Month of Savings - Day 16-21

I got quite lax about posting my month of savings. I have still been saving though. Dh placed a bid for cleaning the church grounds, and it was accepted. I have been busy helping him in the mornings with that. My afternoons and evenings have been spent watching the college basketball tournament. I definitely have MARCH MADNESS!

Here are a few of my recent money saving tips all lumped together.

16. Use less! This can be trying to use less dish or laundry soap and see if you get the same results. My use less is the drink mix packs. One packet is supposed to flavor 16 ounces of water. I have been using the Crystal Light brand and found that it was a bit too strong for my liking. I use 1/3 of a packet per 2 cups of water. The flavor is just right for me. I also turned a box of 10 servings into 30 servings.

17. Combine your shopping trips. Dh had to go into town to pick up his check, a push mower, and a few other items. I needed to get some groceries and do my shopping at Walgreens and CVS. We ended up going together cutting the amount of gas we might have used in half.

18. Make a trade. I needed some pants hemmed and my mom wanted some Dianthus flowers. We had a coupon for Lowe's, and I needed a bit more to cover the coupon amount. I picked her up several pots of the flowers in exchange for hemming my pants. (*Yes, my mom would have done them for nothing, but I do not like to take advantage of her. I prefer and give and take relationship.*)

19. Get rid of ants with Dawn dish detergent. We have fire ants here. The stores are packed with expensive poisons and potions claiming to rid your of these evil villains. Truthfully they rarely work and usually cause the ants to just move their bed over a foot or so. I was told that mixing Dawn dish detergent with water and pouring it over the bed worked. It does! You need regular Dawn (not the Ultra). Fill a gallon jug almost full and then squeeze in about four or five good squirts of Dawn. The water should be blue. Shake slightly and pour over the ant beds. The ants will be gone. By gone I do not mean to the other side of your yard, but they will be gone for good! At $1 a bottle this is a cheap fix.

20. Look for extras included with a purchase. The Gillette Fusion razors were on sale at several places this month. The power version was the same price as the regular one. Dh likes the regular razor but not the power razor. Both are the same blade wise. I buy the power razor simply because it is like getting a free battery. The same goes for bonus packs of items or a free with purchase option. Get more for your money!

21. Get caught up in March Madness. I have spent less money and done less shopping the past few days, because I have been caught up in the almost non-stop games. Unfortunately that means I do not get to bed until about 2am since I have to stay up for the recap show. That might not be a real money saving tool for the rest of the world, but it works for me. I also love, love, love college basketball and had to work that in somehow.