I asked some of my lovely July/August sponsors to share some of their favorite frugal tips with my readers. Here are their #1 money saving tips:
Tips for a Frugal Kitchen-
Sara from You.And.Me. Are.We: The most enjoyable way I am frugal is by making our own bread. The loaves of bread we used to buy in the store set us back at least $3.50 so we'd freeze them and just pull out the slices as we needed them. This worked for awhile and we ended up just putting up with freezer-burnt bread all of the time. When I got a bread maker, things really changed! It was so easy for me to load a few ingredients into it and start baking. Now, we make smaller loaves and use it up within a week.
For my favorite bread recipes, check out this post! Stop over at You.And.Me.Are.We and find more posts about our budget living. Looking forward to seeing you there!
A little tip from your's truly: One of my favorite money saving tips for the kitchen is to USE YOUR FREEZER! It is no secret around here that I just hate throwing anything out. This is where your freezer can become your grocery budget's best friend. Some of you may remember my chiles in adobo cubes from my Don't Toss That! Freeze It! post. Have fruits and veggies that about to become overripe? Get them in the freezer. I will do a quick boil then an ice bath with tomatoes, peel and chop them, and freeze them flat in a freezer bag. Then I can defrost them later to use in homemade pasta sauce or in chili. I peel bananas, roll them in aluminum foil, and freeze them to use in smoothies later. I even freeze coffee leftover from the morning! (<<<Be looking for a post on this one VERY soon. ;) )
Tips for a Budget Friendly Closet-
Janelle from Domestically Seasoned: Save money by going to thrift stores, consignments, and end-of-season sales for your family's clothing. To me, it is more fun finding a bargain than just choosing what's in front of me. Bargain shopping encourages contentment in children and helps them to become a better steward of their money. Resale/consignment shopping is not only cost effective, it's environmentally friendly. Thrift stores are almost always run by a charity. So whether it's at the Salvation Army, or a local church or school, your shopping is actually a donation to a good cause. So go shopping for used clothing!
Christa from Crisduh: One in, one out rule. I am guilty of buying more clothes than I'll ever be able to wear. So when I see a shirt that I really want, I ask myself if there is a shirt, or another article of clothing, in my closet at home that I can part with. The answer is usually yes, and often times I end up finding more than one item that I decide I really don't need anymore. Then, I keep these discarded items in a big bag and go to a consignment store about once a month to sell the items I don't wear. I usually make $40-$60 on what I sell back, which I put in savings or use for groceries. This rule helps me live more simplistically, which I think is the root of frugal living.
A Tip for Saving Money With Baby-
Nicole from Me & the Moon: Make sure you know what stores will accept competitors' coupons/sales/prices. That's a biggie for us- especially with baby stuff. We were really amazed at how helpful some of the baby stores' staff has been in letting us know different ways we can get deals. My best example is a Buy Buy Baby associate letting me know that they would in fact honor a sale on food pouches at Babies 'R Us, and that they will often accept a lower price you find on a QR reader app on your smart phone. Handy to know for moms!
What is your favorite money saving tip? I would love to know, so please comment below and share! :)
A little tip from your's truly: One of my favorite money saving tips for the kitchen is to USE YOUR FREEZER! It is no secret around here that I just hate throwing anything out. This is where your freezer can become your grocery budget's best friend. Some of you may remember my chiles in adobo cubes from my Don't Toss That! Freeze It! post. Have fruits and veggies that about to become overripe? Get them in the freezer. I will do a quick boil then an ice bath with tomatoes, peel and chop them, and freeze them flat in a freezer bag. Then I can defrost them later to use in homemade pasta sauce or in chili. I peel bananas, roll them in aluminum foil, and freeze them to use in smoothies later. I even freeze coffee leftover from the morning! (<<<Be looking for a post on this one VERY soon. ;) )
Tips for a Budget Friendly Closet-
Janelle from Domestically Seasoned: Save money by going to thrift stores, consignments, and end-of-season sales for your family's clothing. To me, it is more fun finding a bargain than just choosing what's in front of me. Bargain shopping encourages contentment in children and helps them to become a better steward of their money. Resale/consignment shopping is not only cost effective, it's environmentally friendly. Thrift stores are almost always run by a charity. So whether it's at the Salvation Army, or a local church or school, your shopping is actually a donation to a good cause. So go shopping for used clothing!
Christa from Crisduh: One in, one out rule. I am guilty of buying more clothes than I'll ever be able to wear. So when I see a shirt that I really want, I ask myself if there is a shirt, or another article of clothing, in my closet at home that I can part with. The answer is usually yes, and often times I end up finding more than one item that I decide I really don't need anymore. Then, I keep these discarded items in a big bag and go to a consignment store about once a month to sell the items I don't wear. I usually make $40-$60 on what I sell back, which I put in savings or use for groceries. This rule helps me live more simplistically, which I think is the root of frugal living.
A Tip for Saving Money With Baby-
Nicole from Me & the Moon: Make sure you know what stores will accept competitors' coupons/sales/prices. That's a biggie for us- especially with baby stuff. We were really amazed at how helpful some of the baby stores' staff has been in letting us know different ways we can get deals. My best example is a Buy Buy Baby associate letting me know that they would in fact honor a sale on food pouches at Babies 'R Us, and that they will often accept a lower price you find on a QR reader app on your smart phone. Handy to know for moms!
What is your favorite money saving tip? I would love to know, so please comment below and share! :)