For Daniel

Daniel is my son who lives in Florida. We are really proud of him. He has been a licensed plumber for at least 5 years. He works for a large construction company and his hours have just been cut in half. This is going to be difficult for him and his family. I am attempting to post some ways to cut cost. Some will be ones that I use and some will be some I've only read about, but thought they would be good to practice in hard times.

1. Use coupons on everything you can find them on
2. Turn down the heat/air
3. Eat at home
4. Use leftovers
5. Don't waste anything (even garbage can have a purpose, compost, recycle, re purpose, get creative)
6. Place a 5 gallon bucket under the tap in the shower, while you are running the water waiting for it to get warm. Use this water to flush toilets, water plants, wash the floors, etc.)
7. Use a slow cooker (you can cook a complete meal in one pot without adding very much heat to your home)
8. Buy meat that is on sale and stock up (if you can only afford 2 pounds of hamburger, buy two and freeze one for later)
9. Look for ways to get food for free (neighbor has a peach tree and has too many peaches for his family, offer to make jam and give him a couple of jars, pull weeds in a farmer's garden for a some corn, in the south blackberries grow wild, pick some)
10. Make meals that will have leftovers that can be reheated
11. Don't pay full price for anything
12. Shop yard sales, consignment shops, thrift stores for items that you need (something used can get you through until you can afford to buy it new, if you decide to)
13. Only wash full loads of clothes
14. Use a clothes line
15. Keep things clean and in good repair (yes cleaning can make things last longer, motors run better when they are clean, air conditioners are more efficient when the filter is clean, things last longer when they are cared for)
16. Change your own oil in your cars (old oil can be used to paint fence post with to protect them from the weather)
17. Wear clothes more than once before washing them
18. Buy large cuts of meat and then cut them for whatever you want to use them for (The meat dept. at your grocery will cut most meats to your specifications without charging. I usually buy whole pork loins for $1.78/lb and have it cut into 1 inch boneless chops, these usually cost considerably more. A whole chicken is $.88/lb, chicken parts are $.99 for legs and thighs and up to $3.00 for boneless skinless breast. learn to cut up a chicken. A cheap roast can but cut up for stewing, etc. I have even had the meat manager cut a turkey in half so I could freeze half for later)
19. If you have empty space in your freeze, fill it up. (milk jugs full of water work well, it cost less to run a full freezer than one that isn't full)
20. Try as hard as possible to pay your bills on time even when you are struggling, late fees really add up. If you do get charged a late fee, call the company and ask that it be refunded. Most companies will refund one in a 12 month period.
21. Use your computer to pay bills on-line (this is one that I am just starting to implement. I saved $1.32 tonight by paying bills on-line and $1.68 last pay period, that doesn't sound like much, but over time it adds up and the post office has decided to raise postage annually.

I will post more as I think of them or learn them. I am always looking for ways to save money. I work to hard for it to give it away.

Mae