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Friday, December 11, 2009

Frugal Friday

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Stocking up on items when they are on sale is a very easy way to save money (and time!). You would think that this would be a no brainer but it's ridiculous how many times I have heard someone in the store mention "You should buy more, it's on sale!" only to have a person answer "I don't need anymore right now." Okay, maybe you don't need more right now but I am sure that at some point you will be needing more cans of corn, or extra tubes of toothpaste. If it is something that you use on a regular basis then stockpiling it when you find it at an excellent price or on clearance combined with coupons is the very best way to save money on items that you would use anyway.

For example, when I was at Super Target last week I found 3 lb. bags of apples for 99cents a bag. That is only 33cents per pound! I bought three bags, but wish I had bought more when I heard the storage tip of wrapping them in newspaper and storing them in the basement...they last months this way! They also had 10 lb. bags of potatoes for $1.99...how often do you find potatoes at 20 cents per pound? I was in a hurry and my cart was full so I only bought one bag, but wish I had gotten several more as we are already more than half through that one bag. If I had been in a savings mindset I would be well stocked on potatoes and apples for this winter. Lesson learned.

I also use coupons and combine them with sales or clearance prices and get items for pennies or even free. That, combined with the large gift baskets that my parents put together for us for Christmas (which include razors, lotion, deodorant, and many other health and beauty items) mean that I rarely have to pay full price for these items. It is wonderful when we run out of something to go to the cupboard and pull an extra out instead of running to the store for one little thing.

I don't mean that you should buy every package on the shelf or buy by the case full. But if you find an item that you use regularly on sale, and know that you will not see this price for some time, than stock up on it as much as space and money will allow. Whether that be 5 cans of vegetables, or 20 cans stock up with enough to last you until the next sale.

Another frugal tip, is especially on my mind this week. Saving money on your heating bill. Our natural gas costs tend to just keep going higher and higher. It gets expensive heating a home, especially when the temperatures outside are so frigid and the heat seems to be running constantly. We have saved on our gas bill for several years by keeping the thermostat turned down. We go to the extremes really, and usually have ours set at 63 to 64 degrees during the day and 58 degrees at night. I understand that this is much chillier than most even want to tolerate. Quite frankly, we have gotten used to it and if we start feeling cold we just put on another layer of clothing. We now find this temperature quite comfortable and feel HOT when we go into a store. Our heating bills are much less than those around us. We had an energy audit when we first bought our house. The man was surprised at what we keep the thermostat at and complimented us on it. He said the majority of the homes he goes to are roaring hot and the residents are walking around in shorts and t-shirts and then have the gall to complain about their high heating costs and see if they can get assistance for it. If you don't want to go so low, you can still save money by setting your thermostat down a little at night or if everyone is gone at work or school during the day set it lower. A programmable thermostat will do all this work for you and I guarantee that you will see a difference with your first bill.

3 comments:

  1. I am not nearly as frugal as you are but I agree 100% about stocking up on groceries when they are on sale. On an average week, if you looked in my grocery cart, you would see milk, produce, meat and the rest would be things that are on sale. As far as I'm concerned, it is the only way to shop. I am a super stockpiler and participate in 5 or 6 garage sales a year (selling my stockpiles). I can honestly say that at least 50% of people who come through are not interested in buying what I have. I think they just don't get it--a deep discount "store" at a garage sale. Others will comment how they just bought something. It's like their brain can't process the fact that the toothpaste or whatever will run out and they will need more. Then, of course, there are the people who ask how I get all my stuff. I just tell them that I am a coupon queen. Many say they can't be bothered to cut coupons. Well if they want to pay full price, that's their choice!!

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  2. I am with you on the heat bill. We use propane for our main source of heat and then we supplement it with a woodstove in our basement. We just leave our basement door open and the heat rises into our kitchen and living room. We leave our heat set at 65 degrees day and night. Our philosophy is if you turn it down too low, it will play catch-up and run alot to reach the temp. that you turn it up to. When the guy comes that fills our propane tank, he usually tells us that we seem to take longer in between fill-ups compared to other people. Depending on the price at the time of fill-up we will pay around $400. That usually lasts us 6-8 weeks. We usually go through 2 full fill-ups per winter. I also agree with the stockpiling. I just found pototoes for $1.29 for a ten pound bag and I bought several to keep in the basement. We have one room in the basement that we keep cool to store home canned goods and store bought goods. I am a 21 year coupon user and I really enjoy "shopping" in the basement. I just wish that the grocery bill would go lower. It just seems that when I don't think that I need anything this week I still spend around what I budget for. This week was a killer. Buying things for Christmas baking hurt the wallet. Oh well, here is to a new and frugal 2010!

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  3. I keep our thermostat turned down a lot lower than most people too & it makes a huge difference. I love reading your tips!!

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