I haven't read through all the responses, and this may have already been noted, but the way I found I saved the most money was to actually carry cash on me and not have any debit or credit cards with me. I do keep my check book in case of an emergency, but really who wants to be writing a check out with a line of people behind you. Spending cash is hard and makes you think twice about what you are buying and what is necessary and what is not. It's amazing how we don't really think when we swipe a card.

For all of you working ladies bring your lunch to work! You can save $50+ a week just by brown bagging it!

if you have a pimple put toothpaste on it and it will dry out

for jewelry cleaner (gold, diamonds, etc) use ammonia mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with water. Let it sit, then clean with toothbrush and soft cloth. Nice & sparkly !

__________________
My debt (yikes):
Credit Cards: 12,794.00
Husband's Truck: 20,191.44
Home Loans: 221,209.79
Rental Property: 46,732.32
total debt: 300,927.55

[/list]if you have a pimple put toothpaste on it and it will dry out
[/list]for jewelry cleaner (gold, diamonds, etc) use ammonia mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with water. Let it sit, then clean with toothbrush and soft cloth. Jewelry will be nice & sparkly !
[/list]I clean my floors with spic and span (love the smell) but I buy it at the dollar store and it lasts forever
[/list]Buy some spray bottles at the dollar store and mix up bleach/water solution to clean your showers, spic and span / water to clean your countertops.

__________________
My debt (yikes):
Credit Cards: 12,794.00
Husband's Truck: 20,191.44
Home Loans: 221,209.79
Rental Property: 46,732.32
total debt: 300,927.55

These are a few of the things we do:

-Reuse dryer sheets for the next load or 2
-Use dryer sheets on the dog with a slightly damp or used towel on the her if its raining out

-Use coupons with sales- I have been able to buy Dawn dish soap on sale for $1.00 and using $.50 coupons that double at that same store=Free since started couponing in April

-changed all of my house plants into herbs for cooking and my salads(which are awesome now)
-asked my relatives for apples from their trees, borrowed my moms equipment and bought canning jars and taught myself to can applepie filling for pie and apple crisp

-save and redeem all coke points to get a free 20oz bottle of cocacola per month

-we smoke and until we are able to quit- we bought a roll your own machine- a carton costs $40. our cost is $8. a carton

I love to crochet and started making the following to save money. If you sew, crochet or knit you could too!
-soda sleeves that cover the cans or bottles 3/4 of the way up to the top and the bottoms- I get them wet, put on an empty container, and freeze-they will keep pop cold or dry will keep the rings off furnature
-dog sweaters- for me to make about $1.00 to buy at a store no less than $7.00
-scarves and hats for dd

Cell phones don't work in my house. So we have phone, basic tv and internet through cable. We have digital cable and unlimited long distance in the usa for $113. a month.

I think that's all that wasn't mentioned before,
MichelleS

What I do to save money is:
Use coupons matched with sale items and go to Walgreens & Meijer on the weeks that I'm in that town and cherry pick their specials. Otherwise I generally shop at Kroger & CVS.

Share coupons with others. I started a coupon box at my church over the summer so everyone can save more money. Have them cut & file the coupons they don't need and take what they will use. I purge the expired ones twice a month so it doesn't get out of control.

Use CCF light bulbs and turn them off when not in the room. As well as not having the radio and tv on just for background noise. If you aren't using it turn it off better yet unplug it so the clock/instant on isn't pulling electricity.

Route errands accordingly to save gas & time, plan to do them when I'm already going to be out on business or running the kids to activities.

Limit the kids to just a couple of activities so we have some evenings where we don't have to go anywhere.

I shop and pay bills with a credit card that gives me cash back bonuses which amounts to over $300 a year.

I do MyPoints for the free gift cards between mine account and DH's we get $50 a year. I do Points & Prizes and am able to get 4-6 free books, CD's or DVD's in a year which I use for gifts. I do two couple of survey companies the one I get $10-20 a year from and the other I just started with.

Since we are currently "low income" the kids are on the free breakfast/lunch program, applied for HEAP, are on state insurance, and added Lifeline to our phone which lowered the bill $13 a month (call your local phone company and ask about low income or senior discounts).

I bought from Angel Food Ministries in September in a neighboring town and since my church is becoming part of it I'll be getting it every month and save 2 round trips to the other church (1 to pay and 1 to pickup). I've talked to family, friends, customers about it for $30 you get 7 meals for a family of 4 plus there are other boxes you can purchase.

Look for free or cheap activities to do as a family. Borrow books, movies, music, etc. from your local Library.

Sign up for RedBox's emails and get a free movie rental code each week. RedBox DVD's are fairly new in my area you can find them at some McDonald's, Walgreen's, Walmart. $1 a day for a new release can't be beat.

Meal plan from what you have on hand and from the specials that week. When I buy meat, etc. I get enough for 4-6 meals this way I always have ground beef, roast, chicken, pork, sausage, bacon in the freezer and don't have to buy when it is not on sale.

When we meal plan everyone gets to decide on a meal then I plan from what is in the freezer. 7 meals will generally give us 10 days with leftovers.

Have the oven on get a head start on the rest of the weeks cooking and toss in a dessert while you are at it. I borrowed my Mom's Angel Food cake pan and while I was baking it tossed in a spaghetti squash that we were having the next night (just added it to the sauce to warm up) then when the cake came out I popped in the English Muffin pizzas that we were having for dinner while the squash finished baking. I also put a pan of water on the oven vent and brewed tea to make iced tea (no extra electricity used).

When making a time consuming (lasagna) or messy (meatloaf) meal make 2 or 3 and freeze the others to use later. Makes it easy to help someone out when they are sick or short of money when you can pull a meal from your freezer.

Shop garage sales, thrift stores first for clothing, household items, and even gifts. I get many items that still have the store tags on for pennies.

Ask for discounts at Curves if you pay for a year you get a month free. You can get a discount on our house & car insurance by paying for 6 or 12 months at a time.

Call your utilities and credit card companies at least once a year and ask about any specials going on or any discounts you might now qualify for. (such as Lifeline for low income people to keep the phone turned on) If you have been paying on time as for a lower interest rate better yet pay the credit card off and do so each month.

Cancel any service you aren't using.

Thank you so much for the Cindy's Porch website...it is amazing and overwhelming how much stuff is on there....I just spent twenty minutes reading around....who knew and so much fun stuff too.
Thanks for posting it...I love it.