I buy all my books at garage sales, and most of my blouses and sweaters at Goodwill. Like others, I'm a weird size (2T), so usually have to order my Levi's on the internet, but always google for free shipping deals on that (or anything else I order via the internet.
I, too, have a list of everything that is in my freezers, by the shelf, and keep it in pencil, so as I take things out, I can erase them from the list (and add them to my grocery list if necessary). And I keep all kinds of nuts, grated cheeses, homemade cookies, even onions that I've chopped up go in there...that way I've usually got some ready to go if I've not in the mood to chop and cry right then!
I also prefer to cook from scratch rather than use a box mix. Much healthier, that's why I do it, but less expensive too. (except the other day I bought some wild rice to make chicken and wild rice soup and could not believe how much it cost...like $2.25 for a teeny, tiny package of wild rice...I was shocked!!!)
We shop on senior day at our grocery store, where they give 10% off on your entire bill, and also use coupons, but only for the items we would normally buy. We buy lots of generic items now, so don't use as many coupons as we used to. But do alot of comparison shopping to see which is the better deal that day...sometimes the brand names are the better deal when you have a double coupon.
Oh, also, we have our savings in an internet bank to earn more interest, and we pay everything with a charge card that earns reward dollars, then pay it off every month (like someone else said), so earn dollars by doing that which I put into our vacation/mad money fund.
I, too, have a list of everything that is in my freezers, by the shelf, and keep it in pencil, so as I take things out, I can erase them from the list (and add them to my grocery list if necessary). And I keep all kinds of nuts, grated cheeses, homemade cookies, even onions that I've chopped up go in there...that way I've usually got some ready to go if I've not in the mood to chop and cry right then!
I also prefer to cook from scratch rather than use a box mix. Much healthier, that's why I do it, but less expensive too. (except the other day I bought some wild rice to make chicken and wild rice soup and could not believe how much it cost...like $2.25 for a teeny, tiny package of wild rice...I was shocked!!!)
We shop on senior day at our grocery store, where they give 10% off on your entire bill, and also use coupons, but only for the items we would normally buy. We buy lots of generic items now, so don't use as many coupons as we used to. But do alot of comparison shopping to see which is the better deal that day...sometimes the brand names are the better deal when you have a double coupon.
Oh, also, we have our savings in an internet bank to earn more interest, and we pay everything with a charge card that earns reward dollars, then pay it off every month (like someone else said), so earn dollars by doing that which I put into our vacation/mad money fund.