserve the food, and it also protects the items in case of a natural disaster such as a tornado. However, you will want to make sure it is also a dry basement, as seepage can cause cans to rust, which will make the food unsafe.

If you live in a warm climate, avoid storing items in your garage, unless it is climate controlled. For packaged dry goods such as flour, cereal, or sugar, store them in a plastic crate that will prevent bug infestation. I’ve opened up more than one box of cereal or crackers to find ants or mice have made their way into our stockpile.

Canning and Preserves

Other food stockpiling tips include canning and preserving your own food, as well as growing your own produce for canning. Growing and canning your own food for stockpiling is considerably less expensive than buying canned goods. You can also control the sugar, sodium, and preservatives by canning your own food. If you have a pressure cooker, you can also preserve meats. Be sure to read your pressure cooker’s instructions carefully to ensure proper food safety.

When it comes to deciding what to stockpile, consider your family’s tastes, length of expiration dates, and nutrition. The more variety you can store, the better. Good items to stockpile include:

• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Dry goods such as granola and cereal
• Peanut butter
• Baby food and formula ( if appropriate)
• Powdered milk and potatoes
• Canned soup (look for low sodium varieties)
• Tuna (excellent protein source)
• Bottled water (cheaper by the gallon)
• White rice (lasts longer than brown rice)
• Freeze dried foods (lightweight and last for years – look for these at your local sporting goods store or at a military surplus store.

For natural disasters, you should also store a cooking source and fuel, such as a propane camp stove. Don’t forget a manual can opener as well. If there are any special health considerations in your family, such as medications, try to create a stockpile of medications as well. A good multivitamin may not be a bad idea to toss in your stockpile as you will probably not be receiving adequate nourishment in a survival scenario.

If you love clipping coupons, you may not enjoy this post or agree with my premise. But I am convinced that coupons are a huge contributor to overspending.

In fact, let me ask you a question: When you spend time thumbing through the paper or surfing the net for great coupons…aren’t you really just thinking about spending money?

Of course you are.

Coupons are directly tied to spending.. You don’t collect them for those amazing graphics. Right?

In fact, for many people, browsing for coupons is part of an overspending ritual. This may not describe you, but I’ll guarantee that people who spend lots of time looking for coupons spend much more time thinking about spending than they spend time thinking about saving and investing.

Ever heard someone tell you they bought something just because it was on sale?
That’s almost as bad as someone saying they spend a ton of dough and tried to justify it because “it’s deductible”.

Coupons weren’t developed by Debtors Anonymous. Coupons were created by the Retailers Association of America probably. They did it to give you a reason to get into their store and spend money. That’s it. They know that once you’re there, you’ll keep spending. You might get a deal on toilet paper, but they’ll get you on the breakfast cereal.

Coupons were not created to save you money or help you save for your retirement.

And you know what…..it works.

If it didn’t, you wouldn’t find any coupons in the mailbox, newspaper or on the internet.

Of course, some people use coupons to stop spending money they don’t have — and I hope that describes you. But most people get sucked in. Coupons get you to buy stuff you really don’t need.

Don’t believe me?

Look at your trash can.

It’s full…right?

That means you are buying more than you need.

That’s why I don’t spend any time looking for coupons. I don’t want a “spending” mindset.

I want an investor mindset.

When I need something I go out and get it. I don’t clip coupons and then find a reason to need something. Maybe I pay more for the stuff I need than you do. But I don’t buy anything I don’t really need. At the end of the day, I spend less money as a result of not collecting coupons.

So if you’re looking for a good personal finance or a great small business idea, just say no to coupons from today on.

Am I wrong? Do you only buy stuff that you absolutely need or do coupons get you to bring home more than you intended to?

Note from Frugal Dad: When I read Neal’s title my immediate reaction was, “Are you nuts? You want me to run this post on Frugal Dad?” But after reading the guest post, I must say Neal makes a good point.

Looking back on my own experience with coupons, I remember making some impractical decisions in the name of “saving money” because I had a coupon. Honestly, how many squeezable mayonnaise bottles does one family really need? With the exception of stockpiling a few essentials using coupons, our family has found that we generally come out ahead by skipping the coupon and simply buying the store brand.

The big expenses that managed to sneak up on us are what really gave us financial fits. That unusually high power bill two summers ago compliments of a prolonged heat wave. The annual car tag renewal I completely forgot about, even though it is due on my birthday every year. And each month it felt like we were always needing to replenish groceries and household items that were not on sale, or that we never had a coupon to use.

In an effort to sort of smooth out these financial highs and lows (well, mostly highs), we implemented the following relatively simple steps.

Sign up for levelized billing with your utility company. This was as easy as a phone call to our utility company and the completion of  simple form. “Levelized billing,” as it is commonly referred to, involves the utility company averaging your last 12 months of utility bills and using that average amount as your next bill due.

The beauty of this system is that your utility bill hovers around the same amount each month, even in the extreme highs and lows of summer and winter. A particularly high-usage month averaged against eleven previous months has little impact on the new amount due.

One note about levelized billing plans, utility companies require at least one year of history, and often require no late payments within that time.

Use a sinking fund for large annual expenses. We use sinking funds for those large, annual or semi-annual expenses, such as insurance premiums, taxes, etc. Rather than being hit by a $600 insurance bill at the end of the year, sock away $50 a month in a sinking fund at your favorite online savings account, and when the bill is due simply transfer the full amount to checking and pay the bill.

Watch for cyclical coupons and sales and stock up when prices are low. Coupons tend to run in cycles of 12 weeks or so, and often times grocers match sales to available coupons in an effort to attract shoppers.

For instance, a monthly P&G coupon circular is included in our newspaper around the first of every month. Flipping through the store sale ads you’ll likely find sales on P&G items to match up with those coupons.

