Try moneysavingexpert . c o m

Do research, Blue Buffalo isn't as good as you think. There are cheaper brands that are actually higher quality. Most vets despise Blue Buffalo.

Aldi's for sure.

Dollar Tree.

I buy stuff on sale and I buy off season for the next season.

Certain credit cards I have, there are bonuses and perks and I will use the credit card to get the perks and just pay off the card right away and as long as I know it's something I will need/use/want in the future.

One of my credit cards was 5% cash back on groceries, so I just made all grocery purchases on that card and just paid it off right away. I got $75 in free money.

Coupons, Groupon, etc. If I am going somewhere, whether it's to eat or traveling I always look for a coupon first.

When BS was younger the library was a great resource for free kid activities.

The park, nature walks, etc. We have always done it, so it's fun to BS and it's free.

Look around at your local stores for a more affordable dog food. I'm in Texas and we have Tractor Supply which sells a brand called 4health that is good and quite affordable. Also, HEB (Texas grocery store) has it's own brand of dog food that is very good, and reasonable.

You should also compare the price per ounce for each size bag. In the past buying in bulk has always been cheaper but that's not always the case. I have two large dogs so I usually buy 60+ pounds of dog food at a time. The HEB brand is 17cents per ounce for the largest 25 pound bag, but only 11cents per ounce for the 15 pound bag.

- I make my own laundry soap and softener.
- Shop the dollar store first, then go to the grocery store. You never know what you'll come across at the former that will save money at the latter.
- I make lists, and stick to them.
- I keep chickens and sell the eggs. Can't keep up with the demand for organic eggs, and folks will pay $5 a dozen for them.
- Ditto on the coconut oil.

Yeah, I try to do money saving things too.

Buy bulk whatever I can (always check the per pound price to compare, so far it's always been cheaper than packaged) - especially herbs/spices I don't grow myself.

Order prescription cat food online, auto-ship for discount.
(Also buy the largest size cat litter bag)

Costco for bulk items like tp, kleenex, pasta, etc. We are careful shopping there.

I buy all my kitchen things at the thrift store or garage sales. Same with most furniture.

For our clothes (me and DP) unless it's a necessary sport-specific thing, I buy most everything at Marshall's. I can get great soap, shampoo, towels and lots of stuff there so much cheaper than most other places. It's also easy to get to.

We limit driving; we both ride bikes and take transit as a rule. Driving is an exception. This saves TONS.

If DP needs to buy SDs things, I always suggest online shopping (we live a long way from stores and the above Marshall's doesn't have a good kids/young adult section) so I find deals on Amazon for him to buy them.

Thanks for the tips. I also do some of the same things you do except I haven't shopped at Savers or used coconut oil. I'll have to try both.

I also find amazing deals on dresses and suits at the Goodwills in my area. The closer to the city, the better the finds. There are lots of people who donate nearly new slacks, blazers, etc.

Book sales at libraries for reading material for myself and baby

Costco shopping around lunch time. I get my shopping done while filling myself up on yummy free samples. Plus if I'm still hungry there's cheap pizza or hot dog by the exit.

DH and I also sign up for credit cards that give us points for hotel and air travel. Marriott in particular gives lots of points when you initially sign up for the card. With that, we end up being able to get a hotel during the holidays when visiting his family for 5 nights for no more than $200, sometimes free. It keeps me sane and still together with DH...lol.

I win contests on the radio. I listen at work at dial right away and I win a lot. 8 times in less than a year to theme parks and concerts. I won $100 cash, concert tickets I sold for $250, Universal tickets three times, Busch Gardens tickets, Aquatica tickets, and an edible arrangement.

We have Publix where I am from. Never heard of Aldi. But Publix stacks coupons. You can use a competitor, store, and manufacture coupon on one item! I use SouthernSavers.com for my couponing. I go to three different grocery stores for the sales. I too do dollar tree for shampoo and deodorant and soap. I too do Goodwill and garage sales. My coworker just gave me a bunch of hand me downs from her daughter who just left the Middle School by daughter is going into in two weeks and just gave me a bunch of school tee shirts!

