Tired of getting paid only to see the money disappear in minutes? Right now with extreme couponing being a hot topic, everybody is trying to make their money last longer. Saving on coffee, paper towels, and cleaning products may stretch that paycheck a little further.
Careful Spending on Coffee: Skip the coffee shop
Each time you frequent your local coffee shop you pay approximately $1.50-$4.50 per drink. Times that by the number of days you purchasing coffee and by the end of the week you have spent around $10.50-$31.50. During your weekly grocery shopping trip, buy a bag of your favorite coffee and a container of cream, and you will spend, on average, $10.00 for one to two weeks of coffee. Want to save even more? Reuse the coffee filter. Pour fresh coffee grinds on top of the previous day’s grinds and brew a fresh batch.
Penny-wise Paper towels: Use washcloths
In America we use more paper products than any other country in the world. According to Wikipedia, we used roughly 200% more than all of Latin America. In my house we use washcloths in the kitchen and bathrooms. We use old newspaper on the mirrors and windows. If my kids are eating messy finger food, I have them use washcloths instead of napkins or paper towels. We only use paper towels to drain grease off of bacon or onion rings.
Prudent Products: Homemade Cleaning Products
Have you ever read what ingredients are in your bathroom and kitchen cleaning products? Take a look and you will see plenty of harmful chemicals and preservatives. Look closer and you will find carcinogens and known toxins. It is quite simple to replace these common household cleaners with easy homemade cleaners from your own kitchen.
Clean your kitchen counters and appliances with 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water. Mix in a spray bottle and store for later use. It will also clean bathroom counters and mirrors. For those tough to clean kitchen sinks and bathroom showers shake some baking soda onto a slightly damp sponge and scrub away bathtub rings or remove food scum from the kitchen sink. For toilets add undiluted vinegar to the bowl and scrub to remove build up.
Visit some of the many blogs on frugal living for more tips and recipes. Frugal living is knowing where and when to spend your money.