Thinks to do that will subtly save money
Who wouldn’t like to have a little extra money sitting around every month? Small things that don’t seem like much ,add up, leaving you with extra cash. By incorporating these tips into your daily life you could be planning your next dream vacation from the money that you have saved without sacrificing the things you want. As Benjamin Franklin tells us; “a penny saved is a penny earned”.
1. Set Your Own Personal Budget
These clever tips help keep your cash where it belongs — in your pocket!
First things first: Learn how to set your own personal budget with our easy-to-use worksheet.
2. Buy Bulk with a Friend
Know your needs. Bulk items are only worth buying if you can use them before they expire. Consider shopping with a friend and splitting perishables such as meat and dairy products.
3. Inexpensive Art
Take a photo of something you love — a dog that comes every time you call, a keepsake with beautiful cursive and a colorful stamp, you’re lucky Tuesday-night poker deck. You can blow it up with some hassle-free Internet help, then frame it, hang it, and be enormously happy every time you walk by.
4. Flavored Water
Instead of buying pricy flavored bottled drinks at the supermarket, add a hint of flavor to tap or filtered water by infusing it with slices of lemon, lime, orange, or cucumber and mint. Set a pitcher of your flavored water on your desk: You’ll drink more if the pitcher is there as a reminder, and you won’t have to buy multiple bottles of water, either!
5. Make Clothes Last Longer
Prepare your clothes for the washer by closing zippers, fastening hooks, and turning items inside out. Wash darks together using the cold-water cycle so they don’t bleed onto lighter clothes — and cold water is crucial, since it lowers your water-heating costs. Line-drying dark items will also help maintain their original appearance — and you’ll save on heating costs of the dryer.
6. Store Wine on a Budget
Skip buying a pricey wine refrigerator that needs to be powered at all times. If you have storage room in the corner of a cellar or at the bottom of a cool, dark closet, use that instead — the money you save can go toward building your collection.
7. Stock Up on Scraps
Reserve carrot ends and peelings, celery leaves, garlic trimmings, the outer layers of onions, and wilting herbs and their bare stems (such as parsley and thyme) in a resealable bag. Store shrimp shells or roast-chicken bones separately. Freeze, then make stock from scratch whenever the mood strikes (Tip: Remove onion skins before using; they can turn a perfect stock into a bitter one).
8. Budget Vases
Instead of shelling out cash for a pricy vase, make your own out of a glass bottle and some enamel paint.
9. Organize a Clothing Swap
Chic, savvy, conservation-minded consumers now update their wardrobes by taking part in clothing swaps. All you have to do is gather up gently worn items from your closet, bring them to a central location, and choose from others’ castoffs. Find one through an organization such as Clothing Swap, Swap-O-Rama-Rama, and Buffalo Exchange, or consider hosting your own. Invite friends, set a minimum number of pieces for each to bring, and trade away.
10. Pass on the Paper Towels
Instead of spending money on pack after pack of paper towels, buy reusable microfiber towels, which grip dirt and dust like a magnet and don’t let go, even when wet. When you’re finished, toss the towels in the wash and reuse. (One brand to try: Method, available at Target and Office Depot.)
Buying discounted gift cards from site such as GiftCardRescue.com, can help you save money on everything from big home improvement projects to groceries. Most major retailers are available and it is even possible to receive electronic codes for online purchases! Why not save money every time you shop at your favorite stores?
For more on money saving tips check out the MarthaStewart website.
Photo Credit: LauraLu via we heart this
Britnee says
These are great tips! Thank you for sharing them.