Buy blocks of freeze-dried coffee after your initial purchase of coffee with a plastic container with lid. It'll save you .20 cents per purchase. If you buy a block per week, it'll save you $10.40 a year. Not much, but that's a half gallon of milk, a pound of butter, a loaf of bread, and a dozen eggs. (shrug)

Eat your leftovers. Assess the contents of your fridge nightly before you start a fresh meal with new ingredients. (If you learn to keep broth and noodles in your cupboards at all times, you'll be able to make soup very easily with a leftover chunk of meat and cup of veggies.)

I figure out my menus every 2 weeks, and then make my shopping list based upon the menus. As I'm making up the menu, I go to my grocery's website and see what is on special, then I go to coolsavings.com and print out any coupons I might need.

Last week's shopping, I saved over $17 with coupons alone - ALL on stuff I was going to buy anyway.

Re menu: remember to re-make leftovers into something else. For instance, roast chicken or beef with veggies and gravy can be "remade" into hash on toast or pot pie. Leftover taco stuff can be made into build your own nachos.

Very good ideas. I have to second the menu making. What I did in addition to that is make standard grocery lists to comply with the menus. I then go through my cupboards and have successfully stayed within my budget every time I've used it. I pull out the grocery list and fold it in half for easier handling and check it off with a pencil as I load it in the cart. That way I can erase my check marks and insert it again into the plastic sleeve that holds the corresponding menus. I know - crazy.

My ultimate goal is to transfer any difference between my actual bill and my budget into a savings account of some sort.

* I buy double eggs, butter, milk, bread, and cheese because these are the things that we always used to run out of first and would require a mid-week trip - which ultimately led to more gas usage and impulsive purchases.

* Sometimes I use a used dryer sheet to polish my chrome fixtures.

* I plan to call my phone company to brainstorm with a CSR about bundling and/or saving with loyalty discounts. (If you commit to keeping their DSL service for a certain number of years, they'll give you a monthly discount on your bill.)

Change your own oil.
Do other simple car care like air filters and what not.
Keep your tires properly inflated.
Do all those things that help you get more out of the gas you buy such as combining trips, don't warm up your engine longer than 1 minute.

Drive smoothly. Look ahead, don't tailgate, stay 3-4 seconds back, and don't speed. You are the biggest factor in getting good fuel economy. Smooth driving not only saves you at the pump, but it also saves on the wear and tear on your car. Your brakes, tires and suspension components will last far longer if you are not rushing around, speeding at full throttle to the next red light where you slam on the brakes. Going faster really doesn't save you that much time. It's also good for your mental health to just slow down and let the other guy rush around if he/she wants to.

Drive the smallest car you can that gets the job done. You don't need a 3ton SUV to drive around most malls. For most folks something like a Corolla or a Civic will accomplish most of your transportation needs. (We have four vehicles now and use the largest, a minivan, only when we need room for five and their things. DW and I each have small 4 cylinder sedans for day to day driving.)

Pay cash for your cars. I've made a $2500 beater go close to 7 years and more than 140K miles. You don't need a new car with the interest that comes with most car notes. Needing only liability insurance also saves.

Switch from incandescent bulbs to CFLs. Sure, they cost more to start with, but use 1/4 of the electricity and last 10x longer.

Turn out lights when not in the room.

Put most electronics on a power strip so you can turn them off. Many items draw power even when off so they respond to remotes. Don't do that with DVRs as they can't record if they don't have electricity. Ditto for things such as cordless phone base sets and your automatic coffee maker. If it has a time or provides an ongoing service, then leave it plugged into live power.

Unplug all those power bricks such as your phone charger, etc. They all draw power if they are plugged into a live outlet. So if you can't put them on the power strip, unplug them when you are not charging your phone, camera, etc.

Get a drying rack. You can dry many items in your basement instead of running the dryer.

Run heat generating appliances at night. Running your dryer in the day when you are trying to A/C the house has the two working against one another.

Best tip, spend less than you make. Save something every month, pay no interest. If you use credit cards, make sure they are paying you.

We use cash back cards and pay the balances in full each month. We save 5% of gas, and 1 to 3% on other purchases.

One more for this time of year:

Adjust your withholding so you are not loaning your state and federal government YOUR money.

