Cheap living Tips

I'm a guy who has very little money and I'm always looking for good information that will allow me to stretch every dollar to it's absolute limit. In doing so I've come up with a list of 100 money saving tips that will help you cut expenses in these troubling times. If you need to cut back (and who doesn't these days) read the following tips and see just how many possible ways you can reduce your budget.

1.      Grow a garden

2.      Cook from scratch

3.      Buy food in bulk

4.      Check the “unit” price on food

5.      Only buy produce in season

6.      Use your leftovers before they spoil

7.      Drink tap water instead of bottled

8.      Stop eating out at restaurants or at least stop eating out so much

9.      Make your own beer and wine

10.   When traveling pack a basket with sandwiches and other snacks to avoid stopping at restaurants

11.  Raise chickens for eggs

12.  Raise rabbits for meat

13.  Hunt, fish and trap animals for food

14.  Forage for wild plants that are eatable

15.  Start couponing

16.   Buy store brands

17.   Never shop on an empty stomach

18.  Always take a list to the grocery store

19.  Make your own baby food

20.  Lose weight and feel great

21.  Take lunch to work instead of eating out every day

22.  Don’t buy prepackaged convenience foods

23.  Stock up on good deals

24.  Leave the kids at home when you shop for groceries

25.  Turn water off when brushing your teeth

26.  Install a low flow shower head

27.  Install low flush toilets

28.  Capture and collect rainwater to use on garden

29.  Take a five minute shower and save more than a thousand gallons a month

30.  Water your garden after sunset to avoid evaporation

31.  Install gray water system and use for lawn and garden

32.  Fix leaky faucets and save 150 gallons of water  per month

33.  Only flush solid waste down the toilet (remember if its yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down!)

34.  Sweep off the driveway instead of using the water hose to spray it off

35.  Look for caretaker position and live rent free

36.  Build your home with natural materials found on site

37.  Build with recycled materials whenever possible

38.  Buy land from your county for back taxes

39.  Supply your own labor when you build your house

40.  Buy a travel trailer to live in

41.  Buy a van and convert it into a small motor home

42.   Share your home with a roommate or rent out the spare bedroom

43.  Use plenty of insulation in your house

44.  Install a wood burning stove in your house

45.  Close off rooms that are seldom used to save on heating and air conditioning

46.  Use CF bulbs or L.E.D’s to light your home

47.  Unless really soiled then wash clothing in cold water

48.  Turn water heater down to a lower temperature

49.  Set thermostat on eighty in summer and wear a minimum of clothing to stay cool

50.  Buy a timer for water heater and set it to only turn on for an hour or so every day

51.  Move fridge to the back porch during colder months to use very little energy

52.  Set thermostat on sixty in winter and wear more clothing around the house

53.  Cook your meals free of charge with a solar oven

54.  Use manual appliances whenever possible

55.  Hang clothes out to dry instead of using your dryer

56.  Install thermal jacket on water heater

57.  Unplug all appliances when not in use to avoid phantom loads or use power strips

58.  Burn scrap lumber in your wood stove

59.  Plan your trips before leaving the house to save gas

60.  Buy a scooter to get around and get 70 to 100 mpg

61.  Do your own auto maintenance 

62.  If you have a diesel car or truck power it with used fryer grease

63.  Use a bicycle for your main mode of transportation

64.  Avoid the car wash

65.  Pay cash for cars

66.  Use public transportation instead of your vehicle

67.  Use “hyper milling” techniques to save on gas

68.  Drop your internet service and use wireless “hotspots” from places like McDonalds, Starbucks, and your

 local public library

69.  Drop your cable service and watch local broadcasting

70.  Drop your landline and use only your mobile phone

71.  Switch your mobile phone to a prepaid service instead of a big name carrier

72.  Keep a constant eye out for better deals on cell phone and internet plans

73.  Shop at garage sales and thrift stores

74.  Dumpster dive

75.  Constantly monitor the free section of “craigslist” and “free cycle” for good crap

76.  Check out movies from the library instead of renting them

77.  Go camping for your vacations

78.  Cut your own hair or get a family member to do it. 

 

79.  Stop buying lottery tickets

80.  Give up smoking

81.  If you can’t or don’t want to quit smoking then cut down

82.  Roll your own cigarettes

83.  Find other couples with kids and trade babysitting service with them

84.  Stay out of debt.

85.  Save scrap metal to sell for extra cash

86.  Always try to fix something that’s broken instead of buying a new one

87.  If you need to use an expensive tool only once or twice borrow it from a friend or neighbor instead of buying it.

88.  Sew and repair clothing instead of throwing it out

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89.  Grow a beard and save on razors.

90.  Wear less makeup if you are a woman

91.  If you shoot firearms a lot then reload your own ammo

92.  Use cloth diapers instead of disposables

93.  Buy wash and wear clothing and drop the dry cleaning bill

94.  Avoid so called trendy fashions

95.  Avoid impulse buys

96.  Cut up your credit cards

97.  Find a bank that offers a no fees checking account

98.  Keep track of every cent you spend

99.  Find likeminded people to network with

100 Keep coming back to Cheap-Ass-Living!