Hey Jenn. To Reiterate most of what has been said...
Coupons/Price Comparison: Some stores price match. Watch for the sales, buy ONLY what is on your list (make meals around what is on sale). I use the couponmom technique and stock up on what is on sale. She has a very simple system www.couponmom.com. It does take a little planning before you really see any BIG savings but....
Check out books and movies from the library- IT's FREE!
Gas prices are going down
Make as many meals as you can from scratch and try not to eat out (I say try because sometimes it is inevitable).
Cut your family's hair.
Needing new furniture? Instead of buying new, check out the discount stores or Salvation Army OR see if a friend is looking as well and SWAP.
Oprah just did a show on this which is where many of the items I wrote about came from....
Hope this helps,
Kriste
Mansfield, TX
Some general ideas first:
1) Make a budget each month where every dollar is spent, on paper-whether it is savings, morgage, groceries/food, gas, etc.
2) DO NOT USE CREDIT-live within your means-use cash wherever possible.
3) Get out of debt-asap!
4) Have an emergency fund in place- ideally 6 months of living expenses
These are all things I've learned from listening to Dave Ramsey. www.daveramsey.com I think they are essential, especially in these tough economic times.
More specifically for saving money day to day:
1) Make a menu each week and use it to make your grocery list. I love www.allrecipes.com for meal ideas. YOu can also put in ingredients you already have on hand to search for recipes. It will also create the grocery list to go with the recipes you select.
2) If you are a sahm, shop at Kroger during the day, early to mid afternoon and look for markdown/quick sale items. I buy milk, organic products, cheeses, and meat regularly.
3)Use coupons whenever possible,but be careful that you are only using them for things you NEED. Www.couponmom.com www.hotcouponworld are free websites you can go to for coupon tips. www.thegrocerygame costs, but you can save a lot on goods if you follow the advice there. there are 2 downsides, it costs and most of the stuff is processed foods.
3) Make the majority of your family's foods from scratch. It is much healthier also!
4)Make your own cleaners and laundry detergent. There are tons of recipes online. The cleaners work great, the ingredients are much less harmful for your family and the environment. Homemade cleaners are A LOT cheaper than store bought too.
5) Put up a clothesline in your backyard and hang clothes to dry.
6) Use cloth diapers, cloth sanitary pads (mama pads) and/or use a menstral cup like the Divacup, use cloth napkins and dishtowels instead of paper towels whenever possible.
7) Shop at the goodwill(check with them for 1/2 price days), resale and consignment shops.
8) Consign your kids toys, shoes, clothes, accessories with a local consignment sale. I like Just Between Friends. The Ft. Worth sale is my favorite. www.jbfsale.com Be sure to shop them too for AWESOME deals.
9)Shop craigslist for items
10) Join your local freecycle, www.freecycle.org to recyle things you don't need that someone else may need and get free stuff you need that others need to get rid of. It reduces everyones bills and keeps useable stuff out of landfills.
11) Have garage sales to make extra money
12)Shop at garage sales
13) Shop at Costco for SOME things. Not everything in bulk is a better deal, but I always find deals there.
14) Buy all your gas at Costco. It is ALWAYS the cheapest place, and I shop around. I got gas on Monday of this week there for 2.59/gal!
15)Get rid of cable or satellite and go to free tv. Join netflix or blockbuster online to make up for missed "tv" entertainment (ie, Hbo series, kids movies, etc.)
16)Get rid of extras on your home phone like caller id, call waiting, etc. If you have a cell phone with long-distance get rid of that on your homephone too.
17)Repair everything you can instead of buying a new one of whatever isn't in perfect condition anymore
18) Make birthday, Christmas, etc. gifts. There are tons of options for homemade things. Check the internet. I personally love recieving homemade gifts and giving them because more thought and time goes into these, imo.
19) Use the library to rent movies, software, and books whenever possible.
20) Finally, stay out of stores. Just not going into KOHL'S, Target, BAbies R Us, Walmart, etc. has helped me SO much. It is much easier to resist the shopping temptation if I stay out of those places as much as possible.
Good luck and happy saving!!!!
We've saved money by re-using! I haven't bought paper towels, plates, napkins, etc in over 5 months. We use cloth napkins and towels and actual dishes. It doesn't even amount to an extra load of laundry since I always washed cleaning rags separately, and it was never a full load. I also haven't bought cleaning chemicals. You can clean your house with vinegar, baking soda, and diluted bleach. But don't mix them together! I've also stopped using conditioner on my hair and it hasn't been a big deal, and using an electric razor instead of disposable ones. It's made a huge difference in our grocery bill not buying all this stuff, and we don't have nearly as much trash either.
