Savings Saturday - Saving without using Coupons, Part I

Several people have been posting lately about how competitive it is getting to see who can buy the most stuff for the least amount of money. I have been trying to figure out ways to cut my grocery bill using coupons and without using coupons. Full disclaimer – I currently use coupons, but I have friends that don’t and I want to create ways to save even if you don’t.

Cleaning products
There are a million posts on how to clean with vinegar and baking soda. Here you can find out how to make your own. You can also use Shaklee’s Basic H to make several natural cleaners.

I use Shaklee products and I really like them, but when I run out I may make my own cleaners which I have done in the past.

A great post on this subject can be found here.

Toiletries
This one is trickier. Many people believe that homemade toiletries aren’t as good as store-bought ones.
There are several body products that you can make. You can go here to check out which body products you can make and how, and there are more ideas here .

There are even many books written about natural body products. If you do make them and you have had success, please share that and the recipe!


If you would rather not make your own, you can play the CVS game. Even without coupons you can do some of the deals and make it worth your while check out this site to see how.


Paper Products
I personally am trying to cut out most paper products. I definitely still use toilet paper. I try not to use paper towels even though we do have them in the house for really gross things like your child throwing up (which happened last week!)
I only buy paper plates when I have birthday parties.
I am using cloth diapers most of the time and even started using cloth wipes (except for poppie diapers!).
But if you still want to use paper products I would suggest trying the CVS game or the Walgreens Rebate program. Even if you had coupons for these items they usually are only $0.25 or $0.50. You can also buy store brands or go to Aldi’s. I warn against CVS brand of toilet paper – it is only one-ply!

This post also has some very good information. I probably wouldn't do all of it, but I would consider most of it!

Meat/Poultry
This is one thing that I don’t scrimp on. I buy grass-fed beef from a local farmer. I am now starting to buy my chicken the same way. It is more expensive, but worth it to my family.
You could start having a vegetarian meal twice a week. You can do meatless lasagna or a bean dish.

These are some ideas to cut your grocery budget if you do not use coupons. I will be talking more about this next week. What ways do you save without using coupons?