BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Creativity What Creative things are you doing to save $?

We have a large deep freezer in the basement and when I buy our bread, hot dog and hamburger buns I put them all in the freezer right away after buying them because they don't get used right away. I've become an adept to knowing just how many seconds to heat bread and rolls in the microwave so that they are soft, but not soggy. It is sort of a science. But if you leave buns in the freezer too long and try to nuke them they do tend to become rocks. So fresh is always best.

But my downstairs food shelving units and deep freeze have helped us tremendously in buying things that are on sale in bulk and storing them. I tend not to use coupons but look for "in store" sales of the week and usually get the better deals that way. For example, I won't buy my coffee until the store runs a two for $9 sale on them and then I pick up a couple. That's how I do most of my shopping. I almost always get the Store Brand, which is the cheapest.

When we go out to eat, we go someplace that has large servings and we share.

Last night we went to a fancy Italian Restaurant and We split three ways the "Chicken trio". It comes with a Salad, that is huge, and we ordered a bowl of soup, and each got a drink. I had a sangria. They give free bread, we got two orders.The bill was only 28 dollars.

Oh yea, we went during the busy time, and when it's busy and there is a wait they bring out free food to taste.

If we each ordered it would have been three times that, but we even left food and we were all stuffed and we didn't even want dessert.

When we eat out we don't order a drink just have the water. I order
something which I usually can't finish and eat the rest for lunch the next day.

Doggie bags are always a request when we eat out, and it's not for the dog. Especially a big pasta meal.

Stephanie - We took my parent to an expensive restaurant for my Dad's 70th Birthday and told them they should share the vegetable dish because it was enough to serve 2-3 people (because it's a la carte). They looked at us weird like we were trying to save money on the bill until they saw the vegetables dish - it was huge! They asked for a doggie bag for the veggies and their meat.

Straycat - I almost always just have water with my meal as well. Drinks add up your bill really fast.

When someone says they are coming over and it turns into a dinner date, I don't let my husband talk me into taking people out to a restaurant, but insist on staying at home and doing the cooking myself at home. You can really save a lot of money, especially the bigger party it is. I start by chilling a bottle of wine from our wine rack. I can make a big wok full of stir fry, make a lasagna or broil some chicken and throw together a tossed salad. When everyone goes out to a restaurant the big thing that kills the cost is the 20% gratuity tip on a large table bill - yikes!

We eat out as little as possible and if we do, we go to a buffet. Spending money on the gas and then the food is just a bit too much now. At home, if we have leftover vegetables, I freeze them in a large plastic container. I keep adding to this until it is full then I make a soup or stew and use these vegetables. My family loves homemade soups and stews and the soup starter mixes are inexpensive.

It's just me and my husband so I use our toaster oven a lot.
It saves on utilities, but when I do use the oven I make several things so we get our moneys worth.