I always like to think of the myriad of ways that I can save money on a day-to-day basis. I’m sure you’ve got tons of tricks & tips up your sleeve and I’d love for you to share them with us. Here are some of my favorites to get the discussion going…
1. To Dry Clean or not to Dry Clean: I took a blouse to the dry cleaner last week and when he told me it would cost almost 7 bucks, I snatched it back and checked the washing instructions: It read “Dry Clean”. I took it home and hand-washed it with some soap nuts and hung it up to air-dry. After a quick iron, it was perfect. I have a lot of tops and dresses that suggest I should dry clean them, however, unless it says “Dry Clean Only“, you don’t really have to.
2. Air Dry your laundry: You’ll see the savings reflected in your energy bill. If you can’t face air-drying things like shirts, pants and dresses that might require a little more ironing, at least air dry the larger items, such as towels, bath mats, sheets, covers, terry robes etc.
3. Cut the ends of your sunscreen and toothpaste tubes with a pair of sharp scissors when you think you’ve got as much out of it as you can. You’ll be surprised how much more is lurking in the bottom. You might get another 4 or 5 applications.
4. Make your own popsicles: It seems like such a waste of money to buy popsicles when they are so easy to make (healthier too). Grab some inexpensive molds from somewhere like Bed, Bath & Beyond. I think fruit concentrates make the most flavorful pops. I purchase frozen organic fruit concentrate from Wholefoods and add water or rice milk.
5. Make your own iced tea to go: Iced tea at the coffee shop is over a dollar when you can make it at home for less than 5c a cup. Brew up a pitcher of your favorite tea (I love hibiscus, green or rooibos) and keep it in your fridge. Fill up a travel tea mug with it and a bunch of ice. I liketo use my insulated Polar water bottle for iced tea.
6. Use ends of bread and stale baguettes to make crostini: I found about four ends of baguettes in the back of my fridge yesterday. I sliced them thinly and laid them out on a baking sheet. I placed them in a hot oven (400 degrees F) for 10 minutes, until crisp and brown. When you’re ready to eat them, rub a half clove of garlic over the surface of each toast and top with your preferred topping (hummus, chopped tomatoes & basil), and plenty of good olive oil.
7. Wash your own dogs: If you have small dogs like mine (a Maltese and a Chihuahua), wash them in the sink rather than take them to the groomer. I do this all summer-long because they can air-dry outside and it saves me 50 bucks per dog!
8. Cut your kid’s hair: If your child has an uncomplicated style, the summer months are the time to cut it yourself. A kids hair cut can run from 15 – 50 bucks, and with a good pair of scissors, you don’t need to be trained to be able to do a decent job. Kids are in and out of the water and often tie their hair back or want it short. All you need is a spray water bottle (hair needs to be wet), a comb and a pair of scissors. If I can do it, so can you!!! You might even have a go at your man’s hair too!
9. Eat less meat! I always include this in any money-saving tips because it will seriously reduce your grocery bill. Summer is easier because of the abundance of wonderful veggies. Substitute Portobello mushrooms for steak/burgers on the grill.
10. Use-up weekend: About once a month, we do a “use-up” weekend, where we force ourselves to use up as much as we can from the fridge and freezer before buying anything else. It forces me to become creative. Today I made a peach (bag of frozen peaches stuffed in back of freezer,) banana (over ripe) and coconut ice cream (almost past its sell-by). smoothies for the kids.
