Time and Money saving short cuts - Please add yours.

[LovesTimone]

What are your daily favorite ways to save time and money. You know.. what short cuts are you using to keep your money in your wallet a little bit longer, and help with managing your time so that you have a little bit for yourself at the end of each day.

Here's are a few that we do.

1) I have DH work shirts done at the dry cleaner, starched, and pressed. The cleaners near our house that we were using was 2.95 a shirt,plus they were charging a 1.00 to replace buttons that come off during the cleaning process. That can get pretty costly 5 shirt a week, not to mention that when he travel and has dinner meetings that adds another couple of shirts. So I shopped around for a better price, I commute for work, I found a cleaners on my way to and from work that does the same job @ 1.85 per shirt and will replace buttons at no charge when the come off due to the cleaning process, and has a drive thru which is really time saver for me.

2) When we turn on the oven I will add a few potatoes for later in the week and for my lunch.

3) I check out the grocery adds, and match my coupons up, but only on items that we normal buy and take advantage of BOGO.

4) When doing laundry - I try to do 1 load a night - so that I don't have to do laundry on the weekends. I never dry jeans, and I gently pull knits and t- shirts so that the maintain their shape and length before putting them in the dryer, them while they are warm I re- pull them before the fabric cool down locking the fiber into place.

 

[Purseval]

I don't carry any cash and I don't have a debit or ATM card so if I need something I have to charge it. This cuts down on impulse buys because I won't charge anything under $5.

 

[LovesTimone]

op here,

The girls I work with put this list together,

We go to the local news station online and there is a sections that list the cheapest gas price by county with directions.

We share recipe - last week it was recipe with 5 ingredients, almost everything I had on hand.

We all bring lunch, snacks, and drinks, and bagged ice - we all take turn sharing items in our little kitchen, peanut butter, bread, butter, salad dressing, ect.. No one take advantage, and if you leave it in a bag that means its off limits.

We have all started meal planning, some more than others. With DH and I its easy and a bit harder for people with small or school aged children.

Make a list - and stick to it.

One of the women that I work with her DD has cut out fast food, which is really hard when you have kids involved it lots of activities. She plans the day and loads up the cooler - with juice,gator aid, water, sandwiches, fruit and veggies, when it was cold she did soup in thermos. They eat on the road, or at the park. She said that the kids don't even miss the fast food. She is saving what she was spending for fast food for a trip to see Mickey and the gang.

We coupon share every Monday - I cut out what I need out of my paper ( which we only get on Sunday now) and take what is left over, and give it to the girl at the desk on the right. we all do that, and on lunch break you go through what you want and pass it on what is left, by the end of the day, the scrap of paper are in the trash.

Please share your tips even the little things - the more we save is a trip closer to the Magic Kingdom..

 

[minnie1928]

I buy the biggest pack of ground beef that I can find, which usually has the lowest cost per pound. Then I bring it home and put it in a HUGE pot and boil it to cook it and get rid of all/most of the fat. I let it cool and then I put it in ziploc baggies, about 3/4lb per bag, and freeze it. This way when I get home from work, I can just pull it out and throw it right in a quick recipe (spaghetti/meat sauce, tacos, etc.). I save time when I need it most (during the week) and I save money by buying the larger package.

 

[DINKDisneyAddict]

I read this board and use the ideas of super smart women like all of you.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Now with gas being so high and summer just right around the corner if you have errands to run do them in the morning when the temps are cooler and you don't need to run the a/c in the car.

Look for natural ways to clean. Take a look.
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

Couponing.. On a regular bases I save $25 - $30 a week on groceries with coupons and store deals. Multiplied by 52 weeks is a good $1000 savings. I clip while watching tv. I only buy items we use..

 

[bettymae1121]

Not much in the way of time savers, but below are my biggest money savers.

Spent $20 to get 20 good quality wash cloths from Costco and use those to clean instead of paper towels. Since a mega pack of Bounty is just under $20 at costco, I broke even after a few months (and now that I've been doing it well over a year, I'm way ahead!), plus I'm using less paper. It only "costs" me an extra load of laundry a week (well less than that since the wash cloths don't equal a full load, I just throw them in with the bath towels).

Use vinager and baking soda for 99% of my cleaning. Non-toxic, cheap, and my home has never been cleaner! I buy the vinager and baking soda at Costco in bulk. I even add a cup of baking soda to my laundry so I only need to use half the detergent normally called for.

Switched from Swiffer products that I have to buy refills for to washable/refillable mops and dusters. Plus I use vinager to clean so I can use 50/50 water-vinager mix instead of nasty chemicals when I clean my floors.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I am not working but I have learned to save alot. I use to use fabric softner which is very costly I started using vinager in my dishwasher. It works the same and the dishes come out great. I also you the vinager in the laundry. I buy my vinager from costco. It is cheap and lasts a long time. I love the coupon train. I get enough coupons for my full shop every 6 weeks. My last shop I saved about 50 dollars.

I was on a weekend getaway a few weeks ago and found a yard sale, the lady had a new H20 steam mop I got for 20 dollars and I love it no need to buy floor cleanears. Cant wait to hear more ideas.

 

[LovesTimone]

I total forgot this about this one.
Since gas is so high and does not seem to be headed down anytime soon.
We plan stops on our way to and from work. If we know we need go to
Petsmart, grocery store, Walgreens, One of us plans to stop on the way home
We drive a lot so this is a real saving for us on our gas and time. How many times do you get home just to run back to the store again. We started making doctors appt's, beauty and nail appt's late in the day. Some of the local business are offering a discount for late appt. The salon where I go most of the professional there are cutting back to say 3 or 4 day but with longer hours to save on gas.