My Personal Method for Pinching More Pennies and Stretching Your Budget

I think it's safe to say that most people are very concerned about the economy and their personal financial state right now. I know I am. In fact I would go as far as saying I am preoccupied with money. I think about it at least once every half hour. As a result I am constantly looking for ways to save money. I hear many of the same tips time and time again and every once in a while I find a real gem.

Recently I've found it necessary to update the wardrobes of almost every member of my family, but in the process I've found a few great ways to make my dollars stretch further. For clothing I find the internet is a really great money saving tool, just make sure when you shop online you way the cost of shipping against your savings. Of course E-Bay is a great way to save money, but perhaps a less popular shopping tool is froogle.com, one of Google's many cool tools. Type a specific item into the froogle search bar and you can really find some killer deals, like the brand new parka froogle found in an online consignment shop for only $14 + $10 shipping and handling. The coat would definitely cost $50 or more in a department store or at the mall so even with shipping it was a great deal. It's also a fantastic tool for price comparison purposes because unlike a single website it pulls up multiple items from different stores. I like Amazon.com for this kind of comparison shopping as well. Catch deals at online stores as well as in store deals by visiting keycode.com. This website allows you to see where the sales are as well as providing coupon codes for extra savings. Dealcatcher.com is another great site for scanning specials and collecting coupons. However my very favorite online resource is discount gift cards, especially since savings on discount gift cards can be combined with coupons for killer savings. Some great sites for gift cards are plasticjungle.com, giftcardsagain.com, stargiftcardexchange.com, and swapagift.com.

Of course you can find ways to pinch pennies offline as well. My first advice to you is set your hangups aside about used clothing and visit some consignment and thrift stores. When I lost a little more weight than expected after my second baby, I found myself really short on pants. I had 2 pairs of jeans and I was getting sick of washing them constantly, so I broke down and visited a thrift store. I found two pairs of practically new pants for five dollars a piece. It didn't hurt that my brother in law worked there and got me 20% off as well, but not everyone can be so lucky. While I was shopping for my pants I also found some really cute baby clothes for my 5 month old. Shopping at Wal-Mart is also a great way to save money. Often new clothes at Wal-Mart are nearly as inexpensive as clothes from thrift stores. I specifically see the savings in childrens' clothing. I love the Garanimals brand for my boys. Shirts and pants usually run around $3.50 a piece.

Look for bargains on specific clothing items. My new favorite bargain: The Fruit of the Loom perfect T-Shirt Bra. It costs less than $7, and is as good as any bra I've ever owned. I used to work for Victoria's Secret and for a long time thought the only way to get a decent bra is to spend $40 on one, so I went for a long time without a new bra even though I desperately needed one. Since discovering this little beauty, I've bought three in the last month.

Thrift stores and Wal-Mart are also excellent places to save on home decor and toys for the kids. On the same trip that I got the $5 pants, I also bought a new bike for my two year old for $5, and a great glider rocker for $25. He got an old Nerf gun for 75 cents with a light for aiming, sort of like a laser site. My husband replaced the batteries and bought some new bullets at Wal-Mart for $2 and for about $3.50 he had a toy he loved and would have cost about $12 new. I redecorate my bathroom with new accessories and bath towels from Wal-Mart at least once a year.

For groceries you can't beat Wal-Mart either. Now, I've had coworkers and friends tell me that groceries aren't really cheaper at Wal-Mart, but I've compared. I've even tried shopping the circulars for deals and usually Wal-Mart beats the sale price. Other ways to save on groceries include, of course, looking for coupons on items you use, buying generic whenever possible, shopping with a list, and buying in bulk. When shopping with coupons and buying in bulk it's important to make sure you're only buying items you really need. If your buying something just because you have a coupon or buying a case of something you wouldn't otherwise use isn't saving it's spending unwisely. When shopping with a list it helps to write it a day ahead and look at it before you go shopping to eliminate any unnecessary items. I often notice that when I initially make my list I jot down alot of things on a whim that I don't really need. Once you've made your list make sure that you stick to it. It helps so shop when you're in a hurry, like when you have to be somewhere in an hour or have to pick up the kids, so you won't be tempted to browse and buy impulse items. When you feel the urge to buy something not on your list, it's a good rule to resolve to wait twenty four hours and come back to buy it if it's still necessary. A great deal of the time, the item in question isn't worth wasting more time at the store the next day.

It's pretty common knowledge that brown bagging your lunch can save you alot of dough. However I've found that pre-prepared lunch items can still add extra volume to my shopping tab, and I'm not ambitious enough to actually prepare a lunch every day. To minimize my shopping list I keep a stockpile of lunch items that are non perishable or have long shelf lives on hand, and I make use of leftovers for lunches whenever possible. This means I buy these items less often.

Make sure you pay attention to expiration dates. Items I found going bad often were bread, cheese, lunch meat, and produce. Now I freeze my bread and only get out a half loaf at a time. I wrap my cheese in tinfoil instead of putting it in a ziploc bag because it can breathe that way and lasts longer. I buy lunch meat in small individual servings which at first seems more expensive, but because it isn't going bad as quickly from being open too long, I actually am saving. Finally I invested in some Green Bags (greenbags.com) to help keep my produce fresh longer.

Finally rely on your friends or family members to cut down on other expenses. My husband carpools with my dad which saves us money on gas, and since they drive my dads car we only need one vehicle instead of two. This saves us a car payment and insurance on another car. I also exchange baby sitting hours with friends so that I don't have to pay for so much daycare.

These are just a few of the many ways I've found to tighten my budget and I'll be sure to add more in the future. Every little bit helps. Be creative and use your resources. You will find your dollars stretch much further that way.