Clip coupons,
buy sale items,
pack your lunch…
These are all common money saving tips, but here are 10 frugal living tips that I'll bet you didn't know!
- Half Price Rotisserie Chickens – Just last week I was in the grocery, and the lady in front of me was buying 7 rotisserie chickens! Being nosy, I asked her what she was going to do with all that chicken! Her answer? Rotisserie chickens are half price after 7:30, so it's the perfect time to stock-up, chop-up & freeze! Ask if your local grocery marks down rotisserie chickens after a certain time.
- Make Your Own Teeth Whitening Rinse – Mix your mouthwash with peroxide (50/50) for an inexpensive teeth whitening rinse!
- Discounted Gift Cards for Everyday Purchases – I love buying discounted gift cards, but I've never thought about buying them for everyday purchases like groceries and gas! Well, that's exactly what Ashley did in the Gift Card Granny Challenge, and she saved $206.29 in March by living on nothing but discount gift cards. The average savings was 10% per merchant, across 23 merchants and 40 cards that covered restaurants, groceries, entertainment, gas and more. If you're a frugal shopper looking for new ways to cut costs without making major lifestyle or spending changes, Buy discounted gift cards for up to 30% off at Cardpool.com!
- Musty Smelling Towels? – If your towels have a musty smell, don't throw them away…simply add 1 cup of vinegar to your next load along with your regular laundry detergent. I promise, they won't smell like vinegar…they'll smell fresh and clean!
- E-bates – This is likely the easiest way to save money ! Whenever you're shopping on line, search for your store through the E-bates site, make your purchase and earn cash back! I just went to Ebates and bought a pair of shoes from Nordstrom, I received a coupon code for free shipping plus 3% cash back on my purchase! Ebates really does seem to good to be true, but they are simply sharing a portion of the commission they receive from the retailers for sending them customers. Click here to learn more about e-bates.
- Slow Down, Save Gas – I'll admit, we've all heard this one, but do you realize how much gas you can save? Driving 65 m.p.h. uses 15% more gas than driving 55 m.p.h…that's like paying 40¢ more per gallon!
- Save on Prescriptions – Avoid medications known as “Combo Pills.” These medications combine more than one medication into a single pill. For example, Lotrel is a blood pressure combo pill that costs $70 a month (generic). However, if you get a prescription for each component, you'll save a huge amount of money. The 30-day prescriptions of the two elements that make up Lotreal – Amlodipine and Benazepril – are $6 each, which is a cost of $12 total. Learn more ways to save money on prescriptions.
- Affordable Travel – If you’re on a tight budget but don’t want to give up your vacations, consider joining a hospitality exchange club. Members of these clubs are willing to open their homes to travelers to accommodate their lodging needs. In return, members will also receive lodging accommodations when it’s time for their vacation. The Affordable Travel Club offers a guilt-free way to continue to enjoy travel!
- Search and Ye Shall Find – Find your inner do-it-yourselfer! The internet is an amazing resource, and there's a video tutorial out there that will teach you just about anything! Want to save money by fixing your own toilet…there's a You Tube video for that!
- Repurpose – This is a relatively new word in my vocabulary! Repurpose simply means finding a new use for something! I recently learned to repurpose an old picture frame and window screen into a great earring display for my daughter. Total cost: $0. It was as simple as using a staple gun to attach window screen to the frame.
earring display made by repurposing a frame and a window screen!
New ways to save money are always popping up in the frugal living world, and I promise to continue to share any new discoveries! Here's another list I came up with for frugal living.
Remember…
Sharing = SAVING!
Please leave a comment to share your favorite little known frugal living tip!
Don't forget to check The Budget Diet's freebies page today!
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Image courtesy of: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl!
Hello Kristi,
These are really great tips you shared. Thank you so much!
Please do not buy the chicken at half price! There is a reason they do this and it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. Meat must be maintained at a 140 degree temperature. During the day it’s cooled down and bacteria like Clostridium perfringens grow on it. If you want to make your family and yourself sick, be my guest.
The rotisserie chickens are stamped with a time, and the store has to throw them away after that time. The half-price rotisserie chickens are still perfectly fine…the store just made a few too many and the dinner rush is over.
This is a great post! I love how you pointed out the not-so-well-known info too. Thanks for the tips.
All sorts of great info! I’m checking out the gift card site for sure. I was at the grocery store with my mom one night and they announced that the chickens were $2.50….that’s a deal!
You’ll get hooked on discounted gift cards! I’m in the habit of checking their site once a week, and I order cards for anything I might use the following week. Another tip…before vacation, load up on restaurant gift cards! You can always find the Plastic Jungle ad on the right side of my page.
I’ve heard of some of those, but a few were new to me…loved the frame 🙂
Sharon
These are all really great ideas! Some of them were new to me. 🙂
These are some nice frugal tips, some I didnt know esp the one about the musty towels, sometimes my kitchen handtowels come out musty smelling, I will try the frugal tip with my next wash. Thanks for the information.
Repurpose, now a new word in my vocabulary. Thanks for sharing these great tips!
Krystl… great tips!! Love how you repurposed the picture frame. Awesome idea!!! Blessings.
Thanks Carla! I hope I helped you save a little money today!
PLEASE nobody start putting peroxide in their mouths! That is a crazy idea!
You don’t swallow the peroxide, and if you look at the ingredients in the whitening rinses…guess what…it’s peroxide! My dentist says it’s perfectly fine!
oo, good tips. I’m going to try some of these for sure.
Oh Lord, I have so many musty smelling towels..I’m going to use that tip!
STumbling you!
Thank you for the tips! I especially liked the one about slowing down and saving gas. With gas prices so high, that can make a huge difference!