Does Gardening Really Save You Money?

As I’m starting my seeds and getting ready for the gardening season, I have to ask myself if I’m really saving anything.  Or if its just the first year, start up costs that have me down.

Go vote in the poll about it. :)  You knew that was coming.  Long term gardeners, short term, anyone can vote.  They’re simple answers, so please, if you have some insight to share, comment!  I can’t be the only one who wants to know. :)

Technorati Tags: Gardening,Polls,Saving Money

Saving Money: Reducing Household Cleaning Costs

Image by bradleygee via Flickr

Saving money on cleaning supplies can be a large issue in most households. Far too many households have more cleaning supplies then they need. You do not need a product to clean everything in your house. Narrow it down to five for one week, and if you do not like how the products clean, then keep throwing your money away.

All a household needs is some sort of multi-purpose cleaner, a disinfectant, a floor cleaner and glass cleaner. The only exception would be if you have specialty woods, or something else that honestly needs its own special cleaner. Now the average household does not have 4 or 5 cleaning products, in fact, most households have at least 10. And that's not including the specialty items, or the "I tried it and it doesn't work" products. Take a look under your sink (or wherever else you keep your cleaners), what do you see? I thought so. Throw them out. Seriously. Can you even find your regular cleaners?

Take it down to basics, and you'll be surprised that you ever lived with all those products. Who wants to lug 7 products with them just to clean a bathroom? I sure don't. I use products that make cleaning easier on me. I'm a single Mom, I don't have time to lug that many cleaners to the bathroom, the bathroom would never get cleaned. I also use products that last me a long time. The only exception to that rule is the Swiffer Wet Jet pads.

A total list of my cleaning products: Simple Green (multi-purpose), Bleach (disinfectant), Swiffer Wet Jet (ha ha, I'm lazy), Windex (glass cleaner), Fabreeze (I like it), Tide (Laundry Detergent), Dawn (Dish Detergent), cheapo Dishwasher Powder (stain remover). Yeah, that's it. And that's including those that weren't included on the above list. That's really all you need!

Getting the most out of your products isn't hard either. Simple Green lasts me forever, as do the rest of my cleaners, because I ignore what the bottles say. Simple Green is meant to be dilluted, so I have two spray bottles and one large bottle of it. And I've had that large bottle for over a year. One spray bottle is diluted for regular cleaning, and one undilluted for some serious heavy duty cleaning. Bleach can be diluted, and works just as well. Straight bleach is bad for you, you can develop contact allergies to it. Ask me how I know. With laundry detergent, use only about 1/2 of that silly cap. If you really need to cut costs, use 1/4. If you use a full cap, most of your money is going down the drain with the suds, it doesn't clean any better. I get at least 104 loads out of a 52 load bottle of Tide. Lower the amount of dish detergent you use as well, you only need about the size of a dime. Ignore those high priced stain removers...that $2 box of cheap Dishwasher detergent works better. Can also be used instead of OxyClean. For the most part I do use name brands, as I find I get far more mileage out of them, no reactions, and I use far less of the product. That can add up to significant savings, especially if you use coupons.

If you are really strapped for cash, use what you already have around the house. Vinegar cleans and disinfects just about anything, from windows to your toilet. I think it smells better too. Use up left over shampoos, conditioners, bars of soap, body wash...you name it...and use that as a cleaner. I use it in my toilet, and I think I have the best smelling one around! Obviously the cleansers work best, but I mix mine all up. Just a squirt and you are off running. Dab some vinegar if you are worried about germs, but frankly, if its good enough to clean my body, its good enough for everything else too! Vinegar can also be used as fabric softener, without harming your septic. Use cheap Dollar store cloths instead of paper towels, then toss them in the wash.

As you can see, there are tons of ways of saving money just with your cleaning products! I'm sure there are even more tips out there...I just haven't discovered them all yet! Feel free to let me know if you have one that I didn't cover here.

For the online/bulk shoppers:

Tide Free HE 2x Concentrated Liquid Detergent, 64-Load Bottle (Pack of 4)
Simple Green 13022 All Purpose Cleaner. 22 oz.
DRA90135CT JohnsonDiversey Windex Trigger Glass Cleaner


~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Saving Money: Coupons And Recipes From Pillsbury

Hurry and enjoy Spring recipes for free! Sign up for the Pillsbury newsletter and be able to browse their extensive database of recipes, and print coupons directly from Pillsbury.com They have an online recipe box for saving your favorites, or those you want to try, and you can even print out a grocery list based on them. Go check it out!

Sign Up Now!

~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Keeping Household Supply Costs Down

Image by leff via Flickr

As I was digging around, editing some of my AC articles, I ran across 5 Tips To Cut Costs Year Round, that I had written back in January. Its a fairly straight forward article, and I realized how much doing what I had outlined had saved. The only trick I don't use currently is vinegar...working at Wal-Mart ruined the scent for me. Even though it fades quickly!

