(This is the school where we work.)
There are very few people who don't like getting a deal. So while the specific ways I save money may not apply to you, the concepts can be applied no matter where you live. Hong Kong ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to live. Rents are ridiculously high, which in turn causes retail shops to charge more money for goods. For this reason, I can often buy items in the US that are made in Hong Kong and China for less than I can buy them here! But, "expensive" is a relative term and there are always ways to save.
1) I pack work lunches from home for my husband and I nearly every single day. 90% of the time, that means leftovers for Mike and a salad for me. Our school does have very generous parents, however, and yesterday our grade 4 parents provided a meal for us. This happens at least a dozen times a year. It's such a blessing not to have to pack a lunch the night before. Packing lunches is NOT something I enjoy doing, lest you think I only do it because I find it fun. Many, many nights I have to force myself to do this task. It would be very easy for me to spend $4-6 USD a day for each of us and buy lunch here at school. We'll say that conservatively averages $9 US a day. This equals $1710 per school year. I make our lunches for about $2-3 total. That's over a $1100 a year savings, and there are many ways I'd rather spend that cash!
2) I mended a cloth grocery bag, a throw rug and a pair of my slippers. The year we moved here, I bought a little sewing kit for about $3 US and it has no doubt paid for itself. None of these items are particularly nice nor would they be expensive to replace, but I can get at least another year of use out of them.
3) I bought produce from the mark down cart at our local grocery store. Prices were half what normal prices were, and this meant I did not stick with my grocery list, and had a few meal combinations that were a little odd....which leads me to...
4) We will be on spring break next week, and will be traveling. I always try to use up all the food in the refrigerator before a trip, so we have had some rather strange food combinations. But, I am happy to report that when we leave in the morning, and the only thing I will end up throwing out is a very wilted head of lettuce and a bowl of soup. I will chop and freeze a half onion and a bag of bok choi. Normally, I would freeze the soup, but the noodles are already mushy and couldn't handle the freezer, and it was made with leftovers anyway.
5) I downloaded 5 free kindle books so that I can just take my phone (I have the kindle app) instead of books, because...
6) I bought super cheap airline tickets, and would have to pay extra to check a bag, which I don't want to do, so I am trying to keep the packing very light as even the carry ons have a weight limit. This means I didn't want clunky books hogging up space and weight.
7) I used Ebates (affiliate link) to get over $20 cash back on a Kohl's order for wedding clothing. (Our oldest son is getting married this summer.) The order itself was not even that high, but they were having a extra discount through Ebates. If you don't use Ebates and you buy anything online, I highly recommend it or another cash back site. Please, do yourself a favour and sign up. So easy! Use my link above and get an extra $10 when you spend at least $25.00.
8) I used the Kohl's Cash that I received on the above order to get a pair of shoes for myself for free! Aren't they cute??
9) This one is not specifically mine, but our oldest son told us the blinkers were not working on his truck. He stopped by the Ford dealership, and they told him it would cost at minimum $150.00 USD. He googled the problem and then looked up how to fix it on YouTube. He bought the part at NAPA for $40ish and did the work himself. So proud to pass on the frugal genes (indirectly, I take credit..ha)!
Hope you all have a frugal week! Next week, I'll let you know how we saved money on our trip (and where we went!) Hint: sand and sun
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