Homemade laundry detergent.
-I started doing this about 2 months after I married Ryan. We were looking for ways to save money and I came across a recipe on Pinterest. Of course, I consulted my mom on whether or not it was safe and all that jazz. She said that people have used this forever. After using it for almost 3 years now, I can tell you that I love it. I haven’t looked back. It cleans the clothes just as well. I do add Oxi-Clean to mine and still use regular softener.

Coupons
– I’m not suggesting you become a crazy coupon lady, although I wish I had the time to become one myself. I do suggest that before going out to eat you look for a coupon or Groupon deal etc. This also applies to shopping. When shopping online, you can almost always find a coupon code for free shipping, a percentage off, or if you’re lucky, both! I also highly recommend you shop through Ebates when shopping online. They give you a percentage of your purchase back. I saved so much money Christmas shopping last year by doing this. There is literally no excuse not to use Ebates. You can also take these short surveys to gain access to great coupons and other deals. I love using this site.

Cook at home.
-We see a dramatic increase in our spending when we eat out more one week than when we eat at home. Groceries are expensive, but they are so much cheaper to buy and prepare at home than if you go pay $25 a meal. It is also a lot healthier.

Set a budget.
– I’ll be honest. When we first got married, we budgeted for our bills, but didn’t have an allotted amount for food/groceries or for our “fun” spending. Since we set a specific amount of how much we can spend on food and extra fun things/ gifts, we have saved a lot more money. I’ll save you my budgeting rant, but that is the biggest budget tip I can give you that has helped us.