Creative ways to Save Money

Saving money each month is not always easy. There are obvious things we can do, like carpool to work or school, cut back on eating out, cancel our cable service, etc., but hopefully we are already doing those things. This page includes some ideas for creative ways to save a little more money each month. It will amaze you at how much more you can save just by “thinking outside the box”.

Split the bill at Costco – Costco is a great place to buy groceries. The prices are great and the quality is even better. But unless you are feeding a family of 6 or more, by the end of the week you are bound to be throwing some rotting food away. I suggest that you shop with a friend or relative when you go to Costco. Get together before you go and plan a weekly food schedule (plan the same meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Then you can share what you buy at Costco, spending half as much and not feeling guilty about throwing all of that food away. You can split all of the produce, bread, milk, eggs, etc. and save a lot of money. Savings = $100-$400 a month

Prepare pre-made dinners - This concept takes some planning, but is worth the work to save money. One thing you can do is schedule an appointment at your local My Girlfriend’s Kitchen and in two hours you can prepare 10-15 full-sized dinners that you can take home and freeze. Or you can do the same thing at home. Just come up with 10-15 dinners that use similar staple ingredients and buy those in bulk, such as chicken, rice, ground beef, vegetables, etc. Compile a shopping list of everything you will need. Then set aside one whole weekend for preparing the meals. It is a lot of work for two days, but the rest of the month is a breeze. You will not believe how much money you can save. My sister in-law and her family were eating out three meals a day (spending $60 a day on food) when she decided to do this. For half of the cost she was able to prepare a month’s worth of meals. Savings = $50-$300 a month

Cut back on laundry detergent – In all honesty you can use about half of the amount that is recommended and it is more than enough to wash you clothes. This will allow you to buy laundry detergent half as often as you usually do. Savings = $5-$15 a month

Only rent DVD’s at Redbox – I know some movie lovers are spending a lot of money each month on DVD rentals. If you are signed up for a monthly subscription and you are trying to save money I would suggest canceling it. Most likely you are paying a minimum of $15/month. If you live anywhere close to a Wal-Mart or McDonald’s or gas station I would guess that you have a redbox nearby. Now to successfully use a redbox, you can only rent movies on the night you plan to watch them and you must commit to watching the whole movie and returning it the next night by 9 pm. This way you only get charge $1. Most likely (even if you are a huge movie buff) you are not watching 15 movies a month. Most people watch one rented movie per week, which ends up only costing $4 and some change using a redbox machine.

Change insurance companies, even if you love the one you are with right now –