Here’s my update on what we’ve been doing to save some money. 

• In order to keep our electric bill lower:
• We have refused to turn the heat on, the coldest it’s gotten inside this past month was about 66.  It was really close to turning the heat on temps but we piled on the blankets and made cookies.
• If there is daylight the lights in the house have been off, when we’ve needed light I’ve been sure to only use the lights with the energy saving bulbs.
• I’ve been keeping all appliances on a power strip and shutting them off when possible, we’ve also kept the TV more this month.
• Keeping my grocery bills low by
• Clipping my coupons and matching coupons to sales to save.
• Stockpiling items that are rock bottom prices – we all know that prices are going up and will continue to climb so I’m stocking up when I can
• We are using all of our food.  I make lunches with leftovers or freeze items so that they can get used later.  Throwing away any food is unacceptable since it’s the same as directly throwing your money into the trashcan.
• Keeping my gas usage to the bare minimums by
• Staying home as much as I can.  You can save lots of money if you don’t leave the house both on possible impulse purchases and gas.
• When we do go out I plan all my trips so that I’m best utilizing my gas

There are also a list of other little things that we do to save money.  I pack lunch for Shawn everyday (saves me $1.50 at least a day), Dave also takes his lunches, I make coffee at home whenever I get a Mocha craving (saves me $4).  That’s just a few things we do to save a bit everyday.

What have you been doing to save money this month.  I’m going to be keeping my receipts this month to see how much I’m spending and how much I’m saving.  We’ve also sworn off eating out this month I’ll be adding that money to my grocery budget and buying more meats when I see a good price.  I can’t stock my freezer too full this month since Shawn has a frozen cookie dough fundraiser and I have to store it until we can deliver all his sales.  So far he’s sold 9 boxes 1 more and he gets 2 pulls from the giftcard tree!!