i too, keep foods in the car so we dont stop while we are out. Not only does it help to save money but keeps us healthier as well.
My fav to keep in the car are protein bars

thanks for sharing....

[quote=desertmom;39902] would love to hear ideas on how to go out and still save $. Where, besides the park (it's too hot here) can we go?

The library! You can ask them to start a story time for a particular age group if they don't have one, or maybe a group where the kids also do a craft (be sure to volunteer to help.) If they have meeting rooms, you might be able to start a free kids&parents class in a foreign language, or even a book club for a particular age group.
Some recreation departments have free open gym days, which usually seem to involve basketball games. Your county may offer 4H clubs at various age levels. (There are usually club dues, but not high ones.)
Take lunch to a friend's house (take turns.)
If there are museums of any kind near you, find out when they have free days. Or join a museum that belongs to the reciprocal membership program, so that you can get into hundreds of museums for one membership payment. (If you travel, this is a must!) Gail

There are some great ideas on here! Thanks!

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but one thing I do is I STOPPED using fabric softner, not only do I save on the not spending on the fabric softner, but I save on clothes as we'll. I have found that the fabric softner does what it is supposed to but clothes become too soft and break down easier.

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I wash out bread bags when they're empty, and use them for my husband's lunches or kids' snacks. I really save on baggies!

When the kids were little, we survived on one income. I had many money-saving tricks, but I'm going back to an old one: quit using zip bags and use plastic containers instead.
I had a round rubbermaid one that was the same size as my waffle iron, so I'd use all the pancake mix and freeze the leftover waffles---now I was making my own frozen waffles!
I bought a huge number (more than I will use, I think) in a box at BJ's for only $19.99. I'm going to use the tiny ones for packing my favorite snacks, Pep. Farm goldfish. There is a divided plate in the grouping for my lunches. The others, of all sizes will be used for leftovers and for taking food to work.
Over time, I lost the matching lids and bowls of all the old plastic containers. I decided that I could use the $1 coupon I found on line and splurge for this package, just so I could have reusable, dishwasher-safe, microwavable containers.
now I just have to train the DH... ;-)

When I first met my husband about 12 yrs ago, he did this!!! I was so impressed by it because he had like $800!! That was until I found out he saved it as his football gambling $$.. He'd save that much every year and use it throughout the football season. But catch your breath now, he doesn't do that anymore. -married and 2 kids later..

I thought I was the only one who did this.. My husband thinks I'm crazy for doing this. If I use a paper towel to dry my hands, I save it in a small drawer. I then reuse it to either dry my hands again or to wipe a spill. My dd 2yo has caught on to the stash in my drawer and she uses them to clean out play cups (now she's wasting them!!! LOL)..

I also reuse my dryer sheets until they are no longer "crispy". I might have 15-20 dryer sheets in my dryer at any given time. I'll go thru them once in a while and get rid of the softer ones-but I might start using them for dusting like someone else mentioned.

I use grocery bags in my bathroom trash bins. This adds up fast. Sometimes we'll have 6 or 7 groc bags and only one real kitchen garbage bag in our trash container on trash day.

We go to state parks and pay $4/car for a day of hiking and nature trails but they also have camping, beaches, fishing and other free activities. And we pack snacks and drinks.

I use the end of a bar of soap all the time. My husband could easily just throw it out but I attach it to a different bar of soap and just use it that way and keep adding to it.

We stay home a lot just like other ladies mentioned and because of this, I only buy my dd one or two shoes for each size!! I rarely buy her any clothes and she's 2 1/2. Freecycle has been great for her clothes as well as my 5 mo ds. I've only purchased 2 clothing items for him. The rest has come from family or freecycle. -I know that has saved us a bundle!!!

I've started doing all of my banking/bill pay online. no more stamps, envelopes or checks to purchase. I also go thru my junk mail and save the envelopes to scribble things on or use for groc lists or other notes. Will start saving the one sided paper for online coupons..

Restaurant.com - Deals on neighborhood restaurants. $25 Restaurant Certificates for only $10! to pay $10 or $15 for a $25 gift cert to participating restaurants. This can be really good if you pair it with a bogo deal!

You should definitely check out The Freecycle Network. Garage sales of course and craigslist.com might work well for you too.

Maybe you need to whetherproof your house a little?? Drafty windows and doors??