There are plenty of ways to save money—make a budget, spend less, cook dinner instead of doing take-out again—and if you’re trying to cut your expenses, you’ve probably tried (or at least heard about) them all. But even for those of you who’re already doing all the right things, here are a few more uncommon tricks to saving a few bucks here and there.
Be honest: How often do you realize that you let your milk, leftovers, or veggies go bad? Your secret is safe with me, but know that every time you throw out that (gross, mushy, smelly) expired food, you’re throwing away money.
If you do this often, I recommend putting a calendar on your fridge, with a pen tied to it for easy access. When you return from the store and put your groceries away, write down the date your milk will go bad (“November 27: Milk expires”) or how long you have to eat those chicken breasts. What I love about this is that it serves for good dinner inspiration—“Oh, I have to eat those mushrooms and that chicken” can lead to Thai Chicken Coconut Soup with mushrooms if I’m inspired, or a simple chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms if it’s been a long day.
I know this might sound crazy, but instead of throwing out—or even composting—your kitchen scraps, look into what can actually regenerate. By putting the root of lemongrass in a glass jar with a little water or re-planting the end of your onions, you can (almost magically) end up with free food! In fact, there are at least 16 foods that’ll grow back from the bits and pieces you have leftover.
In the winter, use your oven as often as you can find the excuse to. It’ll keep your home toasty, while reducing the need for another heat source (which you likely need to pay for). Conversely, in the summer, using your microwave instead of your oven will keep the temperature (and A/C bills) from skyrocketing.
4. Stop Buying Fabric SoftenerI love soft fabrics as much as the next lady, but instead of spending money on all those expensive brands, you can make wool dryer balls that serve the same purpose. Two extra incentives to try this simple craft: You can pick whatever scent you want by adding essential oils, and you’ll cut your dryer time by 25-50%, cutting costs yet again!
Unless you’re buying things at the last minute (which is almost always more expensive and gives you fewer options—so don’t do it!), you have lots of choice as to what to buy and when. Try sites like Have to Have to tell you when clothing items go on sale, Kayak to get fare alerts on flights, or CamelCamelCamel to create wish lists and get notifications when items from Amazon are discounted. Why pay $150 for those boots if you could pay $90, right?
According to The Simple Dollar, “a clean air filter can improve your gas mileage by up to 7%, saving you more than $100 for every 10,000 miles you drive in an average vehicle.” That just seems like a no brainer, especially how easy it is to clean your filter with just a vacuum cleaner.
And while you’re in the get-more-mileage-out-of-your-car sort of mood, make sure to pump up your tires to the recommended level—for every three pounds per square inch (PSI) that your tires are below the recommended level, you lose 1% on your gas mileage. Most car tires are actually five to 10 PSI below the normal level, so you could be improving your gas mileage by up to 3-4%!
What uncommon ways have you found to trim your budget?
Alex is a Founder of The Daily Muse, where she crafts plans to conquer the world one feature at a time. In her spare time, Alex can be found on her road bike or tracking down the best froyo in New York City. She also makes a mean soup… Follow her on twitter @acavoulacos.
Also if your milk keeps going bad before you can use it, isn't that a sign you should buy smaller bottles? OK, maybe it costs 1.00 for 2 litres vs a good 0.70 for 1 litre, but if you end up throwing half of the larger one away every time you're still wasting 0.30 per bottle.
*blink* *blink*> Use the correct heat source...pray tell, where does the "waste" heat (which that not used for cooking the food surely is) go to from the other sources of cooking energy that aren't ovens? I'm pretty sure that ends up in the household air as well.
Thing is, my heating runs off natural gas, which is 1/3rd the price per usable BTU vs electricity. Using the oven as a general heat source - or even just its waste heat - other than as an "it's freezing in here, let's warm up ASAP" booster or when the gas system has broken down, would be exceptionally wasteful.
And the micro may not emit much in the way of thermal energy other than what goes into the food itself, but that's because its overall actual energy use is a lot lower - and that energy can then but put into, say, running a small heater in another room. Not everyone wants to, or is even able to take what they've cooked and eat it in the kitchen itself. Maybe you can take the ~1000w difference between oven and micro, for 5 or so minutes, plus the 2000w for 15 more minutes not spent pre-heating the oven, and shove it into running a 500w heater in the small box study where you're working on the computer, reading or watching TV...
Alex great article the food calendar is a great idea because I am constantly throwing away food. I had never heard of a wool ball replacing dryer sheets that is something I will have to try.
Another thing people need to do is review their bills and one of the largest bills for people today is their cell bill. http://teamworkcounts.com shows you not only how to lower the bill but it even shows you the possibility of lowering it to nothing. Just watch the short video.
Again thanks on the great tips.
No. 4 says save money on fabric softener by making wool dryer balls. What about the incredibly imaginative retro technique of hanging your clothes up to dry and saving on the dryer costs. This is also good for the environment and since you have to lift each garment up to hang it you get a free exercise class built in. Cool.
You can go one further on the food calendar, and use your receipts as a reference for what food in the fridge you need to eat before it goes bad. Here's an article explaining the process: http://www.moneysavingenthusiast.com/2012/07/26/save-money-on-food-receipt-reference-technique/
The bonus is if you live in a state with no income tax where you can deduct the sales tax from your federal taxes; it forces you to keep the receipts, and, therefore, log your paid sales tax.
Saving money is a must especially when you live independently or if you have a family. These pointers are definitely very useful. Hopefully, more people will be able to save some cash on a rainy day. Procurement Books
