Raven’s Range
Blather around a virtual range

This post is part of a series. Part 1 is here.

Remember how I said that there were two ways to have more money–to earn more or to spend less? Here are 101 ways in which you can save and/or manage money. Some are much more extreme than others. ;)

1. Bend down to pick up the coins you find. This seems to trigger a kind of law of attraction: The more you look for them, the more you seem to find. It’s free money!
2. Plan your errands so that you save gas by going on one big trip instead of lots of little ones.
3. Move to a cheaper area of the country.
4. Tithe your income: immediately put 10% into savings and don’t touch it.
5. Use Freecycle (give and receive freely, though).
6. Grow your own veggies.
7. Eat less meat.
8. Eat no meat.
9. Get a timer for your water heater and only have water heating up when you need it, not all day.
10. Eat smaller portions.
    

11. Get together with a bunch of parents and practice hand-me-downing.
12. Shop at thrift stores.
13. Check dollar stores before you go to big-box stores.
14. Get over loyalty to particular brands and buy generic brands instead.
15. Drink water instead of juice or soda.
16. Stop drinking soda.
17. Walk to work.
18. Ride a bicycle to work.
19. Keep your vehicle’s tires properly inflated (better gas mileage).
20. Don’t drive over 55mph (see above).
    

21. Find out where the cheapest gas station is and use it.
22. Mend your own clothes.
23. Learn how to knit.
24. Learn how to sew.
25. Tone down the holidays; limit how many presents each person gets; does everyone have to buy everyone a present; can you make gifts; can you make decorations?
26. Mail things together rather than separately. (I can send three postcards for the same 94c it costs to send one.)
27. Print photos at an online photo printer and turn them into your own greetings cards.
28. Cook your own food.
29. Practice the pantry form of shopping: Stock up on ingredients when on sale rather than shopping each week, then “shop” from your pantry.
30. Cook ahead and freeze (once-a-month cooking).
    

31. Restrict your eating out.
32. Stop eating fast food.
33. Do your own oil changes.
34. Change your own brake pads.
35. Don’t bother with the rinse and repeat part of hair-washing. Just rinse.
36. Frequent yard sales.
37. Fix up broken things bought for a pittance from yard sales.
38. Use the library instead of buying books.
39. Practice good dental hygiene (preventive care).
40. Learn how to trim your own hair.
    

41. Learn how to use epoxy. It’s amazing what you can fix with that stuff.
42. Figure out when the 10% off days are at the thrift store, or pick only items tagged with color of the day for better discounts.
43. If you have a bread machine or make your own bread, don’t buy the silly 7g packets of yeast. Buy a bulk package and measure it.
44. Don’t buy single-serving products.
45. Make pudding from a package or even from scratch.
46. Buy big tubs of plain yogurt and flavor it.
47. Eat fruit instead of dessert.
48. Shop at the farmer’s market.
49. If you buy in bulk, be sure you’ll either use all of it, or enough that it would still be cheaper to do this and throw some away than to buy the next size down.
50. Always look through the sales flyers.
    

51. Figure out which shops have the best deals and shop accordingly.
52. Look for buy one get one free deals.
53. Clip coupons from the Sunday papers, but be aware that sometimes, even a brand name with coupon is more expensive than a generic.
54. Read magazines at the library.
55. Turn of all lights when not needed.
56. Replace regular bulbs with energy-saving fluorescents or even LEDs.
57. Don’t leave appliances running in standby mode.
58. Swap books with friends and neighbors.
59. Start a toy exchange.
60. Use cloth handkerchiefs, not disposables.
    

61. Use cloth rags for cleaning, not paper towels.
62. Take shorter showers and or/replace some baths with showers.
63. Decorate your own lunch box rather than buying one each year.
64. Develop this mindset: Never buy anything full price. Always buy it on sale.
65. Keep enough in stock so that the above idea is easier to implement.
66. Get a whiteboard and write down things that you’re running low on so that you know to look for a sale.
67. Get a freezer so that you can bulk-buy and freeze.
68. Don’t buy fund-raising products–just give a donation.
69. Learn how to can and make your own jellies, etc.
70. Tear dryer sheets in half to double their lifetime.
    

71. Make sure you take your library books back on time (no fines!).
72. Train yourself to avoid the stupid tax–the extra money you pay for being late, forgetting things, or needing to pay top dollar for things.
73. Use the “putting out the word” technique to find larger items that you need for free or cheap.
74. Trade services or goods (but be aware of the barter laws too).
75. Do the math: Is it cheaper to pay for child care, or to be a stay at home parent?
76. Realize that sometimes a simple ice cream cone is just as good as an ice cream sundae.
77. Take time to exercise. This pays dividends in better mental and physical health, i.e. fewer doctor visits.
78. Shop for the best long-distance plan.
79. Always read the small print!
80. Do not see frugality as a compromise, but as a good counterbalance to an excessively materialistic world. In other words, never be ashamed of your efforts to spend less.
    

81. Even if you dumpster dive.
82. Use your leftovers. One day a week, have a leftover smorgasboard.
83. Or put leftovers in tortillas to make wraps.
84. See what can be given more than one use. For example, if you boil chicken to cook it, use the left-over water to make soup.
85. Compost peelings etc. to reduce waste.
86. If you’re not actually using them, reduce the number of cable or satellite channels you subscribe to.
87. Or just get basic cable.
88. If someone left their newspaper or magazine behind, take it home and read it. Do the same the next day–keep things moving.
89. Recycle cans and bottles. (If they’re not your own, always use gloves!)
90. Recycle old clothes into quilts, patches, rugs, aprons…
    

91. Devise a simple system to keep track of your spending. I use a simple spreadsheet.
92. Use cash instead of credit cards. It’s less easy to get carried away. (Some people even freeze their credit cards so that they must defrost before use.)
93. Pay attention to the per-unit prices at supermarket. There are often surprises.
94. Buy parts from junk yards, not dealers.
95. Before tossing an item, see if a bit of cleaning will fix it.
96. Layer up and layer down to cope with cold and heat rather than using the heater or air conditioning (but don’t be ridiculous about it).
97. Instead of buying cat toys, just ball up paper and let them play with those instead.
98. Figure out when the free museum days are and plan accordingly.
99. If you visit a place often, figure out if buying a membership will work out cheaper.
100. If you’re tempted to impluse-buy a widget, don’t. Go home and if you still want one a week later, then look for a better deal on the widget.

101. Buy this book. It is absolutely the best book about living frugally, debt reduction and the like that I have ever read.
     

So tell me…how many of these methods do you currently practice? Feel free to borrow this list, post it to your blog, and check off which ones you use, meme-style. :)

I hope you enjoyed the articles.

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