Some of the ways I save money

These aren't earth-shattering ideas, and I'm sure you've heard them before, but these are some of the strategies I use to help save money:

Conserving Electricity – I use natural light as much as possible and only turn on lights when absolutely necessary, and turn them off when I leave the room. We have all compact fluorescent bulbs in our apartment. I only run the dish washer when I have a full load and skip the dry cycle. I try to only do full loads of laundry and wash nearly everything on cold.

Clothing – I have a good-sized wardrobe, but I don’t spend a lot of money on clothes. Many of my clothes come from Target and, regardless of where I buy, most items are purchased on sale. I take good care of my clothing so it lasts me a loooong time. I don’t usually purchase ‘trendy’ clothes, so I can wear things for years after purchasing. (Confession time – I still have a few shirts I wore in high school. I don’t wear them out, but they make great pjs.)

Hair – I don’t do ‘product’. I don’t have any hair appliances other than a blow drier, which I rarely use as my hair dries pretty quickly on its own. I don’t wear hair accessories – I like a simple look. I buy a good shampoo and conditioner and that’s about it. I get a trim every few months, but don’t pay to have my hair styled. I have long straight hair, so it just doesn’t require a lot of work.

Personal care – As I admitted in a previous post, I’m an Avon representative. I get discounts on items I buy for myself and make a small profit from the things I sell to others (which in turn helps me pay for my purchases). I rarely have to dip into my personal money to pay for my own purchases.

Gas – I drive a Honda Civic, which gets great gas mileage. These days I live only 15 minutes away from work and rarely make long drives. I can usually go about two weeks on one tank of gas. I also have a Giant Eagle Advantage card which allows me to earn Fuel Perks (discounts on gas). I tend to let the perks add up and then drive in one day when I’m on E and fill up. I once paid under a dollar for a full tank of gas this way!

Avoiding the mall – Lucky for me, I’m not one of those people who uses shopping as a source of entertainment. I rarely go to the mall unless there is something specific I must go there to buy. Going to the mall to ‘browse’ only leads to impulse purchases. If I must go to the mall, I try to only visit the store(s) I need to go to and then GET OUT as fast as possible.