1. Always use items that are reusable rather than throw away
For example: Reusable coffee filters, cups and plates, and my favorite pet peeve –
The great sandwich bag conspiracy
The major manufacturers of sandwich bags would lead us to believe that it takes rocket science to keep a sandwich fresh. Ask yourself this, How long do you need to keep that sandwich fresh anyway? It’s not like it’s going to the moon. It’s just going to the office or school for a few hours.
The most practical way to approach this is to purchase reusable sandwich size containers. This is also very environmentally friendly reducing a great deal of waste. If however, these have trouble finding there way back home ( which is likely if you have children), you can save substantially if you purchase the plain old pleated sandwich bag that cost a mere fraction of the razzle dazzle zipper kind. Your mother used these for years and years with great success. I have used both methods for years and have never received a complaint of a stale sandwich!
You’ll find that doing these little things like, using real cups and plates instead of paper or plastic throw away, and recycling containers for storage or even to use in craft projects, can save a lot of money. Each by itself may seem minor, but when put together amount to tremendous savings over time.
2. Don’t buy it if you won’t use it. Things like small kitchen appliances, repair tools, and gardening tools are good examples. We know they’ll make our life easier if we just had the opportunity to use them.
There are 101+ small countertop kitchen appliances available to chop it, grind it, mix it, open it, bake it, grill it…..well you get the message.
Simplify your life and narrow it down to a couple you just cant live without. For me its my blender and my food processor. Although, I’m seriously considering a bread maker. Not quite sure if it’s worth the money yet. Especially when I’m so close to a bread outlet. But, you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked bread. I’m not counting the coffer maker it’s kind of standard equipment these days. I wouldn’t dare ask you to give that up! What am I crazy? Well , maybe…….
It’s little things like the example above that identify frugal living.
3. Aways get the best value for your money. Shop around. If this is a major purchase you will want to know what to look for. Research and compare products on the internet or in sale flyers. There’s nothing more challenging to the retailer than an informed consumer. That’s what you want to be. An informed consumer knows when it’s a good value! Informed Consumer – More Savings
