Money Saving Tips! What are yours?

[LuckyMe143]

I clean all vents once a week.
Make my own cleaning solution.
Do laundry between 5am-9am
Run dishwasher at night after 9pm.
Brick in the toilet tanks.
Drink water or tea.
Everyone uses 1 cup all day.
Coupons, coupons, coupons!

[GardeningGal]

Originally Posted by LuckyMe143

I clean all vents once a week.
Make my own cleaning solution.
Do laundry between 5am-9am
Run dishwasher at night after 9pm.
Brick in the toilet tanks.
Drink water or tea.
Everyone uses 1 cup all day.
Coupons, coupons, coupons!

Why do you have different times for laundry and dishwasher? I work in the morning so that won't work for me.

What's the cleaning solution recipe?

Brick in the toilet tanks. Do you see that much difference in your water bill? Guess every bit less you use does add up.

[LuckyMe143]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Why do you have different times for laundry and dishwasher? I work in the morning so that won't work for me.

What's the cleaning solution recipe?

Brick in the toilet tanks. Do you see that much difference in your water bill? Guess every bit less you use does add up.

I was always told its cheaper. I noticed when I didn't do it for a month my bill was higher. As far as the water bill you are allotted a certain amount of gallons for a price. If you go over they charge you. So far I have not gone over. I'll have to check old bills and compare. My all purpose cleaner is vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and dawn dish soap. I use to make my own laundry powder soap but I find the big 14 pound arm and hammer detergent cost the same to buy as to make and last just as long.

[aps45819]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Would love to hear more about that.

You can get lots of coupons by liberating them from people's Wash. Post on Saturday morning

[abcxyz]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Brick in the toilet tanks. Do you see that much difference in your water bill? Guess every bit less you use does add up.

Lot of the flush is water pressure, not volume of water. This says 10 gallons a day saved, 1/2 gallon per flush.

Brick in Toilet Saves Water - Bottle in Toilet Water Conservation Tip - The Daily Green

This was a bigger deal back when we had real toilets, the Fed says we can only have 1.6G flushes now vs the old 5.5-7G per flushers.

[GardeningGal]

Coupon Sites!
Do you have one? Please share.
Here are a couple I know of.
Grocery Coupons in Washington | Washington Post

Free Printable Coupons, Grocery Coupons & Online Coupons | Coupons.com

Has anyone had a problem with any of the stores in the area not accepting the online coupons?

[bresamil]

Originally Posted by Dupontster

This is a good thread to post this I guess.. Never happened before but yesterday I got a Home Energy Report from SMECO. They did a comparasion last month of my electric compared to my neighbors. I used 53% more than my neighbors.. They even had a little chart at the bottom that showed where I used 56% more and that it cost me $888 more per year. Then on the back it told me ways to save like cut 1 minute off your daily shower, use motion sensor outside lights, choosing an energy efficient freezer, etc, etc, etc. Has anyone else ever received anything like this?

Yep we got one and were higher than our 64% higher than our "most efficient" neighbors. With the number of additional kids in and out of my house and the varied schedules I thought we'd be higher.
The funny thing is all of my neighbors got one saying they were higher as well. We think the efficient neighbors are the house that sat empty for months and the one where a single guy lives and was deployed for six months.

[MarieB]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Coupon Sites!
Do you have one? Please share.
Here are a couple I know of.
Grocery Coupons in Washington | Washington Post

Free Printable Coupons, Grocery Coupons & Online Coupons | Coupons.com

Has anyone had a problem with any of the stores in the area not accepting the online coupons?

I used to use grocery game. There is a monthy fee for it that was worth it for awhile. They offer one month free, and it's easy to cancel. Coupon mom is very similar and is always free. I'm currently "stockpiling" coupons again (no, I don't steal them ) and trying to figure out what the coupon policies are here in the stores so i can start again. You can also buy coupons online. I would recommend trying grocery game for a month to learn the system, and compare it to the coupon mom list during that month. Before you start either, stock up on at least several weeks of coupons. I used to get a double Sunday paper. I could tell you more about how it works if you'd like. I can't speak for the stores here, but I know several where we used to live stopped accepting online coupons. I never bothered with them much anyway, but I can post the ones I have bookmarked later. Some grocery stores have clip less coupons that ou can load onto your shopper's card. Maybe the stores here have them as well

Other than that, I mostly shop at BJ's and sometimes Costco. We are downgrading our Costco membership and upgrading our BJ's and getting their credit card. The cash back will more than cover the membership, the same as it did for Costco before we moved

For cleaning, I mostly use tea tree oil mixed with water.

We always make extra for dinner so that my husband can take leftovers for lunch.

[somdfunguy]

Generic is 99% of the time as good as name brand. No coupon necessary. Coupons normally are for crappy unhealthy foods. Try to stick to the outside edges when shopping and you will save and feel better.

[Dakota (Premo)]

Originally Posted by bresamil

Yep we got one and were higher than our 64% higher than our "most efficient" neighbors. With the number of additional kids in and out of my house and the varied schedules I thought we'd be higher.
The funny thing is all of my neighbors got one saying they were higher as well. We think the efficient neighbors are the house that sat empty for months and the one where a single guy lives and was deployed for six months.

We were locked into emergency heat last month so our bill was slightly higher. We had to have a sensor replaced but I've mentioned before that my heating system is 16-17 years old and actually (knock on wood) running well for the age.