Twenty-five ways I save money

To save money, I...

1. Buy extra non-perishable groceries when things are on sale.
2. Plant perennials instead of annuals in my garden so they come back year after year.
3. Make long-distance calls with my cell phone instead of my landline (yes, both landline and cell phone are necessary to me, altho I admire folks who can eliminate one.)
4. Buy generic whenever possible.
5. Unplug my son's nightlight every morning so it's not using electricity all day.
6. Don't flush every time.
7. Use the cheapo appointment calendar provided by my work instead of buying a nice one with yummy expensive paper for myself.
8. Take vacations in places where I have family or friends to stay with. Wait, is that really a vacation?
9. Maximize tax savings with things like Flexible Spending Accounts, workplace retirement plan contributions, etc.
10. Save even small amounts of leftover food and once a week serve "leftover smorgasbord" to the family.
11. Grow fresh herbs and tomatoes in my garden and freeze them.
12. Pay bills online to avoid paying postage.
13. Make my own mochas by brewing coffee and adding chocolate powder.
14. Use fans instead of the window AC in summer as long as I can stand it.
15. Use the library instead of buying books or renting DVDs.
16. Participate in a babysitting co-op instead of paying a sitter.
17. Buy lasting gifts for my son like art supplies and books intead of this week's obsession, whatever it is (Thomas stuff, Bob the Builder stuff). This theory needs to be put into practice more at our house, to be perfectly honest.
18. Make charitable contributions whenever possible as gifts, which are tax deductible, instead of buying things people don't want or need.
19. Send a handmade card instead of a gift. This works for some people on my list but not all.
20. Drive an old car (12 years and counting) and patronize a great mechanic.
21. Eat at inexpensive restaurants where we can get meals for 3 out of only 2 entrees.
22. Buy used clothes for my kid.
23. Wear my sister's hand-me-downs, even if it means I'm a couple years out of style or wearing things she discarded because of a small stain or bleach spot.
24. Walk instead of driving whenever I can.
25. Blog! Hard to spend money when you're busy doing something constructive.


Inspired by a meme at Frugal for Life: 25 ways I save money. Check out the tricks other PFbloggers use to trim their expenses.