Money Saving Tips

My Favorite Frugal Money Saving Ideas
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Gift Giving
If you're like I am, you are constantly giving presents to people, either for birthdays, weddings, etc. The cost of wrapping paper is outrageous. Try using wallpaper. It lasts forever, and comes in beautiful moire designs, good for weddings; kid's patterns, and other generic designs. Comic strips from the newspaper also work great for kid's gifts. Another idea is just brown wrapping paper (from grocery bags), decorated and tied with raffia or starched fabric strips. Also, when you buy your Christmas wrapping paper, be sure to buy paper that can be used on other occasions, like pretty silver, gold, or blue patterns, or solid colors. Keep an eye out at thrift stores for inexpensive wallpaper leftovers.

Clothes
Try and buy most of your clothes in separates. Mixing and matching blouses, sweaters, skirts, pants, vests and blazers makes for many outfits on a small budget. Buy all your basics (skirts, pants, blazers) in neutral colors and traditional styles. Then, for fun, you can put trendy color and designs in the more temporary blouses, sweaters, scarves, etc., that you wear near your face- and they will go with all your neutral pieces.
Cars
Never buy a completely new car. You can save thousands of dollars buying a rental car that hat has only been used one year. Buy one with 5,000 or less miles on it. These cars usually have been well maintained and serviced. You can also buy them from Dealerships. Also, plan your buying for the end of the year, when the new models are in. Your car will be considered a year older, and priced less.

Home Decorating
As an Interior Design Graduate, it pains me to say this, but when you decorate, try to use all neutrals for your walls, carpets, drapes, and major fufurniture pieces. Color becomes dated so easily. Remember the latest trends- country blues, then pastels, mauve, jewel tones, and the extremely popular Hunter Green? (And look what happens to appliances. How many olive green or gold appliances make a house look dated?) If your walls, carpets, and major furniture pieces are neutral, you can change the look of your room to keep it up to date by just changing the colors in the accessories, such as pillows, flower arrangements, paintings, bedspreads, tablecloths, accent rugs, etc. Also, when you go to sell your home, you won't be faced with painting all your rooms white so they will appeal to the most people (per your Realtor). Also, be careful when adding wallpaper. If the design is strong, you will soon be sick of it, and stripping it off the wall.
Food
A great way to avoid stress is to avoid walking down the meat aisle at the store. Believe it or not, once you cut down, or quit eating red meat, you lose your taste for it. We still eat it in moderation, but it is not healthy or good for your budget to eat too much of it. There is one purchase I have to recommend to everyone. Buy a bread machine. We grind up our own wheat, and then combine the wheat flour with white (half and half) to make bread. There is nothing more nutritious and delicious than a fresh baked loaf of bread with a bowl of soup. It only takes 5 minutes to make the bread, and the machine is worth every penny it takes to buy it! The economy of the meals you make around the bread will make up for the purchase price in no time.