Top 10 do's and don'ts for saving money on your household expenses

Many of the women at church expressed an interest in a group that would meet and discuss ways to save money on household expenses. We decided to call it Tightwads Anonymous! Here is something that I prepared for our first meeting:

Top 10 do's:

· Buy food storage basics (wheat, oats, sugar, oil, beans etc.) and learn how to use them.

o Cook beans ahead of time and freeze them for easy integration into your diet

o Make your own granola – easy and cheap to make, yummy to eat, expensive to buy

· Grow a garden

· Cook from scratch

· Reduce the amount of meat you eat

o When you do eat meat buy whole chickens when on sale for $.59/lb, roast and use for multiple meals. Don’t be afraid to buy roasts at less than $2.00/lb – cut them up into stew meat yourself, or roast and use leftovers for soup

· Pack a lunch – use leftovers

· Shop with a plan – list, menu etc

o Have a budget and stick to it, bring a calculator if you have to

· Shop around, shop sales

· Use coupons & rebates

· Buy generic

· Watch the register – and speak up if something rings up at the wrong price

Top 10 don’ts:

· Don’t buy baking mixes: Bisquick, pancake mix, brownie mix, cake mix – make your own

· Don’t buy plain yogurt or sour cream – easy to make your own yogurt, and plain yogurt can be used in the place of sour cream in many recipes

· Don’t buy soda – it's expensive and bad for you

· Don’t buy bread – easy to make

· Don’t buy bottled water

· Don’t buy junk food/convenience frozen foods

· Don’t assume that buying in bulk is cheaper – warehouse clubs are not always cheaper, and if buying large quantities means that some will be wasted, it’s not worth it

· Don’t buy school lunch – SO bad for the kids and it’s cheaper to send them with lunch

· Don’t make special trips to the store for just one or two items. It wastes gas and time

· Don’t spend a lot of money on cleaning supplies – most things in your home can be cleaned with vinegar & baking soda