You can save money (every little bit counts after all) by freezing left-overs instead of throwing them away. Here are a few simple ideas to put those ice trays to use and save money at the same time:
1. Pour left over soup into the trays and make handy soup cubes. Easy to take out and microwave in a bowl for a little one's lunch.
2. For freezing and storing homemade baby food (just steam and puree veggies, and add water until you get to the desired consistency).
3.Freeze tomato paste so you always have some on-hand when a recipe calls for one or two tablespoons.
4. For freezing freshly chopped herbs.
5. If you are making something that only calls for egg yolks, use the ice cube trays for freezing whites to thaw out and use later.
6. Pour left-over wine into an ice cube tray to use for making sauces and soups later.
7. Avoid wasting fruit by freezing fresh lemon and lime juice or other juices to drop into iced teas or water for an added fruity twist. twist!
If you are looking for a way to start saving money for an emergency savings account, look no further than you own wallet. Each day take $1.00 from your wallet before leaving the house. At the end of the week, you will have saved $7.00. Not much, granted, but at the end of the month that will be almost $30. And chances are you won't feel it. Now add your loose change that you save in a jar every night....maybe another $5.00-$10.00 each month,(just putting .50 in that money jar every night for a month will add up to about $14.00-$15.00 each month!) and you may have a nice and easy $40-$50 saved at the end of every month! Not bad. The key at that point is to continue saving that money, and not spend it. Put it in an account especially for emergencies (if you do not have an emergency account set up yet). If you do have an emergency account already, you can save it as a vacation fund, Christmas account or just good old "rainy day savings" account. If you do this each month, you will have some where around $600-$700, at least, at the end of the year.
Here are some quick tips on this Wednesday--the first day of October!
1. Turn off the compute/laptop at night.
I admit I am so guilty of not doing this simple thing--and guess what? Leaving the computer on 24/7 is one of the biggest drains of electricity.
2. Try shopping at consignment stores for great values on clothes and more. Consignment stores are different than thrift stores because they have high standards for what they'll accept and thrift stores just tend to sell whatever is donated to them regardless of condition. Also, check out consignment stores in high end locales.
3. Size up a sale When you find a great sale on kids clothes, buy the current size of the item, plus the next size up.
4. Turn of running water. Don't let the water run wen brushing teeth and washing dishes. By turning off that running water you can save up to two gallons of water a minute!
5. Use only your debit card (no cash!) for a week. You can track your spending and chances are that you will cut back on impulse buying (don't really need that pack of gum after all) if you have to go through the process of using your card. Just give it a try...what have you got to lose?
