Save money on everyday stuff

[KristinH]

I have started couponing (My mother in law gets the sunday paper and sends me coupons and there are plenty of them online so I don't even buy a newspaper) and joined www.afullcup.com to maximize my shopping dollar - joining a community of thrifty shoppers who do much of the legwork in saving money. I have also "gone green" with white vinegar and baking soda instead of expensive cleaners for household cleaning. Savings to date this year between coupons and things not bought are well over $200 already, which goes straight to out debt!

[Jessc098]

Great ideas! I've never really been big on cuponing because I'm afraid i'll buy stuff i don't need. :-( Do you have that problem?
I started making my own laundry detergent and it works great. I gave samples to friends to try in their machines and they're all making their own. Supplies cost about $3 and it made enough laundry detergent to last 2 years. I put the recipie on my blog at www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com.

Good luck and let me know what you think RE: Coupons.

[KristinH]

Its funny because I do find that many people on the site buy stuff they don't need, but since I am, for the most part, paying CASH these days, I have to make really choices as to where I spend my money. So, the first thing I do I chuck all of the coupons for products I don't need into an envelope marked "trades" and then I watch for someone who wants them and swap for things I do need. Its been great because I now know that I do not need to buy toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. If you match coupons and sales and watch for those who have way more time and energy to dedicate to doing so and follow their lead, you can get them for free or next to nothing. I have enough toothpaste (6) to last until we move next February, all purchased at about $0.17 per tube. I have 5 rolls of tin foil that I got for free (actually I made $0.11 a roll because of the coupons-did you know they did that? I didn't.), equal amounts of shower gel (Free at Walgreens a week ago), and shampoo ($0.10+tax per bottle today at CVS) and that is money I will not need to spend for a while. Household items that I do use, I keep coupons for and the rest I ship on to someone else in exchange for ones I do and so on.

I have already saved HUNDREDS of dollars and stocked my pantry and my bathroom nearly to the point that I need only buy fresh groceries between now and next year and I have done it while spending less than I would have in my prior grocery budget.

[ThriftyMan]

Thanks, Krisitin.

It's amazing how much more effective we can be with our spending when we pay attention to it. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm sure others will find it valuable.

[nancym]

I've become quite the coupon queen in my household. At first my partner thought I was nuts.... till I started saving $10 and $20 a week just by clipping coupons! We used to subscribe to the local Newspaper so I'd get the Sunday coupons.... then my sister got the paper for free for 6 months so I discontinued my subscription and she gives me the sections I want on Monday. She clips her coupons then gives me what's left. I then go thru it and take what I need and see if there's anything really good. If so, I stop at the recycle bin and go thru papers I find by the dates. Amazing how many papers are recycled that aren't even distributed! I found a recycle bin in the local paper's parking lot that gets all the left over Sunday papers tossed in. I spend a few minutes grabbing the coupon sections I need and recycle the left overs. Sometimes I'll cut coupons and leave them on shelves near products for others to use.
Recently I spent $56. at K-Mart. Of that I saved $17.75 with coupons on almost every product. Some were buy 1 get 1 free, others were .50 cents off and K-Mart now doubles coupons so they became $1.00. It was all on stuff I use every day - shampoo, soap, pads, tissues, t-paper, etc. I have some brands I just can't give up yet so this makes it as cheap (sometimes cheaper) than the plain label or store brands.
On my birthday recently I received a FREE Sheridan's Shake, a FREE Car Wash, a FREE single Rose, 1 free Regal movie pass (with purchase of another), 1 small bag of popcorn, then went to dinner and had a coupon for 1 free entree' with entree' purchase. I think my partner spent about $20. total that day and we had a blast! We can't afford to go out very often so it was quite a treat.
I'll definitely keep cutting coupons and I save even more when I use them when the item is on sale!

[ThriftyMan]

Nancy M

One of our users suggested a really good movie strategy: the guest shopper. Movie theaters will let you see movies for free if you fill out surveys on your experience. Usually you get to go about once every 3 months. It's a good way to get a cheap date. I can't vouch that this is true, but it sounds interesting.

[soontobedebtfree]

I've had a hard time finding coupons for stuff I actually use or replacements for things I use. Where do you suggest looking for them?

[ThriftyMan]

There are a couple of places that I look. First in the Sunday paper. It's worth the $1-2 just to get the coupons. Second place I look is at the grocery store. If you look on the back of your receipts, they often have coupons tied to what you buy. I know it doesn't help right then, but save them for the next time you come back.

Anyone else have great ideas? I have to confess that I'm not a master coupon user. But they can be a great deal.

You know another thing I am pretty religious about is buying store brands. Whether it's cereal or pasta or spaghetti sauce, I think the quality is as good and the price is way lower. My favorite example is the Safeway version of Crystal Lite. CL is way cheaper than soda (and healthier) but it's not cheap. The Safeway brand is about half of Crystal Lite. Sadly, I drink enough Crystal Light that it actually adds up.

[Barbllm]

I've clipped coupons for years now. It's the best way to reduce your shopping expenses. I like your suggestion of using vinegar and baking soda for cleaning: I did that in my bathroom and it looks great. No expensive cleaners are necessary.

[ThriftyMan]

My fiance and I just found out that we have to help support a family member with health problems who can't work. It's a huge bummer that's putting a lot of pressure on the finances. We're definitely down-grading all of our purchases. We found that the biggest source of savings is trying to do things ourselves. We cook in instead of eating out, especially for fast food. It's way cheaper to do sandwiches than hit Burger King. We wash our cars in the front yard instead of going to a car wash. They're little things, but they're adding up to about $50-60 per month. That's nothing to sneeze at