Owning a home is expensive. Not only do you have to pay for the home itself, but there are many other costs associated with home ownership. If you aren’t careful, these extra costs can quickly pile up, and before long you are spending more than you can afford.

Luckily, there are a few simple ways that you can cut costs around the home, and make it a little easier to stay within your monthly budget. If you’ve found that you’re spending too much each month on your home, try some of these ideas. 

Adjust the temperature

One of the biggest expenses for any home goes towards our heating and cooling bills. We want to be comfortable in our homes, and as a result, we turn up the heat when we are chilly, or crank the AC during the summer.

And while you should feel free to use your heat and AC as you see fit, sometimes adjusting it by a degree or two can make a large difference. So the next time you want to turn the heat up in your home, consider throwing on a sweatshirt instead, or if the room is too warm, opening up a window and turning on a fan. It may not seem like much at the time, but when your bill arrives at the end of the month, you might be happily surprised.

Adjust your hot water

Besides just the temperature of your home, you should also think about the temperature of your water. According to this plumber in Mornington, hot water makes up about half of your energy bill.

So if you can find ways to cut costs in this area, you might be in for some decent savings. Try taking shorter showers, or even turning down your hot water system. Another option is to wash your clothes in cold water, rather than hot.

Your shower might not be as hot as you’d like at night, or it might not last as long, but if it saves you money, this might be a sacrifice you’re willing to make.

Install energy saving lights

Another great way to cut some costs is by switching to a different type of light bulb. The lights in your home are probably on so often that you no longer even think about them, but each time you turn them on, you’re using power. By switching to a more energy efficient light bulb, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money in the long run.

Besides energy saving bulbs, also consider putting your lights on a timer. A timer is great for outdoor lights, as you don’t have to remember to switch them on and off. This way your lights won’t run overnight when you don’t need them, and turn themselves back on in the evening before you get home.

Get rid of your cable subscription

More and more people these days are getting rid of their cable subscriptions, or “cord cutting”. Because there are now so many ways to watch your favorite shows – Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Go, many homes are finding that they no longer need a cable package.

If you find that you’re not watching a lot of live TV, or that you don’t mind waiting for your favorite show to appear online, then cord cutting is a great way to save money. To learn more, here is a quick guide on how to get started with cord cutting.

Search for coupons

Finally, one of your biggest expenses is likely food. We all spend a lot on food, trying to keep our refrigerators and cabinets stocked. But if you’re not willing to cut back on the amount of food you buy – or unable – consider trying to find a cheaper way to get it.

By searching for coupons each time you go grocery shopping, you could potentially save yourself a lot of money on your food budget. You might have to switch to some other brands, and you’ll have to put in some time to find the coupons, but this is a small sacrifice that could pay large dividends. Here is a great site to search for coupons to get you started.

Be willing to make sacrifices

It’s possible to be frugal without feeling deprived, but you’ll still likely have to make some sacrifices. Do you mind being a little chilly in your home? Taking a shorter shower? Switching to a different brand of paper towels?

If so, savings could be right around the corner, and before you know it your monthly expenses don’t look as bad as they once did.

5 Ways to Cut Costs Around the Home is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

From childhood, we are urged to save our birthday money, Christmas money, allowance, etc.

Sadly thought, those habits often don’t carry across into adulthood. Many Americans don’t have a savings account, let alone a retirement account (but that’s a whole other post).

If you haven’t started a savings account, go start one! Depending on the account, you can get started with just $5.00.

If you are struggling to build your savings, here are some great ideas to help build your savings account starting today!

Save a Flat Amount Per Paycheck

If you haven’t already set up a budget, you should. In that budget, set a flat amount that comes out of your paycheck and into savings. You can do this manually or make it an automatic deposit. If you don’t have it in your budget, then you won’t want to save it.

Set a Savings Goal

It’s hard to achieve anything without an end in sight. You might be saving for a car, a laptop, or a down payment on a house. Your goal can be just to save a certain amount per paycheck, or to save an amount each year. Setting realistic achievable goals can build your savings faster than you think.

Try a Savings Challenge

For example, you could try the 52 week savings challenge. This is where you save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, ending with $52 the last week. By the end of the year you will have saved $1,378! There are numerous other challenges, like a penny a day for 365 days or a $1 a day for 365 days. They are fun and a great way to challenge yourself and your family to see who can save the most!

