How to begin living frugally

With America's economy out of sorts, most of us are trying to make our money go further. The first step our family took was to quit paying for convenient goods. For example, make your own dessert mixes, flavored rice, freeze meals, etc...Come back soon and I will have some of my mixes available. Think about how much extra money you spend without a shopping list. Why not plan our meals in advance? I plan my meals for 2 weeks at a time and we spend at least 50% less on grocery shopping (sometimes we only spend $200/mo to feed our 4-person family. I know you are probably thinking it sounds like a lot of work, but really it's not. Another example is using coupons, it is a great way to stretch your dollar. There are several great sites that provide access to printable coupons. I love www.mypoints.com. They have printable coupons, so that on top of saving money grocery shopping you can even be rewarded for printing & using them. Coupon trains are also a great way to switch coupons with others, so everyone gets what they need. Also, the greatest and probably the easiest way to get more coupons (that doesn't require coupon clipping) is to send companies emails to compliment them on their products. It's amazing how our postive affirmations toward others can really help out!

here's a rebate to get you started
arm & hammer essentials starter kit

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