Top 10 Ways I Have Cut My Expenses
March 28, 2008 by Karen Weideman
Filed under Top 10 lists, frugal friday, frugal living, saving money
Many of you know that I was a full-time teacher prior to having children. Cutting out one person’s entire income was an act of faith and determination, which left me pulling out all of my thrifty devices. Here is a list of the top things that I have done to cut out expenses.
1) Cut back on the grocery bill. This is one of the easiest ways that I have cut back on our spending. I began with my normal tactics of stocking up on great sales and buy 1 get 1 free offers. Then, I began using The Grocery Game and this has really paid off.
2) Shop for clearance items. I know all of the hot spots in Target for clearance items. You may think I’m a bit nuts, but I have a route of the store that I follow so that I can walk beside all of those clearance sections.
3) Purchase used clothing. I check out consignment stores for gently used clothing. I really like it when the consignment stores have end of the season sales. Last year, my local consignment store was having 75% off their winter clothing. I got 2 huge bags of clothes for around $50. It’s nice to see my daughter wearing the coat that I paid $2 for. 
4) Limit errands and driving. When I was working, it was convenient to stop here and there on my way home. Now that I’m at home, I try to limit my errands to one or two days a week. Errands eat up time and gas.
5) Stay out of stores. If I go into a store “just to look around” then it is very tempting to make impulse purchases. When making my list of errands, I include all those stores that I need to go to for that day. This limited amount of time also cuts back on the amount of time I can spend in the stores.
6) Graciously accept used clothing from friends. A large portion of my daughter’s clothing has been passed down to me from my best friend. Her daughter is 9 months older than mine and her daughter’s clothes have been such a blessing to us.
7) Avoid catalogs. When I was teaching, I would receive catalogs from Current, Christian Book Distributors, ABC Distributing, Oriental Trading . . . I could go on and on. I would pass the catalogs around my work and we would all place orders together to save on shipping. Saving on shipping sounds good, right? Well, actually all those catalogs caused me to buy things I didn’t really need.
8) Avoid going out to eat. When you’re working out of the house, there is less time to plan and prepare meals, and less energy to follow through. Since I became a work-from-home-mom, I have made a bigger effort to avoid restaurants. Now when I do the checkbook each month, I see where we have gone out to eat 3-4 times. When I was working, it was more like 6-9 times a month.
9) Quit buying things just because they are on clearance. This is a weak spot that I used to have. I would get stuff for 75-90% off and put it away for this and that, thinking that I would use the stuff. I was left with a lot of clutter. Thankfully, I got the stuff so cheap that I was able to put it in my yard sale and get my money back.
10) Haggle whenever possible. Negotiate on credit card interest rates, cell phone plans, cable television packages, and more. You can save your family a pretty good amount of money if you’re willing to get on the phone and start talking.
These are the best ways that I have found to save money. Do you have any other ways to add? We can all learn from one another.
We have done much the same–staying home makes the biggest difference. We also cut at least $600 off this years gas bill by covering the windows with tons of plastic bags and blankets and keeping it set at 67.
We’re doing a lot of those things as well. I have become the coupon queen in our house and it’s amazing how much those little guys can save you.
great post…thanks for sharing!
LOL, I do that Target thing myself! I always walk around the perimeter first to see what’s on sale. I’ve gotten some great buys that way. However, I have also trained myself to not buy something ‘just because it’s 75% off and it might make a nice gift.’ I honestly don’t need the clutter in my house. But if it’s something I can actually use, then I go for it.
I’ve been playing The Grocery Game for about 3 years now and it has saved me an average of 40% a week. It has really helped me keep my head above water.
Tonight, I’m making a noble effort at home made pizza. A pie costs about $11 around here, but I think the ingredients for this homemade one will be less than $5. I didn’t really calculate. I’m curious to see if it comes out!
Great list! Thanks so much for some great advice!
Caroline
SmartyPantsMama.blogspot.com
Come stop by!
I started shopping at a local produce market rather than the supermarket for my fruits and veggies, and the produce market charges me HALF of what I paid at Safeway! Plus, I’m more likely to run into cute single women or single moms (an important shopping artifact for a single dad like me)
Wow! Great article. I just quit my job as an academic advisor to be a stay-at-home mom, and this article has all of the things I’ve been thinking about! Thanks!
~Christina
We’re doing much of the same– except I still find it really hard to cut out the restaurant meals.
dadshouse: I went to Harris Teeter Saturday for triple coupon day and saw many single men checking out the ladies. lol I usually go to the store during weekdays when most people are at work, so I didn’t realize all the flirting that goes on in grocery stores.
I was surprised at all the men I saw taking advantage of triple coupon day.
These are really great tips. We live in a fairly wealthy area (although we are NOT!), and there are a few consignment shops around here that carry some awesome brand-name clothing for REALLY good prices!
We also buy our son his jeans on Ebay when we can. We have purchased size 16 Tommy Hilfiger jeans for $12!
Avoid Going Out To Eat
- one way to do this is to have a packed meal prepared which you could take with you to work. Another way to keep your self from eating out is to cook a homemade dinner which you could re-heat the following day