The detergent tip is one of my favorites. I'm still running off the same bottle of detergent! Its about empty now, but I can still get more loads out of it. And when my detergent costs $15 a bottle, the longer I can go before buying, the better!

Check out the article, and let me know if any of the tips work for you! If you have other tips, feel free to share! I know there's a ton out there that I don't know yet.
~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Cutting Costs: Quitting Smoking

Image by Saquan Stimpson/monstershaq2000 via Flickr

One of the latest ways I am cutting costs is by quitting smoking. Yes there are other reasons, but besides energy, this is my second most important reason. Currently a carton of my cigarettes costs me $60. I buy one carton about every two weeks, sometimes more, sometimes less. That's $120 a MONTH! Assuming the price doesn't change in a 12 month period (and we all know it will), that's $1440 a year. No wonder I never had any money.

Not that quitting smoking in itself is cheap. If you go the patch route, you are looking at about $40 a box. That's some upfront cost. Of course there are cheaper versions, I've seen them at half that in stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. I personally had skin reactions to the cheaper versions, so I knew to avoid them. Why add to my distress?

But lets take a moment to do the math. Assuming you do the full program (2 weeks on each level, 3 levels) at $40 a box...that costs you (drumroll please) $120. That's 6 weeks of nicotine people! For the price it is currently costing me for 4 weeks of smoking. So lets cull the price of quitting from our yearly savings. That's still $1320 you will save in a year. What could you do with that money? Go on vacation? Put it towards your mortgage?

Personally I could never actually save that money. If I were still working, I definitely would. But freelance isn't a steady gig right now. But if I could, I'd probably save for a car, a nice shiny new one. And I'd pay cash. Granted at the current prices, it would take me quite awhile to do with only saving that amount. But it would be worth it in the end. :)

I did start a blog detailing my quitting smoking journey here on Blogger. Of course I had to have a new one. :)

~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Save Money, Shop Online

One of my favorite ways to save money is by shopping online.

That almost seems like it would cost you more money, especially with the surges in "online shopping" addictions. But if handled responsibly, I find I save more money then all the coupon clipping in the world.

• You can instantly see the total. This is a big one for me, as I am horrible about mentally calculating how much my purchase is going to cost. Then I get nailed with sticker shock, and end up buying it all.
• No trip, no gas. Another big one, since I often have to make a special trip to be able to shop at my favorite stores. I live in the country, and one run can cost me over 4 gallons of gasoline.
• Less impulse buying. Oh yes, I'm one of those. I see and want it. Even if I don't need it. I am a lot less likely to do so online, based on the fact that I know what I'm spending, and I'm usually looking for something specific.
• More time. No more standing in line waiting for your turn to cash out. I also hate it when I make a special trip to a store and they don't have what I want.

Of course there are downsides to shopping online. Having to return a product, not being able to try things on, shipping costs. Some companies will send you labels for online purchases so that you can return items, others do not. Most do allow you to return in store, so grab it when you feel like making a trip. Shipping costs haven't been a big deal for me, especially with so many stores offering shipping deals...including free shipping.

~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Amazon Deal Of The Day And Lightning Deals

Today's Deal Of The Day!

Hyloft 540 45-by-45-Inch Overhead Storage System

Lightning Deal! Only a little over an hour left. :)

Panasonic EW1270AC Portable Oral Irrigator



~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~

Free Program Spotlight - MyPoints

Current MyPoints Earnings: 710 points

I absolutely adore Mypoints. They are a godsend for a single mother. I've redeemed several times, and the gift cards always come in within 6 weeks. And they actually work, unlike a couple of other programs I have tried that shall forever remain nameless. I've used the gift cards for birthday presents, anniversary presents, Christmas presents and they have seriously saved my rearend when I'm flat broke and need toilet paper!

The premise

MyPoints rewards you for reading email, taking advantage of offers and playing games. There are many ways to earn with MyPoints, and all points are redeemable for gift cards to over 70 well known merchants. You also earn points by shopping online and printing coupons. MyPoints has over 400 merchants to shop through. The possiblities are endless with MyPoints. They even have a toolbar you can use to simplify the process. With a click you can shop, search (and earn points), see your account balance or visit the page. They are 100% free to join, and most offers require no money or credit cards.

I personally have redeemed for gift cards to Barnes & Nobles, Starbucks, Walmart and Bath & Body Works. The points add up really fast, even if you do nothing more then just verify that you read the email. I would suggest creating a new email account at Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail for this and any other site, so you do not have to clutter up your personal or work account. I've never had any problem with spam mail from this site, but others are not as scrupulous. And it helps to keep everything in one place!

If you want to join, send me an email and I get 250 points for referring you. I just need an email and a first name (can be a psuedonym). All that does is send you an invitation, and your email will be used for no other reason. I hate spam. Of course you are more then welcome to sign up yourself. :)

~*If you know of any money saving tips or tricks that have worked for you, feel free to share them! You can always email me at raiscara.avalon@gmail.com. *~