Money Saving Monday - Random Savers

Sometimes some of us save money on simple things that others never even think of! Here are five ways that we save at our house!

1- Heat! We have gas heat in our home and, as everyone knows, gas is not cheap! Now legally, I have to keep my home at least 68 degrees during my child care hours. Here in Oregon, 68 is pretty darn comfortable so I'd rather not but it's not my choice. When the kids aren't here, we turn the heat down. Nothing extreme, just to 64 or so. We put socks and sweaters on, no big deal! If we're miserable, it's not worth saving the money.

2- TV! Now we do have fancy satellite TV, but let me explain: my husband works for DirecTV and we pay about $10 for our about $300-a-month package. Before he had this job, we didn't have TV, and that was before Netflix even!!! When he gets a new job, Netflix will be all we'll have and I don't have a problem with that.

3- Quick meals! How often do you leave the house in the morning without time for breakfast? How many of those times do you end up eating from some overpriced restaurant or vending machine? My solution: quick meals in the freezer! In my freezer I have some toaster-sized pancakes (I made a bunch of extras one Saturday morning!) and homemade pomegranate pop-tarts (http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-healthy-poptarts). Either of these are great for mornings on the go or just a lazy morning!

4- Walking! This time of year isn't great for us to walk (it's still snowing and cold!), but lots of times we take walks to the park and pack a picnic and just spend the day there! If you live in a city with good public transportation: take advantage of it! The nearest bus stop to us is about one mile away, so it would be easier to just walk to the grocery if we need to, but if you're spending the day out, it could definitely be worth it!

5- Water! Here's my oh-my-gosh-is-she-insane?! Tidbit: I reuse bath water. Seriously. Last Summer, my daughter and I took baths together and then I would scoop buckets of water from the bathtub to our pretty garden flowers! Am I crazy? Maybe, but next time you shower, plug the bathtub and see how much water you've used, you may be surprised!

Merry savings to all, and to all some spare change

-Laura

TCF Random iterjection tip on the plant front, if you garden use old coffee grounds and cold coffee as a plant booster. We go to starbucks and get their used grounds from the day and put them in our crops the caffiene gives the plants a boost and then you dont have to spend extra on fancy plant boosters.