What do you do when you go to the grocery store and do not prepare to make a grocery list? How much money do you actually end up spending? What about when you go out to eat with your family or friends and didn’t know that you could have saved $4.00 on your entrees? You probably pay regular price for items and end up spending more out of pocket. Would it be great if you could save $30-50 month on grocery, entertainment or eating out at restaurants? In one year, if you were to save $50.00 a month on grocery, that would be a total of $600 saved. Pretty darn fantastic! What could you do with an extra $600 month? I could think of a lot of things that I could do. I love being able to save money whether it is on groceries, eating out, clothing but I also love showing others how to do the same thing for their families and communities. Below are 17 quick start ways to start saving now either with groceries, medicine, restaurant, gas (vehicle),etc. Tell me which one you may have tried before and/or let me know if you have a special savings tip to add to the list.
Savings tip#1(Grocery) -Try to find supermarkets that will double or triple your coupons. Consider printing free coupons here! You can always call your favorite grocery store to discuss their coupon doubling policy. Feel free to read some of the coupon policies listed on our main page on the right side. Click here!
Savings tip#2 (Grocery) – Stock up on your favorite items when the prices are low! ( I do this each time I go to the store. I also stock up on seasonal items for all holidays with their clearance sales).
Savings tip#3 (Grocery) – Start to grow your own herbs and vegetables. Consider canned vegetables or fruit to last when your favorite produce is not on sale. I love fresh foods and vegetables and believe that this can be a healthy way to obtain your produce. Do you grow your own foods? Ever considered a local farmer’s market? Give it a try! Check out the Organic Resources listed on our main page (left side) by clicking here. If you know of another resource be sure to let us know and we will list it for our readers.
Savings tip #4 (Gas) – Consider carpooling to work, school, etc. Some states will even reimburse you if you carpool. It is a great way to reduce the constant pollution in our environment. Take a look at these two resources for Georgia by clicking here and here.
Savings tip#5 (Gas)- Consolidate your errands! Instead of making several trips during the week to many places and wasting gas, have you considered designating one day to make all your trips? I definitely do this for grocery shopping. I love going on Sunday mornings. This way, I have spent time with the family for the weekend and still able to worship on early Sunday mornings.
Savings tip #6 (Gas)- Save money on your purchase with your local grocery. Are you aware that you can save 10 cents a gallon with gas at Shell with your Kroger card? If not, be sure your Shell gas station participates with Kroger savings or go to the Kroger grocery store that also sells gas. Click here to see if your city or state is listed!
Savings tip#7 (Restaurant) – Do you enjoy eating out for lunch or dinner? Are you aware that some major restaurants have coupons that are sometimes listed in the Smart Source coupon insert of your Sunday newspaper? I have found many coupons there for local restaurants including Olive Garden.
Savings tip#8 (Restaurant)- If you are not able to eat all of your meal, be sure to take some with you for lunch the next day. Left overs can be great for a quick lunch.
Savings tip#9 (Restaurant)- Have you signed up to receive the newsletter of your favorite restaurant? Sometimes there are great deals that they send their subscribers that others may not be aware of. Check out T.G.I. Friday’s by clicking here! What about Pizza Hut? Click here! Did you get in on the Superbowl deal with Papa John’s? I sure did and ordered my 1 topping pizza online with no problem and received a free Pepsi. Click here to sign up with them. Don’t forget to visit your favorite companies on Facebook. Many companies are now placing coupons on their Facebook page.
Savings tip#10 (Clothing) – Buy clothing when they are on sale! You can always check out the clearance racks for some really great deals. Goodwill stores have some really nice bargains and sometimes you can find clothing with the tag still attached.
Savings tip#11 (Clothing) – Ever shopped at a consignment shop? Not only can you buy really nice label items, you can also sell your items and receive a profit. How cool is that? These shops cover women, men, and children clothing.
Savings tip#12 (Clothing) – Save money on dry cleaning by buying wash and wear clothing. You can easily take the money you would spend on a lot of dry cleaning and use it towards something else.
Savings tip#13 (Pet) – Make use of old blankets by using it for bedding for your pets. Not only could it keep them warm but they will have a scent of you close by.
Savings tip#14 (Wedding) – Need a wedding gown? Have you tried local wedding bridal gown stores that have really great sales? You can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on really great designer gowns.
Savings tip #15 (Wedding) – Save money on invitations by calling your guests, sending an email or save the date text message. You could save hundreds of dollars. Quick tip – Place a special area on your Facebook page for your guest to “like” your wedding invitation comment as their RSVP. (Really creative right and very social).
Savings tip #16 (Wedding) – If you have a friend who is a photographer, consider asking them to take pictures for your special event. You can also buy some really great disposable cameras and have guests to take pictures and leave in a special area for development.
Savings tip #17 (General) – Be patient when it comes to saving. Never try to jump into anything drastically. Sometimes it takes a while to develop some really great habits but if you hang in there, you can do it!
I hope you have enjoyed these 17 Savings tips from Simple Savings For ATL Moms. Remember you can feel free to leave a new tip for our readers (you never know, your tip may help someone else).
