In my “how to live on one income & love it” post, I talked about how I considered myself the financial defense of the family, Joseph the offense.

He’s bringing in most the cash, I’m making sure we keep as much of it as possible. Or rather, I’m watching over our funds like a hawk–making sure no money is going to waste (especially since we’re intensely working at becoming debt-free).

There are a lot of ways over the years that I’ve discovered to save money & I thought I’d round up some of the main ways I save money.

Of course, this list is not comprehensive, but it does cover a lot of the big & small ways we save. Some of these ideas may not apply or appeal to you, but for someone like me, who is in charge of a large household, has several young children & is interested in eco-friendly, organic & vegan products as well as stretching every dollar that comes my way, may find this list helpful.

Hope you find a thing or two in the list that you can use to help you save money–& feel free to add your “two cents” (pun intended) in the comments below.

35 ways I save thousands of dollars each year…

(in no particular order)

Food

1. Shop at Costco with an executive membership.
With an executive membership ($110, opposed to a basic membership which is $55) you get 2% back on all purchases & get your rebate check once a year. Since we do the bulk of our grocery & other shopping at Costco, we spend enough to get a rebate that pays for our membership as well as gives us a little Costco cash to spend on groceries.

Costco prices are typically 20-30% less than what you would find elsewhere for the same or similar products. They offer coupons for a few weeks during each month on certain products. These coupons usually save you an additional 20% of the regular Costco price.

To save even more money, I buy multiple items of things that are on coupon–cereals, paper goods, & misc. grocery items. For example, last month I spent $200 on household items (razor blades, toilet paper, toothpaste) & will receive $33 back in Costco cash as a rebate + I saved about $50 using coupons.

Costco may not be for everyone–you have to be able to justify buying in bulk (which, our family of 7 does!) & you need to practice a good deal of self-restraint–but you can save a lot of money on high quality organic & vegan foods if you do it the right way.

2. Make double batches & freeze leftovers. 
Saves on food waste, time & energy costs.

3. Buy dried beans in bulk & cook from scratch rather than canned beans.
Dried beans in bulk are at least a third of the cost of canned beans.

4. Buy grains in bulk & make your own flour.
I make my own flour with my Blendtec (see my 10 tips for frugal baking post).

5. Have several bpa free water bottles & use those instead of buying bottled water.
My fave water container is this bubba classic jug. I love drinking water from a straw & it keeps water cold for up to 12 hours! So easy to stay hydrated with this jug. (Plus, do I have to tell you how *awful* plastic water bottles are for the environment?!)

6. Instead of buying bottled juices & smoothies ($3-$5 per bottle), make your own. 
I use my Blendtec to make smoothies for my family every day. I’ve had mine for 6 years & it’s still going strong. Making my own smoothies & juices saves a ton of time & money.

 

Health & Fitness

7. Skip the gym membership.
Maybe someday I’ll have a gym membership. Maybe. I love the ease & convenience of working out at home. Currently I stream fitness videos via Giam TV (you can try a free 10-day trial here, after that it’s only $10 a month). See my 10 tips for frugal fitness post for more ideas.

8. Buy supplements & natural health/beauty items from Herbs Pro or Vitacost.com. 
I don’t use very many supplements, but when I need something (pre-natal vitamins, B-12 drops, Dr. Christopher concoctions), I order from either one of these online retailers (they also carry a lot of grocery items including vegan & gluten-free products). You can usually get free shipping on orders over a certain amount, plus, they always offer discounts & specials on certain products.

Internet

9. Dispute rises in monthly fees.
On facebook a few weeks ago, I shared how our internet provider all of a sudden jacked our monthly fee up by nearly double. I noticed the rise in price & called them. I asked if they could offer me a lower price, the price that I had been paying previously. It took talking to several different salespeople (& a great deal of determination), but in the end, I was able to get them to lower the price again to $37/month (instead of $66, which is what they wanted to charge me) & they locked the price in for another year. This saved us $350 a year!

