With the lean economic times we are experiencing, have you taken any measures to save money or found ways to be more frugal?

I’ve cut down on spontaneous gifts and impulse shopping at Target. And I eat out a little less.

I try to stay away from Amazon.com. That site kicks my butt!

I have been eating cheaper cuts of meats as well as using the bones to make stews. I am also eating more casseroles and stir frys that use a lot of vegetables and a cheap carbohydrate. These efforts are causing my grocery bills to go down and allows me to continue buying things like paper towels, expensive brand toilet paper, and Starbucks coffee beans.

Cooking your own food in general is a great way to save money – not only do you end up eating healthier, the cost of the food is way less than going out to a restaurant. I regularly cook balanced dinners (a meat, veggies, and carb of some type) which average $2–3 a portion. Soup and casseroles make so much and cost so little that they average 50 cents to $1 a portion, especially if you use leftovers. I make desserts which either use leftovers (rice pudding is delicious) or that are simply small portioned enough to keep the cost down to 50cents-$3 a portion (50 cents is Jell-O with a canned fruit mixed in, $3 is Gordon Ramsay’s mascarpone based tiramasu).

Even if you just save money on lunches, this is a great contribution. Invest in a good quality lunchbox that you want to use. Mr Bento containers are great. I have a similar one with three containers, as well as a more traditional one compartment container. Both are great for putting leftovers in and reheating or eating cold. By bringing in a lunch you can save a lot of money, since the lunches are only a buck or two cost for you compared to your usual lunch price. If you save $6 a day by bringing your own lunch, this is $30 a week, more than $1400 a year.

I am also being content with the things I own, and not spending money on things in general. Once a week (today in fact) a group of friends gets together for a roleplaying session. These evenings don’t cost much money at all, and are very fun. When by myself, I am enjoying watching DVDs I already own (I’m rewatching Arrested Development while I sew) and am using the craft supplies I have to create my sewing projects instead of spending money and buying things willy nilly. Hopefully I will be able to sell these products, thus giving me money to buy more fabric and keep the process going.

@dynamicduo; I heard about that secret society of fabric fanatic’s. I guess only those who sew really understand they mystery and euphoria that comes with finding pretty fabric with no apparent use, on sale. I have see the look in their eye though and I would be afraid to get in their way!!

I do most of my clothes shopping at Goodwill now. You can really find great quality clothes there. We also watch more movies on cable instead of going to the video store. We gave up movie theaters years ago. With three children, it easily costs $100 to take the entire family to a movie.

This month we took out our grocery money at the beginning (in cash) and put it in an actual envelope and I take that with me grocery shopping. I find that I swipe my ATM and don’t know how much I went way over on the grocery budget until the end of the month. I think this will keep the in excess spending down, it is definitely harder for me to part with cash and so I’ve found that I don’t put the extras in the shopping cart. We will see how it goes, but I’m excited to find out. Also I’ve been clipping coupons and finding coupons online.

My next step is to cut our gas and electricity bill by going through the home and unplugging things we don’t use, putting things on timers, etc.

@Judi – Nothing beats getting a great deal on fabric. We all have our secret sources. One of mine is a second hand store chain here called Value Village. Not only can you find varied amounts and styles of fabric for 50 cents or less per meter, sometimes you can find bedsheets or curtains with patterns or characters that can be used as decals or trim. Sewing in general is so fun. I get more enjoyment out of making things than I do in using them, so giving them out as gifts is a perfect solution! I often buy fabric without having a purpose for it. I hold onto it until there is a purpose for it, such as coasters I’m making with my scraps. I’ll be using a good number of fabrics in this quilt-a-long I am participating in this month.

In home-economics I got an A in cooking and D in sewing. That’s why I was confused and had to ask someone when I saw a bumper sticker that said “she who dies with the most fabric wins.”

I have signed up for a bunch of different frugal oriented RSS feeds and have found this a valuable resource for new tips and ideas.

Many we have already been doing (which is reassuring) but there is the occasional odd tip that I hadn’t thought of….

e.g. from today: When traveling, don’t forget about the site www.restaurant.com as a way to cut costs. A little planning and forethought can save some money.

@dynamicduo – Value Village is also my secret yarn store – except that the yarn comes “pre-packaged” in sweaters to “do-it-yourself” unravel. You can get a lot of fancy yarn for a few bucks that way.

@Snoopy Did you know that if you go through ebates.com to get to restaurant.com you can get 15% cash back on your purchases, I believe it is 15% from restaurant.com, that’s not a bad deal.

@miasmom Great tip! I have yet to use the restaurant.com site as there is currently nothing that is useful for my immediate area…
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