Review Expenses on Grocery Shopping
If you don’t have the habbit to review your credit card or bank statements, you should start to do it today. Do it monthly, it won’t take you more than 10 minutes. You should know how much you spend on groceries every month. Are they in your budget? Are they out of your budget? What had happened? This is the first step to lead a frugal life.
Simple things add up
Don’t neglect simple things. Do you buy a morning coffee at Peets everyday? Quit it and make one yourself. Do you buy washed lettuce? Wash your own lettuce instead. Are salad dressings in your shopping list. Erase them and make your own salad dressings.
Get Discount Cooking Gear
If you are familiar with cooking gear brands, you should be able to find cheap one at a flea market or yard sale. If not, don’t bother to try.
Save Energy
Do you know how much you spend on electrity or natural gas every month? Besides the air conditioner, most of your electricity or natural gas are used in your kitchen. The tips here could easily save you some bucks. And it is not just to save your money, but to save our earth.
Save Your Messed-Up Meals
Overcooked? Overslated? Overly Spicy Foods? Don’t trash the meals, because here are the tips to save them. All you need to do could be as simple as adding a few spoonfuls of sour cream. It is not just for saving money. You probably don’t have time to cook another dish, especially when you are preparing food for a party.
Shop Kitchenware Online
Williams Sonoma is a good place to buy top quality cookware. The prices are high, though. Visit them if you are rich enough and all you care is to get the best products. Otherwise shop cookware online. If you know what need and what brands are the best, try Overstock.com first. If you found what you wanted, it usually offers the lowest prices. Amazon.com is a good place to read customers’ reviews. But you are not likely get the best price. Wayfair.com and Stoneberry.com are the websites I would highly recommend to shop for kitchenware. You will always find the best prices at these two websites. Lakeside Catalogue may not offer as many items to fit all your needs. But they definitely offers some great deals on cookware.
Save on Wines
Statistics shows that Americans consume 15.5 bottles of wines per year on average. And it is growing year by year.
Buy by the case: If you drink wines more than average, you have probably spent more money than you should have. Ask the clerk for case discount. Most of time 12 bottles is one case, but sometimes you only need to buy 6. You will usually save 10% after case discount.
Try different Wines: Who is producing high-value, low cost wines? Spain is my number one choice, but don’t forget Chile, Argentina and Australia for good quality wines at competitive prices. When you walk into a wine store, don’t be afraid to ask: what is the everyday red for under $10 you would recommend? Try something different once in a while.
Join Wine Clubs: WSJWine.com, ZagatWine.com and LaithwaitesWine.com are the ones I would recommend. Only high quality wines are offered by them. After join the club, you will receive 12 bottle of wines selected by experts every 3 months at discount prices (20% cheaper than non-member). They are also good places to buy wines in cases.