It takes some courage, but speak up & don’t be afraid to be assertive. Let them know your price point & that you’ll be willing to look elsewhere if they can’t help you out.

Phone

11. Consider ObiTalk. 
At the beginning of the year, we bought an ObiTalk adapter, which hooks up to our ethernet connection (no computer required, just internet connection). We’re using GoogleVoice until mid-May, at which point GoogleVoice will no longer be free or work with ObiTalk. At that point, we’ll pick another service that will cost somewhere around $3 a month for unlimited calling.

12. Consider a pre-paid cell phone.
This is not an option for a lot of people who must have a smart phone &/or use their cell phone all the time. But for us, since I’m home most of the day (& can use the internet on my laptop or nook) & Joseph is at work most of the day, we decided using a landline & using pre-paid phones (just a basic cell, not a smartphone) for emergencies would fit our needs (& save us about $500 a year).

Utilities

13. Line dry clothes.
This doesn’t work during all the months of the year, & yes I admit, it takes a bit more time to do. But it’s better for the environment (saves energy), your clothes smell amazing (fresh & naturally starched), it gets you outside & it’s a nice way to get some movement into your day.

I did this last summer & plan on doing it now through September. I figure I pay about $.60-.75 per load of laundry I dry. I do about a 1-2 loads per day, which amounts to $20-$30 of savings a month.

14. Be a light hound.
Teach all members of the household to turn off lights when not in use.

15. Unplug appliances when not in use.
I unplug the blender, toaster, washing machine/dryer. This saves a few bucks a month. (And in the case of the toaster, can prevent fires.)

Entertainment

{50 of my fave books, tv shows, movies, & podcast, here.}

16. Skip cable.
To be honest, we’ve never had cable, so I cannot speak to it’s value or lack thereof. The price has always been out of our price range.

Instead, we have hulu subscription ($8/month, or $96/year) & an Amazon Prime membership ($99/year). Hulu enables us to watch current TV shows & Amazon prime lets us watch movies & prior TV show series.

(You can try out an Amazon Prime membership for free for 30 days, here. For Hulu, you can get credits to your account (2 weeks free for every person you refer) by reffering friends. Check it out, here.)

17. Go to the dollar movie theater.
Usually the dollar theater costs more like $1.25-$1.75 & shows movies that have already been out for awhile but are not yet out on DVD, or are just out on DVD. Not all places in the U.S. (I can’t speak for elsewhere) have dollar theaters, but I know that they exist in both Utah (where we used to live) & in San Antonio.

18. Wait for the movie to come out on DVD & rent at Redbox.
Waiting a few months for the movie to come out may take some patience, but it’ll save you $7-$8 per person.

19. Rent movies from the library (usually for free!).
We’ve been burned by the late fees before, which for our library run $1 per day, per DVD–ouch!–so watch out for that. If you can stay on top of due dates & late fees, you’ll be surprised at what movies you can rent from your library for free.

Kids

20. Cloth diapering. 
I love cloth diapering! I cloth diapered when my second & third children were babies. Didn’t for my fourth, & now I’m back to cloth diapering with my fifth. There is an initial investment in the diapers at first, but over time, I estimate it saves me about $400 a year.

21. Shop second-hand.
Kid-to-Kid, Once Upon a Child, & other second-hand kid stores are awesome places to buy anything & everything for your kids ranging from books, clothes, toys, & more. Often, these places will buy your old stuff & you can take cash or accept a credit at the store.

Beauty/Grooming

{see cleaning up my beauty routine & saving money while I’m at it}

22. Go more natural.
I use coconut oil for a moisturizer & most days wear a pretty bare face. I do like makeup, especially mascara, but reserve primping for special occasions, which helps save on my total makeup bill.