I check clearance racks. I sign up at all these stores. Sometimes Kohls will send me $10 free and so will Jc Penny's. Although not lately.

I set aside new toys I find at yard sales or $3 or $4 sale toys at Christmas up high on a shelf for when the girls get invited to birthday parties I can just grab something cheap.

I'm doing DD's birthday party at a brand new city park with a splash pad in two weeks instead of buying an expensive package.

I don't eat out. I too meal plan.

I just search and read too. I got free $10,000 from the city as a first home buyers deal when I bought my house by attending a class and filling out paperwork. I got free college with scholarships and tuition reimbursement for a lot of years and ended up doing loans for the last part. I hate the loans.

We do the library for dvd 's and books. I put the new movies on reserve and pick them up as soon as they are ready.

My cable bill was $150 this month. I can't afford that. I'm going to cancel cable and go to those firesticks when I can.

I love second hand stores especially for kids stuff. They grow out of it and trash it so dang fast! I also have a GAP visa card that I use for EVERYTHING (gas, groceries, etc) every month I get rewards to use which is basically cash off any purchase at Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy. I just "bought" over 200.00 worth of back to school clothes and a winter coat for BS6 and used a couple of my rewards and paid $11.00! AND I still have almost 200.00 in rewards left, because every single month I get more.. and I pay off my credit card balance at the end of every month, so no interest, means the rewards are totally FREE.

I have to be careful though about buying shit I don't need, DH too. Like if something is on sale.. 100.00 marked down to 25.00 we are both very tempted to buy.. because "it's a great deal!" But someone on the news said the other day, that when you see a sale like that, you need to ask yourself if you would have bought the item full price. If not, then you probably don't need it and are just buying it because it's "on sale"

I also serve as Secretary on the board of directors for a neighboring county fair. Perks are that I get free tickets to any event.. going to Dan & Shay concert tonight (tickets $45.00 a piece), Rodeo tomorrow night (tickets $25.00 a piece) and I get free ride wrist bands ($27.00 a day) for the whole week. Totally worth going to one meeting a month and taking 10 minutes to type up some minutes and email them! BS gets so excited to go and I don't have to get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about how much it's going to cost!!

I cut my kids hair, not hard to learn how to do. Use the speedwash cycle on the washer. Stockpile food in extra pantry and freezer when on sale, cook stuff at home, keep thermostat at 74, and buy clothes on clearance.

We do not buy paper towels. We use kitchen rags for everything.

Only buy clothes at goodwill. Except undies and socks.

We drink mostly water. We do as much of our own repairs on things like cars as possible. Then ask a friend before a shop. For parts we go to a junkyard first..usually have a part for cheaper thats usually in great condition.

We buy cash cars.

We eat alot of veggies and fruit. I have a great farmers market near us. I can get doz eggs for 88 cents. We eat a ton of eggs.

Not every mean contains meat. Or we stretch it with rice or pasta.

I use walmarts savings catcher.

We rewear alot of clothes if possible. Ill wear the same pjs for a week or until visablly soiled or sweaty.

We keep our thermostat at 75 in summer. Its freezing! Downstairs at least so we all sleep downstairs for the most part.

Figure out what you buy most often at the grocery store. Then make a price book to keep track of prices at different places and when. You will soon figure out the sales cycle for each product.

When using coupons, your best bet is to use a place that doubles them and check for coupons for sales that are buy one get one free. You can use TWO coupons in that scenario and can really make a dent in costs. Especially for shampoos, vitamins, etc.

List out all your monthly expenditures - preferably in a spreadsheet for easy sorting. Sort largest to smallest. Then google the hell out of saving money on whatever is your largest expense (usually housing, food and/or utilities). Some things, like your mortgage or rent cost is not going to change unless you do a lot of work (moving or refinancing) so, unless you can rent out a room or your garage or something, don't worry so much about that. Go down the line and make whatever small changes you can implement to start saving money. Use that money to pay off any debts you may have that charge interest.