Recently, there was a neat thread started in one of the groups I frequent on Ravelry. It is about saving money and being frugal. With the economy being less than fabulous, I think everyone is looking to make the dollars stretch these days. I thought it would be fun to share some favorite money saving ideas with each other. I’ll bet we will all learn some handy tricks to help us through the money drought
Around here, we don’t buy a lot of name brand products. Store brand is just as good in almost every case. That saves us quite a bit on the grocery budget. Everything from our flour to the syrup we put on the pancakes is store brand.
We also try very hard not to throw food out. The boys are like vacuum cleaners anyway lately so not much goes to waste
Leftovers are not uncommon here and before hubby went on disability for his surgery, he often took leftovers to lunch the next day. “Waste not, want not” right?
We strive to live by the old pioneer motto “Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without.” My towels are not so pretty but they still dry the water up so we’re not replacing them. Everything is worn or used until there are holes. My basement couch is older than my oldest kiddo and sags like an old gal but it’s still acceptable sitting accomodations so it stays.
One final tip and then it’s your turn – We live by a needs versus wants credo. Needs are things we have to have. Wants are things we could survive without if we have to. Needs obviously would take high priority in the budget and wants would only come into play if there is a little extra in the budget. So, grocery basics like milk, flour, sugar, fruits and veggies are needs. Candies, chips, cookies, eating out, etc. all fall in the wants category. Broader scale: clothing that isn’t threatening to turn into a wardrobe malfunction is in the need category. Electronics, video games, going to movies are wants. And the trick is to fill the needs and hopefully a few wants but not at detriment to the household finances.
Alright, maybe some of that is useful or maybe you are already doing all of these things. If so, good for you! Now, leave me some comments. What are your favorite ways to make the dollars stretch/save money? At the end of next week, I will use a random number generator and the lucky number will get these:

Aren’t they pretty?
Hoop style earrings with french hook earwires. Each hoop holds an opaque teardrop bead surrounded by rose quartz gemstone chips. I made these a while ago with the intent to sell them but just haven’t listed them yet. They are brand new and have never been worn so no worries there. These are not sterling silver, so if you have allergies to metal, and your number gets picked, I’ll send you something fab in place of these pretties. Sound good? Alright, send in some comments and have a great day!