Pinching Pennies

I haven't been very diligent since I wrote the first two blogs- I would offer some excuses, but I'll save you the effort reading them.

The hardest part about writing (writing anything - thank you notes, condolences, get well, letters, etc) is knowing what to write! So I thought I'd write about saving money and share a few websites that help me.

It's almost back to school and there are great sales on school supplies. Buy enough supplies to last the whole year - not just enough to get started. This will be the first fall that I won't have a child in school in 25 years, but I still stocked up. There are always kids that need supplies or they can be donated them to a local school. A special ed teacher told me that they are always desperate for glue sticks. Wal-Mart honors the ads from other stores, so take all your ads from the Sunday paper and get the penny pencil sharpeners advertised by Office Max and the pens for a dime Walgreen's was offering.

My son alerted me to a good site - http://hip2save.blogspot.com A young mom writes this daily blog alerting readers to good deals. She has the individual stores listed down the right side of the column and you can click on each one to see the deals. One of the best things about this site is that she often has a link to print out a coupon which will discount the item or make it free.

Another site I frequently check is www.5dollardinners.com Erin Chase, a young Christian mom, shows you how to make dinners (for 4 - two adults and two kids) costing $5 or less- usually the ingredients are simple and pretty easy. She also links you to sites where you can print out coupons.

I get tons of great tips to save money from Mary Hunt, who had over $100,000 in credit card debt and slowly worked her way out. Sign up at www.cheapskatemonthly.com to receive her free daily email which shares money-saving ideas, advice, and wisdom.

I figure that every dollar I stretch a little further leaves more that can be used somewhere else!

Share any good websites or ways you've found to save money with the rest of us.