Things My Family Does to Save Money

My family and I have a list of things we do in order to save money. In the last year (can you believe it has been a year?) we have gotten even better at saving and living frugally. I also think that living a frugal life leads to a more satisfying life. To slow down and appreciate what you have rather than what you don’t is satisfying. We are certainly not perfect. I have been known to go down the Amazon rabbit hole and purchase things I don’t need. But just like weight loss and exercise, you can try again. Here is just a few of the things we do:

1. My husband makes a big batch of something every couple of weeks and freezes it in individual containers for his lunch. Chili is his favorite. But he we will mix it up with options like chicken curry. We buy the meat in bulk and most of the time, he uses vegetable we have on hand. Most of the time, he freezes two weeks worth of meals in sour cream and cottage cheese containers we have saved for that purpose.
2. Don’t waste food. Turn old vegetables into broth, milk into yogurt or fruit into ice cream topping.
3. I am in two book clubs, both via zoom for now. I get all of my books from the library or audible. To be in a book club is free. Twice a month I spend time with friends, laughing and discussing books. We meet without fail, on a specific date. You don’t have to spend a lot of money in a restaurant or bar to socialize with friends.
4. Audit your insurance premiums on a regular basis. Every other year I contact our insurance agent to make sure our premiums are correct. Every single time, he has found that our cost to rebuild our home is too high for the area we live in. We have received several refund checks over $150 over the years. I also take my kids on and off our auto insurance based on if they are at school. I am not going to pay for auto insurance that is not being used.
5. Do you have cable and every streaming service out there? We cut our cable. We utilize the streaming services, a lot of them actually. But, we stay home a lot and enjoy movie night at home, with home cooked meals, in our pajamas.
6. I roll errands into one day. The environmentalist in me is more the reason for this choice. But, it saves us a lot of money. It is not uncommon for us to go several weeks without have to fill our gas tanks. I have Thursdays off of work, so on that day I do the grocery shopping and any other errands that need to be done.
7. Look into the rewards programs at local businesses. Our vet has such a program. Reward points are given with each dollar spent and when we reach a certain point, a $100 credit is placed on our account. It’s an easy way to make money off of money you already have to spend.
8. Enjoy the simple things, like doing a puzzle or playing a board game at home. I am always exchanging puzzles with people.
9. Turn your thermostat down. Ours is set at 68 during the day and 60 at night. I will admit to adjusting that the last couple weeks as the midwest is in a serious deep freeze. I do not want to wake up to frozen pipes because saving a few dollars was more important. Sometimes you have to spend a little extra to avoid spending a lot.
10. Cancel subscriptions your don’t use.
11. Plant a garden in the summer and preserve it for the winter. Take advantage of local fruits and vegetable you aren’t growing yourself when in season and preserve. We are still eating canned tomatoes, red peppers, salsa, pasta sauce, jams, pie fillings, apple sauce and countless other summer treasures. So far, I know that I did not make enough pasta sauce, canned tomatoes and jams. We have A LOT of relish though.
12. Make your own cleaning products with baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and vodka. The internet has an endless supply of recipes to make these things at home.
13. Automate savings. We have a certain amount of money taken out of our checking account and invested into a mutual fund every two weeks. We have learned to live without that money. We also have been having money invested into 529 plans for our kids since 1999. Our oldest graduated in December. When we paid his final tuition payment in September, we just took that amount and started to apply to the account of our middle child. Once she graduates, number three will get the full amount invested every month.
14. In the summer use the sun and wind to dry your laundry. It is completely free.
15. Take up a hobby that also provides home goods. I have been making my own candles and taught myself how to make soap recently.
16. Utilize Goodwill. I will admit that I don’t do this. But my husband and daughters do and they save a lot of money on clothing. Personally, I do not have the patience to go through everything. I wish I did.

I know I have missed a lot of ideas. Please send me anything I have missed, I love hearing what other people do.