I was just checking out Jenn's Frugal Upstate blog and spotted the links for the Festival of Frugality (#76) along with her commentary about certain posts. It's taking me a while to wade through all of the excellent blogs out there in the blogosphere that have to do with saving money, but it's an inspiration at the same time. This week's entries to the Festival have reminded me of a few small things that our family does to boost our budget - some of them will also enable you to "pay it forward" when reversed.
Here are just five of many ways to save some cash and boost your budget:
- Accept hand-me-downs, especially if you're pregnant or have growing kiddos! I am blessed with a friend who has daughters and a son a smidge older than each of my kids. She passes along items that her kids have outgrown, and anything that doesn't work out for us, we gladly pass on other friends with kids. Another friend offered me a big bag of maternity clothes from one of her gal pals; now she's pregnant too! The items that are already too small for me went right back to her; the rest will be returned to her when I'm done with them.
- Trim your children's hair yourself. I'm sorry, I know the market for kids' hair salons is blossoming, but I've not spent a dime on my kids' haircuts yet and I don't plan to until they reach a certain age. My six-year-old has never had a professional haircut, but she's had lots of trims over the years. I figure I've saved myself thousands by the time I figure in gas money, travel time, and the haircut itself between her and her sister, whose hair I trimmed until she was about six.
- Groom your dog yourself, if possible. If your dog is skittish about the toenail trimming like ours is, it's best to invest in having a groomer or your vet do the "dirty deed". But giving a bath and good brush downs is easy to do. We picked up a pack of doggie shampoo wipes which work really well after brushing on our Lab/Pointer mix since she doesn't have a thick undercoat. Again, we save on the costs of the grooming, the gas, and the travel time, and everyone who participates in the brushing (even my daughter helps!) benefits from bonding with our old girl.
- Barter for products and services. You can keep more cash in your wallet and so can the person you trade with. This is a great method for small businesses and the self-employed; just be sure to keep track of such agreements for tax purposes.
- Use the local library for everything from books to DVDs and music. If you can wait an extra month for a book just out in hardback, it will save you around $20 (if not $25 or more!) a pop. Our library system offers hold requests and catalog searches online, as well as audiobook downloads, so using an iPod for listening to books can be cheaper as well. When you're ready to clear off some shelves, don't forget that the library will gladly take them. Even if they don't put them into circulation, many systems have a "Friend of the Library" committee that will sell books and magazines to benefit the library system. Not only that, but the greater the circulation (from your greater use of the library), the more likely that a library will keep their staff employed and even hire on more folks. So you can save money and keep someone else in a job too!
What ways do you save money? Do you clip coupons, grow your own produce, participate in CSA or co-op buying opportunities, peruse Freecycle, or use rewards programs to earn cash back on your purchases? Share your tips with me - we can all benefit from them!
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