It might also help to keep a price book. Jot down the price of items your household routinely purchases. Start tracking the cost each time you purchase, and soon you will be able to determine if that “sale price” is really a bargain. If it is, stock up, refuse to buy when prices are high, and wait until the price drops or a cyclical coupon is available again.

But preferred temperature settings could be blamed more on biology than bad frugal habits. A recent article, The Thermostat War, And 6 More Silly Compromises, quotes the Georgetown University Center for the Study of Sex Differences in Health, Aging and Disease as saying, “We have lots of data showing that women generally are far more sensitive to feelings of cold.” That’s certainly the case in the Frugal household.

What are the areas where men and women share differing ideas on frugality?

Clipping coupons. This one may be more a gender stereotype, but I used to get some strange looks when I pulled out the coupon binder at the checkout. Maybe because couponing has traditional been an activity headed up by the woman of the house, in the capacity of CFO of the household. These days, more men are sharing these duties and I say that’s a good thing.

Water usage. Water usage rolls several fringe frugal topics up into a potential marriage squabble. I know men who brag about 2-minute showers and their refusal to run the water while shaving or brushing their teeth to “conserve water.” The same men run their sprinklers twice a day for half an hour per zone because they want the greenest lawn on the block. Go figure.

Toilet paper. Entering dangerous territory here. Since the number of males and females are even in my house, I feel fairly confident making the statement women use more toilet paper than men. However, it is a battle that should simply be conceded by men. And whatever you do, never remind your significant other that Sheryl Crowe can get by with one square per “incident.” Trust me; it’s not pretty.

Shopping. I love my wife dearly, but we have agreed to disagree on shopping strategies. I’m more of a get in and get out kind of shopper. What can I say, I don’t like stores. I don’t like window shopping, “just browsing,” or any other unproductive forms of shopping. On 99% of my trips to a store I’m armed with a list (mental or otherwise) of the few things I need. My mission is to enter the store, roundup the few things I need, and exit as quickly as possible. I’ve made it sort of a game. My wife, on the other hand, snakes in and out of every single aisle in case she sees something she forgot to put on the list.

Money. Finally, something men and women can agree on. Then why so many money fights? The differences in men and women and their handling of money are well-documented, so I won’t rehash it all here. However, from the perspective of living frugal, I have to concede that most women are far better at living the frugal life than men. Sorry guys.

Women as generally less impulsive with major buying decisions (think appliances, not shoes and purses). Women prefer larger amounts of emergency savings, and less risky investments. Dave Ramsey often credits a “security gland,” only found in women, for this desire to minimize risk. Personal experience leads me to agree.

Just about every bone-headed move I’ve made with money followed a “I’m not sure that’s a good idea” statement from my wife. When I ignored her, I crashed and burned – from stock picks to business ideas to financing that Chevy Silverado.

You think I would have learned my lesson, but men are equipped with an equally strong, equally empowering “stubborn gland,” which causes us to ignore all reasonable objections, throw caution to the wind and “just go for it.” Sometimes it pays off, but most times it doesn’t.

My wife and I make a good team. I’ve encouraged her to take a few more risks, and she’s encouraged me to be more conservative. I don’t mention toilet paper, and she ignores the sprinklers. We both clip coupons, but we usually spend them in separate shopping trips.

Can coupons help you get out of debt faster?

We have been members of The Grocery Game for some time now.  It is a service that lines up coupons and store deals to notify you of rock-bottom pricing deals at your favorite store(s). We diligently collect the coupon fliers from each Sunday paper and file them by date in our filing cabinet. When planning a grocery trip, we print out the latest Grocery Game  list and clip the coupons from the weekly flier.  If you sign up for The Grocery Game, I would appreciate it if you would plug my email address jason[at]frugaldad.com in the referral box – I think I’ll earn a couple free weeks if a number of you do it).

Last Friday my wife headed off to take the kids to school and planned to do a little grocery shopping on the way home.  Then she realized she forgot coupons.  Dilemma.  Return all the way home to pick up coupons, or just go on to the store since she was sitting in the parking lot when the missing coupon realization came over her.  She decided to go shopping, sans coupons.

Despite her best efforts to find store deals and generic brands, she still spent a considerably more without our coupons. Normally, this wouldn’t be that big a deal – we would simply adjust the budget a bit and write it off as a lesson learned (we should really keep our coupons in an accordion file in the car for this very reason).  However, since we are so close to paying off our car early, and set a goal to do it by June, every bit we can save goes directly towards that car loan balance.

A penny saved is a penny earned, or one you can use to pay off debt

Of course, this is just a recent illustration of something we’ve known all along. For every penny we spend it is one less penny that can be used to repay debt, or build wealth. This is easy to see when setting up a budget – an increase in one category means a decrease in the other. However, it is harder to recognize during the day-to-day grind.

We also recognize that living ultra frugal while in debt is extremely difficult, because your family is already making supreme sacrifices to get out of debt. Now you are asking them to not eat out, stay out of the movie theater, and skip the annual vacation.  Don’t be surprised if you meet resistance.

If you can manage to live a frugal lifestyle while in debt, the payoff will come when you pay off those debts.  We’ve already experienced this feeling with a couple credit card balances, and now it’s time to knock out this car loan.  Who would have thought clipping all those coupons would help us pay off our car.

Pick up just a few reputable coupon code directories and monitor them effectively.

There are plenty of coupon code sites and blogs and keeping track of all of them would be too time consuming (and time is money too!), so pick just a few ones. How to choose? Here are my tips:

• It should be easy to navigate and user-friendly;
• It should provide some handy tracking options (for example, newsletter or RSS);
• It should be updated daily.
• It should focus on your needs (in other words, pick the one that mostly lists products you buy often).

Here are my personal picks:

• FreeShipping.org (for its clear interface and quality selection of coupons);
• QponCutie (for its RSS subscription and female-oriented coupons – just what I like).

