6 Extreme Saving Tips You Can Use Now

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@ Amy of Texas & all of you. I am a disabledmother of 6, Both me & my hubby are disabled. I for 8yrs. now, & he just got his 1st denial. Which most do, except me, who are on a specific short list I guess. 2 kids are gone from home, 1 leaves for months on out of state or town jobs, & 1 stays w/ her friends & father alot & 2 tweens & frenz. They are growing teens, or tweens. I live on less than $1400 a month & yes a lil help from the state for the 1st time in 13yrs. They think a house of 5 can live on $312 a month in food. I made good $$ the last 4yrs I wrkd I paid off our house early thankfully Cause it's true "YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE!" & no matter what. Tell your loved ones you love them everytime you leave, go to bed, off the phone, & even whichever way U choose thru the internet. I say these things as my husband, family & older children learned that lesson w/ me 8yrs. ago. Less than 2mos. ago, my husband lost his Aunt pretty suddenly. It was also his mom & dads Anniv. His Mom passed 12yrs. ago. My father-n-law lives w/ us. The last 3 mos. I watched him slowly regress to his routine when his wife was dying, He was nite nurse, my husband was day nurse. He also got pnemonia, & chest pains after his sister died, I was afraid it was to much for him, especially w/ timing & all. After 2 weeks of my begging I came home from Dr. one day w/ my hubby asking me if I would take pops to Urgent Care. (U know stubborn ole men) That's when he finally got help w/ pnemonia, but all they did was an EKG, they never took his blood to test or even send out to test. I went back after he said I could, I got to see the films & talk to the Dr. He saw no reason to take him to hosp. or what to look out for. He even complained his chest hurt, hard to breathe & roof of mouth hurting. He had about 5 mini heart attacks, until oneday they sent him home & I was still up from getting kids to school. He looked terrible, I begged him & told him he would be in very fast @ this hr & complaining of pains @ your age, you will get right in. STUBBURN OLE MEN! Ignore them & call 911 I say. So I rushed to wake my hubby & tell him, & he kept his head buried. So back to the kitchen I went w/ the ultimatum, U go to the hosp. w/ me now, or I call 911 to tell you I was right will cost you $200.00.(I have medicare I know the costs)gglggl As he went to his room my hubby was coming down the hall where they met, & he asked his son to take him to E.R. I was elated in a way, but not, cuz I didn't know how bad it was going to be. I watched this w/ my dad when I was 14, I knew all the warning signs. It was a weeks period time then, but over 5 mini's & to hosp. everytime, back then no blood tests. I know they do now, so even if it passed by the time they got there, it would be caught B-4 releasing him. A qudruple bypass on Tues.&Mon. he gets PaceMaker sorry 2 go off sub. just a reminder 2 ALL. IF U LUV EM, TELL EM! & don't forget to show them. Sorry 2 get so off track. I can coupon

AmySchmiel of AZ 8:24PM March 03, 2012

to many people throw away left overs, try recycling left overs. if u have chili beans one night, next night, reheat and serve over rice with cheese on top. Fix spaghetti one night, save whats left and fix baked spaghetti two nights later

Doris Bumgarner of NC 8:48AM January 18, 2012

I try to live on $14,000.00 a year .
I have a dining out budget of $30.00 a month .
I only eat out at places where I don't have to tip , like Subway for instance .
I am also quite content with a 12" tv set .
I have a very nice life .

areareare 2:23PM January 04, 2012

In regards to item number 5... $150 on grocery items (and I'm assuming here that this is exclusively grocery items) for two people in one WEEK? As in $600 a MONTH? Are you kidding me? My husband and I (family of two) spend $200 a MONTH for food and drug store products. There are so many creative ways to save money. Cutting down on meat to only a couple times in one month, there are many other ways to get that protein, i.e. tofu, beans, and more veggies. This tip saves my household an extra $50 a month we also get free meat from company parties when the company wants to throw out the left over food. Stay away from processed foods such as chips, preprepared meals, and fast food. You really only need the seafood and produce aisles. Doing this has cut my family's food budget from $600 (not kidding that stuff is expensive) to $200 a month. Portion your food sizes to about 5-7 small meals a day and be sure to snack on fruit, water, and veggies. You stay healthier this way and you make sure not to over eat which in turn means over spending. Also, be sure to leave aside one day of the week, mine is Friday, to cook and involve the whole family. Set aside $50 dollars for some cheap, but healthy dining out food. Shop weekly with coupons and always bring your calculator so that you can figure out price per unit. There really is no reason for TWO people to be spending $600 a MONTH on grocery items!

