Have you already cut your food budget as far as it can go without eating Rice and Beans every night?  OR Do you just want to make small changes to your budget?

Here are some ways to cut your non- food budget that can save you big in the end.

• Go Paperless!  I had decided that we would cut out paper napkins and see if cloth would really save us money.  About a year ago I started to pickup cloth napkins at yard sales and thrift stores for about $1.00 for 4.  I already had about 12 napkins that we used for “special” occasions.  I estimate that I spent $3.00-$3.50 on napkins every two weeks.  Now we have a basket of napkins on the table that we all use.    We are spending less because I just thrown the napkins in the wash with the towels or jeans and they really don’t take up that much room.  We are also not adding to our landfills.  I spent about $4.00 initially and I have saved over $78.00 during this past year just by going paperless.
• Cut Dryer Sheets in Half.  My husband is the one who thought this one up.  He said it was just the same as using a whole one.  Now, I don’t completely agree- especially when it come to towels and jeans but for the most part 1/2 sheet does the job.  Think about this…  an 80 count box of dryer sheets costs around $2.00 depending on brand and sales.  If you cut them in half you could get 160 loads of Snuggle softness for the same price!
• Don’t pay for shampoo, razors, deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste……  Stockpile these items when they go on sale and you have the coupons to match.  Are you watching our Walgreen’s Deals?  They give you FREE stuff all the time.  Think out side the box.  The grocery store is a great place to pick up some of these items.  This week our local grocery stores has toothbrushes on sale for $1.00 and I have a $1.00/1 coupon. FREE!

You can cut your budget even further if you want to make your own laundry soap and use cloth diapers, but I will confess, I am a snob when it come to diapers.  Not a brand name snob, just  the I-can’t-handle-rinsing-poop-out-of-a-diaper snob.  If your not a snob, then GO FOR IT GIRL!

What other ways can you think of to cut your non-food budget?  Let us know and we will have a Part 2 with all your great ideas.