Lame Instant-Messaging and Saving Money
Mike and I 'IM' each other during the day sometimes.  Today I shared a "thread" with him from
lafayettemoms.com (a local moms forum) about ways that moms try to save money, which is something we're constantly trying to get better about (we've come a long way).  He read through the different comments and this was our exchange afterwards.  It's lame, but I think he's funny.  Back story...apparently Mike reads the local moms forum, which I think is cute.  And there were mentions on this thread about how some of the moms make inexpensive homemade potpies. 

 mikeATwork: yeah. i've been reading that. We must be behind the times in the pot pie dept.
 Amy: what are you talking about? i made it last week
 mikeATwork: oh, right. i stand corrected. i thought i saw pot pies mentioned twice in that thread.
 mikeATwork: Bunch of pot pie eatin' mothas.

I did make a WW friendly pot pie from scratch last week....it tasted like butt.

We are currently reading the book, America's Cheapest Family.  It's very interesting.  I'll probably share more about it when I'm done reading.  Oh, and I prefer the terms "frugal" or "cost-conscious," but you can call me cheap!

Off the top of my head, here are a few things we do to save money:

Mike currently takes the CityBus to work at least a few times a week.  It saves us a ton on gas money.  It is free for him as a Purdue employee.  In addition, he gets a great calorie-burning walk in on the way to and from the bus stop.  On the days when he takes the bus, I then drive the Saturn, which is much better on gas mileage than the Jeep.

We utilize the library often.  We rarely BUY a book anymore and go to many of the programs they offer.  The library is such a great resource.  Ooh...I've gotta get that book read because I'm sure it's due back soon.

We either shop at Aldi or shop the ads at a regular grocery store.  We typically shop at Meijer, if not at Aldi.  I love their sales/prices and the Meijer brand of products are good.

Mike keeps this house way too cool in the winter/hot in the summer.  I can't stand it, but I know we're saving money.  We definitely have thermostat wars in this house.

We quit subscribing to the newspaper because just about everything can be found on their website.

We have cut back on eating out big time.  It's one of those expenses that you have nothing to show for except for a fatter you-know-what.  We love going out to eat on occasion, but it's much more special now when we do.

When milk or bread are on sale, we buy extra and freeze.  Just pour a little milk off the top before freezing.  Take out and put in the fridge at least a couple of days before you need.  Shake it up each time....you can't taste a difference.

When we rent a movie, we ALWAYS rent from Redbox.  We only rent on nights we know we will watch it and just keep for 1 night.  You cannot beat $1/night (on Mondays only you can get a free movie with a coupon code!).  We will never pay $4 at a Blockbuster or Hollywood video again.  It's so convenient at the McDonald's down the street.

Neighborhood garage sales are fun.  I used to have more luck there for clothes for Alex when he was younger, but not so much anymore.  Otherwise, I try to shop end-of-season sales in the stores and buy for next year. 

Don't laugh...but we started washing our sandwich baggies.  We go through those things fast.  Not only is this better for the environment, but also on our wallet, heehee.

I know there's so much more we do, but that's all I've got tonight.  I'll post more once I finish the book.

Another thing we're grappling with...canceling the cable.  Kara, I know this has worked well for your family.  We really need to still research how much we'd be saving and if it would be worth it for us.  It would probably be a shock to our tv-watching systems at first, but I think we'd get used to only having a few channels?!  Aaah!!!

Oh, and we're also in the process of coming up with a much more strict budget, or I should say, A budget, period.  I always hear that creating a budget and sticking to it (limiting yourself to only spend a certain amount/month in various categories is actually MORE financially-freeing than not having anything in place at all.)  I believe it.  We need to come up with something that is strict, yet effective and do-able for us.

So, my whole 5 readers (prove me wrong!), what are some things that you do to save money/cut costs? Please share. We can all improve in this area!

Oh, and Amy Clark, you are exempt from answering this question, as you have an entire website and blog almost entirely dedicated to this topic.  If you have not checked out my friend's site, you need to!  She's brilliant :-)

P.S. Just like has been the case lately, this was just going to be a post about Mike's funny line from "IM"ing today, but has turned into so much more.  I'm looking forward to reading your comments and heeding your financial tips!