Don’t trust the seller’s word, check what other buyers say!

I love it when the site not only list deals and coupon codes, but also allows their members share their experience on each one.

This way you save your money by choosing only trusted deals and retailers. My favorite site for that is Buxr.com. Let me tell you why:

• Each deal has ratings, votes and reviews.
• The site is attentively moderated, so totally spam-free (each deal should be approved before it goes live).
• It offers quite a few Web 2.0 goodies (like wish list and deal alert);
• Best deals are daily rewarded with cash, so members do their best to deliver most useful codes and deals.

Make sure you know how to track

Email box is by far not your only way to get updated on new deals. Use your couponing toolbox wisely:

• Try various RSS readers to choose the one you like best (my personal favorite is Wizz RSS FireFox plugin because it doesn’t take much space and is well-organized);
• Use Twitter! Many sites now offer Twitter as an alternative way to subscribe to their updates. The best thing about this tool is that Twitter delivers updates right to your mobile phone (if you are in the United States), so you can get new deals even when you are offline (again, don’t go too much into it, pick only one to follow closely).
• Use services that allow alternative subscription methods (for example, FreeShipping.org mentioned above allows to subscribe only to those sellers you plan to buy from via their “Favorite Coupons” option).

Use your calculator!

Right, your own common sense is your best weapon! It is a commonly-used trick to offer “fake” coupon: first increase the price and then offer a discount – so that the end price just ends up to be even higher just in the nearby store that offers no discount at all. So take your time, compare prices and make the right choice!

Good luck!

The guest post was provided by Ann Smarty, an SEO Consultant. I hope you will find it useful!

It was such an inspiring collection because it came from you, the readers!  Rather than let these great tips languish, I decided to gather my personal favorites, group them into categories, sprinkle in a few of my own, and create the ultimate collection of money saving tips.

The Ultimate Collection of Money Saving Tips

Around the House

Photo courtesy of robertnelson

1. Leanne:  I like to make gifts and this past Christmas I decided to make ornaments. So, I went through all of my digital photos and copied files to a new folder entitled Christmas 2008 (free). Then I printed out pairs of pics in a wallet size. (I have my own photo printer, so I was getting 16 to a page.) (photo paper & ink, both of which I have plenty of-free). I cut out the pics, and glue them back to back, then I write the date/event on the photo (cost of glue stick and gel pen). Next I laminate each ornament, I can fit about 14 per 8.5 x 11 page of laminate (about $10 for my family and in laws). Then using a paper punch, I string some Christmas ribbon through the hole and put the ornament in with our Christmas card (1.4 in diameter punch cost about $6, 100 yards of ribbon for $1 at Michael’s).

2. Zoe:  I cut my husband’s hair – there are like a billion YouTube videos to show you how, and it’s fun!

Time at the mall: 0
Time at the post office: 0
Gifts everyone loved: ~$20.
Using your friend’s / fam’s fave pics they posted to Facebook: Priceless.

3. Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle:  My favorite tip: Stop paying huge fees at the dry-cleaners and invest in a home dry cleaning product instead. That alone has saved me hundreds of dollars each year!

4. LB:  My favorite way to save money is to ride my bike more. I started riding in December and absolutely love all the money it has saved me. Today I used it to go and get a 5 gallon bottle of water refilled. Not only am I saving money from not driving my car, but I am also getting in some serious shape too!

5. Ashley:  My favorite money saving tip is to not try and keep up with the Jones’s on technology based items. My cell phone is 3 years old and not fancy, and I’ve passed up 3 pricey “upgrades” but it still works! And why would I need a blue ray player when my DVD’s are just fine…etc.

6. Kim:  I have 2 friends that I swap clothes with….adult and children. Every season, we get together and “shop” through each other’s hand me downs.

7. Dan B:  Bike to work. I bike 20 miles each way, and it didn’t take that long to work up to it. Saves A LOT of money in gas and upkeep. On days that are awful I still drive or bike/bus, but it is still not using nearly as much gas.

8. Veronica:  My tip is that sometimes spending a little now can save you in the future. For instance, we just got a zoo membership where we live. I stay home with my children and during the summer we go to the park and do other free things in our area but the zoo is not free. We joined because 2 visits to the zoo and we’ve more than paid for our membership. Now instead of going twice we can go as often as we like for free. (you just have to remember to pack your picnic lunch)

Other ideas like this would be to take a cooking class so you know how to cook and don’t have an excuse for not cooking at home.

Take a photography class so you can take your own studio style pictures of you children as they grow up.

9. Colleen Todd:  Just a simple thing- When the “Kids”(big or little) have thrown away the extra sink stopper – Don’t fret just go to the toy box and grab one of the little ball that kids collect from the vending machines. There is a good chance that out of all the different sizes of balls that one will fit. If used in the bathtub it is round with no corners to scratch your soft body.

10. Julie:  My tip is to refill foam soap containers with a mixture of water and liquid hand soap. You can use dollar store hand soap, or any kind of body wash or shampoo that you may not like using for the intended purpose.

11. ThriftKat:  I wanted a squeegee to use on my car windows in the mornings, so I went to Target to find one. In the car section, they were charging $18.49 for one; I was about to give up when I realized that people use squeegees in bathrooms, too. I found one there for $1.49. It’s exactly the same thing (albeit with a shorter handle), for a LOT less. So now I’ve learned to look in the unlikely places for a lot of deals when I’m in stores like Target and Wal-Mart.

12. Jen:  Don’t buy so many disposable things. We no longer ever buy napkins or paper towels, using paper napkins and dishtowels instead. We also don’t use dryer sheets and haven’t noticed a difference. I’m sure there are more items like this that we/everyone can stop using.