Set Up a “Keep the Change” Transfer

This program is one that’s offered at most banks, although it may have a different name. Every time you use your debit card, it rolls the change into your savings account automatically. It may not amount to much, but an extra $5-10/month is still a good way to build your savings. Check your online bank account to turn it on or ask your bank teller.

Check Out Digit

Digit is an online savings account that draws directly from your bank account. It recognizes your spending habits and moves money over according to what you can afford that month. Digit is free and you are guaranteed to never over-draft your account. It’s a great way to build your savings without you having to think about it.

Switch to an Online Only Bank

For example, some strictly online banks, like CapitalOne360, have higher interest rates than a physical bank. If you put some money into a savings account or other fund, you will see more interest growing in your favor. It may not grow fast, but it still adds up over time.

Having a savings account is a critical for good financial health. Without a savings account, one can fall into debt faster and have it add up quick.

Can you think of other ways to build your savings?

6 Different Ideas to Build Your Savings is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

I haven’t done a cost comparison to see if shopping for produce at a farmer’s market is any cheaper than at a grocery store, but as a regular shopper at both I’ve seen mostly higher prices at grocery stores. Not always, but often.

Even if you do find deals at the store, the quality isn’t often as good as it is from a farmer’s market where the produce was picked that morning or maybe a day or so earlier. I’m not trying to be a farmer’s market snob. Some things I’ve found at farmer’s markets during my weekly trips to them in the past seven years have not always been so great. But overall, I’ve found most of the produce to be top-notch.

Being a cheapskate at a farmer’s market requires some changing of your standards. And don’t think that these methods will put your local farmer out of business. They want to unload their fruits and vegetables every week, and will sometimes take a small loss if it means moving more items.

Here are some ways to be a cheapskate at a farmer’s market, and they don’t include having it delivered to your home:

Skip organic

Without getting into an argument over the overuse of the term organic and which foods should be grown organically for health reasons, if you want to save money as a cheapskate, skip buying organic at your farmer’s market. You’ll save at least 25 percent

If you absolutely don’t want fertilizers on the food you buy and are willing to pay extra for organic, then buy it. But know that it’s basically a technical term that requires adhering to certain practices and standards.

I’m not an expert in organic regulations for produce, but I can tell you from my conversations with farmers at my local farmer’s market that it’s a label that county regulators monitor closely for compliance. Some farmers basically grow their food organically but don’t go through all of the paperwork to get it certified.

There’s an organic stand at my local market that I always skip because I’m a cheapskate. I’m in drought-stricken California, where produce prices are high already, but I’ve seen the organic stand sell cherries for 50 cents more per pound than other stands.

Buy in season

This is the easiest way to save. Too many things are sold out of season in California, and the prices are a few dollars higher than they would be if they were in season. They also taste a lot better when they’re bought in the season they normally grow in.

I only buy apples in the fall and watermelon in the summer. Plums and apricots are plentiful during the summer, and are $2 per pound now versus $3 or more a month or so ago.

Be a late cheapskate

The farmer’s market I go to is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arriving late can save you 50 percent or more.

I rarely do this, mainly because the fruit is so picked over by close to 2 p.m. that what’s left is often bruised and must be eaten within a day or so before it goes bad.

That may be OK if you plan on eating a lot of apricots fast, or will can them or turn them into jam. But if you want good fruit to eat for the next week, go early in the morning and pay the regular price.

Haggle as a cheapskate

Haggling is a lost art, I think, and one I’m not good at. But if you see an advertised price and can haggle well to a lower price, then this is the place to do it — especially at the end of the day at a farmer’s market.

Farmers want to pack up and leave, and haggling near closing time could save you 50 percent or more and make you the ultimate cheapskate.

But in my view, unless they’re offering a discount, why haggle a few dollars for some farmer who has done more work bringing your vegetables or fruits to market than you’ve done all week? It’s like stealing from a your child’s teacher.

Take a cheapskate walk first

This is advice I don’t always follow because I’m usually in a hurry. Too many times I’ve bought something — strawberries, for instance — at one stand and then come to another stand a few feet later that has better prices. That doesn’t mean the quality is the same, but a quick look and a taste can give you an idea of why one is cheaper than the other.

If you really want to be a smart cheapskate, take a walk around the farmer’s market and keep your money in your pocket while you compare prices. Then go buy the best deals.

