To further save, I keep a “soup” drawer in my freezer. leftovers go in there….the veggie discards…. bones from a roast or chicken….. and having the king of “I hate veggies”….. anything I don’t want him to see I puree to thicken my soup…. ie…. just bought a whole chicken on sale….. $5. (watch Loblaws)…. two meals + I picked the bones and then made soup…. 3 meals = $5.00. Just takes a little more work, but the savings add up.

Cold water wash…. and hang to dry…. I have knocked my KW per day to 11. (OK, I do wimp out in the winter and use the dryer).

I put my looney and twoney change in a jar…. it’s amazing how fast that adds up, and then I deposit to savings. And, when I get a reimbursement from our benefits provider, I put that in savings. If I already paid for it, then I hope at the end of the month I won’t miss it and the savings account will love it.

I make my own bird seed cakes, but if I get caught short, go to the grocery store (I get these from Metro), the butcher grinds suet and binds it with birdseed. Those suet cakes you buy at the other stores (in the pretty square pack) are $3.00 each…. the Metro sells these for $1.60 – two balls and guess what, the squirrels don’t touch them.

Florists – when looking for bouquets or been the recipient of bouquets? most florists will buy back or give you a credit for all those vases/containers…. you just have to ask.

Wine…. if you’re not too snobby, go to a make it yourself establishment…. even choosing a nice grape keeps your cost to around $3/$4 per bottle.

that’s all I can think of right now, but I know there’s more!

Day old bread. Nothing wrong with it. Buy unsliced, spray with water and pop the whole loaf in the over at 375F for 8 minutes…just like fresh baked.

Only need glasses for reading? Buy dollar store and keep them in a glasses container or on a leash around your neck so you don’t lose them and they don’t break as easily. Had my eyes checked by my (very good) optometrist who told me there’s nothing wrong with wearing dollar store because I only wear them for magnification (reading).

Replace cable with a TV rooftop antenna – the small dish kind that’s easy to mount yourself on your roof costs about $150.00 at places like Radio Shack. We get about 6 local channels. We are waiting to see what will happen when Canada goes digital signal only next year but still saving money in the meantime.

Axe as many monthly expenses as possible. One time purchase vs monthly fee almost always the way to go.

Using an ink-jet printer? Don’t get fooled by a cheap printer where the ink cartridges will cost a fortune. Buy the kind where the three primary colors can be filled separately.

Refill printer ink cartridges. Never had any luck with refill-your-own packages, but I take mine to a kiosk in the mall called Island Ink Jet…There are others offering this service. About half the cost of new.

Also checked with them before I bought my last printer and decided what printer to buy based on refill costs, how much ink each type actually used per printed page,etc. Some cartridges can also be filled many more times than others. They know the answers and were happy to make recommendations. A Canon and Brother printer were their recommends to me but things may change from one make to another.

Mix and match bed sheets and pillow cases in clearance bins. Buy separates in clearance bins, and have fun creating a “matched” set for cheap. For instance a plaid top sheet with a solid bottom sheet and another solid color (all that match colors in the plaid) for pillow cases. Always make sure your thread count is high (minimum 250) for quality sheets.

Duvet covers cost a fortune. Make your own. Buy discount sheets, better if they don’t match so you have two reversable looks. Easy to sew. Very straight forward – sewing them together on three sides, and leaving a one or two foot wide opening on the bottom to stuff the duvet into it.

Don’t print your digital photos unless you have a real purpose for it. Show them on your computer screen to share them. I don’t understand people who buy a digital camera, then still print every photo and put them in old-fashioned albums that take up tons of space on the bookshelf where they then collect dust.

If you don’t print your photos, be sure to back them up to a cd or dvd regularly. I make a back up every time I download to the computer.(Use a dvd if possible because it holds way more photos than a cd) Keep backups in a safe dry place.

When given the option, buying e-books rather than printed version will often save you money. Also an e-book often includes free future updates for life (as with my frugal travel guides) available through my website at