8 Money Saving Tips
by Angela Foldi

Hi! I just discovered your website and I really love what I've seen so far. I have a few tips that you might want to share with your readers.

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1. You can save a lot of money by buying your groceries at Wal-Mart Super centers. Wal-Mart has a policy where if you take in your local grocery ads they will match their competitors prices. I use this technique to get all of those expensive TV dinners for way less than what they normally cost!  It also works well for purchasing those expensive cereals. Most grocery stores have at least 5 name brand cereals on sale every week.

2. Buy garage sale furniture. If it doesn't match go to your local hardware store and ask them about the paints that have been returned because they are the wrong color. They will usually sell these to you at a discounted price. Then paint all of your furniture the same color and change the hardware so that it will match. I did my whole bedroom "set" this way for less than $50.00!! That was furniture and all!!!! To spruce it up even more and make it look more decorative I decoupaged the front of the drawers with color copies taken from my bed-in-a-bag set. 

3. My husband and I couldn't afford a headboard for our bed so we took a sheet of plywood and cut it out in the shape that I wanted. Then we bought some quilting filler and a twin size sheet and covered the plywood stapling it to the back. 

4. Another trick that has worked for us is what I call the envelope trick. Each week I get the same amount of cash out of our checks. I then divide that cash up and put designated amounts in labeled envelopes. I have one for groceries, gasoline, entertainment and vacation money. 

What we don't use for that purpose stays in the envelope. Before we know it we usually have extra money in there so when the time comes we have "emergency money" just for those things. When I started doing this I put the smallest amounts in that we possibly could. 

It also helped me figure out really quick where my budget was bigger than I needed it to be. I put $20 a week in a vacation envelope and within a year we had enough money to take a two week trip to Florida. So even when you think you can't afford a vacation try putting a small amount away and you will be surprised at how much you can save by doing this.

5. Save that change! Put your change away every day. I pay for as many items as I can with cash and I always use bills and not my change. In less than 6 months I saved over $300 in change! My husband and I also used this money on our Florida trip. It paid for our tickets to Universal studios, our hotel room for 2 days and all of our food in Orlando for 2 days.

6. Want to save even more money on your vacation? Pack your own drinks and food. It may sound like a pain, but you can save a lot of money by doing this.

7. Want to save even more money on your vacation? Drive instead of fly. My husband and I own a truck that gets 20 miles to the gallon. We drove from St. Louis, Missouri to Orlando, Florida, West Palm Beach Florida and to Key West, Florida and then back home for $300.00. That is less than we would've paid for 2 plane tickets and a rental car for 2 weeks. Also go vacation where you have relatives at and stay with them for a few days.

8. Buy your fruits and vegetables at your local farmers market. They are cheaper and fresher than your local grocery store. Most large cities have year round farmer's markets. Check your yellow pages or get on the internet and search for them. 

That is all of the tips that I can think of right now. I hope that some of them work for you!

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Copyright © 2003 by Angela Foldi