Buy in bulk

I rarely to this because its too much fruit or veg for my family to eat before before it goes bad, but if you have a large family or are OK with eating a lot of one item for a week, then buying in bulk can lead to big savings as a cheapskate.

I’ve seen strawberries for $8 for a crate of six small baskets, while a package of three small baskets costs $5. Double the strawberries for only $3 more? Yes! Strawberry pies require a lot of strawberries.

Fresh corn during the summer, however, proved to be too much when 10 ears were only $6, compared to four for $3. You can only eat so much corn for dinner, lunch and snacks.

You can also use your haggling skills as a cheapskate to ask for a better price in bulk.

Go ugly

I’ve never done this, but I’ve heard that farmers will keep “ugly” produce aside that they don’t think will sell. Ask to see the “ugly box” and make sure you get a lower price if you buy anything in it.

Build goodwill and give them the change

I don’t like carrying around a pocket full of change. Digging for exact change at a busy farmer’s market can be a pain for everyone — you, the vendor and anyone waiting in line behind you.

I give my regular business to farmer’s market vendors who don’t charge in change. They either round up or down. If they round up, they always ask me if I want to throw in an extra plum or whatever I’m buying to make the total amount an even number. If apples weigh in at $3.74, I grab another apple and they charge me $4.

If they don’t go that route, then still give them $4 and tell them to keep the change. I’m not trying to be a big tipper, but want to make the point that I don’t want the change and would rather they have it.

One farmer I go to every week always rounds down. I often round it up for her because she’s so fair in her prices.

This goodwill as a cheapskate may not save you money immediately, but over time it may build you goodwill with the vendor and they’ll lower their prices for you.

8 Ways to Be a Cheapskate at Farmer’s Markets is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

What would you do with an extra $50 to $250 a month? Pay off credit card debt? Build an emergency savings fund? Take a much-needed vacation? There’s a good chance you are throwing away that much money month after month, and if you stop, you’ll be able to put it to better use.

You just need to stop wasting so much food.

Laura McElfresh from Aurora Colorado, has learned firsthand how the savings can add up. With seven children ages 3-21, the $800 to $900 the family used to spend each month on food didn’t seem unreasonable, but it was putting a strain on the family budget. McElfresh says she planned meals, used coupons and thought she was doing pretty well. She remembers reading that Americans throw away about 25% of their food, and thought “no way.”

But in 2012, after the holidays, she had an epiphany. “I remember the week after New Year’s going through the fridge and throwing away a kitchen-sized trash bag of food” she says. She realized that throwing away a quarter of her food that meant she was wasting $255 a month, or $2,700 a year. “My grandmother who survived the Depression with her family of six small children would have rolled over in her grave if she knew what I’d done,” she said.

She resolved to change.

First, she got creative. “Grandma rarely had a recipe,” she says. “She used what was fresh from the garden, what was already in the house, and her meals were sort of a smorgasbord of bits and pieces from what was in the fridge. The ham she cooked, half a jar of home canned peaches, bread from the morning, leftover green beans, whatever she had on hand. And no matter how many people there were at her table there was always enough.”

McElfresh says she realized that if she started serving more side dishes like her grandmother did, the main dish would go further, and there would be another bonus: It would encourage everyone to eat more veggies and sides.

A Recipe for Savings

McElresh has a “go to” meal she calls “Stuff in a Pan” that she says is a great way to use up whatever is on hand.

Start with meat — ham, chicken, sausage etc. (For her large family, she uses two pounds of meat.) Add potatoes or veggies such as zuchinni or spaghetti squash. Then throw in seasonings and condiments you find in your fridge such as onion, garlic, leftover corn or green beans, cheese, olives, “that carrot that needs to be used up in the back of the fridge” etc. One version she calls “Stuff Italiano” can be made with spaghetti sauce, or a Mexican version can be made with taco meat and salsa.

Turn ‘Trash’ Into Meals

McElresh now makes it a habit to freeze and label leftovers, even when the amounts are small. “It seems silly when you start doing it, but I’m always amazed at how many great meals come out of what would be trash,” she says. For example, if there is a leftover pork chop or bit of pork roast, she will freeze it. Over time, she’ll have enough to warm up with barbecue sauce for sandwiches. “I take it as a personal challenge to see what I can make out of ‘trash’ at our house!” she says.

