100 Money Saving Ideas and Resources

A few years ago, some online friends and I brainstormed and compiled this list of penny pinching ideas. If you have a great idea to add to the list, feel free to comment!

I sincerely hope you can use some of the ideas presented here.  There are over 100 ideas and resources listed. Enjoy!

Around the home:
1. Hang out the laundry
2. Indoor drying on racks/indoor clothes lines
3. Wash items in cold water
4. Dilute laundry and hand soap
5. Run your load of wet laundry through an extra spin cycle before putting them in the dryer
6. Add a clean dry towel to your wet load in the dry to cut down on drying time, and use clean tennis balls or dryer balls to cut down on drying time.
7. Cloth diapers and cloth wipes
8. Use rags/towels instead of paper towels
9. Make your own laundry soap, and cleaning supplies using recipes that are readily available online
10. Get cottage industry soaps, they are very sudsy and make a good shampoo, also they last for ages
11. Gardening
12. Unplug electronics and electricity vampires
13. Investigate lower rates with the utility companies
14. Put some electric things on timers
15. No indoor cooking in the summer – use the grill (save on your electric)
16. Shop around for best phone packages
17. Lower the heat on the water heater
18. Put a timer on the hot water tank
19. Wrap the water heater
20. Take colder showers
21. Hair cuts at home
22. Take your lunch to work
23. Clean refrigerator coils so it operates with better efficiency
24. Get an energy audit
25. Look into what you can do with solar energy (cooking, drying, dehydrating, etc.)
26. Insulate your house
27. Use ceiling or floor fans to help circulate heat/air
28. Wear sweaters in the winter
29. Block off unused rooms by closing doors or hanging blankets over door
30. When you're not home – shut the ac off. it only takes 10 – 15 minutes to cool the house – turn it on when you get home
31. Get motion lights for outside rather than leaving your outside lights on all night
32. Get a battery operated door bell, rather than electric
33. If you have a second refrigerator – consider shutting it down and not using it
34. Hand-me-downs for toys and clothes
35. Turn existing clothes into a new piece of clothing, or make into rags
36. Call the insurance board and get a list of what company charges what for life/home/health insurance and see if you can cut that bill down do this every year, especially auto insurance
37. Detach and de-clutter, then donate or sell
38. Get a cow or a goat if you have the land and chickens as well

Misc:
39. See if your health insurance offers 3 month refill for price of a single month's copay! (saves 2 months of copay)

Entertainment:
40. Rent movies from library
41. Go to netflix.com for movie ideas and check library for availability
42. Look for free events in your town to attend (concerts, nature walks, seminars, library events, etc.)
43. Have a Staycation. Stay at home. Set up a tent in the back yard and “go camping”
44. Try to go with friends somewhere (the beach, 6 flags, etc.) and split the cost

Food:
45. Stop eating out
46. Make menu plans
47. Make lists based on menu plans
48. Keep a log of grocery prices
49. Don't shop with your kids
50. Feed smaller portions to children, and give them more when they ask instead of loading their plate
51. Eliminate soda and juice
52. Eat leftovers
53. Once a month cooking or batch cooking
54. Cook one meal, cook two and freeze one
55. Canning
56. Growing your own
57. Splitting a side of meat with a friend or family member (like half a cow)
58. Use crockpot to save time, sanity and $
59. Make one or two meatless meals per week
60. Make more soup and round out with salad and bread
61. Make all your food from scratch
62. Bake your own bread (costs roughly $1 per loaf)
63. Go food shopping with another family and take advantage of the buy one get one free, and then split the cost.
64. Eat things that grow in the wild (Note: You MUST know what you are doing. I do not recommend a novice to forage without proper training.)

Fuel Economy:
65. Combine errands, planning route
66. Leave the car home and walk or bike
67. Keep vehicles oiled, lubed and serviced regularly
68. take advantage of loyalty gas programs, like BJ's Wholesale or Stop and Shop
69. empty your car of heavy items when you don't need
70. become a hyper-miler http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5050282

Finances:
71. Pay your bills before due to avoid late charges
72. Tithe 10% of your earnings

Shopping Resources:
73. Freecycle.org
74. Freemesa.org
75. Reuseitnetwork.org
76. Craigslist.org for buying and selling
77. Ebay.com for buying and selling
78. Garage sales
79. Thrift shops
80. Bread outlets (Note: Check out Bimbo Bakeries Outlet Store Locator for items such as Arnold Bread, Boboli, Entenmann's, Thomas', etc.)
81. Wholesale places like BJ's, Costco, Sam's (Note: Remember, BJ's is the only club that allows manufacturer coupons!)
82. Food co-op, order once a month, and the shipping cost is split amongst the members of the local co-op
83. Shop at home first
84. Stay out of the stores
85. Wait to purchase items
86. Shop around for prices
87. Do instead of buy

Coupon Websites:
88. Use coupons whenever possible
(Note: Some of these are my affiliate links. Thank you, for your support!)

Check the coupon database
Coupons.com
RedPlum
SmartSource
SavingStar
Checkout 51
Ibotta 
Snap by Groupon 
Jingit 
Hopster
Mambo Sprouts
Amazon Coupons

Frugal Attitude:
89. Look for ways to reduce waste
90. Use up
91. Repurpose
92. Reuse
93. Repair
94. Ask yourself, even if items is free, will this item be an expense in the long run?

Increase Earnings:
95. Start a baby emergency fund of $1000 (Note: Rent Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover from the library for more about this concept.)
96. Mystery shopping
97. Selling on consignment
98. Selling on Ebay or Craigslist
99. Making something to sell (Note: You can set up an Etsy shop!)
100. Work from home
101. Cleaning houses
102. Cleaning offices
103. Paper route
104. Stocking shelves at night
105. Have a yard sale

Online Resources and Library Resources:
(Note: Some of these contain my Amazon affiliate link. I recommend trying to find these titles at the library first.)

106. The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn
107. Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey
108. 7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free, by Phil Lenahan
109. Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
110. Once-A-Month Cooking, by Mary Beth Lagerborg, Mimi Wilson
111. Hillbillyhousewife.com
112. Livingonadime.com
113. Savingadvice.com
114. Make-a-Mix Cookbook, by Karine Eliason
115. Thriftyfun.com
116. Free newsletter available at The Dollar Stretcher

Bonus: I will shamelessly plug some of my most popular money saving boards on Pinterest.  Pinterest has oodles of thrifty ideas.  Here are a few to get you started:

Money Matters
Frugal Gardening
Meal Planning
DIY Gift Ideas

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