Jff-what Are Some of the Ways You Cut Costs? the Stranger the Better!

I only use half of a fabric softener sheet per load--works exactly the same and makes the box last twice as long.

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I buy a "box" of produce every 2 weeks from a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm. The produce is sometimes weird, like collard greens and beets, but I get lots of different stuff each time and I learn how to cook it when I get it, which is kinda fun! The food is extremely fresh because it is just picked. I love it and it is cheaper than grocery store produce!

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I cut my dryer sheets in half. I buy the huge box of bounce dryer sheets at costco and this way they last me about a year.
Pay bills online it saves a stamp and envelope.
I follow hiptosave.com, totallytarget.com, and couponingtodisney.com religiously. They are money saving blogs. HTH

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I do many of the ideas others have mentioned.
Other ones that I do are:
Buy in bulk ( a lot of stores will give you a 15% case discount)
-Wild Oats, Henry's Marketplace and Sprouts Marketplace are the stores around me that do this.
-Use Amazon Subscribe and Save Program for non perishable foods. They give you a 15% discount off their price and free shipping.

I use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets or softener. I have 4 balls ($12 a pair). So $24 total...so far I have had them for over 2 years. Much cheaper than softener or dryer sheets in the long run.

90% of my kids clothes are handmedowns or used from thrift stores or freecycle or craigslist or garage sales. I also try to keep a list of what they have for the next year so I don't overbuy. The only thing I for sure buy brand new are underwear, socks, swimsuits, PJ's and shoes.

My favorite money saving site is www.mommysavers.com. Those Mamas there have great ideas on saving money from couponing to investments, recipes to saving on school. LOVE THEM!

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You asked for strange. Well, this one has gotten some "eeews" from a few people I've admitted it to, but I wash bath towels as infrequently as possible.

I have some fairly non-plushy, 35-year-old towels, and they may never wear out, because laundering ruins fabric faster than just about anything. Because they're fairly thin, they dry quickly on the rack. It's easy to smell when they start to sour, and then they go right into the washing machine. Plus, I squeegee much of the water off my body with my hands before I reach for the towel. It takes only a few seconds.

So friends ask, don't I feel creepy wiping my face with a towel I've used "elsewhere?" No, for two reasons. First, I'm really clean, elsewhere and everywhere, when I use that towel. But just in case, feet get dried by the very outer corners, girlie bits get dried by the inner ends, and the rest of me gets the middle of the towel.

Alas, washcloths go south more quickly, in one day (because I get them wetter), and hand towels last only a couple of days (more frequent use). But those bath towels can last through 6-12 showers. I use less energy/water/detergent, put less waste into the environment, and have NEVER had to replace these towels. Which is fine, because I like the colors, and they still look great.

I also buy almost no cleaning products since I became chemically sensitive 25 years ago. I use a scent-free detergent for dishes and laundry, plus occasional borax, and/or chlorine-free bleach. If I need fabrics softened, I add white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Baking soda, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide are great cleaners, deodorizers, and sanitizers for every surface. My house isn't perfumed, but it does smell clean, and I save a mint on cleaning supplies.

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OK, I have a good one for you, that I don't mind sharing because it's something my hubby does (he seriously is the cheapest person I know)...he is an avid gardener, but like any hobby it can become quite expensive to get all the "right stuff". Well, he read somewhere that you shouldn't waste money on fancy "ties" when you stake your tomatoes, and the article suggested using (clean) strips of pantyhose! So in the summers when the tomato plants get tall, I can look out my kitchen window and see my old pantyhose (and I do mean old - as in, who wears pantyhose anymore?) flapping in the breeze.
Sigh. Good thing I love him.

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I don't have any really good ones, but some obvious ones. Use tupperware instead of ziplock bags, even for school lunches etc. reuse bags from the grocery store, I wash the produce bags and put things away in those. buy bread and stuff on sale and freeze it. I only buy bread when it is by one get one free at safeway. don't eat pre-made meals, make everything from scratch. Like someone else said, frozen juice is way cheaper, but frozen OJ just doesn't taste the same to me. milk, eggs and cheese are way cheaper at costco, as well as diapers and wipes, tampons and pretty much any household supply lol. Don't over heat the house, or over water the lawn. unplug cords when not using them... (I never remember to do this) Only run the dishwasher, laundry when completely full, no half loads. I don't even use those dryer sheets, what is the point? If you get the clothes out right away and fold them they are completely fine! I could go on... but I think I will stop for now, good luck, just remember all the little things add up!

I make homemade stuff like bread. I make my own pasta sauce. Lets see, $3 for a jar versus $1 making it. I made homemade pasta tonight and the ingredients cost maybe 50 cents! My kids are pretty picky eaters and they seem to gobble it up when its homemade and they are involved. We made homemade pizza the other night...super easy and cheap! It saves money, gets the kids involved so they don't think food just comes from a bag and it gets them involved in the process too.

