The best way to save money is not to waste anything!
Don't use more water than you need (saving you the cost of the water and the heating of it).
Don't waste food. For everything you throw out you are throwing dollars out the door. I cleaned my fridge the other day and found a bag of salad mix that we had only used 1/2 of before it got shoved to the back of the fridge where it froze. $1.00 thrown out!
Don't run your car longer than it needs to be run (wasting gas).
Do only full loads of clothes and if you use dryer sheets cut them into thirds. They still work the same but you save money.
Same with laundry soap. Don't use more than you need and if you have to wash a smaller load of clothes adjust your water level and your soap amount.
Don't overfeed your pets. Don't overfeed yourself either.
Turn out lights not being used and turn off tv's and stereos not being used.
If you think about it, on an average day, people waste so much.
I am sure I have posted this before....REcycling will save you so much money!! Garbage is expensive to pay for, not considering the once valuable things found inside bags! Most garbage DROP-OFF places offer recycling for free or under a dollar a large bag. Call around, once you find a place watch how long a garbage bag will last! We usually have 2 bags of recyclables to one bag of garbage. And to think of all the wonderful things my recyclables turn into!! carpets, polar fleece, new glass, new boxes.... hundreds of useful things! Yes I love this topic...waste less...save more money!
What Leann says is so true. We are a nation of wasters. I had to learn to be frugal very young. I was married at 17 and had 4 children by the age of 25. My husband was in the Army so money was very tight. Well I'm now an old grandma and still poor. What really makes me angry is people who just carelessly throw things away that are perfectly useful, even if it isn't to them. Someone could surely use them. I am a janitor and I clean offices, banks etc. I can't believe what some of these people just throw in the trash! I fish them out . If it's something I don't need or want I give to Goodwill or Salvation Army. These people make a big deal about giving to the poor and needy at holiday time. What about the rest of the year? Think before you throw something out or store it away. Could someone use this? I bet they can!!! Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without!
Without a doubt, we are a nation of spoiled, wasteful creatures. I suffered a severe cut to my income at the same time my expenses went up dramatically (new baby). I am learning to stretch a penny til it screams. Remarkably, I have cut my electric bill in half, and reduced my other utilities as well. I am (somehow) feeding my daughter and myself on $15 a week. If you had asked me two years ago to do this, I would have said it was impossible. We take so much for granted! I genuinely thought back then that I was broke all the time. I was, but only because I wasted a good portion of my income on fast food, convienences, and wasteful habits. If only I had lived frugally then and saved the "extra" $15,000 a year!
I wholeheartedly agree with Sandy but find it very hard to keep these thoughts in the forefront of my mind. I was going to make it a New Year resolution - but we all know how long they last! So I've decided to stick up some post it notes on the fridge and round the house to remind me.
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