23. Wear glasses (at least part of the time).
If you have less than stellar vision & need contacts or glasses (like me!), opt to wear glasses at least some of the time. I figure I can save $100 a year just by wearing my glasses most days of the weak & saving contact wear for swimming & working out.

I bought $30 frames from Walmart several years ago & they’re still going strong despite all the use I’ve put into them. If I wear contacts all of the time, every day, it costs about $20 a month. If I wear my glasses for atleast half of the month, I can cut that down to $5 or $10 a month. Not a big deal for me, because I actually *like* wearing glasses & this helps save over $100 a year.

24. Cut your own hair, &/or learn how to cut your kids/spouse’s hair.
I’ve been cutting my own hair for the last year (maybe I’ll do a post on it?) & use these scissors (they’re German & awesome–I did a lot of research & wanted shears that would last me 15 or 20 years & do a great job–these were the best I found without breaking the bank.) For Joseph & my boys. I use these clippers.

By cutting everyone’s hair myself, I figure we save a few hundred dollars a year.

 

Vacations

25. Go camping.
(FYI: If you’re military, you can get a yearly pass to National Parks for free!)

26. Visit family or friends instead of a cruise or resort stay.
If your lucky to have family or friends who will let you stay with them for a few days instead of a hotel, this can save a ton of $$. We’re getting to the point where our family is so big that this option is not becoming very appealing since it’s a lot to ask of anyone to host our crew for any amount of time. But we’ve had a blast staying with relatives as part of a vacation & it’s saved us a ton of money. (Now, if we have to stay in a hotel, we’d have to rent two rooms!)

27. Stay-cations.
Always lots of options where you live of places to visit. Even it’s just a day trip, you can do a lot & save on hotel & food money if you keep it fairly local.

Books

28. Shop library book sales & Amazon.
A good chunk of our children’s books were purchased for $.25-$.50 at various library book sales. Most libraries go through their inventories & sale older books that they no longer need to make room for newer titles. Ask your library when their yearly or semi-annual sale is. Also, check out  books that you’re interested in from the library first, then if you love it, buy on Amazon.

 

Gas

29. Save on gas & time by making 2-3 planned shopping trips a month.
I do one big Costco trip, usually at the beginning of the month. Then I do a refresher trip to the grocery store mid-month. I may do another trip towards the end of the month. But I keep my pantry & freezer well-stocked & I have a menu planning system that helps me avoid the grocery store. Because, let’s face it, with each trip to the grocery store, not only do you spend more time & energy but this usually means you’re spending more money as well.

30. Save on gas by planning errands.
Plan multiple errands in one trip to save on time & gas.

Everything else

31. Price compare.
Whenever we need to make a purchase, I always do some research & compare prices. Depending on the item, I look at craigslist, eBay, Amazon, & Costco. For big purchases, I always find at least three different prices for a product before taking the plunge.

32. Use mint.com.
This is a free online budgeting service that I use & love. It keeps track of all your accounts in one place & helps you track all of your spending. It’s my fave budgeting program I’ve used so far, & it’s free!

33. Use a credit card that offers cash back.
We use a credit card that offers cash back–1% on all purchases, plus 5% back on select purchases that changes every quarter. We earn a few hundred dollars every year by doing this. (And, no, though we are doing a debt snowball, we aren’t doing Dave Ramsey’s program.)

34. Shop at consignment shops, second-hand clothing stores, Goodwill.
Buying second hand is an good for the wallet & good for the environment. Goodwill isn’t the only place to buy second hand–there are plenty of adult consignment shops that sell gently used, stylish trends & name brand clothes at a huge discount.

35. Shop on eBay.
I’ve shared some tips for how I make money on eBay, but I also buy stuff on eBay too. Last year, I bought a nearly brand new iPod for $50. It wasn’t the latest model, but it did the job of storing music & allowing us to listen to podcasts which is the primary use for our iPod.

♥

Do you have anything else to add to the list?
What things do you do to save money?
Please share!

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