How To Save Money.  Simply.  Every Day.

How to save money is always on our mind from the grocery store to the gas station to restaurants we want to save money on everything, after all we work hard for it.

There is no limit to the ways you can cut costs and save yourself and your household money.  We know there are ways we CAN do it, but, it’s kind of like losing weight – we often don’t DO the things we need to do to get us to that goal until we have to because we like to be comfortable.  Losing weight or cutting bills all bring about thoughts and images of not being comfortable and having to give up things we like.

Budgeting is a good place to start click here to get your own free printable Family Budget Worksheet.

I have found over the years that often when we do things to cut the bills down (or lose weight) we don’t actually miss the things we change.

The ways you can save money start with cutting out bills, changing plans and contracts, eating at home more often, using less, reusing more.  There is just no limit to the ways we can save money and make our lives a little easier financially.

Let’s take a look at some these ways to save money you might not have thought about or looked at in this way before.

Buy Meat In Bulk

This is one of the best ways to save money I have found so we’ll start here.  Most people find one of the most expensive portions of their grocery bills is the meat.  Find out when your store marks their meat down.  We call it the “cheap meat section” and generally on the same day each week they go through and fill that section up with meat that needs to be purchased and either eaten or frozen right away.  We buy most of our meat from that section.  We buy as much as we can and we separate it and freeze it in portions we’ll need for each meal.

Supplement Your Dog’s Food

(Not sure if you can do this for cats as we don’t have one 🙂 )Dog food can be expensive.  Our dog Molly does have a sensitive stomach and store bought food didn’t always sit well with her.  Last summer she developed Bell’s Palsy and we decided to cook for her and it went away completely, we feel it was due to how we were feeding her.  Long store, I’ll share another time :).

I feed her our scraps and we come out better at the store buying meat from the cheap meat section as mentioned above, plus veggies that are marked way down.  I cook those up for her and portion it in baggies.  She used to eat every few days boycotting the store bought food until she was starving… but, now she can’t wait for us to feed her.  She is much healthier and is more active and happy.

Reuse Those Coffee Filters

This is simple, but, also one of this list’s easy ways to save money.  Now, I know there are many uses for leftover coffee filters, (as well as leftover coffee grounds) but one way I save is to reuse them.  I can’t see just using them one time, I rinse them off and reuse them until they get worn out.  I have done this for years and I don’t think anything about it anymore.  I know they don’t cost a lot, but every little bit counts!  Also, you could consider purchasing a permanent filter.  We now have a Ninja Coffee Bar and it came with a permanent filter and I love it.

You might also like: How To Save Money When You’re Really Bad At It

Buy Shampoo & Conditioner In Bulk

I buy gallon bottles of shampoo and conditioner at the beauty supply.  When you go to the salon it’s the same shampoo they use on you.  I fill the bottles half with shampoo and half with water and mix – per the instructions.  I don’t dilute the conditioner. But, with a big family it lasts a long time and you’re not spending a ton on expensive small bottles of shampoos and conditioners.

Keep Coupons In The Car

I have a binder with photo pages in it that I keep in the car.  I put restaurant coupons, oil change, tune-up, and hair salon coupons to be used when we are out and about.  I HATE being out and deciding to go somewhere knowing I have a coupon at home for it!

Use A Recycling Bin Instead Of Trash Bags

I used to fight the whole idea of recycling.  The thought of separating trash was beyond anything I ever wanted to do.  Now, I see a value in getting a lot of the trash out of the trash can and into a recycling bin and how much that saves me in trash bags!

I can fill up a huge recycling bin to almost overflowing each week and even if I broke all of the boxes and stuff down small that would take up more room in the trash bag.  Milk cartons, juice bottles/boxes, cans, jars, all sorts of things that take up a ton of room!  So really use your recycling bin to its fullest and save money on your trash bags (they are so expensive anyway).

Learn How To Coupon

If you’re really just getting serious and want to learn how to start saving money right away in a way you can see quickly, this one is pretty self explanatory – learn to coupon.  It’s not hard, you can learn to coupon in no time and save thousands for your family every year.  I have many free resources to teach you how —> here.

Learn How To Meal Plan

Planning your meals and strategizing your shopping trips will not only save you money it will save your sanity.  No more “what am I gonna cook for dinner”, or “I forgot to defrost anything” (that was one I said all the time).  Once you learn how to meal plan, you’ll never want to go back, you’ll wonder how you ever survived before.

Use Your Mobile Device

There are a TON of great apps to help you save money.  There are rebate apps that give you cash back from buying everyday necessities like milk!  Most stores and restaurants have apps, too and they often have special sales or coupons just for users of their app, here are some of my favorite money saving apps.

Make Your Own

Mayo <— Click here to learn how.

I love to make my own mayo, it takes me a couple of minutes, I know what’s in it, it’s super fresh, it’s cheaper than store bought and tastes great!  Plus, when you run out it takes seconds to make more!

• Butter <— Click here to learn how.

Again, I love making my own butter – first of all, who doesn’t love real butter?  But, it’s expensive!  You can make it in just a few minutes and know just what’s in it.

See What Free Services Your Favorite Stores Offer

Most stores offer their customers free services, from tours, to special cuts of meat, to recipes for preparing what you purchased and much more!  Here’s a list of 10 Little Known Free Grocery Store Services.

Read Your Bills

This one is so important and has saved me a ton of money and cost me money when I didn’t do it.

Make sure to read your bills each time you receive them, in detail, to make sure you aren’t charged for something new.  You can find out more about that in this post entitled: How To Save Money On Your Bills NOW! <— just click here.

Everyone has their own money saving tips, so please share yours with us and we can all benefit!