My Frugal Life: Thrifty is a Wonderful Thing

I live on a tight budget. My family doesn't have much money, but I manage to stretch the money we do have in some creative ways that enable us to pay our bills, take care of all our needs, and still have some fun. It can take some strategic planning, but here are a few of the things I do that really help when the bills come due, and we have to head to the store for necessities.

Here are my biggest tips:

1. Shop at second hand and discount stores such as thrift stores, Walmart, and grocery outlet stores.
2. Draw up a budget every month, and try to stick to it as closely as possible. Bills vary from month to month and so do expenses. Drawing up a fresh budget is helpful because I can plan almost to the penny.
3. Compare prices. I check online and in the weekly store flyers for groceries, school supplies, cat litter. Anything on my list that we need, I try to see where the best price is.
4. Coupons. I clip coupons, and sign up for online coupons and mailing lists. I keep a folder with all of my coupons organized by type. Then when I make my shopping lists and compare my prices, I go through my coupon folder and take out as many coupons as I have for the items on my list. I am by no means one of those extreme couponers who get their entire order free, but I can get significant savings in each trip. I save on average with sales and coupons $25.00 to $35.00 per shopping trip. My personal best being $87.00 savings at Kohls.
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5. Buy some items in bulk. If there is a certain grocery item your family really goes through each month, or items like toilet paper and paper towels that don't go bad, it makes more sense to buy them in bulk. My family loves granola bars, but even at Walmart the brand we love is $3.00 a box for only 5 granola bars. I go to a restaurant supply store that sells a variety box for $7.99 and I get 20 bars and 2 flavors and I save $4.00. That adds up to $48.00 a year, which is like getting 16 boxes of granola bars for free!

Well, here are some of the saving techniques I use each month to make our money stretch as far as possible. I hope some of you can use these. The picture I posted is of some things I bought at a thrift store for only $10.00. I had a 50% off coupon and bought sale ticket items.

By Shannon from Lakewood, OH

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