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The Wonder of Saving Bread Bags and Other Stuff
When it comes to the Cheapskates lifestyle it is the little things you do that will make the most difference to your life.
When the last slice of bread is gone, save the bag! Next time you make sandwiches you'll have a food-safe plastic bag, exactly the right size, ready and waiting to be used. You can re-use veggie-roll bags (the fruit bags from the supermarket) the same way. Ditto for the liners in cereal boxes.
This is a great little tip and you are probably wondering why I bother to mention it. I mention it because it is a great tip and not everyone will think of it. Admittedly you would think it's a no brainer but there are a lot of people who would never think to re-use a plastic bag for any reason.
The more Cheapskates tips and hints you use, the more money you will save. The choice is yours. Many of the tips and ideas in the Tip Store and in the newsletter are extreme. Making apple drink by boiling apple peel and cores isn't for everyone, but if you are down to your last dollar and desperate, the ideas may save you. They will definitely help you.
For instance switching to generic sugar from brand name sugar will save you 60 cents a kilo, around $28 a year. There are thousands of tips and ideas just like this one that will save you a little money. Some of them are easy, some of them are extreme and some of them are just plain mean.
Not everyone is ready to live the Cheapskates way. Not everyone will need to or even want to. Experienced Cheapskates will pick and choose, leaving the more extreme ideas while using and adapting others to suit them at that point in time.
I don't go dumpster diving and the trend toward only eating “free” food scrounged from dumpsters just to save money leaves me cold.
On the other hand I see nothing wrong with shopping at op-shops and garage sales to clothe my family and myself. Honestly, after a couple of washes you can't tell the difference between a second hand pair of jeans and a brand-new, store bought pair. Fleecy tracksuits, t-shirts, jumpers and jackets all look the same after a couple of washes too. There's no point paying top dollar at a retail store when you can save 90% buying them pre-loved.
Are you aware that you can save $85.80 a year just by hanging your washing outside to dry? By taking ten minutes in the morning (you don't need to watch the morning news every 30 minutes) to hang your washing outside you'll save on using the dryer. If it's wet hang it over the clotheshorse to dry. You can do this while you are watching the news. As clothes dryers cost an average of $1.40 an hour to run you will save $ 364 a year (5 hours a week x $1.40cents x 52 weeks).
You may already rinse out plastic bags, buy generic sugar and hang your washing outside and you are thinking that there's nothing left for you to do.
Wrong! There are thousands of little, insignificant on their own things you can do to save money. Have you gone over your menu plan lately and tried to keep the cost of each meal to $5 or under? When was the last time you reviewed your insurance costs? Or your health insurance costs? Have you done an electricity audit to see if you can cut the cost of the power you use?
Never think that you can't possibly save any more money. You can. Visit the Tip Store and go over the ideas again. The Tip Store has thousands of valuable tips and they all save money, time and energy.
Granted, you won't be able to retire on the savings you make by washing and re-using a few plastic bags for sandwiches (about $10 a year) or switching to generic sugar or even not using the clothes dryer, but every little bit helps and every cent saved is in your pocket, not someone else's.
Add up all the little savings you make and you two will wonder at the power of saving bread bags.
When the last slice of bread is gone, save the bag! Next time you make sandwiches you'll have a food-safe plastic bag, exactly the right size, ready and waiting to be used. You can re-use veggie-roll bags (the fruit bags from the supermarket) the same way. Ditto for the liners in cereal boxes.
This is a great little tip and you are probably wondering why I bother to mention it. I mention it because it is a great tip and not everyone will think of it. Admittedly you would think it's a no brainer but there are a lot of people who would never think to re-use a plastic bag for any reason.
The more Cheapskates tips and hints you use, the more money you will save. The choice is yours. Many of the tips and ideas in the Tip Store and in the newsletter are extreme. Making apple drink by boiling apple peel and cores isn't for everyone, but if you are down to your last dollar and desperate, the ideas may save you. They will definitely help you.
For instance switching to generic sugar from brand name sugar will save you 60 cents a kilo, around $28 a year. There are thousands of tips and ideas just like this one that will save you a little money. Some of them are easy, some of them are extreme and some of them are just plain mean.
Not everyone is ready to live the Cheapskates way. Not everyone will need to or even want to. Experienced Cheapskates will pick and choose, leaving the more extreme ideas while using and adapting others to suit them at that point in time.
I don't go dumpster diving and the trend toward only eating “free” food scrounged from dumpsters just to save money leaves me cold.
On the other hand I see nothing wrong with shopping at op-shops and garage sales to clothe my family and myself. Honestly, after a couple of washes you can't tell the difference between a second hand pair of jeans and a brand-new, store bought pair. Fleecy tracksuits, t-shirts, jumpers and jackets all look the same after a couple of washes too. There's no point paying top dollar at a retail store when you can save 90% buying them pre-loved.
Are you aware that you can save $85.80 a year just by hanging your washing outside to dry? By taking ten minutes in the morning (you don't need to watch the morning news every 30 minutes) to hang your washing outside you'll save on using the dryer. If it's wet hang it over the clotheshorse to dry. You can do this while you are watching the news. As clothes dryers cost an average of $1.40 an hour to run you will save $ 364 a year (5 hours a week x $1.40cents x 52 weeks).
You may already rinse out plastic bags, buy generic sugar and hang your washing outside and you are thinking that there's nothing left for you to do.
Wrong! There are thousands of little, insignificant on their own things you can do to save money. Have you gone over your menu plan lately and tried to keep the cost of each meal to $5 or under? When was the last time you reviewed your insurance costs? Or your health insurance costs? Have you done an electricity audit to see if you can cut the cost of the power you use?
Never think that you can't possibly save any more money. You can. Visit the Tip Store and go over the ideas again. The Tip Store has thousands of valuable tips and they all save money, time and energy.
Granted, you won't be able to retire on the savings you make by washing and re-using a few plastic bags for sandwiches (about $10 a year) or switching to generic sugar or even not using the clothes dryer, but every little bit helps and every cent saved is in your pocket, not someone else's.
Add up all the little savings you make and you two will wonder at the power of saving bread bags.