13. Natalie:  I find that making everything you can possibly make yourself saves me a lot of money, is better for my family and for the environment. I make my own laundry detergent, deserts for our lunches, bread for house lunches, mayonnaise, etc. Anything I can do myself I will at least try it.

14. Doreen:  Utilizing the public library is a great area of savings for my family.

Become a regular patron. You can read best sellers, read current magazines, newspapers, watch DVDs and even surf the internet without spending money. There are kids programs and book clubs.

Donate used books and other media for the tax benefits and let the library sell them for a profit. If your local library doesn’t have all these programs, you can always make suggestions.

15. Psychsarah:  How about using webcams or Skype to keep in touch instead of long distance on the phone? Seeing the far-away friend/family member is so much better than just talking, and if you already have internet at home, it’s no extra charge.

16. Jo:  I read all of my local, national and world news online instead of paying for subscriptions. And I also listen to the public radio for my news instead of the TV…no commercials to clutter my mind.

17. eh438:  If you decide you really must print something off the internet, check “Print Preview” first then Print only 1 page. You’ll be surprised how often you can save your printer from using a second sheet of paper (and ink!) if you know there is only one or two unnecessary lines that would appear on it.

18. Laura:  My best money saving tip is to make your own body scrub out of sugar, a bit of olive oil, and some instant coffee grains. i guess it only saves you money if you are into using body scrubs, but good ones can cost like $20, so making one essentially out of sugar is pretty gratifying. i keep it in the shower in an old scrub container – you could use an old Tupperware or empty sour cream container, whatever. And it works great!

19. Joanna:  Money saving tips for my household:
*My baby is trained to wear diapers that are only on sale. She doesn’t get rashes or anything.
*I take a lot of pictures of her and edit it on the computer….use picasa.com by google for enhancement. Then, print what I like.
*I welcome hand-me-down clothing, toys and books. I also create educational toys for her.
*I walk to work given it is only two blocks away.
*I buy groceries that are on sale.
*I use coupons all the time.
*Hobby and I watch shows we like online. Hulu.com, Fancast.com or youtube.com
*Use redbox every Monday for free DVD rental
*Menu is planned around groceries that were on sale.

20. Linda:  Saving money on car expenses is important since I commute 105 miles a day to/from work. Rather than have my dealer charge me their hourly rate to do these tasks, I can easily do myself. Such as: washing my car saves $8.00 each time; buying my windshield wipers at the auto parts store-they install them free; buying the wiper fluid and pouring it in myself-another savings.

21. Joyce:  My husband and I get top-end haircuts for free or for cheap as hair models for upscale salons. We mostly look for these opportunities at the beauty section on craigslist.com. Our hair has never looked better!

22. Cathy:  Our family has instituted “NO TV Tuesdays” In an effort to increase our physical activity; we have quit watching TV on Tuesdays. This has translated into a lower electric bill and we have found other things we like to do instead. Like, family game night or going outside when the weather is nice.

23. Will:  My wife and I have three boys. I guess times have changed since I was a kid, because I remember going to a barber shop and having a haircut cost somewhere in the area of $5-7. Nowadays, all we can find are Supercuts-type places, that charge upwards of $12 for a kid’s haircut, and $18 for an adult’s.

We bought a set of clippers (cost of around $30 or so, or two haircuts covered the cost), and now my wife does the haircutting. Sure, most of the time we all have crew cuts, but it’s cheap and quick.

(Crew cuts are also very low maintenance, and we save money on shampoo as well!)

May not work as well with girls.

24. Gwynne:  I save money by making many things from scratch. I invested in a chest freezer, and can spend a weekend cooking a month’s worth of food, dividing them up into portions and freezing them. This lets me buy in bulk, which saves that way, plan ahead, which means fewer trips to the store and so fewer impulse purchases, and really stretch my monthly food budget.

25. Kevin:  I went to with a pre-pay cell phone. Also, I gave up cigars!!

26. Laurie Hoddy:  My favorite money SAVER was stopping cable service when we bought our current house 10 years ago…it is 100 years old and needed renovation and not getting cable made sense because we wouldn’t have time to watch TV anyway. In the years since we’ve been very glad not to have moral trash piped into our home while raising our 3 girls, and have done very well with carefully selected videos from the library.

Our favorite money PRINCIPLE is tithing…as long as we are faithful in our giving, the Lord has been more than faithful to provide for our needs.

27. Tracy:  My favorite $$ saving tip is to make my own laundry detergent.

28. Christy:  I like to use the soapy steel wool pads to clean the bottom of my cookware. To use them again before the next time I pop them in a baggie and store them in the freezer. No more wasted rusty steel wool pads.

29. Caleb:  When working on a painting project with latex paint it is easy to stop in the middle and start again on another day by bagging all the equipment in plastic grocery bags and placing them in the freezer. Instead of washing lots of paint down the drain, wasting water and soap that paint goes on the wall the next time you start working on the project. Making home repair projects easier and you more likely to do them yourself and save money! Many communities have a latex paint exchange where you can get donate or get good quality paint. When you mix a batch to make your own color just be sure to mix quite a bit more than you need because you will not be able to recreate this color! Contact your local recycling office or search the Internet to find a nearby exchange.

30. Monochrome:  My biggest money saving tip would be to give up vices. We’ve switched from juice and pop to water, and quit smoking. Those things alone have saved us over $500/month!

Coupons/Deals

Photo courtesy of Cosmic Kitty

31. Sarah:  My tip: Use TWO coupons with buy one get one free offers for huge savings!

32. sdybash:  I receive e-mails from the various grocery store and combine the sales with coupons for wonderful savings.

33. Ken:  Our best money saving tip thus far is using coupons. The two biggest wins regarding coupons are BUY ONE GET ONE (BOGO) free and Manufacturer’s coupons.