She also recommends a periodic “freezer challenge.” For one week, the goal is to use what is in the freezer. She might buy essentials like milk, eggs, butter or snacks, but as much as possible she tries to use what she already has on hand. She says she searched the Internet — “What can I make with frozen broccoli?” – until she came up with tried-and-true recipes, many of which she shares on her blog.

Clean Out Your Fridge

Experts often recommend rotating food in the fridge and pantry so that older food is front and center, where it is most likely to be used, and McElfresh agrees it is essential. “I learned quickly that I absolutely had to clean out the fridge every three to five days in order for this to work,” she says. “I rotate food to the front of the fridge that needs to be used most quickly and tuck the stuff that lasts longer back to the back. Cut up produce that is looking sad and put it out at snack time.” She says tackling this chore more frequently means less time and waste than if she waited longer. “And I have less guilt knowing that my money is feeding us, not the landfill,” she says.

Bring Less Home

Learning not to buy things she didn’t need was her most important lesson, she says. When she started paying attention to things she was throwing away she found recurring themes: fresh fruit, leftover meals, side dishes and “always the celery and carrots (that) would get slimy in the back of the vegetable drawer … and big bags of precut lettuce.”

So, for example, she stopped buying fresh celery unless she knew she needed it for a specific recipe. The rest was immediately chopped, frozen and ready for a cooked dish. She says she buys heads of romaine lettuce now instead of the bags of cut-up salad mix. “It lasts forever in the fridge,” she says. Although prepping it is a little more work she says doesn’t wind up wasting it or making another trip to the store because she needs some lettuce for tacos.

McElfresh efforts paid off big time. She was able to feed her large family on $400 to $500 a month, a savings of $400 or more a month, which adds up to roughly $4,800 a year. She says, “In the end, I learned I really didn’t need to spend so much if I just use what I already have and buy less.”

Image courtesy of Laura McElfresh

Related Articles

• How to Save Big Without Feeling Deprived
• The Lifetime Cost of Debt Calculator
• 5 Habits of Successful Savers
• 5 Steps to Get Control of Your Finances

This article originally appeared on Credit.com.

This article by Gerri Detweiler was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.

Source

How One Family Saved $4,800 on Food in a Year is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Those aren’t exactly romantic expenses (except for the honeymoon), and with family and friends pushing for a party to celebrate a couple’s union, a traditional wedding is often how many people tie the know without eloping.

The average wedding cost is $25,000, though most people spend less than $10,000, according to Costofwedding.com. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Below are 24 ways to save big on your wedding. Some are from my wedding, and others are from people I queried:

1. Cut the guest list

How intimate can a guest list of 500 be? Start with a modest guest list and you’ll cut costs on food, alcohol, chairs, tables, party favors, decorations, cake and more. Yes, you’ll receive fewer gifts, but you’ll probably remember who gave you what with fewer people there.

2. Give everyone a job

People like to help out at weddings, especially in the preparation. If you have family and friends who are willing to help, accept it. Chances are someone you know has a skill you didn’t know about who can help at your wedding.

We had relatives make flower arrangements, set up tables, set up food, and clean the facility at the end of the night. I’m sure there are more I’m forgetting.

3.  Accept skills instead of gifts

If your friends are professional photographers, cake makers or DJs, among other things, ask them to donate their services in lieu of giving a gift. Or ask for a discount. Some may not want to combine work and pleasure, but others will be more than happy to help by offering their skills for free.

4. Hire new, small business owners

People who are just starting businesses in the highly competitive wedding services field may have low prices when they open their doors as a way of bringing in customers. Take advantage of this.

We got lucky by finding a wedding cake designer who was slowly trying out his craft at home before expanding his business. We got a beautiful cake (including delivery and setup at the venue) that would have cost us hundreds of dollars more.

5. DIY

From table centerpieces to decorating the venue and making wedding invitations, there are all kinds of do-it-yourself projects that a bride and groom can do together.

We went to a home and garden center and bought potted flowers we liked, and put them at the center of each table. They were such a hit that one family member tried to hoard most of them after the wedding to take home. Years later, we bought a house that had the same flowers in the front yard.

6. Partial DIY

If you don’t have enough skills or time to put something together for your wedding, such as the table centerpieces, hire a professional to do some of it.

For example, if you want custom wedding invitations created, but the price makes you cringe, ask your graphic designer if you can assemble the invitations yourself to save money, suggests Tracy Maniaci, a graphic designer and owner of Autumn Glow Design in Raleigh, N.C.

