The 25 Frugal Tips I Attempt to Follow are as follows:
- I am in the process of changing my light bulbs to compact fluorescent lights (C.F.L.) bulbs to save money. (in my old house all of them were changed. Now I am starting over in an apartment.)
- In the cold months I keep my furnace setting at 67 degrees. (nice idea, but with my wife's arthritis, arthroposy and other medical conditions)
- I am in the process installing outlet insulation. These little babies, help prevent drafts around your outlets and light switches. My first planed major spending this year is getting insulation into my attic. The cost will be around $600 to buy about 20 rolls of insulation, but should save quite a bit in my heating bill. (I even did this in the apartment after I moved in. At least on the outside walls. Hope the owner was smart enough to put the insulation in when he built the place in the 80's.)
- I pay nearly all my bills online eliminating the cost of stamps and checks.
- Reuse the plastic margarine, cottage cheese, etc, etc bowls to store leftover food in.
- Turn off all lights when not in a room
- Cook my own meals at home, rather then eating out.
- Take my lunch to work. (since my current job is fast food, this would be a little difficult since my break-room is the public dinning area to. However, it is still a great idea that in most cases is a great idea to save money.)
- Wash clothes in cold water to save on heat
- Pick up money from the ground and save in my change jar
- Round up in checkbook and place excess in savings at end of the month.
- Put raises or bonuses in savings or apply towards debt
- I only cut my hair 3-4 times a year...this last year I got a crew cut and was able to go six months before getting another hair cut. This year, I am thinking about doing the same only shaving it bald, and sort of get a feel what it will be like when I go completely bald. (LOL)
- Go to thrift stores, yard sales, and auctions, rather then buying new.
- Refrain as much as possible from buying things in vending machines
- Buy generic (store brands) over name-brand (My wife also base this on taste)
- Pay more than the minimum on my debts.
- Re-use the plastic grocery bags as trash bags (especially in the smaller bathroom/bedroom cans). I do the same with paper bags in my kitchen trash can.
- I use 1/2 of a dryer sheet per load.
- Stock up on non-perishable sale items.
- Train myself that my house is not a museum. I don't need to own everything cool that I discover. I can just admire it in the store. (I dream, may even blog about the desire and then work to save for some of these dream items.)
- When weather is nice, I walk the 3 blocks to church rather then driving (I usually would have to park 2 blocks away anyway).I do the same thing (or bicycle to neighborhood meetings. (I now live 6 miles from church. So this is now impracticable.)
- I pop my own popcorn, rather then buying microwave popcorn. I think it tastes better anyway.(My popcorn popper broke down and it is currently one of the dream items I am trying to save for.)
- Don't go to movie theaters
- Buy sodas from the supermarket when they’re on sale instead of from the office vending machine. (I have also started trying to limit myself to one soda a day).
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