What are you doing to cut back?

I'm clipping tons of coupons now - and saving 30% or more on my grocery bill. I've also learned to shop other stores to just pick up their coupon items.
When I go to Target I shop all of their clearence, buying some items that can be used for Christmas, and pairing them with coupons if possible.
I have been getting razors for pretty much free lately by doing this.

Sears had a coupon that allowed a person to get $10 worth of juniors appearal for free,w ith no minimum purchase - I got my daughter a ton of clothes this way.

That's great, I don't shop Sears often but I was told they're pretty reasonable.

Especially when you have $10 & they have a ton of clearance! We were able to get jeans & t-shirts~

I don't shop at Walmart - I kind of boycott even going to their store. I can get great deals going anywhere else~

I love Walmart, a lot of people have left Walmart...thank you for your comments.

I don't think they are all they are cracked up to be, and I avoid WalMart as well. I've had so much bad service there, it's not even funny.

Walgreens has been great with their coupons & register rewards, I've been having fun trying to see how much I can save there.

I love Walgreens, I prefer them over CVS and Rite Aid, I do shop CVS when I receive Extra bucks

I also try to go to my local farmers market to get fresh, local grown produce. Many times the prices are better than the grocery store.

Not much more I can do to cut back except not eat ;)

I know what you mean there Mariannne :) I have cut back on my eating and what Im eating and drinking and have lost over 10 lbs... I was an avid coke driker and bad at water, So I bought a bunch of Crystal lite flavors and found one I really like and want to drink , the iced tea with natural lemon.
The only problem my store is out of that flavor alot.
I am only spending on necessity's.

I have always been a frugal shopper! I watch for weekly grocery sales, and know the difference if it is really a Buy 1 Get One item...sometimes it is really not a good buy. I shopping at Macy's or JCPenny's but never pay full price...I look for 50% or more off...this way I can get the family better brand names at Walmart prices.

I do agree, some BOGO free deals aren't really deals

I compare the BOGO deals with what my family will eat/use and if I have coupons for those particular items.

Yes, if I have coupons, I'll purchase them too.

I though I would be able to shop in thrift stores, but I can't. I don't know why but I have this freaky feeling when I am in the store. But there so many other stores where you can buy a cheap stores. AS you mention you can go to the JC Pennys and wait for their sales and get some stuff under $5. Or I would wait for the gift cards and go shop with them to make my clothes come up for free.

The one way I am trying to cut back is watching all the sales in newspapers. I am also singing up for the free samples online. I really love all the coupons they usually come with. We also buy a lot of groceries in bulk. And finally we just talk to the comcast about our cable bill. We are trying to cut back there too.

We have knology and we have our cable, phone and internet on one account which has saved us about $30 a month.

Free samples are great too!

I love free samples too, they do come in handy

I've been sending emails to companies & asking for coupons.
I did this with Odwalla & they sent me a coupon for a free drink & some $1/off coupons.

I've done the same and received some coupons

We don't live beyond our means and any major purchases are very thought out. I use coupons, we stock up on items we use a great deal when they are on sale, I buy in bulk, we shop thrift stores, Big Lots and Aldi too.

We don't live beyond our means either but some folks do, thanks for your comment

I've always been a bargain hunter. I don't look at catalogs and stay away from eBay.

I always shop thrift stores for clothes and eBay for shoes. I am somewhat of a brand name snob, because IMO the name brands last longer. If I buy my kids school uniform clothes from Walmart, Target, etc. - they shrink, fade, get holes quickly, etc. If I buy them a USED Gap shirt for a fraction of the price at the thrift store - the shirt will last through two kids!

Other things we've done:

Installed a clothesline
Wash clothes in cold water
Clip more coupons - stock up on B1G1F sales w/coupons
Doing more rebates
Doing more online programs
Turn up the thermostat (we're in Florida, I keep it at 82)
Dumpster dive - we love this! - I get tons of coupons from unsold Sunday papers, coke codes and other UPCs and proofs I can use for rebates
Curb crawl - we've gotten lots of nice (really!) furniture, bikes for us & the kids, etc.
FreeCycle - I got my treadmill on FreeCycle and cancelled my YMCA membership
Cancelled my cell phone and got a Net10 phone - saving $36 per month
Refinanced our house - saving $150 per month
Use cloth napkins instead of paper
Changed light bulbs to CFB or whatever they're called (LOL)
Installed light timers in kids' rooms (they kept leaving the lights on)

I think I do pretty good. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (10 & 8) and I average $60/wk for groceries - and we eat good. I've never spent more than 50 cents for a bag of cat food. No double coupons here so I only shop sales w/coupons. With coupons I save $150 to $200 per month. For online programs, survey money, etc., I make at least $100 per month, then another $200+ with rebates.

I don't do a lot of the CVS/Walgreens deals - many of them are for things we don't use, and even if I could get it free it would take time to get the coupons, gas/time to drive to the store, etc., and then take it someplace for a donation. I did just do an online CVS survey that got me $15 in ECB, so I combined that with a $5/$25 coupon and got a bunch of stuff free over the weekend.

I keep a very detailed budget of spending/saving - keeps me motivated!

We are a family of 5 and we spend about what you spend, I also wash in cold water and changed our lightbulbs to the energy effiecient ones.

We are cutting back on restaurant lunches and dinners. I dropped my fitness club membership. I prefer to work out at home anyway.

I used to buy DVD's every week, now I limit myself to one a month. Now I can watch all those great shows that i bought before, but have not watched yet.