Other ways to save money:
The Grocery Game! Others have mentioned it, and they are right, it is awesome! I shop at Kroger and I'm spending so much less.
Cloth Diapers - it's my specialty and my livelihood, so I can help you out with that if you are interested. Great money saving potential. You can build up a stash of diapers in 2-3 months spending what you spend on disposables and never have to buy diapers again. You should try it, you'll love it. Use my try-it kit and you won't waste any money to find out you don't like it.
Cloth Baby Wipes - use the little washcloths that you got at your baby shower. I know I have like 50, and I've never actually purchased one. Huge savings. I never realized how much money I was wasting with disposable wipes. Though, they do remove ink from skin, so I keep a few around.
WOW!! What great ideas!!!
I didn't see many people talking about water and electric bills. I was able to save almost $100 in Aug just by not turning on lights and using natural sun light during the day, and an additional $50 this past month!! AT night, just use a light in the room that you are in. When you leave, turn it off. I don't like being in the dark, but I've gotten used to it. And, with the tv going, it really isn't so bad. If you have ceiling fans, turn them off at night. You can open the windows in the morn and cool the house back off. Now that it's cooler in the mornings, you can turn off the air until your house is warm. I keep the windows open except the ones where the morn sun beats in. Keeps the house cool a little longer. I turn the air on at nap time so my boys aren't sweaty and will sleep a little better and longer. LOL
At night, turn off the computer/tv/vcr/dvd/etc by unplugging or turning off the surge thingy. Anything with lights blinking uses electricity, even if they are "off."
If you have a yard that needs to be watered, use a hand held hose atachment to water. It will save water and $$ rather than hooking up a sprinkler. And, believe it or not, your grass will look a LOT better!
I got some good ideas from your responses. Thanks for asking, and hope these help!!
DAVE RAMSEY and his TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER book. Read that and it will help you. Also, take his 13 week course, Financial Peace University for a more in depth study on how to have financial peace. You will learn great tips!
Gennie
hey Jenn
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Plan Plan Plan.
Write out a budget each month with all of your income for that time period and a place for every single dollar to go. If you don't have it don't spend it. Use cash for as much as possible. It hurts more to touch and loose the cash then it does to just swipe and sign.
Visit www.daveramsey.com
By buying things when they are on sale as oppossed to when you are desperate for them you can also save save save at the grocery store.
Visit www.thegrocerygame.com
I also love Sam's club and buying in bulk. Especially if you have a deep freeze. Having easy to prepare meals around the house encourages you to Not Go Out To Eat:) Also there are several household items that you use that can last for at least a year or more that can be bought in bulk. (soaps,cleaners, toilet paper, advil, etc.)
Do as many errands as possible at one time. Less gas does wind up saving you money each week.
This site is FREE and pulls information from all the sites everyone else suggested. I save hundreds each month; not just on groceries.
Check it out http://www/yourcouponbuddy.com
It's totally FREE and you can subscribe to get daily updates so you never miss a deal!
Good luck.
Wow...what great ideas!! I was so excited to read this post., thanks for asking it. The only thing I have to add is that you may want to check out Skype.com.
With Skype you can make computer to computer calls with web cam totally free. Also you can get plans where you can call phones for super cheap. We don't have a home phone anymore and we use Go Phones from At&T since we don't want to spend the money on a plan. Our plan through Skype is less than $3.00 a month and I have unlimited calling in the US and Canada. So if I want to call someone I know I will talk to for a while or if I am calling a company that will probably put me on hold (all of them) then I use Skype so I'm not wasting money. Just one more tip to add to your pile!!
Can anyone provide me with a site to get Gilette Fusion razor refill coupons?
Thanks this was all most helpful!!!
It’s great to save money and there are many ways to do that. But sometimes it’s a good idea to ADD some money too.
Here are two ways to earn some extra cash. Check it out for yourself. Both together take about 10 - 15 minutes a day I’m just starting and it adds up fairly quickly. It certainly isn’t a huge income, but in my case, I plan for it to be my “fun money”! 
Just a thought!
Read News For Cash: http://questofnews.com/p114058
Watch videos for Cash: Whosurvey.com
Thank you all so much! There are so many great ideas! I didn’t even know where to start. I just knew we needed to start cutting back to stay afloat!