Everyday ideas that will save you money!
What you can do to save!
Saving money is fun and rewarding, but in this day and age, its a necessity! We all know the value of couponing and shutting off your lights, but isn't their more you can do?
The good news is that the answer is yes! Here are some tips to knock down your power bills and save where ever you go.
1. Unplug all of your appliances! Did you know that if you leave your T.V. and other appliances plugged in after you shut them off, that you are still using 40% of the power you would be if they were turned on? Its true! I have been unplugging mine for years.
2. Compost and garden! Please read this one carefully. This is my favorite way to save and help your neighbors! Instead of putting your leaves in a bag and throwing them to the curb this fall, try this tip. A. Take all of your leaves and pile them up in your yard about 7-12 inches deep, and wet them down, or do it right before a snow storm.Then, instead of throwing out your fruit and veggie waste,like peels, throw them on the leaves and pile more leaves on them. Why? In the spring the grass will be dead and your new garden will be ready to plant. Some people actually pick up all of the pumpkins and bags of leaves in their neighborhood and pile them up. It works well and they are all rotted down to soil in the spring! B. Then, plant seeds instead of buying plants. Tomatoes, peppers and especially potatoes and squash of all kinds are easy if started very early. C. Use plastic garbage cans and any large container to collect rain water for you garden. D. If you fish, bury the heads and insides in the soil, under the compost. Dig down about 8 or so inches, and then put the compost back over the filled in hole. Then look in the leaves/compost for worms on a warm day. Also, use grasshoppers, Japanese Beatles, and other pests that eat your veggies, for bait. That turns bad things like pests and trash into good things like fresh veggies and fish for dinner! E. Look for fruit trees and bushes on sale or grow them from seeds. Pares and elder berries grow well and produce about the best with little work.
If you rent, potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers grow very well in flower pots.
3. Don't rent or buy movies or music albums if you have a computer. Watching movies online legally, is free! Try Crackle, YouTube, and many others. Youtube makes saving musical AND movie playlists very easy!
4. Winterize your house. There are many ways to do this. Look on line to find the best way for your house to be sealed this winter.
5. Take on a cheap hobby (on top of gardening) that will help you produce. If you can get extra hours at work then do so. If not or on top of that, pick a hobby like fishing, or crafting that will help you make or save money. I fish for fun and food and do it very cheap, unlike a lot of my friends. Also, I collect bottles. when I find out that some are worthless, I put them in my wood burning stove and melt them until they look like a glass blown decoration. They sell. So find something you can do that will help, and start making these for your home, yourself.
Last for now...
6. Frequent the dollar stores, and I mean 1 dollar stores! You will find all of your cleaning supplies, paper ware, decorations, Tupperware, trash bags, candles, you name it, if you look! you will get good sized bottles of cleaning supplies for $1, when grocery stores will charge $3-$7 for the same size. Plus, The Dollar Tree carries more Made in America goods than any other store I have been to! Yes, that is important.
Bike and Walk- Get in shape and save! As the cost of gas goes up, not only does the cost of driving your car, but bus fare does too. Get a safe bike and try to bike and walk to work or wherever you can safely.
This will get you started. I will put up a more in depth list soon. Thanks for reading and good luck!
