Save, Save, Save!!

Chris and I have really been focusing lately on being better stewards of our money. We want to do what we can to spend less and save more. So, I thought I would share some of the money saving ideas on here. :)

1. We are refinancing our home! We bought our home over 8 years ago and we were able to secure what was considered a low interest rate at the time. But, in today's economy, it is a very high rate. Looking forward to a much lower payment each month!

2. We use a rewards-earning credit card for almost all of our purchases instead of a bank card. We pay it off each month so we don't accrue interest. We cash in our points for gift cards (usually home depot) and get lots of free stuff!

3. We do not use gas at our house... everything is electric and our bill is sometimes out of control! So, we started thinking of things we could do to lower it. These tips make for more work, but they do save!

• We stopped using our dish washer and now wash all of our dishes by hand.
• We adjust our thermostat a little lower than we used to in the winter, and we adjust it a little higher in the summer. A couple of degrees make a big difference.
• We stopped using our dryer, except to "fluff". We hang our clothes to dry and then put in the dryer on low heat for about 10 minutes. (I have to thank The Castleberry Clan for this tip!) This also makes the clothes stay in better shape longer. We can only do 1 or 2 loads a day this way because I only have room to hang 1 load at a time around the house. I don't like hanging them outside because they don't smell clean to me after hanging outside all day. Maybe someone has a tip for this problem??

So, in our house, we hang the clothes:

On hangers in the laundry room:

On chairs in the dining room:

On the shower rod and the side of the bath tub in the bathroom:

Over the banister:

Or where ever else I can find something that's still! :)

4. Couponing. I have to admit, I am not very consistent with this one! I get on a kick every now and then, but I am off the wagon more than I am on it. I definitely could do better. I clip coupons and organize them by "type" (baby, grocery, health, etc.) and then slide them into baseball card organizer sheets in my notebook. I don't know if this is the "best" way to do it, so I'll accept suggestions and tips! :)

5. Home-made laundry soap. OK... so, I haven't actually done this yet. I am still trying to get through all of the commercial laundry detergent we already have. But, I have a lot of friends who do this and love it. It works in regular and high-efficiency machines. It smells GREAT, it's EASY, and it's CHEAP!! You can make a liquid version or a powder version. I have friends who love both. Here are the recipes:

Powder Version:
1 lb Borax
1 lb Baking soda
1 lb Washing soda
1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (shredded)
Mix together in a bucket and use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (more for very large or heavily soiled loads).

Liquid Version:
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup Arm& Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over med-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. Use 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load depending on size of load. Over time you may have to stir it because it will settle.

6. Vinegar and Baking Soda work wonders for cleaning! No need to buy a lot of different cleaners. Although, I don't think I could do without Pine-Sol or Windex. :)

7. We signed up for Amazon Prime. We find a lot of things are cheaper on amazon than in the store and you don't have to pay tax at checkout and we get free shipping with Prime... not to mention lots of free movies, apps, e-books, etc.

8. We stopped eating out so much. We are trying to keep that to once a month and making it a special treat.

9. We make weekly meal plans and I try to plan our meals and grocery shop around what is on sale that week. This not only saves money, but it makes it easier on me to know what we are having for dinner each night and not have to figure it out at 5:00. Sometimes I will make several meals in one day (usually on Monday) and refrigerate meals for later in the week. That way I just have to heat things up the other nights. This especially works well with Spaghetti, Chili, and Sloppy Joes - they always taste better after they've had time to marinate. Also, we always have a "pot-luck" night with leftovers! If you're not big into meal planning, check out emeals for money saving weekly meal plans based on sales at the store you choose. It's $5/month, but they do all the planning and grocery list making for you... plus they provide all the recipes. :)

That's it for now. I'm always up for more money saving tips... so feel free to make additional suggestions!! :)