Five Ways That You Can Start Saving Money Today
1. Go vegan. A healthy, natural vegan diet can be a really inexpensive way to eat. Prepackaged items can cost you an arm and a leg, but if you go the more natural route, you can really save a lot of cash.
2. Bargain shop. Shop for cruelty-free bargains at dollar and discount stores, and stock up when you find a really good deal. You can usually get a few cents off your purchase at the checkout counter when you take your own bags too.
3. Create your own salon and spa. If you usually go for professional salon or spa treatments, try recreating your favorite spa treatments at home, including coloring your own hair.
4. Switch to homemade cleaners. Making your own household cleaning products is very easy and can be cheaper and gentler on the environment as well as healthier for you. You can even unclog drains with items you may already have in your own pantry.
5. Use coupons whenever you can. The Sunday papers are a good place to start, and many natural food stores even have booklets of coupons for vegan products. Most major grocery chains have programs through which they will offer to double and sometimes triple manufacturer’s coupons. It’s definitely worth checking with your favorite supermarkets about their coupon offers—some even have e-newsletters that will alert you to upcoming coupon promotions. For online shopping, try searching for online coupon codes that you can use with your orders.
Have a great money-saving tip? Post a comment to tell us about it.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Great ideas! Adding to your list:
Thrift store shop. It’s frugal, and kinder on the environment, since you are contributing to the cycle of “reducing, reusing and recycling.”
Bring your own lunch to work. A huge money-saver, and your co-workers will be amazed at all the delicious foods vegans eat. Also stock up on teas/coffee for the office and home. I got a $25 Starbucks card as a gift, and instead of spending it on overpriced soy lattes, I got five boxes of Tazo tea.
Cook at home more. PETA’s VegCooking site has endless, easy-to-make recipe ideas.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Vegan Essentials sends out discount codes, every month, or so (for 5% off of any order, or 10% off of orders over a certain amount), and Pangea sends out sale notices, on occasion. Both sites have sale items sections…And, I think that both are, now, implementing (currently, or in the very near future) a plan for free shipping on large orders (for about $150.00, or more).
Another thing that you can do, to save money, is order things, in case quantities (whether it is online, from a Vegan retailer, or a large-scale site [Amazon, sometimes, has some great deals on Vegan items {although, be careful, because, sometimes, they send things out that are too close to their expiration date}, and, sometimes, even has them as part of their "Subscribe & Save" program, where you can save even a few additional dollars {with no real catch}], or through your local health food store)….I started ordering whole cases of things, originally, to prevent possible contamination that could come from my items having touched non-Vegan things (in transit, or where they were stored)…But, in addition to making it safer, it, also, saves you money (so, it’s doubly good)…Most places will give you about a 10% discount on a case of (most) Vegan products (from juice, to cookies, to cans of Vegan pasta)…So, stock up in advance, and save money, in the long-run.
~*Kristin*
(And, though I have, not, yet, done this…I think that it would save a lot of money, to start your own garden).