A bulk of the charges for custom work comes from assembling all the details and small pieces of invitations, such as tying bows and stuffing envelopes, Maniaci says.

7. Buy a used wedding dress

Jon Dulin married his wife about a year ago, and she saved by buying a used wedding dress for $500 that would have cost more than $3,000, says Dulin, who owns MoneySmartGuides.com.

“She decided that she wasn’t spending thousands on a dress that she was only going to wear once,” he says.

8. BYOB

Some venues prohibit this, so read the contract carefully. But if a venue allows you to bring your own alcohol, you can save money by not having a caterer or bartender, or even the venue, make money by serving drinks.

David Rae, 35, a financial planner in Los Angeles, says he and his husband saved thousands of dollars at their wedding in September by spending $1,000 at a liquor store sale. Otherwise, they would have spent $10,000 to $12,000 with an open bar at a typical venue, Rae says.

9. Marry in off season

Spring is high season for weddings, and an off season wedding can save you thousands of dollars.

Rae’s September wedding was a few weeks off peak season, and was the only wedding that weekend for their vendors. They not only got better pricing, but the vendors went above and beyond for them because they didn’t have other gigs that weekend.

10. Weekday wedding

This can be difficult for your guests to get to, but a weekday wedding can be half the price of a traditional wedding on the weekend. And if it’s in the off season, you could save more from wedding vendors who aren’t busy. If a discount isn’t offered upfront, ask for it.

11. Shop outside the city

Just telling a vendor that you’re having a wedding, and the price automatically seems to go up. The same goes for shopping in a big city.

Travel 45 minutes outside of a big city and the prices of flowers and wedding cakes, among other services, will likely drop, says Christina Nicholson, who works at the Inn at New Hyde Park, a Long Island venue for wedding receptions.

12. Marry and party at the same place

Getting married and having the reception at the same place can save on venue costs because you’re not booking two separate locations. It can also reduce the costs of transportation and shuttles for yourself and your guests, Nicholson says.

13. Skip bridesmaid dresses

Don’t do a typical bridesmaid dress, Nicholson suggests. They’re overpriced and many women don’t wear them again.

Instead, go to Macy’s or somewhere where they can pick out a dress they like that’s less expensive and will be something they’ll wear again, she says.

14. Crowdfund

Crowdfund all or part of your wedding costs with a site such as DreamFund, which bills itself as a circle-giving platform for important dreams. Ask friends to chip in instead of buying a wedding gift.

15. Scrimp on appetizers

Either get rid of appetizers entirely at the reception, or pre-make platters of cold appetizers such as cheese, salami, olives, a bowl of olive tapenade, and crackers, suggests Teri Gault, CEO of The Grocery Game.

Gault has planned and hosted weddings at her home, along with her second son’s wedding last year with 120 guests for $4,936 out the door, including the rehearsal dinner.

For appetizers, pre-make mini antipasti skewers on toothpicks, she suggests. If you have a kitchen at the venue, you can get fancy with stuffed mushrooms, mini quiches and more at warehouse club stores, she says. Make everything self serve and save the cost on a caterer.

16. Buffet line

Instead of having a caterer and waiters, find local restaurants that deliver and have a buffet.

Gault recommends paying for help to keep the food hot and replenished, serve at the buffet line, and collect dishes from tables. She hired four women for $600 to serve and clean up, saving thousands on catering, bartenders and more.

If there’s an oven on site, buy large trays of frozen main entrees from warehouse club stores, such as lasagna, and serve with a DIY tossed salad and garlic bread.

Create a professional catering look with books and risers on different levels covered with a tablecloth, she says.

17. Cheaper venues

A cheaper venue doesn’t have to mean sacrificing ambiance. Gault recommends exploring cheaper locations such as historic buildings, botanical gardens, garden clubs and community centers.

City and county parks have gorgeous wedding venue sites at a fraction of private wedding venues, basically for the cost of cleaning, she says. Many such sites have tables and chairs you can use at almost no cost. A state park will only charge a parking fee for guests.

If you’re in the military or a military dependent, you can get married at a base chapel for free.

A friend may be able to use their neighborhood association hall for free once a year, or for a small fee and a cleaning fee.

18. Borrow

Just as everyone probably has a skill you can use at your wedding, they know someone who has had a wedding and can loan you something.

