Things you might not think of….

• Errands. Save them up and run as many as you can in one trip, especially with the prices gas has been hitting recently. This also tends to save time, since you are already out and quite likely, closer to where the errands are than home.
• Light bulbs. Florescent light bulbs cost a little more to buy, but you more than get it back in your electric bill, and the frequency in which you have to replace them (or lack there of) compared to traditional light bulbs.
• Menus. Making a menu for the week/pay period/month, and then a grocery list from the menu, and shopping only for those items on the list can dramatically cut your food bills, especially if you put things on your menu that are budget friendly foods (like.. no steak every night, but pasta’s and rice are very inexpensive.)
• Packing lunch instead of eating out. Think about it.. you can pack a lunch, even a TV dinner style lunch for $1-2 but if you go to a restaurant, or drive through, you easily pay $5-10, multiply that times 5 workdays a week and it adds up fast.
• What are you drinking? Sodas are big money, not to mention the amount of sugar in them is not good for us, and if you are buying pre-made tea, that is expensive. Bottled water is big bucks too. I make my own sun tea, and I don’t add sugar, to me, this is the nectar of the gods. But, still, invest in a water filter and a reusable water bottle, whether plastic or metal. a good filter takes all the flavors out of municipal water, and makes it every bit as good as bottled, and the cost works out to less than pennies a bottle over time.