Amy of TX 4:23AM December 03, 2011

Cathy:
In regard to shopping Dollar Stores etc. did you know that everything they sell is from China? Watch out especially with food products-could be dangerous. I am trying to read labels before I purchase as I want to buy only U.S. products and give those people more business instead of China.

Sally of FL 6:29PM November 26, 2011

Don't drink the tap water. Don't get the vaccines. Get as much of your food from the Farmer's Market as you can. Substitute locally grown honey for sugar. NO SUGAR SUBSTITUTES - aspartame is e-coli bacteria poop. Google it if you don't believe me.
Eat light. When you go out, share the meal. Cut out meat; substitute beans. Walk daily at least a mile. Get plenty of sun. Keep stress low. You WILL SAVE BIG MONEY by staying healthy.

Ron of TX 10:39AM November 25, 2011

Thanks for the comment regarding freezing milk. I always buy the gallon because it is less expensive than the half gallon. I end up always throwing half the gallon (or more) out because it spoils before I get a chance to use it. I was not aware that you could freeze mild. Thanks for sharing. I will do this from now on. That solves the dilema as I hate to waste.

Erica of TX 9:14PM October 27, 2011

I have discovered the Dollar stores. Dollar Tree is the best one, and Family Dollar is also good. Everything for $1.00 - no fooling! I will go to Dollar Tree before going to the grocery store or discount store. I get what I need & spend a lot less. Dollar stores have name brands, other brands & house brands. I find no difference in the quality - all are just as good. They have everything from packaged food (pasta, jam, canned soup, chips), paper goods, cleaning supplies, greeting cards & toys. The selection is always changing so if you need something, stock up when it's availble. Examples are greeting cards 50 cents each (really!), a 10 oz jar of strawberry jam or a regular size bottle of oven cleaner for $1.
Dollar stores really help on the budget & I am not spending as much at places like Target or Walgreens.

Cathy D. of MN 4:22AM August 26, 2011

To Debbie Hixon, I freeze milk all the time. I seperate the milk into 3 bottles and freeze. When one bottle gets low I take the other one out. The milk stays fresh and tastes delicious.

Lorraine of FL 9:59AM June 15, 2011

Hey, guys (gals), if you live near south Mississippi or Huntsville, AL and south of there in Ala., there is a group of stores that has great buys. Many of you also pass through these places enroute to Destin or other Gulf Coast beaches. Dirt Cheap, Hudsons, and Treasure Hunt (I think I got the last one correct), anyway, they get clearance, damaged, and such from Target, Walmart, Old Navy, Lands End and such at really good prices. Currently, shorts, capris, slacks are $1 to $5, T-shirts run $1 and up, swim suits - 1 pc $2.50, (I have seen origional tags of $86 on a swim suit), top or bottom $1.50!! I recently got really nice "rain coats," or wind breaker light weight coats, in classic styles for $3.00, my daughter and grand daughters loved them. I found Cutter and Buck golf shirts for my husband for $3, the next visit, they were $2 and finally $1, so I got him one each day! Formal wear is from $5 to wedding gowns $25. Recently, men's blazers/suit coats were $7, then they kept dropping until I saw one for $1. Lands End dresses were $1. last week, Lands End slacks and shirts and better brands of men's clothing as well. My local store has a great deal on luggage at the moment. A $275. suitcase marked down to $100, and 70% off of that. Many are less than $30 and 70% off. Some have dammage.
House items from expensive stores - Khols (sic), and other places start at 50% off lowest price. Bed linens, any size are one price, with comforters, blankets, ($9.95) for a king, and appliances are available, as well as books. I purchased lots of books for Christmas, 60% - 80% off lowest price on book. Some items - such as ceramic trash cans/tissue boxes are chipped, etc., and always seem overpriced to me, but have gotten some. One day, I bought an entire large buggie of assorted "stuff" for $3.00, it encluded 4 lamps, 2 queen air mattress,
and was packed high, but sealed with plastic wrap, could not fill your own buggie! I found Pier One wine glasses at half the Pier One price, nice Christmas gift! They are hit or miss types of stores. You may find a buggy full one day and nothing on another trip. Dirt Cheap is a non-refundable or exchangeable store. Some have 3 day return policy.
They are located from Meridian, MS south, Hattiesburg, and in numerous small towns, some have two of them, from Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, AL, Mobile, AL and numerous small towns.

Noni of MS 11:33PM June 01, 2011