34. Megan:  I love using coupons and Angel Food ministries to save on grocery costs. The stores by me accept internet printed coupons and that helps too.

35. Christina @ Northern Cheapskate: My best money-saving tip is to use the internet to save money. There are so many blogs and deal sites that do all the work for you when it comes to matching up coupons to sale prices. I’ve gotten so many items for free or nearly free just because I spent a few minutes online finding the deals.

36. Jennifer Tarver:  My biggest tip is to use a coupon code when ordering from an internet site. There are lots of websites to find codes: retailmenot.com and fishingfordeals.com are two.

37. Helen:  As for saving tips, I’d say to send away for as many free samples as possible. This way you know if you like a product before you buy it!

38. Tara:  My favorite money saver is to buy from close-out suppliers. We have a place in Lawrenceburg, TN where I live called the Red Top Bargain Barn. They get Costco close-outs and returns. When we buy from RTBB we get the great Costco items, but with 20-80% discounts and no membership fees.

39. Michelle rosborough:  Keep your coupons in the car. That way you always have them.

40. Serenity Rose:  My favorite tip is sending for free samples. They often send coupons too, that I can use or trade. Also, taking online surveys at e-rewards and pine cone, they sometimes send products and coupons as well!

41. mpnmom:  Best money-saving tip? Restaurants.com – you can buy gift certificates to local restaurants at a fraction of the face value. Example: certificate for $25 off a $35 meal costs $10 – total savings on dinner out $15. I have noticed that the site has frequent sales also. Last month I purchased $25 off a $35 meal certificates for only $2 each – 80% off! I have already used them at the restaurants and they work great. You can bet I’ll be getting one of these each time I plan a special dinner out.

42. Carole Livingston:  I always write my grocery list around my store’s sales flyer and the coupons I have. BOGO offers with coupons stretch my budget. Can you tell I love coupons?

43. Julie:  My money saving tip is definitely using coupons but I take it a step further. Our local gas station chain gives away a free paper with the purchase of 8 gallons of gas so I always fill up on Sundays when I need gas anyway and I get the Sunday paper with all the coupons for free!

44. Jeremy:  My favorite tip is to know each store’s coupon policy to maximize the value of my purchases, despite the objections of cashiers who hate dealing with coupons.

45. SarahMay:   My tip is to follow MoneySavingMom.com. I’m not getting any kickbacks for endorsing the site; I just want to share the love because it has been so helpful for me! I never would have learned how to use coupons effectively without the information there.

46. Nicki:  I love to save money at the pump by using the grocery store near me that gives me discounts on their gas when I purchase so much in groceries at their store. Then I use my credit card that gives me a 5% rebate on gas purchases. If I get 20 cents discount at the grocery store and then 5% discount from my credit card, $2.00/gal becomes $1.71/gal.

47. Cristina:  Buy the Sunday paper – it is full of coupons as well as information about your town/city & the world which can save you time & money & keep you informed.

48. Lee:  Where I save is price-matching at the grocery store…in other words, look at all the local sales papers, find the best prices for the items on your list, go to the store that price matches (Wal-Mart for us) and get all the best prices in your area. It usually saves us a bit…

49. Becca:  My best money saving tip? To follow blogs like Frugal Dad, Moneysavingmom, Commonsensewithmoney, etc. and do what they do! This is also a time saving tip as well because you don’t have to do any research!

50. Maureen:  I use coupons regularly and go to thrift shops for extra clothing.

51. Johanne:  My favorite money saving tip is to use coupons on sale items.

52. Chris:  I price compare and plan my coupon shopping by going through the grocery flyers. Wal-Mart will price match other grocery sales flyers saving gas money driving to each store to get the lowest cost.

I no longer read the sales ads in the Sunday paper. It is amazing how often I would suddenly “need” something after seeing that it was on sale. Before reading the flyer I did not even realize that I “needed” this item!

53. ALLY M:  My favorite money saving tip is always use cents off coupons and combine them with store sales and store coupons. You can usually use both on one item (store price by coupon and manufacturers coupon) Read the fine print.

54. Metromom:  CVS. Once you figure out the whole CVS thing, you will be saving money like it’s a very addictive video game.

Energy Savers

Photo courtesy of dirvish

55. Crystal W:   I’ve started air drying my clothes…but the fam didn’t like they way they felt stiff. So, I still air dry my family’s clothes but now, after air drying, I put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to soften them up. Plus, I’m able to put in the dryer about 1.5-2 loads of wash – since they’re already dry. My family gets soft clothes and I get a reduced energy bill!

56. Holly B:  I plug all my TV’s, DVD players, game consoles, etc. into power strips so I can switch them off completely when not in use. It works great when there are a lot of appliances that go into a standby mode and don’t turn off completely.

57. Linette:  My favorite way to save money is to air dry my dishes in the dishwasher.

58. Frugal Dad:  Plant a shade tree on the side of your house that gets the most afternoon sun.  A tree can provide much needed shade during the summer when extreme temperatures can really bake a house.

59. Jennifer:  Winter saving tip – Space heaters.  I cut my oil bill by $50 in one month by supplementing the heat in communal areas with a space heater. The electric is cheaper then the oil, and many times, the heat wouldn’t even kick on. And we were able to shut the heat off at night by closing our bedroom door and using the small space heater. A $20 investment saved on average 20 gallons of heating fuel a month.

Entertainment

Photo courtesy of evenlynishere

60. Rosanne: I save money by not buying books or magazines but borrowing them from the library.

61. Dawn:  What we’ve started to do is the rotating “at home night out”. A group of friends all take turns being the host for dinner and DVDs. The other couples get a night out and your turn only comes up once every three times (at least for our particular group)

62. Maria:  I live in Florida and my sister, brother-in-law and three children are currently visiting from England. Before they arrived I went to a few local hotels and picked up a bunch of flyers for tourist attractions and visitor guides. Most of these have coupons and discounts. For example, they went to West Palm Beach Zoo and for two paying adults, two children got in free. A second coupon gave $2 off the entry fee. A total savings of almost 57% for the five of them. With savings like these my sister and family still have a great vacation and do a lot more on their limited budget.

