Frugal Friday and Giveaway

First off I would like to say Happy Frugal Friday everyone. Let me also apologize to everyone for not having this out any sooner. The electric people have been in my house this morning with my power turned off working on things. I hope you saved some pennies this last week. How is the coupon shopping going? How about your budgets? Are you sticking to them? It's OK to slip every now and then. I'll be the first to admit I slipped yesterday myself. I purchased several new bird feeders as well as 6 new rose bushes for our yard. I just couldn't pass them up and the price was actually very good on them. This week we are going to talk more about electricity and ways to save in that area. As you can probably tell I'm doing nothing in any particular order here. And it's my blog and you can't make me.

I have talked about using a clothesline especially during the spring and summer to save and cut back on your electric bill. Now I started this about one month ago and love it. Just to prove it does work and you can save we just received our new electric bill yesterday. I checked it out and found that it only covered about 2 weeks of not using the dryer. But in that two weeks time we saved $20.00 on our bill. That's a significant savings. If this means we will save on average of $40.00 per month x 12 = $480.00 a year in savings.

Other ways to save in this area would be to turn off all appliances when not in use. Not just to turn them off but actually unplug them from your power source. You may not think it will save much but you will notice a difference on the electric bill as well. Your TV, computer, coffee maker, alone will be pulling and using 75% even when not in use. Think about that. The easiest way in which to take advantage of this and do it, is to plug several things that are in the outlets into a power strip. Like for instance, your TV, DVD player, VCR,Dvr all into one power strip. When not in use simply unplug your power strip. Watch your electric bill lower next month.

As much as we all miss the sunshine right now another way to save is simply to conserve your heat. Place heavy duty type curtains on your windows. Leave them closed at all times keeping your heat inside your home. Unless you have double paned windows and very good insulation this will also save you money on your bill. Those of us in older homes should always do this. Also use weather stripping around your windows. On those days that it's sunny and the sun will provide heat for you then by all means open those curtains and take advantage. Even sheer curtains alone will be an extra savings to you. Another idea for both winter and summer is to purchase window shrink. This can be purchased from any hardware and home improvement store. All you have to have for this do it yourself home project is a blow dryer and a pair of scissors. It's really quite simple.

Also it is a good idea to purchase one of those blanket insulator wraps for your hot water heater. This will save you lots of money and your heater won't run near as often. Better yet, purchase one of those hot water heater timers. Especially if there are not many people in your house during the day. You can set the timer to come one in the mornings for a couple of hours while everyone is getting ready for work and school. Have it then to turn off or way down and to come back on late in the evening when baths are being taken, laundry being done and dish washing. This will save you $100 in the long run.

Invest in caulk and weather stripping. Weather stripping is a cheap way to save yourself money. Place around all doors and windows to keep in the cold during the summer and save in the winter by keeping in your heat. You'll be amazed at your savings by doing this.

Buy yourself some electric blankets for use during the winter months. Turn back your thermostat at night to around 60 degrees and use that electric blanket. Remember to turn it off when you wake. Otherwise your using electric you do not need. I always have to go by the kids beds and check those. For that matter leave your thermostat turned down during the day, most especially when you're not at home. No matter what the electric company might tell you it does not take that much usage to heat the house to a comfortable temp again. Though this idea might cost you some to begin with another excellent way if you have central heating to save money is to invest in a thermostat timer. When we used this with our central heat which we found to work, but switched over to vent less heaters we set it for lower temps during the day and programmed it to come back on around 5 pm in the evening. It worked wonderfully that way. By turning your thermostat at a lower setting both in the winter and summer you might have to dress a little differently but it's well worth it for the savings.

I just also recently found out that most electrical companies will come out free of charge and do a check for you. This will show you what appliances and what items are costing you the most money to run. Ask your company about this.

Since this came out so late today this is all I have time for. I'll make up for it next week, I promise.

Before I close I do want to show you something and tell you about it. Last week when I purchased groceries I saved the receipts and used my coupons. Now while I know I could have done much better I was still happy with what I had saved. Remember I am still learning as well. For a family of five Rug Rat 1 & 2 are here weekends and sometimes during the week, for almost two weeks worth of groceries I saved a total of $10.65 I know as I said not to much, but the good news is my shopping trip only cost a total of $143.94. As said this is two weeks worth. I also planned my meals for these two weeks according to what the grocers had on sale. This is another great way to save. It doesn't mean I'm not going shopping again this week, as I like to stock up on items that are on sale and continue to use my coupons. The first picture is of the items I purchased using coupons. The second is my entire amount of groceries purchased. No kitty was not purchased at the store that day. He insists each time I go grocery shopping to have a treat! I swear that cat can smell them through the bags when I carry them in.



I also have another giveaway for everyone as well. The first one was such a success that I wanted to do another one. Well actually two in one again. Random Integers will be doing the picking however this time. This week the prizes are: 2 coupon holders, 2 magnetic shopping lists attaches to your refrigerator, and 2 finch feeder socks full of seed. I know the feeders don't have anything to do with shopping but hey, I'm saving you some money on this gift. Besides I bought one for myself and I have already got little finches feeding this morning. After only one day.

Same rules as apply before. One comment = 1 ticket. One follow = 1 ticket Post my Frugal Friday button on your blog = 1 ticket and if you pimp my blog for Frugal Friday you get = 2 tickets. Just let me know if you do the pimping so I can make sure to add that one in the drawing. Oh yeah, please link back to my blog please.

Till next week frugal friends, Happy Savings.