Money Saving Challenge ~ Jan 3rd

What are you doing to save money this year, so far? 

So far I am off to a great start, and it has  everything nothing to do with the fact that I have not really been out and about in the last 3 days. :)

Today I heard on the news that our weather is going to be 67 degrees.  I immediately turned the heater off.  The fact that our power rates are going up again (I think they said 5% this time) I am going to try my best to keep this bill under control.  I personally can't tell that the heater is off, we will have to see if my husband notices. (SHHHHH I didn't tell him ;)

Don't you just hate when you get every single piece of clothing washed just to have your whole family (including yourself) get in jammies and it just ruins your perfectly clean laundry room.  Those are the times when I want to be a nudist, and then I realize that people probably don't want to see all "THIS".  :) 

Since I have been flying (flylady.net)  I usually do 1 load of laundry everyday.  Right now I could wash some towels but since it is such a small load I am going to wait until we have more.  That way I can save money on the water bill too.  Don't get me wrong I do love Flyladys ideas on why you do 1 load of laundry a day but for me right now I need to take care of our finances more.

Also, since Flying I usually start my dishwasher every night before I go to bed so that I will not only walk into the kitchen every morning to a clean sink but also a clean dishwasher.  It is amazing how something so small means so much to your attitude in the morning.  I love seeing no dishes in my sink.  Yesterday, I didn't have that many dishes in the dishwasher so I decided instead of starting it and wasting all that water I would just wait until it gets full.  Right now as I am typing I can hear the dishwasher going. 

I know it doesn't sound like much... waiting for the laundry or dishes for full loads but it is going to all add up to lots of savings as the year continues.  It is kinda like that 25 cent coupon, it doesn't seem like any big deal but when you add up all your savings each and every month you are going to see the big savings.

I also went through my coupon binder and got rid of all the expired coupons.  That way when I am putting together my grocery list I am better prepared and ready to easily and quickly get list and coupons together.  Saving time and money.

Yesterday, I did go through all of my food and household items to see what I have.  I am so glad that I did. When I got my mail today I saw that Smiths is having the CaseLot sale again.  I usually stock up on ALL the items I know are a great deal whether I need them or not. (Now, just to let you know, all the prices have gone up including caselot items.)  This time I am going to be a little smarter because I know exactly how many of (whatever item) I have and how many I should get.
NOTE:  you do not need to purchase the whole case to take advantage of the sales price.

That is what I have done in the last 3 days to save money.  How are you saving money?