Ten On Tuesday: Frugality

10 Ways You Can Save Money

(Click on the above link to take you to the official Ten On Tuesday for other participants)

1. Drink water when you go out to eat...at most restaurants, that's at least $2 bucks you're saving right there.
2. At nicer restaurants where they give you much more than one person should really eat, split it with a friend...and that saves you from having to take the leftovers home to rot in your fridge, too! A double bonus!
3. Turn the air a few degrees warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter when you're not going to be in the house...no point in having the air or heat running when you're not there to know if it's a few degrees warmer or cooler than you generally like it.
4. Keep an eye on the Walgreens/CVS/RiteAid sale papers, sometimes they have really good deals and when you pair it up with coupons, you can really hit the jackpot. I have yet to get as good as some people where they pay ME to buy something, but I have gotten items free...and I'm happy with that.
5. Don't buy things you don't need. Really, that's kinda obvious but it's true. It's not really a good deal if you are just going to end up storing it for five years and then eventually either trashing it or throwing it in your quarter box at your yard sale. No, I have NEVER DONE THIS. Well, maybe I have. ANYWAY!
6. Don't drive too fast and watch where you're going...accidents are costly, and speeding tickets are really annoying on top of draining your funds.
7. Stay home (at least it SEEMS like this would save money...I have yet to spend much time trying this one out)
8. Cut back on convenience whenever possible. Typically anything that is convenient is also expensive. Instead of going to the convenience store, try to go to a REAL store. Instead of buying Pillsbury biscuits, use flour and oil and wait...that's a bad example...let's think of a different one. Instead of picking up a pizza, fix a pot of spaghetti, instead of buying shredded cheese, buy the chunk (it really is cheaper) and run it through the Salad Shooter. Well, you get the idea.
9. Stay away from the stock market. FAR, FAR, AWAY! Trust me. *grin*
10. Thrift stores/classified ads/consignments/yard sales.... I can't even begin to tell you how much money I've saved by buying used. The key is to make sure it is something you really NEED or CAN USE. Again. It's not a bargain if it becomes just more clutter in your house. And if it's broken or needs repair and you think you can do it, make sure that you really WILL do it before you buy it to toss in your to-do pile for several days months years. I do know what I'm talking about. Oh, one more thing on that, if you see something for a ridiculously low price (or free) and you are familiar with its used value and know that you can turn it around for a profit, by all means, do it! One perfect example, mom and I were coming out of a thrift store a few weeks ago and she saw a textbook in the freebie book bin and it was the same textbook she had already bought for the class she was currently taking, so she knew it was a fairly recent edition...I told her to pick it up and post it on Half. She made $25 from that book and I'm pretty sure it was sold in less than 2 weeks. Another example was the kids play door that talked and had little activities...I picked it up for $8 at a Goodwill, cleaned it up and the kids played with it for several months...then I put it in my yard sale and sold it for $15. So I got use out of it PLUS a profit. But I knew when I bought it that the going rate for it "used" was around $12-$15.

And that's ten. And it's also time to call it a night! So. NIGHT!