Frugality: Money Saving Ideas

Yesterday I posted a Facebook status asking for ways people save money and practice frugality in general. I was surprised at the amount of responses I received! Some were things I definitely already know and practice, others were brand new! But I'm going to share them all so anyone else who is interested can get new ideas!

1. Coupons!

2. Make your own coffee at home and avoid going to coffee shops.

3. Take your lunch to work and don't eat out.

4. coordinate shopping trips to save gas.

5. Use a grocery list when shopping and buy only what's on the list.

6. Cut cable.

7. Buy generic brands over name brands.

8. Get your personal finances in order (visit sites like The Simple Dollar for good advice!)

9. Plan your meals around grocery ads and what's on sale.

10. visit totallyfreestuff.com to pick up free samples and such.

11. Use the 10-second/30-day rules before making purchases.

12. Grow your own garden.

13. Use towels/cloth napkins rather than paper towels.

14. Line-dry clothes.

15. Watch TV less (or not at all!)

16. Bike or walk when possible instead of driving.

17. make your own laundry detergent

18. avoid buying soft drinks

19. use CFL lightbulbs

20. simplify your cell phone plan

21. use a water filter rather than buying bottled water

22. use a cash-only system for purchases to limit your spending

23. don't eat out!

24. create a personal budget

25. Find entertainment that is very inexpensive or free.

Over the next month or so I plan on elaborating on each of these topics. Some of them I haven't tried myself (yet). I will do a bit of research into each one, and if I have time I will try it before I post on it-if not I'll write a later post on what happened!

I want to investigate the practicality as well as frugality of each of these awesome ideas. Feel free to comment and let me know what works (and doesn't!) for you!