When you file taxes and get a refund, you are not getting money from the government, you are getting your own money back. You can change your withhold so you get that money in each paycheck instead of loaning it to the government, until you file your taxes to get your own money refunded to you.

A tax refund is not a gift, but getting repaid for a loan you've made to the government. A loan that earns you NOTHING but money that is reduced in value by inflation.

Butter, breads and most cheeses are freezable. Buy on sale, then freeze for use later.

This is so true. Five yrs ago I found a 96 Saturn coupe with 58K in a Saturn backlot ready to go to auction. Interior was crap but exterior and engine in good shape. Asked dealer how much - he sd $2K and its yours. Bought the car and still drive it to work or train station and tken a few trips in it. Now have 137K and only have paid for new tires and oil changes since then.

Bought another car last summer for my daughter - 92 toyota Corolla with 52K for $1800 - great little car - was kept in garage for several yrs - replaced all the orignial hoses, belts and tires as they were rotten. My daughter says its kind of ugly but - no dents and paint is still like showroom and runs like a new car.

Since I own 5 cars because of the kids needs - I dont have car payment but do have a newer 2008 Malibu paid in $10K cash when GM was teetering on bankruptcy. That was at a substantial discount since the orig price was in the $2o's.

After reading Dave Ramsey's book on Money Makeover - confirmed my belief that one should never buy a new car and never get a loan on it - foolish way to waste money.

I agree with Dave Ramsey on that issue. He has a nice video on his website explaining his rationale for the cash for cars philosophy too, or at least he used to. Only problem with us is I could never get my dh on board with this. I believe Dave suggests upgrading every year or so, so that you end up driving a pretty nice car... video

I get an occasional email from a lady who developed "Saving Dinner". Here are a few of her suggestions for saving money with meals:

1)Eat vegetarian one night a week (rice and beans is a favorite with my kids).

2)Eat breakfast for dinner one night a week (pancakes and eggs are way cheap). Light candles and serve juice in wine glasses for fun.

3)Eat greens and beans one night a week (I use frozen collards, turnip greens etc. on sale to keep the cost down). Give your big guys Tabasco sauce to bump it up!

4)Eat homemade soup one night a week (try the one below!).

5)Cook with your crockpot one night a week (utilizing inexpensive cuts of meat and poultry).

6)Only buy meat and produce on sale and/or marked down.

7)Eat from your freezer one night a week (you'd be surprised at how many meals are in there just waiting to be thrown together!).

8)Buy dried beans and make your own instead of buying canned (instructions on how to cook them are right on the bag).

9)Make your own chicken broth from your leftover roast chicken (throw the carcass, an onion, carrots and celery into a pot, cover with water, simmer for an hour or so).

10)Pack PB & J's, some carrot sticks and waters for dinner the night you're all running all over the place (nixing the drive thru). No one will die from not having a "proper meal".

This is all easy stuff and doesn't require a lot of thought. Eating vegetarian for example, could be combined with eating greens and beans for dinner or eating soup, or breakfast for dinner. The point is the thought process of cutting back, making do and using up what you have. You can live on less than you think, that includes food.

Try some of these suggestions. Go shopping in your freezer and fridge before you even begin to plan your menu this week. Likewise, check out that pantry for anything that might turn into dinner this week.

Keeping clutter at bay requires cutting back on unnecessary purchases. This includes food!

Crock Bean Soup with Kale
Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil�€�
3 medium onions, chopped�€�
1 medium carrot, chopped�€�
3 cloves garlic, pressed�€�
1 bunch kale, trimmed and sliced�€�(or use 2 cups frozen greens)
1 pound cannellini beans, soaked overnight (you can also use white beans)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth�€�(make your own or buy canned)
1/4 cup tomato sauce�€�
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste�€��€�

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrot and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Add kale and cook till wilted, about 3 minutes.�€�In a crock pot, place soaked, drained beans; add crushed red pepper flakes and the contents of the skillet; cover with broth (add a little water if necessary, but crockpot should be 3/4 full).

Cook on high for 8 hours, or until beans are tender. Once beans are tender, add the tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste.�€��€�

Per Serving: 349 Calories; 8g Fat; 19g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 13g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 85mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain (Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.
�€�
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Some whole grain rolls and a big salad.

I made pintos last night. The ham came off the bone from our Christmas ham that I'd frozen. Pintos are the BEST!