Quida
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Wonderful tips! I try to stock up when things are on sale.
Me too Christy. 🙂
Thank you for the great tips! 🙂
I am DEFINITELY bookmarking this page!!! Love these tips and I need to follow the ones that I don't already follow!
Great tips! I garden to save as well.
I am wanting to start my very own vegetable garden. (My very first, btw.) What suggestions do you have?
Hi Tami,
Thanks for the wonderful question. One way to start is to decide what type of vegetables that you would like to start growing. Create a nice area at your home. If it is outside decide upon the location and start to buy a few items at a time and gradually build. You can save with using some containers from your home (pickle jars, cans, etc.). If the garden is inside your home be sure to still think of the area and where you will get some great lighting. I did see some great starter vegetable kits in the Dollar General the other day. Be sure to check to see if you have one locally Tami. Keep in touch and let me know how it is going. 🙂 Quida
I grew my own herbs for the first time last yr and it turned out well! I only grew Basil and Cilantro since these are the 2 I use the most in cooking. This yr I want to do those again as well as some rosemary and maybe a few others. Definitely saves $$ compared to the $3 or more I'd spend just to get one small bunch of basil a recipe calls for! And it is so much fresher!
I'm working on my gardening post right now and also a post about the consignment sale I recently did 🙂 I've planted a few things but waiting til the cold weather is past us to plant the rest.
Thanks for all of the ideas!
Good tips! I have wanted to grow my own herbs for awhile – we just don't get a lot of sun. I'm going to talk to a friend of mine though and see if I can help her with her garden this year.
As far as wedding dresses go, I had my wedding dress made in the Philippines. I emailed a picture of me in a David's Bridal gown and the seamtress made it for me!! I had to have it altered a bit when I received it, but I loved it and it only cost me $200 vs. the $900 the gown at David's Bridal cost!!
You have great tips here! I agree about the coupons but there's just no store in my area that doubles coupons so I don't really have a big stockpile. My mom grows some plants in her backyard and I just get stuff from there. lol
Great tips! It's only been in the last year or two that I stock up when something is really on sale. There's so much I wish I had known years ago!
My favorite tip is "Be patient when it comes to saving." I always tell my fans that starting small leads to better habits, and saving $20-50 a week for the long haul is a great goal for reasonable effort.
There are some really great tips on your list! I like that it has ideas for saving on more than just food!
Another small way to save on groceries is to buy frozen if you can't buy fresh (like berries)–much cheaper and just as many nutrients! No added sugar or preservatives like canned. I need to be better about shopping for clothes, I just don't shop for clothes because I hate spending money, but with my kids growing it us becoming a necessity and I need to learn how to shop the bargains!
Good tips! One way I save when eating at a restaurant is to only order water! Also, if friends want to meet up for "dinner" I always suggest lunch because a.) it will be less expensive; and b.) smaller portions that will not hurt the waistline! Thank you for sharing your tips!
I love these tips – they are all great for saving money. We want to do more with our garden this year to maximize fresh veggie savings! 🙂
Really great tips. You had a few that I hadn't thought of yet. Keep up the good work. Deb
Great tips. I need to sign up with more restaurants to enjoy their deals. I always try to consolidate trips. With kids and high gas it is easier just to get it all done then getting out everyday.
Great tips especially the one to be patient b/c it's not going to happen overnight!
Great list. I always try to consolidate the trips into one. Especially with gas as high as it is now!
Fantastic tips. I'm excited to see that I can scratch a few of my list as ongoing! Yay!
Great tips especially for people who are just beginning to learn ways to save.
Great tips! I used #16 for my wedding.
I love #17 – to be patient. This isn't easy for me, but I've found that everytime that we are patient and wait for the right thing or for it to be on sale, it pays off ten-fold.
Great ideas! I will definitely use some of these to save.
Great tips! Proud to say I do some. I used to do the email newsletter thing, but I found I got overwhelmed with email eventually and unsubscribed from a bunch of them.
Thanks for all these awesome tips
http://adventuresfrugalmom.com
I appreciate your tips on how to save. Thanks!
Love it. Clear, consise tips.
Thanks so much for posting. Who wouldn't want to save money, when it can be so simple with some planning and organization.
Peace and good.
It's important to be wise with our money. I like using the internet to help match sales & coupons — make it so much easier for me!
Great tips! I'm always looking for new ways to save $$$! Thanks for the info!
grazie, ottimi suggerimenti
Love these ideas! I recently made a dog bed out of old blankets. Our dog loved this chenille throw of mine so I finally gave in and used it as the top layer. Now she has a place of her own to cuddle up at night.
http://www.couponinguniversity.com
Thanks for putting together this savings list. I use all of them periodically
Stopping by from the 100 Comments event.
http://www.AsToldByLisa.com
Thanks Lisa and you are welcome.
I wish there were stores here that did doubles and triples. I have to make a list ahead of time, do price matching, and NOT take hubby to the store if I want to save money!
Some really great tips. It is amazing how much we can save over the course of a year by making a few changes in our shopping and spending.
Yes, I would agree Elizabeth. 🙂