My big --- huge savings, was using cloth instead of plastic dipes. I save probably $2k per kid ! The best thing is, when the dipes - the ones I used for both kids got worn out, I reused them for rags.

I do try to turn off lights and run my dishwasher at night. We use regular plates instead of paper, of course. I don't use dryer sheets but might use vinegar in the rinse cycle. I consolidate trips when I can. I try to make beans and and veggie dishes more than meat dishes to save a few bucks too.

My hubby used to bring home 30 gallons of milk from the commissary once a month. I would freeze them to use throughout the month.
Plus the kids were on milk rations, one 2 C glass at lunch, one 2 cup glass at dinner.
We didn't have cable until 4 years ago, my son was 17 before we got it.
My house is always at 67.

But my vice is I drive the biggest car on the road. So I spend a fortune in gas.

Well the first thing that come sto mind is my FIL re-using trash bags until they are dead. Seriously, he will complain if we put something in the trash we could have put in the garbage disposal, because it gunks up the trash bag. Oh and no diaper goes in the trash unless it's in a smaller bag (like ones you get from walmart) tied and knotted.
To me thats pretty obscure. LOL
For me, I just buy generic on most things. If it's cheaper to make something thats pre-made I will make it (ex would be biscuits in a can vs. from a recipe/mix, condensed oj vs. a jug of oj, etc). I buy in bulk. I guess all of mine are boring.
There are certain things I can't budge on though...meat, cheese/dairy, my laundry detergent, mayo brand....just little things.

I use coupons like a crazy lady, and only buy certain things if they're on sale or BOGO free (or 1/2 off). Clothes, ESPECIALLY TARGET, I wait until they're on sale (and if they don't sell on the sale rack at Target, here, they DONATE THOSE UNSOLD CLOTHES TO GOODWILL, then I get an even BETTER bargain, usually 90% off, brand new clothes with the tags still on!!) I wash plastic spoons in the dishwasher. I use old rags instead of paper towels. I save scraps of construction paper no matter how small, because you will ALWAYS end up using it. I clean everything with either Windex or Clorox Clean-Up (do we REALLY need 99 different cleaning supplies?!) and use toilet paper instead of buying tissues. I sweep and mop the old school way... WITH A BROOM AND MOP, instead of spending money on all the new-fangled gadgets they have out (like Swiffer; although I do love swiffer, just can't afford it right now). I take all the hand me down clothes/baby/kid stuff my friends have to offer... then I sell outgrown clothes on craigslist. I am a total nut for saving money, it's good practice and teaches the kids early on that they don't NEED name brand everything ;)

I use coupons like crazy. Target is specially nice because you can print coupons from target.com and they can be combined with manufacturer's coupons found online or on Sunday's newspaper. I also use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. They are great and last a long time. I'd also recommend you visit www.hip2save.com. This site is awesome.

I accept all gifts and handoffs, including vegetables I don't like. I then give them to someone who will use them. Then they give me stuff when they don't need it like good vegetables that we will actually eat.
My husband doesn't have a truck anymore so it gets harder to bring furniture home from the country, but I am getting creative.

We like Souplantation, but don't eat there. It would cost over $40 for our family of four, so I go and get one combo to go, and they give you bags, cups, platters, etc. and you can get all kinds of food in there for $9 and it feeds all of us! When we go out to dinner at regular restaurants, we always split entrees, so we buy two entrees for our fam of 4, and just drink water. We save tons of money by not drinking alcohol at all, even at home. We use paper plates for things like crackers and chips, then we wipe them off and use them again. Even if we eat fruit on the plate, rinse real quick and dry on the counter and use them again. We go the movies for $6 apiece. In our newspaper there's a coupon for $6 movies any time, just not on brand-new blockbuster movies. You just have to wait a week or two. My husband does the grocery shopping because he saves us so much more money than I do. At fast food places, we ONLY order off the value menu, so we each spend about $1-2, and just get water. There are so many other ways that we save, but this is just some of the things. We recently just switched from Cable to satellite. We're saving almost $100 per month now! We don't get all the channels we want, but most of them. We don't need all the channels.

When the snow isn't up to my neck, I line dry. Saves us $10/month on our electric bill.

I get a lot of stuff for my kids (clothes, simple toys) on Freecycle. So, it's used; it's going to be used as soon as they get it anyway.

I buy generic cereal - it's SOOOO much cheaper.

I don't generally keep cash in my wallet. It saves me on little 1-2 dollar impulse buys. After all, I'm not going to pull out the credit card for a cup of coffee, or pack of gum, or single magazine, etc.

wow to ziploc bags, and day old bread :)
honestly we just don't spend for things we don't need. we shop for clothes for every season, once (unless we need something else during the season), we only buy things on sale, and we also cook from scratch. but i don't cheap out when it comes to food. food has to be of a good reputable brand, within exp. date etc.