5 Saving Money Tips We Already Follow

1) Packing lunches. Hubby or I will make a big batch of something (i.e. chili, stew, lasagna), then freeze lunch-sized portions. I use packing tape (easy to label with a Sharpie and easy to remove later) to label the Tupperware lids. We have a fridge sized stand up freezer that we keep full (what a good investment that was).

2) Pay our mortgage every two weeks. I forget the numbers now, but those extra two payments per year (as opposed to the 24 you'd get with paying on the 15th and 30th) shave years and thousands of dollars in interest off the total mortgage.

3) Light and heat control. We have a programmable thermostat that we use to regulate our heat consumption, and I am the "Lights Warden"!! LOL. A tip for fluorescent lights though - supposedly they consume the same amount of energy to power up as they do to illuminate for :15, so if you're leave the room for less time than that, you're better off leaving them on.

4) Use high interest bank accounts for money that you keep aside for bills. These accounts usually have high transaction service charges so you wouldn't want to pay bills directly out of them, but many of them offer free on-line transfers to other accounts. I have three high interest accounts that I currently use, and make about $8/month in interest. Not a huge amount, but hey - it's free money ;-)

5) Buy used kids clothing. We have an awesome thrift store that is walking distance from our house. If you take the time to look, you can find new looking, popular label clothing (Old Navy, GAP, Children's Place, etc) for a fraction of the cost. Kids grow so quickly that often times this clothing has barely been worn.

Speaking of kids... it's time to wake them up for school! 'Bye for now...