What are Some of the Things I do to Save Money?

There are many other things that can be done outside of couponing that allow me to save money. I think my number 1 money saving habit is shopping the clearance rack. Just Tuesday I spent $7.31 in a store called Cititrends. I walked out with a short set for my son, 2 short sets for my daughter, a pair of baby phat capris for my daughter, a dress for myself, a rip cord motorcycle for my son, and a smocked dress for my daughter. The majority of the clothes in this store are urban brands. Because of this, the prices are a little too high for my taste. I don't even look at the regular racks. I simply walk in and hit the clearance racks to see what deals are to be had. Everything except the toy and the short set for my son were marked $1, the car was marked $1.50, and the short set $2.93. Each rang up $1 obviously, well it was more like .93 cents. I shop all of my stores this way. I have no problem buying things out of season if I have room in the budget. This saves me money and time in the long run. I'm in NC and up until Monday it was not hot, but there were days you could go outside with only a long sleeve coat on. For this reason I often buy my children their winter coats for Christmas. But, during spring/summer when the weather just changes without warning I don't have to be in the stores that weekend with all the other parents trying to buy clothes which equals major chaos. I have a few outfits, possibly an entire wardrobe due to me shopping off season.

A budget is also a good way to save money. I mean actually making a budget, and sticking to it. Start with your income if you work a corporate postion and subtract all your bills from there. Then, I use to allot 10-20% of the remaining money to my savings account. You may or may not be able to do this, that is totally fine. This is an emergency fund for a rainy day if you should need it. After that is done I allot a certain amount on groceries. This depends on the area you live in, how big/little your stockpile is, and once again your financial situation. You can also create an entertainment/spending money group. This is the money you do whatever with. This is the money my $7 shopping trip was purchased with. Once again, depending on your situation you will do what you see fit with it. I have used this money for stockpiling before. We had food in the house so we did not need to go out to eat, movies from redbox for $1 were cheaper than going to the movies, etc.

We rarely eat out. If it is with someone elses money then we're game, but we eat our meals at home for the most part. Monday we were out all day, so we ate McDonalds. Prior to that, the last time we at out was also at McDonalds in September on the way back from Hilton Head Island(we were living in GA so it was not a long trip at all). That right there saves a load of money. When I was working outside the home I took my lunch. Most of the time it was leftovers from the previous night, and sometimes it would be "tv dinner" type things I got on a good deal with coupons. I use to work for IBM and we had a cafeteria. The food was AMAZING! I spent on average $7 a day at lunch. If I did not have time to eat breakfast for whatever reason that was another $5. So, just saying I ate lunch there every day, which I did for a while, I spent at least $35 a week on lunch. That is my total grocery shopping for the entire week now and I can promise you I get more food now than I did then. When I thought of it that way it put things into prospective for me about my spending. I still miss their buffalo chicken tenders even though that was like a $10 meal because I had to have my grapes, and the chicken was sold by weight.

I shop thrift stores, yard sales, craigslist, etc. There is nothing wrong with these places. We have a Goodwill that gets the things target was just going to destroy, as a result I've gotten many great things including a Mr. Potato head for my son that was missing an earring. Really, it's missing an earring so they discard it as unsalable? Well, I guess if I was shopping target I would want all my pieces, but you get my drift. Other things have nothing wrong with them like the overstock Christmas stuff, or Halloween costumes they sell. It's not just about use clothing that people for whatever reason seem to be disgusted by. I have no problem with used clothing either. If you've purchased used from ebay from a seller selling many different sizes chances are they got the clothes from a thrift. Honestly, if you did not get the clothes from a sales associate as they unpack your item from the box then chances are someone has tried your clothes on before you purchased them, thus they're used. I wash everything before wearing it anyway both "new" and used so it does not bother me, but others it does and I understand, I guess. I got a brand new stove(what your hair stylist heats her curling irons up in) complete with the hot pad for $1, a $3 bread machine(which deserves an entry to itself on making things from scratch), $10 rival seal a meal with all the accessories, etc from garage sales. If you live close to a military base check out www.bookoo.com they not just for military people, but they are centered around them. People deploying, or wives moving back home because their husband is deploying put stuff on there for sale amazingly cheap.

Of course I could go on and on about the things I do to save money, but that would take a few pages of my blog and most likely feel like information overload to some. So, we'll save those for another day, and perhaps I can catagorize them or something of that nature.