Thursday, February 11, 2016

The Top Ten Most Frugal Things I Do






I have to laugh at this post because I thought a more appropriate title may be “The Top Ten Ways I Annoy My Husband”.  I always say I am frugal in select ways so that we can spend more money on other things we love to do.  With that being said, some of my frugal ways annoy my husband so much and all I can do is laugh, and say I’m saving money so we can spend it on something better! 



1.        I get every last drop out of every condiment bottle possible.  My favorite is the ketchup bottle and I blame my Mom for this because she does it all of the time!  You will often see a ketchup bottle turned upside down on a new bottle to ensure I got it all out! 

2.       For shampoo and soap bottles, I like to also use every last drop!  I often rinse these out in the sink and use the water to wash my intimates (especially bras).  Is this wrong?  I haven’t a clue, I had read somewhere that using shampoo is the same as using a delicate detergent?  Don’t quote me on that!

3.       I’m a Facebook garage sale site junkie.  I will try and sell anything possible on those sites.  I do keep track of my monthly sales to see just how much I sell every month.

4.       I reuse shopping bags to hold trash in all of the bathroom garbage cans and our recycle cans.  I do not buy garbage bags for these receptacles.  I call this one, saving the environment.  However, I refuse to throw out any shopping bags and my storage area (top of the basement steps) is often exploding with bags waiting to be used (oh yeah, this annoys my husband)!

5.       I pack my work lunches at least 4 days a week.  When you think about how much you can spend on lunch a day ($5-$10), this is a savings of over $900 a year!  I normally grab leftovers out of the Friday or buy a bag of salad that lasts me 2-3 days. 

6.       We normally only eat out as a family one day per week.  I would cut it down to less, but my husband does not let me know.  It frustrates me that I know I can make dinner for about $10 at home and a normal sit down restaurant will cost this family of 5 between $40 - $50 with a tip (and a 10 year old who also eats an adult meal). 

7.       If I shop online at stores that are local to me (Kohl’s, Target, Old Navy, etc), I will add extra items to my cart just to get free shipping.  I then normally return items to the store that I do not want. 

8.       I trade in clothes to local kids resale shops and then use the store credit to buy new clothes for my daughter.  Normally if you choose store credit, the store will give you a percentage more than if you took the cash.  I just completed a transaction this weekend, they were offering me $18 cash or $26 store credit.  I took the store credit and got my daughter two outfits, two dresses, and a top (all pink of course)!

9.       I wash straws. Yes sometimes I do.  You know kids sometimes they take one sip out of a straw and then they are done.  I wash them and reuse them.

10.   I reuse dryer sheets on laundry day (or I cut them in half).  I only use the laundry sheets to reduce the static, I could care less about the scent.  I find they are good for 3-4 loads of laundry.  You do have to find them in the previous load, but hey it is worth the effort.  If my husband does the laundry and I fold it, I’ll pull out those sheets too for the next time I do laundry!



There you have it!  My next list will have to be the top ten things I splurge on, that should be fun!