I thought that I would share a few more tips that we have used on our Frugal Living journey.
Make homemade gifts. I have found that when I do so I get the satisfaction of creating something, and our sons are so very happy to receive them.
Turn the water heater down a little bit. You can save almost $400.00 a year doing so.
Try not to use paper towels or paper napkins. I do use paper towels for really messy clean ups, but I am thinking of trying to make some cloth ones. I mostly use rags made from old clothes. You could save almost $200.00 a year if you switch to cloth.
Do not let the water run when you handwash dishes.
Change your lightbulbs to LED. Savings could be almost $200.00 by doing so. They also last much longer than regular bulbs or CFL's.
Don't use your credit card unless you can pay it off each and every month.
Practice thrifting or shopping at consignment stores. Now you can also shop garage sales online.
Buy clothing at your favourite stores after a season ends. Clearance racks have awesome reduction in prices.
I hope that some of these tips strike a cord and help you in these trying times.
Everyone have a wonderful evening.
God bless.
$400 a year savings? That exceeds my total annual gas bill for water heater, stove and heat.
ReplyDeleteI use less than 2 rolls of paper towels a year but the cost is $1.18 so people use nearly 200 rolls annually?
If Canada costs are this high for just these 2 things I suppose I should be grateful to be in the USA NorthWest.
I do them all except the paper towel. I have been using more of the cotton flour sack towels. I remember my mom and grandma peeling potatoes into a flour sack towel and then empty it into a container for the mulch pile. The old ways were very thrifty and ahead of the times!
ReplyDeleteI do all of these. I was raised with cloth napkins, so that was an easy thing to adopt. I do use paper towel but very sparingly. Like dog vom** or worse. The rest is a cloth or a rag.
ReplyDeleteSuch great tips, Jackie. I quit buying paper towels a few years ago, although we do have a roll or two on hand for yucky stuff. It does save a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I've found my homemade gifts are rarely appreciated. But I still keep trying though purchase something as well.
ReplyDeleteI've always used far too paper towels but have found I'm using less here. I do use them instead of pretty napkins. But my friend gave me a good piece of advice. Grab a few extra napkins at the fast food place when I'm there.
Great tips.
ReplyDeleteI find the kitchen aid stand mixer does a fine job of kneading white bread dough, makes very good loaves, cakes, and cookies. I like cloth napkins & have a few sets which I use at the holidays, or when I want to set a nice table. Normal days we use paper towel, or napkins.
ReplyDeleteJackie,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say I appreciate you and your writings.
I for one would LOVE to get homemade gifts!
I don't buy or use paper towels, have always used cloth napkins and use rags or newspaper that has been wadded up for the very occasional cat or dog mess.
I love the feeling of "we are all in this together". Help when and who you can.
JC
There’s nothing ‘fake’ about you or the tips you share! :)
ReplyDeleteSadly, I give handmade gifts all the time but I rarely, if ever, receive any. I'm always thrilled when someone takes the time to make me something because I know the love that goes into it.
ReplyDeletePaper towel useage has dropped dramatically in our household since we purchased a dome cover for use in the microwave. Prior to that RC was using a paper towel every time he heated something. We have cloth 'towels' that we use for most everything else and only use paper when it's really yucky. For table napkins we always have a box of kleenex handy but only use one when our fingers are sticky. Not as good perhaps as using cloth but easier for us since we're still handwashing most of our laundry.
Great tips Jackie. I also find that handmade gifts don't tend to be well received. It's good that your boys are appreciative of your hard work. I only tend to use paper towels as tissues to blow my nose, for draining fat off things or wiping up spillages on the floor, so I wouldn't really make many savings there, but it's a great suggestion for people who do use them regularly.
ReplyDelete