What a week this has been. We have had a lot of messes to deal with here. All I can say right now is T.G.I.F.
Here are the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week
Use a little. Whenever I am using something like laundry soap or shampoo, I try to figure out the least amount I can use without being miserly. What’s the minimum amount of product that I can use while still getting everything as clean as I want it to be? The difference between 1 tablespoon and 2 seems inconsequential when you’re pouring, but over time it makes a difference. (Like those pennies we talked about!)
To me, the difference between being frugal rather than being cheap is that if I’m frugal, I’m getting creative and making small sacrifices to save. If I’m being cheap, I don’t care about the long term effects as long as I’m saving money now. “I don’t care if I’m actually clean, and I don’t care if someone else suffers so long as I save a buck.” So I’ll use the least I can while still being effective, not necessarily the least I can possibly use.
Made a phone call. We got a surprisingly high bill for our internet service, so I decided to make some calls and see if I could find a better deal. I’m not exactly sure why it always takes such a time investment to do this! Did I enjoy sitting on the phone listening to elevator music for an hour? Well, let’s just say I won’t be adding that to my “hobbies I enjoy” list.
But instead of banging my head on the wall while I asked for the 10th time if the customer service rep was still there, I decided to consider the money I save for the next year by making these calls my payment. So by my way of thinking, I got paid $420 (a year’s worth of savings) to spend an hour on the phone.
(Unfortunately, of that $420, only $60 of it accounts for real savings. The other $360 is money I would have had to find in our monthly bills had I done nothing.)
Dry milk. I like to keep dry milk on hand, so I’ll pick up a box when I catch it on sale. I like to use it in recipes that call for milk. My kids don’t like to drink it, but in a pinch they’ll put it on cereal. And it’s nice to know it’s in the house if we were snowed in or without power for an extended time.
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Buy by the unit cost. When I’m grocery shopping, I use a store that has unit prices in small print on their shelf price tags. I always have been somewhat aware of that pricing method, but I wasn’t a stickler for it. For a while my price point on cereal was $2 per box. If I found it at $2 or less per box I would buy.
After a while it occurred to me how much variety there is in box size. (Duh!) So I changed my price point to 16 cents per ounce. That’s a decent price point for my area in Ohio. Yours might be wildly different. You’ll have to figure out what a good price is for your area. Then, on the weeks where you find a variety of cereal (for instance) under that price point, be sure to stock up!
Don’t buy by the unit cost. On the other hand, there are certain objects that I won’t purchase based on unit cost. If I get individual containers of yogurt, the kid is going to grab one container and eat it regardless of how big or small it is. So for those types of purchases, I always figure my pricing out by the individual item cost rather than the per ounce cost.
Another example is fruit. I try to buy small pieces if I’m paying per pound, but large pieces if I’m paying per item.
- I’ve mentioned this before, so I won’t count it as one of my 5 ways. But I want to remind you about the Ibotta app. I just put this app on my phone about a month ago and I have already exceeded the $20 payout threshold with very little effort on my part! You’ll definitely want to use this app yourself. If you use my referral code to download this free app, you’ll start off with $10 right away. With a cash payout when you reach $20, you’ll be holding some extra cash back in no time! And you can support this blog with no out of pocket cost to you at all. Thanks so much!
Jump in and tell us the ways you saved money this week! If you blogged about it, be sure to leave a link.
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
Ha, I wish I could get by with dry milk. We go through 3 gallons a week, easy, plus 1/2 gallon of Half and Half. My hubby likes his moo juice.
I was pretty proud of myself this week, though, for using the square footage on the toilet paper to make the most cost effective purchase.
That’s a great idea on the TP. They sure don’t make it easy to compare prices with double rolls vs. mega rolls vs. large rolls. Makes your head spin!
All good tips. I like to shop online and use E-bates. They give you good deals in the stores and a small rebate. I made 66 cents last week 🙂 but my total for last month was around $8. It’s not a trip to Hawaii but it’s a step in the right direction.
I love shopping by unit price! It makes such a difference on my grocery budget! Hope next week is even better for you guys, sounds like you’ve had a lot going on! <3
I always forget dry milk even exists! Way to find such a frugal hack!
That’s wise! We need to really stretch our dollars and spend wisely without compromising quality. Good tips.
Great ways to save a buck. We use a cashback credit card to buy things we need (and don’t buy anything we don’t need) and that helps!
Unit price is smart shopping all right, and it’s amazing how many ppl don’t realize it!
I used my JCPenny coupons last week to buy the grandbaby a couple of new outfits. Total out of pocket was around $4.00. I blogged about the rest of my frugal accomplishments here”
http://www.vickieskitchenandgarden.com/2016/02/my-frugal-ways-this-past-week-2716.html
I also meant to say I’m calling and getting lower bill payments just like you…it’s a little hassle but so worth it. I’m like you I think of how much money I just saved for the year. It helps!
Popping over to read them now!
Great frugal post! I do the purchase by unit thing too, for things that make sense. It almost always works out to be a better deal to buy the bigger size, other than the things you mention like yogurts.
Visiting from Wonderful Wednesday blog hop!
Sometimes it’s a little tricky to decide whether to buy the cheaper unit or the cheaper item. I have to really think about how my kids will eat and what they will waste. Grocery shopping can be an art form! haha! Thanks for the visit.