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1. Visit Bakery Outlets
Why pay $4 or more for a loaf of bread when you can get the same BRAND NAME at a bakery outlet for as little as 50 cents? The items on sale there are still within their sell by date, so you do not have to worry about them going bad immediately. Many bakery outlets offer much more than just bread, and therefore should make them the stop before the supermarket.
You can find bakery outlets at the following links:
http://www.hostessbrands.com/BakeryOutlets.aspx
http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com/our_brands/outlet_stores.html
2. Visit Manufacturer Website
Every major company has a web presence now. Take advantage of this and visit them. Many offer money saving offers and printable coupons. Browse them in your spare time, or make an effort to find coupons before your weekly shopping trip. If your grocery store offers double coupons, take advantage of it!
3. "Junk" Mail
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Instead of automatically throwing away the store fliers and other "junk" mail, take a moment to browse through them. If a local store has an item you use at a terrific price, it may be worth stocking up. You can also find both store and manufacturer's coupons in these mailings. Perhaps a local garage is having a $10 oil change special. It only takes a few seconds to flip through the junk mail, and doing so might save you money.
4. Extreme Couponing
Whether you have seen the television show or not, extreme couponing is a real phenomenon. By combining store specials with clipped and/or printed store and manufacturer coupons, you can get hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for less than $20.
Search the Internet for coupon sites, such as http://www.ivillage.com/coupons
5. Freecycle
Do you have something that is still in usable condition but you don't have the time to sell it? Do you need something you cannot afford to buy? Freecycle puts these people together in a bulletin board type of format. Everything from building materials to diapers can be posted, and the best part is that it is all free.
To find a freecycle group near you: www.freecycle.org
6. Food Shelf
Many communities have local food shelves. These are places where food is distributed freely to those who need it. Some have income guidelines, while others do not. It is worth checking out what the rules are in your neighborhood. You may be able to get a box of food for as little as a couple of hours of volunteered time! Ask at your local town office or city hall where to get more information.
7. Consider Being a Localvore or Joining a CSA
Community supported agriculture (CSA) works by purchasing a share in a local farm, which in turns delivers a box a fresh produce or meat at less than supermarket prices. They can be weekly or monthly, seasonal or year round. To find one near you and learn more about how a CSA works, go to: www.localharvest.org/csa
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A localvore is someone who prefers to eat foods grown locally. This not only helps the local economy, but reduces the carbon footprint of foods. To find out more, go to: www.locavorenetwork.com/proximity
8. Combine trips and errands
Try to limit your outings to once a week, and get everything done on that day. Doctor and dental appointments, picking up mail, dropping off dry cleaning, going to the bank, shopping - whatever errands you have to do, you will save time, money, and gas by combining as many things into one or two trips per week.
9. Avoid ATM and Credit Card Fees
A money saving trick I learned when I was little saves even more money today. Set a weekly spending budget per week, and withdraw that amount from the bank in cash. There is still no fee to visit a teller and cash a check. As this will be the only trip to the bank for the week, you tend to be more careful and not go over budget while shopping. You do not get charged ATM or credit card fees when you do not use them for weekly expenses. Make sure you withdraw enough for gas as well, and walk into the station to pay for it in cash. It's plain silly to incur interest and fees for the convenience of paying at the pump.
10. Take Care of the Things You Already Have
This may sound like a no-brainer, but it saves enough cash to worth mentioning. Have regular maintenance done on your car, furnace, and computer, or do it yourself if you know how. It will save you time, money and frustration! Take proper care of your other things as well, so they do not need to be replaced.
A little bit of common sense and foresight is all it takes to save money. If you take a good, hard look at where your money is going and how you can save it, I am sure you can come up with many more ways of controlling spending.
