Save big on a tiny income
I found this article on MSN money. The following are direct quotations of some of the money saving ideas that I liked best. There are about twice as many in the actual article, but these are the ones that stood out to me as the most original and the most practical.
Here are some great ways to save money even if you don’t make a whole lot of money:
Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do the laundry, says blogger LBL.
Save all your $5 bills in a coffee can. (My husband and I do this so we have extra fun money.) Or save all your $20 bills in shoe box (“I saved for a trip to Europe this way,” says Bowers, who earns $1,800 a month working in a cafe.)
Create bank errors in your favor. “If I spend $2.16 on a coffee, I deduct $3 (in my check register),” writes AJ. “It really adds up.” Several readers share AJ’s strategy, including a blogger named Natalie, who even rounds down her paycheck. A $425 check would become $400 in the check register — and the $25 is saved.
Buy non-perishables in bulk (i.e., cereals, rice, pastas, dried fruit and canned goods); bulk prices are much lower.
Buy generic instead of brand-name products. “I’ve stopped eating Cheerios in favor of Toasty-O’s — my paycheck loves me for it, and my tastebuds don’t know the difference,” writes Chada.
Research before you buy. Most readers say bargains can be found for any item if you put a little time into finding discount Web sites, clearance centers, warehouse outlets and the like.
“Look at the Pottery Barn catalog, shop at Goodwill,” writes Chada again. “You’d be amazed at what you can turn into a masterpiece with a little paint and stain.”
“Don’t forget gardening as a money-saving venture,” writes a green-thumbed reader. “One year, I fed the four of us and a neighbor for almost four months from a 10-by-15-foot garden.”