63. Frugal Dad: Eat dessert first.  In fact, don’t eat dinner at all.  If you are looking for some cheap, romantic time with your partner, simply eat a light dinner at home and then head out for dessert and a cup of coffee. My wife and I enjoy sharing a dessert and coffee.  Note:  Leave a generous tip for your server if you sit and talk a while.

Money Hacks

Photo courtesy of madaise

64. Shannon H:  The best money saving habit I have is sitting down with my husband once a month and calmly reviewing our budget and credit/debit card history for the month. We talk about the purchases that did not contribute towards our financial goals and refocus ourselves. We give each other suggestions without accusing. Doing it monthly helps catch trends that could become problems. It really helps to work as a team. Since starting this habit, we have seen a real acceleration in our debt reduction.

65. Bobbi:  A great money saving tip I learned is to save my $5 bills. I never miss them at all and I have saved quite a bit since December.

66. Nicki:  If I have a balance on my credit card and I know that I will not be paying it off this month, I make my payment as soon as I receive the bill. Since the finance charge is based on the average daily balance over the month, I make the payment as soon as possible to lower my average balance and reduce the finance charges. If I will be paying the bill in full and no finance charge is assessed, I pay the bill on the due date.

67. Heather from girl meets world:  My biggest money tip would be to use cash, and bigger bills (20s and up). It’s a mind thing… ninety dollars on your debit card isn’t a big deal, but breaking a 100 bill and only getting nine dollars? Yeah, you’ll rethink that purchase! It really has made a difference.

68. Dawn:  This is one my mother in law told us a number of years ago – put your money on ice. She was referring to our credit cards. The suggestion was to put them way in the back of the freezer in a block of ice so that they were difficult to use, but available for emergencies.

69. Liz:  Living on a budget has saved us so much money! To support this lean budget, we use coupons; prepare meals at home, limit eating out, etc. But, living on the budget is the key.

70. Sarah:  My favorite money-saving tip…pay yourself first! Make sure you budget for YOU and your savings.

71. Susan:  We had the biggest savings in our budget when we started using cash for groceries. I was forced to think harder about every item in the cart and it has helped us tremendously!

72. Charlene:  My favorite tip is: use Mint.com to track your finances and budget. It acts as my conscience to help keep my spending in check.

73. lvlc:  For us, getting both in the same page has played a great role! Last year I was the one doing coupons, groceries, budget, etc. Now we BOTH do it together, we revisit our budget at the end of the month and analyze how things went during that month and plan the next one. We are saving more money monthly now than last year’s!

74. Rebecca Rivera:  My favorite money saving tip is to use cash for everything. Then you can’t overspend. I have a debit card/visa card that I can use online.

Also whenever I need something I ask family, friends, church members, Freecyle, & craigslist first. At least half the time I will get an item I need or something that will work just as good for FREE (and they didn’t need it anymore.)

Also go back to reduce, reuse, recycle. I try to buy in bulk to save packaging. I even make my own laundry soap thus saving an old bottle and reusing it. Before I throw anything away I see if we can reuse it (we homeschool, plus I teach preschool, so one of the kids can usually reuse an item at least once.)

Also we compost, which saves our garbage, and the landfills.

75. Rick:  Whenever I get a raise at work I automatically have a portion or all of that increase deposited into a savings account and send the other part of my check to my checking account. I am not used to getting the extra money so it is not missed. The money in this savings account is then used to build my CD ladder project and restock my emergency fund.

76. Becca:  One of the ways my husband and I save money is by keeping an ongoing list on our fridge. Every couple of weeks we update it. It’s basically a spreadsheet where we keep track of wants, needs, and future expenses for my husband, myself, and general household. It helps us visualize expenses in both the short and long term, such as doctor’s appointment co-pays, a wedding we are both going to be in this summer, pet expenses, new curtains, etc. Instead of spending spontaneously on stuff, we have started writing things down and planning on how to budget for them. We are both in our early 20′s so I’m glad we are getting in this habit early!

77. Michelle:  My favorite money saving tip is this: before I by anything non-essential, (clothing, gadgets, etc.), I have to give away something that I own already. This keeps my house from getting too cluttered, and it makes me re-think those spur of the moment purchases. Money saved is money earned!

78. Kris:  My family has a spending hiatus once a month. It’s usually for a work week (Monday through Friday. We make sure we have everything we need before Monday (gas, groceries, school supplies, etc.) and then we spend nothing! We lock up the bank cards, credit cards and checkbooks. We have $20 cash in case of an emergency, but we have to show each other our reserve money every day so there is no cheating.

79. Frugal Dad:  When dining out, ask for a to-go box up front and split your meal in half when served–half for now, and half for later. You’ll instantly decrease the per-serving cost of your meal, and lessen the number of calories taken in during one sitting.

Food

Photo courtesy of Young in Panama

80. Vicki: My best money saving tip (at least for me) is taking my lunch every day. My eat-out friend recently went on a diet and she’s bringing her lunch every day, which inspired me to do the same. Haven’t lost any weight yet, but I have saved about $40 a week, which I’m putting aside to buy new clothes in the event I need them.

81. John McCarthy:  Our biggest money saver is to limit eating out to special occasions. Eating at home is much healthier and saves a lot of money.

82. Beca:  Never order from a children’s menu UNLESS 2 or more children are sharing it…it’s often times a waste of food and more expensive than ordering an adult meal and splitting it with them.

83. Niina:  My favourite moneysaving trick has something to do with groceries and it actually helps me in weightloss too. Double-win!!!