We keep some luxuries. We buy only the best quality of coffees and I get a pedicure once a month.

Good for you!

We go out less. We also cancelled out plans for a vacation out of state in favor of a backpacking trip in-state. I cancelled subscriptions to industry magazines, stoppped buying books in favor of the library, and put off purchasing some items for my home.

I've always been frugal so no real changes for me.

smart shopping ~ coupons, sales, clerance

we are going to winterize the house really well today.

Thanks everyone, everyone is doing really good!

I've returned to clipping coupons and my husband is even helping me! Gather has helped me alot. People post freebies and good deals. Thanks Gather.

I've definitely started clipping coupons. That's about it for now.

I got a ball shaped hummingbird feeder at Goodwill today for $2.29

That's the way to shop!

I browse freecycle, shop Wal-Mart and Target, I have been converting to cfl instead of normal lighting.
One other thing I do is for my mobile devices I have mobile power chords, and got a solar trickle charger and use that combined with my car and a battery charger for powering stuff instead of plugging into the wall sockets.

I've cut back on almost everything to the bare necessities. Of course, that's what I always do. I've never been a big spender.

I wanted to share this money saving tip no one mentioned... I unplug or turn off everything when no in use. This has cut my electrice bill by about 30 a month. I am frugal with my utilites.

I unplug my coffee pot but everything else, I don't, I need to start, great tip and thanks

Great advice here!
Thank you, everyone!

I have been cooking large meals and freezing them, for another meal.

I've always been a frugal shopper, so not had to make any big changes in my shopping habits. I love finding coupons to make my savings even better.

I have always been a coupon user and don't like to buy anything major unless it's on sale. I love Kohl's for clothing, I have gotten some great deals there on clearance items.

I am using coupons more & more. Only buying it if I have a coupon. and I search out double coupon stores.

There are a lot of things I just do without. I used to buy a lot more books and magazines. I still buy some, but usually when I have a Borders coupon. I trade books at Paperback Swap online, and I have started using Red Box to rent movies instead of Blockbuster. I've cut way back on dining out. Last weekend, I went to lunch at a popular chain restaurant (sitdown style) and was shocked at the average lunch prices. I guess I've been eating at home so much, I forgot what it cost to eat out.

I am definitely the frugal one in our marriage, but I'm slowly converting my husband, and that helps!!

Like most people have already said--COUPONS! I learned how to combine them with sale prices to get the most for my money. I'm now saving an average of 50% off my grocery bill, and that's with a child (we have 2 but one is breastfed only) and diapers.

My grocery store doubles coupons, and also offers a gasoline discount with their shoppers card, so that's why I go there.

Freebies and samples--I request them as much as possible because they really come in handy since they are usually trial size, so they are perfect for the purse/diaper bag, and they almost always come with coupons!

Instead of buying books new at the bookstore, I stock up at museum and library used book sales when they are $1 or less.

I use Netflix instead of renting at a store. At blockbuster, I'd get one rental, almost $5 and we'd almost always be late and incur a late fee. With Netflix, I pay just under $10/month, and we average 4 movies per month, so basically twice for the money, with no late fees.

I started the CVS ECB when they had something we needed on sale, I had coupons, and they offered ECB back...and then I just roll them over and pay just a few cents out of pocket.

I do more mail in rebates and free offers, and since they take so long to come back, it's always a nice little surprise in the mailbox! :)

We do all the little things around the house to conserve water and electricity to be both green and frugal.

We invested in the Entertainment Book--we never use all the coupons, but we get our money back with all the free meals on the nights we do want to splurge a little and order pizza or go out to eat.

I didn't realize that was going to be so long. Sorry! :)

I do want to say real quick though, that Gather and other online sites help out too, with gift cards of course, but I just won 2 prizes on here that will be Christmas presents for my son. His birthday is in December, so we're hit double with him.--which means I buy all year--with clearance, sales and coupons.

Don't apologize. You shared great stuff.

Great tips in this thread.

I have stopped buying clothes except at thrift stores. I'm shopping my own wardrobe, trying to create new combinations of clothing. Of course, I've always shopped at thrift stores, but now it's more intense. I told my kids (teen and above) I'm not buying them new clothes anymore, they're on their own. They also shop thrift stores. I would like to get a small greenhouse and enjoy year-round lettuce, kale, chard, etc. I used to have a garden, but the summers are very dry here and it takes a lot of watering. So a small greenhouse would be good for this lazy gardener.

Good post!

Hubby and I shut off the AC ealier than usual, and have not turned on the furnace full time yet. Only had it on one night so far.

We are using tons of coupons and shopping for the free shampoo, toothpaste etc at Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS.

We are shopping for clothes at thrift stores.

Cooking a lot of beans and cornbread instead of fancier foods.

Stopped getting the local newspaper and get our news online

We have always used coupons but our biggest expense was eating out. We have cut back a lot and are saving a bunch. My wife also remembered that she loves to cook and I am the chief beneficiary of her cooking.

We have always been frugal shoppers because of necessity. So not much has changed as far as cutting back, but we have done things liked stopped buying paper towels and using rags and things for cleaning. I also use many coupons and try to get freebies so I don't waste money on products that may not work.

I watch for more sales and clip more coupons. Well I always did this so I guess I will keep doing it. I have always liked to save money so cutting corners is nothing new to me. I have also never had a lot of money so we have had to take short cuts at times. I guess I will just keep on keeping on and we will be find.