It’s been a while since I’ve updated on this, so I’ll list the top 10 things I’ve been doing to save money this past week.
Shopping as a group. My friend, DaMama, & I have been doing group shopping for the last two weeks, with my friend, Chandra, and DaMama taking turns driving as they have larger vehicles. (My little 4 door car wouldn’t hold the three of us plus all that shopping. Sad, but true.) Carpooling couponers – saves everyone $$, helps save our planet.
I keep an eagle eye out for the utilities – wash all clothes, linens, and bedding cold water. Dishwasher used during off peak hours (after 11 p.m. here). TV is not turned on as background noise. I usually charge my cellphone in my car, so I make better use of my electric.
Fuel rewards. Love these things. Every $10 spent at Jewel (before coupons) gives us $.01 off per gallon, recorded on your loyalty card. Doesn’t seem like much, but we accumulated $.47 off in 4 weeks of couponing. Now we will trade off every week with someone’s preferred shopper card, giving each of us a chance at the cheaper fuel.
Instead of buying a bottle brush to clean a hard to wash plastic container, I took DaMama’s suggestion to use a small amount of bleach – let it soak, then wash it by hand. Works like a dream – and I spent $0!
Flavor your meat!!! I cannot stress that enough during the summer. I’ve grabbed dozens of marinade seasoning packets (just add water, etc.) and am using those to season chicken, beef, and pork. Total spent on those marinade packets = $0!! In our burgers last night – DH add in some A-1, since we have over a dozen (FREE) bottles to work off of. The ground beef used was from the Target $2 beef Q (we grabbed stew meat and DH ground it himself). The steaks he grilled were free after using tearpad Q’s for $1 beef with purchase of 1 bottle of A-1.
Redbox – we rented the movie “Taken” and ate grilled meat, tortillas, rice, and beans with a salad for date night. All we had to buy was the lettuce. Cost $.59. Love the price of date night!!
For an upcoming wedding, I’ve offered to make the rosary used in the ceremony. I’ve got tons of pearls, I grabbed a pretty gold cross at Michael’s on clearance for $1.99, so my total cost to make a wedding gift is well below $5!
Entertainment lately has been reading, beading, and napping – and before 8 p.m. none of them require electricity.
For the upcoming holiday weekend, we’ll spend 2 days in Milwaukee, return home to spend time with visiting family. We’ve been invited to a BBQ Saturday and another on Sunday. I’ll bake something when we return from Milwaukee (which means the good land) – I’m thinkin’ of making the vanilla berry almond cake – it yields 2 and is oh, so yummy! I’m hungry just thinking about it.
Usingers – I love sausage, especially on the grill and when we’re in Milwaukee, a trip to the Spice House and Usingers sausage is a must. Last time we came home with 9 – 20-22 oz. pkgs of 5 different kinds of sausage – and spent less than $10!! The Spice House is where I splurge, grabbing Chicago Deep Dish Pizza spice, toasted onion, and roasted garlic powders. I could die happy after a trip there. The crazy thing, it’s cheaper to buy spices there than at Jewel, Dominicks, Meijer, etc.
Some ideas on saving money while having a good time in July:
Concerts in the park
Colonial Cafe has their single scoop homemade ice cream cones $.50 each, limit one per person per day.
BBQ's, potlucks, picnics in the park, etc.
We're planning our own take on Rib Fest, a fun yet pricey venue where you can taste ribs from across the country. We keep getting free BBQ sauce, free marinade packets, and using the $6 off Gather Round the Grill coupons. We'll pick a weekend and try half a dozen variations on ribs/chicken BBQ style. I can't wait to try some new ideas!!
Any ideas on ways I can save? I’d love some tips to try!!
Shopping as a group. My friend, DaMama, & I have been doing group shopping for the last two weeks, with my friend, Chandra, and DaMama taking turns driving as they have larger vehicles. (My little 4 door car wouldn’t hold the three of us plus all that shopping. Sad, but true.) Carpooling couponers – saves everyone $$, helps save our planet.
I keep an eagle eye out for the utilities – wash all clothes, linens, and bedding cold water. Dishwasher used during off peak hours (after 11 p.m. here). TV is not turned on as background noise. I usually charge my cellphone in my car, so I make better use of my electric.
Fuel rewards. Love these things. Every $10 spent at Jewel (before coupons) gives us $.01 off per gallon, recorded on your loyalty card. Doesn’t seem like much, but we accumulated $.47 off in 4 weeks of couponing. Now we will trade off every week with someone’s preferred shopper card, giving each of us a chance at the cheaper fuel.
Instead of buying a bottle brush to clean a hard to wash plastic container, I took DaMama’s suggestion to use a small amount of bleach – let it soak, then wash it by hand. Works like a dream – and I spent $0!
Flavor your meat!!! I cannot stress that enough during the summer. I’ve grabbed dozens of marinade seasoning packets (just add water, etc.) and am using those to season chicken, beef, and pork. Total spent on those marinade packets = $0!! In our burgers last night – DH add in some A-1, since we have over a dozen (FREE) bottles to work off of. The ground beef used was from the Target $2 beef Q (we grabbed stew meat and DH ground it himself). The steaks he grilled were free after using tearpad Q’s for $1 beef with purchase of 1 bottle of A-1.
Redbox – we rented the movie “Taken” and ate grilled meat, tortillas, rice, and beans with a salad for date night. All we had to buy was the lettuce. Cost $.59. Love the price of date night!!
For an upcoming wedding, I’ve offered to make the rosary used in the ceremony. I’ve got tons of pearls, I grabbed a pretty gold cross at Michael’s on clearance for $1.99, so my total cost to make a wedding gift is well below $5!
Entertainment lately has been reading, beading, and napping – and before 8 p.m. none of them require electricity.
For the upcoming holiday weekend, we’ll spend 2 days in Milwaukee, return home to spend time with visiting family. We’ve been invited to a BBQ Saturday and another on Sunday. I’ll bake something when we return from Milwaukee (which means the good land) – I’m thinkin’ of making the vanilla berry almond cake – it yields 2 and is oh, so yummy! I’m hungry just thinking about it.
Usingers – I love sausage, especially on the grill and when we’re in Milwaukee, a trip to the Spice House and Usingers sausage is a must. Last time we came home with 9 – 20-22 oz. pkgs of 5 different kinds of sausage – and spent less than $10!! The Spice House is where I splurge, grabbing Chicago Deep Dish Pizza spice, toasted onion, and roasted garlic powders. I could die happy after a trip there. The crazy thing, it’s cheaper to buy spices there than at Jewel, Dominicks, Meijer, etc.
Some ideas on saving money while having a good time in July:
Concerts in the park
Colonial Cafe has their single scoop homemade ice cream cones $.50 each, limit one per person per day.
BBQ's, potlucks, picnics in the park, etc.
We're planning our own take on Rib Fest, a fun yet pricey venue where you can taste ribs from across the country. We keep getting free BBQ sauce, free marinade packets, and using the $6 off Gather Round the Grill coupons. We'll pick a weekend and try half a dozen variations on ribs/chicken BBQ style. I can't wait to try some new ideas!!
Any ideas on ways I can save? I’d love some tips to try!!
Posts
I absolutely LOVE your date night price!
Thanks, Precious! Sometimes I forget how satisfying little things like that can be.