84. Chris Clark:  My husband and I eat vegetarian for breakfast and lunch and only eat meat for dinner. This saves on buying lunch meat or chicken breasts and things to cook for lunches and it has gotten us to make all kinds of new things to try.
Also, if something we like is on sale, we buy it in major bulk. A few weeks ago asparagus was 94 cents a pound at the grocery store. We bought about 15 pounds, brought it home and blanched it and put it away in the freezer. It is one of our favorite vegetables and last summer we probably bought an average of a pound of it each week (and $2 a pound or so).

When I go to grocery shopping I only buy things that have a name of real food.
For example…(names invented for this purpose…)
Hawaiian Fruit Salad no. Pineapple, melons etc. yes.
Chicken leg in what ever sauce, no. Chicken leg, cream, spices yes.
Fruity roast vegetable mix, no. Bunch of vegs, yes.
I think you get the drift.  This way I don’t pay for the labour and won’t get the added sugars, E-numbers and whatnot. Of course I sometimes get the odd pizza or some other junk food but since I don’t get them all the time, my spending and hips stay in the limit.

85. Claire:  My best thrifty tip is to buy bread at the dollar store. You can find Nature’s Own Whole Wheat bread with NO corn syrup for just a buck! That is a huge deal when your kids are going through bread like nobody’s business!

86. Heather S:  Always eat your leftovers! I save so much money eating my leftovers. My sister thinks I’m crazy, but I know how much I’m saving by not having to grocery shop so much.

87. Sunshine:  I just recently started halving my meat portions in meals. Especially, soups and casseroles. My husband doesn’t even notice.

88. Katie:  My best money saving tip is to menu plan, and then using that plan to grocery shop. I usually plan a month at a time, but it usually gets shuffled around and edited a bit as the month goes on. The menu plan helps me know exactly what groceries I need so I’m not spending unnecessary money on things that “look good”. Also, if there’s an item in one recipe that I know won’t get all used up, I can plan a second meal to use the rest of it.

89. Street Preacher:  My tip? Buy meat in bulk when it is cheap and use it through multiple meals during the week. You will save big and have a ton of meals!

90. Alice:  I have recently discovered Angel Food, a program where you can get a box of groceries for $30 that would cost probably close to twice that retail. It’s not an income-restricted thing, anyone can participate. I love it, it has really cut my food bill. http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

91. Debbie:  Make and take lunches to work and school. There are six of us at my house, and the savings is substantial. The ‘make’ isn’t all that time-consuming – a wrap or sandwich, a piece of fruit and/or some veggies, an occasional yogurt, a treat baked on the weekend like cookies, cake, banana bread, etc. Very simple, very easy!

92. Adrian Villarreal:  My favorite tip is to drink more water. For Lent, my girlfriend and I gave up pop and each saved about $10-$15 for those 40 days. It may not sound like much, but the additional health benefits are a bonus too!

93. Anna G:  I buy ground beef when it’s 1.99 or less per pound and I have them package it in 1/2 pound portions. When a recipe calls for 1 lb of ground beef, I use 1/2 lb instead and use extra vegetables or beans for filler. The taste is still great, we up the nutrition factor and we stretch our meat budget.

94. Molly:  This might be counterintuitive, but we buy the expensive organic fair trade coffee beans. They might be $12/pound, but they last 2 of us an entire week, which is much cheaper than $6/day for the two of us to go out for coffee!

95. Brian:  I love café latte’s. I can’t imagine not having one iced or hot within an hour or two of waking up. A few years ago I realized that I was spending a fortune on my daily indulgence. That’s when I went out and purchased an espresso machine.
I’m able to make a “venti” sized latte for less than a dollar even though I use the best espresso coffee, organic milk, and purified water. It practically takes no time at all. On day’s I’m running short on time I’ll use coffee pod’s to make things easier. My espresso machine paid for itself in a few months.

96. Ashley:  Okay, my favorite money tip. Well, I save a lot of money by eating for free. I work at a restaurant and I work as a nanny. So if there is a opportunity to eat there, I will. I only pay for my breakfast cereal and maybe 1-2 dinners at my place a week. So if you work where you can eat for free, do it, it saves a ton on groceries! I’m guessing most people don’t work like me, but it’s a tip for people who can eat at their work.

97. Jessica:  I save money by cooking more at home and not going out to eat.

98. Frugal Dad:  Declare one day of the week a “meatless” day.  I love meat, especially a good steak!  But meat is expensive, and there are more cost-effective ways to get protein.  Have breakfast for dinner and whip up some scrambled eggs.  Make a bean burrito with a variety of high protein beans and spices.

Shopping

Photo courtesy of Bubble Pop 2007

99. Jana:  The less I shop the less tempted I will be to buy something.

100. Kim:  Well, it’s sort of a money saving way of donating to food pantries in our area who are in more need now with our poor economy. Whenever I stock up on Buy One/Get One canned or box items at the grocery store, the “free” one gets put aside to take to the local center.

101. Sandi Rapczynski:  My money saving idea is nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t buy prepackaged food at the grocery store. I buy whole fruits and veggies and cut them up myself, then bag them for individual grab and go snacks. I buy blocks of cheese and make my own cheese cubes or sticks. I make my own meals and divide them up into single serving dishes and freeze them instead of buying frozen individual entrees. It takes a little more time but if you plan ahead you can do it all in one afternoon after your trip to the grocery store.

102. Kat:  I’ve learned over time even with my coupon shopping to only take cash and only $50 when I shop. No debit cards, no credit cards, no checkbook, just cold hard cash. Helps to force me to stay within my budget.

103. Cristine:  Think of buying new as a last resort. Try Freecycle.org and Craigslist first. Then thrift stores. Always. I say this as i wear my $2.50 skirt from the Banana republic, and my 4 dollar Nine west shoes, and am watching my kids play on their free foosball table.