Items Gault says she’s borrowed include two Roman columns for the altar, 14 round tables, vintage China, antique silverware, white strings of Christmas lights for trees, and more.

19. Pick your own flowers

If you grow nice roses or flowers at home, pick them, Gault suggests. Or get them from friends and neighbors who grow flowers.

Another option to a florist is to buy from a grocery store, recommends Dee Power, author of “Weddings on a Shoestring Budget.”

20. Haggle with the DJ

Many services, as we mentioned above, will charge more for a wedding. But initially, ask what the fee is for a “party,” and then haggle because you’ll eventually have to tell them it’s for a wedding.

DJs can charge triple for a wedding vs. a “party,” Gault says, so haggle with them on it a bit. In a DJ’s defense, he does more than just play music, she says. He should be master of ceremonies for the presentation of the bride and groom, first dance, and cake cutting, so he should charge more for the extra responsibility and planning. But triple? No way.

21. Hire a video editor, not a recorder

Ask videographers if they’ll accept your footage, and if they’ll edit only, Gault suggests. This way they won’t be needed to spend hours at the wedding and reception, taping hours of the events.

Ask friends to take some video at the wedding and reception, and then give all of the files to the professional to edit. You’ll get plenty of candid shots that may not have been captured by a professional.

22. Wedding cake hacks

You may not want to bake a wedding cake yourself, but as we said in item #4, you can save by hiring a baker who is just starting in the wedding back business.

Another option is to go to a cake decorating school, as Gault suggests, and save half the cost of what a bakery would charge.

You can also have a small groom’s cake for the cake cutting, and have a dessert table with a variety of treats from Costco. Or ask family members to bake things in advance.

A multi-tiered cake can be expensive, so save money by ordering it with plain white frosting and no decorations, says Power, the author. Decorate it at the reception with fresh, edible flowers that the florist hasn’t sprayed with insecticides or fertilizer, she says.

23. Elope

Eloping is an obvious way to save a lot of money, though it may upset your family, says Nicholas Purcell, a wedding photographer in Australia.

“It’s obvious but you can save a bucketload,” Purcell says. “If you take an awesome photographer with you on the elopement then you have something to help appease the relatives.”

And that may come in handy for having a happy marriage.

What are your best tips for saving on a wedding?

23 Ways to Save Big at Your Wedding is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

I don’t drink all that much – very rarely will I have even a glass of wine during the wee, but every couple weekends I’ll go out with some friends and/or J. This can be a major wallet drain, because alcohol is expensive (especially here in Canada).

It can add up quickly, so here are some tips to save money this summer on alcohol.

1. Drink at home

If possible, have a couple of glasses of [pick your poison] before going out. A glass of wine at the comedy club we went to last weekend was $11. I can buy a whole (large) bottle of wine for $15 at the liquor store.

Have friends over prior to going out for a drink or two if you aren’t driving to your destination.

2. Pick Your Liquor Store Wisely

If you are planning to have a couple of drinks at home, and are venturing out to the liquor store, pick the store from which you shop wisely.

It’s kind of a bummer, because in Canada, the government run liquor stores are quite a bit cheaper than private stores. Who doesn’t want to support local small businesses? But sometimes, savings trumps social responsibility, so shop around a bit.

3. Go For Promotional Items

Most people find what they like and stick with it, but why not try something new every once in awhile?

Usually there are promotional items on sale at the liquor store. Sometimes there are taste testers, and they offer a couple of dollars off a case of the promotional item because it’s new and they want to gain exposure. You never know, you might really like it!

4. Make Your Own

This might sound crazy, but why not try to make your own liquor?

I don’t mean bootlegging moonshine on your spare time, but rather finding a “U Brew” or local wine/beer making facility.

This can be a fun activity, too. It usually comes out cheaper than buying a bunch of bottles of wine or beer, and it’s something to do.

5. [For Canadians] Bring Some Back

When you go across the border (to shop, fill up, whatever other reason) bring some cheap liquor back. Americans pay a lot less for alcohol than Canadians do, and it can be found at most gas stations, grocery stores, and even drug stores.

When we went to Oregon, we got a bottle of wine that we didn’t end up drinking for like $8. That’s substantially cheaper than we’d be able to find it in Canada, so we brought it back with us. The border patrol had no problem with it. Make sure to check the limits that you can bring back, though.

How do you save money on alcohol?

Save Money on Alcohol This Summer is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.