If you want to get fanatical about it, join The Compact, and vow to not buy one more new thing for a year (except food, medicinal and hygiene products.) It will change your whole outlook, your habits, and your life for the better.

104. Dave M:  One of my money saving tips is to shop on eBay. I can’t tell you how much I have saved on items I need by buying them on eBay rather than in the store, especially when the seller offers free shipping. Besides buying things that are new, extra money can be saved by buying used items that are in very good to “like new” condition. If you find that you don’t need the item(s) later on (baby items, etc) you can always resell them on eBay yourself to recoup the money spent. Sometimes you even break even by doing this!

105. Lori:  I used to spend way more than I budgeted on groceries, on impulse buys and such. Now I log onto the grocery store’s home delivery tool (which I never use – costs $10 to deliver!) and select all the items from my grocery list. I get a total based on the current price of things, and bring just that amount with me, in cash, to the store. No more impulse buys! I save probably $30 a week.

106. Jenny:  My favorite money saving tip; I buy the store brands whenever possible. Usually they are just as good or better then the leading brand and often times up to a dollar or more cheaply.

An added bonus is that a lot of the store brands were manufactured right here in the USA…which mean I’m supporting the American Worker and hopefully helping someone keep their job.

I also try to shop as local as I can. It helps my local economy and saves me a lot on gas.

107. Tammy: When marketing for groceries learn to PERIMETER SHOP. In other words, go in the front door of the market and walk in a counter clockwise fashion to pick up perimeter deals in marked down items like produce, bakery, deli, fresh fish, meats, and dairy. Most stores are laid out in this fashion. I can go in the front door, perimeter shop and be out the door in less than 30 minutes!

108. Patricia Koch:  I love to use Craigslist and Freecycle. I have saved so much on building supplies in the last few years. Many people who are working on their houses have left over material that they can’t return to the store.

109. Tammy:  My tip is a valuable lesson from yesterday. I went to what I thought was a very cool sounding sewing seminar. What it actually was is a day long commercial! And they were so good at showing you just how amazing the products were! My lesson? Classes from businesses are invitations to purchase more. Yikes, not going to that again.

110. Elaine Shanks:  We buy in bulk at the stores like Cosco. And shop the sales with coupons at the local grocery stores. We shop with a list once a week and keep impulse buys to a minimum. We keep in mind that “sales” and “saving money” means you have to spend money – and it is only a “sale” or a “saving” if you really need it – otherwise it is a loss!!

111. Melaniesd:  My best moneysaving tip would be to plan your spending. Make a list of gifts you intend to give. Can you make something? Can you find a great deal on it? Price compare on-line before you go running from store to store wasting time & gas. On-line shopping has saved me a ton of cash, time & gas!

112. Frugal Dad:  Never buy anything on impulse.  The last thing I do before going through the checkout line is take an inventory of my shopping cart.  I try to always find at least one thing I don’t really need and put it back on the shelf.  If I come away still wanting the item I can pick it up on my next trip, and by then I’ll know if I really did need it.

113. Dave:  One of our biggest money saving tips is to combine car trips when doing errands and shopping. We also use one car for traveling to work, rather than taking two separate cars. My wife drops me off at my work place, then continues on to hers. She does have to go a bit “off track” to do this, but not terribly so. Both of these strategies save a ton of money on gas.

114. Andrea M:  One of my favorite money saving tips is to go to the thrift stores and garage sales, especially for baby items. I also have gone there looking for items for my daughter’s dorm room. They are treasure troves!

115. Lori:  I worked hard to stay home with my kids when they were little so we were on a very tight budget. When we’d go to the mall, mainly to go walking/strolling, I noticed I almost always bought something (and my kids wanted things). So I decided to take our strolls to the park/neighborhood instead of being tempted to buy unnecessary things.

Also, many people I know receive numerous catalogs in the mail. This not only makes you spend more but it makes you WANT more – so I unsubscribed to all of them. I get very few now in the mail because of recent purchases at those order-only stores but the catalogs go right in the trash/recycling so as to not tempt me.

116. Jennifer:  My current favorite tip is to shop with a list! If I go to the grocery store without a list, I spend more and I don’t end up with food to make meals between trips. So I end up spending MORE to go and fill in the gaps. Lists are essential!

117. Amber N:  I found that before I go shopping if I go online to the websites for the local grocery stores and search the ads I can find which store has the cheapest items I need and go into the store already knowing exactly what I need to buy and where it is…and how much it is suppose to cost

118. resilientheart:  My favorite money-saving tip is to keep a notebook of my purchases, I have different pages for different stores and then I wait to buy. I used to be a big impulse buyer believing I “need it now.”

119. Sylvia:  My favorite money-saving tip is before grocery shopping, make a list of what you want and stick to it. Also, look through the weekly ad and see if you have coupons to actually make the deal even better!

120. Laura:  Stay out of the stores! No window shopping!

121. Sarah C:  Probably the best way I’ve learned to save money is by buying when I can get items at the best price, even if I don’t need them right away. This type of stockpiling frees me from buying almost anything at regular price!

122. Dr Judy:  I shop on Senior Discount Days to get an extra 10% off…at the grocery store and some department stores as well.

So there you have it; 122 ways to save money!  I hope you found a couple nuggets in there – I know I did!  Funny that after writing about ways to save money for nearly two years I can always stumble on a few that I had never thought of before.  I hope that was the case for you as well, and that you now have some ideas to keep more of your hard-earned money in your wallet!

Additional Tips

• 75 MORE Ways to Save Money in a Recession
• 14 Ways to Raise Quick Cash
  
• How to Save Money:  The 1,001 List of Money Saving Tips and Ideas
• Coupons and Coupon Codes for Frugal Dads and Families Alike