10 New and Simple Ways I Saved Money this Month

I noticed that my family’s saving money tips, hacks, and  habits sometimes change it with the season. For example, growing a vegetable garden is a great way to save money on groceries but only works in Ohio during the spring and summer.

Since most of these little projects and happy accidents are too small for their own blog post, but still pretty darn useful, I figured why not put them in an old school round up post of quick and easy money saving hacks?

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You might already know some of these frugal ways and already do them or chose not to (which is perfectly fine in Lazy Budget Chef Land by the way.) In fact, I have a few on this list that I’ve known about forever and just started to try them out only to find all of those suggestions are right – they work!


1. Started sharpening my disposable razor blade with a razor saver like this one for a closer and better shave and to make them last longer Thanks to a reader tip, I may not have to toss my disposable razor in the trash for a whole year! (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)

2. Saved money on cilantro by buying fresh and dehydrating it before it wilted. The bulk bin section of the grocery store didn’t have cilantro (which is much cheaper than buying it in a bottle – even at a dollar store!)  I tried my luck at the second grocery store on my list – Aldi. They didn’t have dried but they had fresh for crazy cheap. I cooked with it and dried it in my portable dehydrator (this exact dehydrator I have and one of best money saving appliances in my kitchen) before the cilantro started to wilt. The result is way more than what filled the original bottle.  I’m kicking myself for not realizing this is one of the best ways to save money herbs and spices until now. Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.

3. Bought two reusable air conditioning and furnace filters like these and change the dirty filter for the clean one the first m every month. This way I don’t have to wait all day for the reusable filter to dry after I clean it to pop it back in the furnace.

Changing the filter every month keeps my HVAC system from using more energy to heat and cool the house. A clean furnace and air filter can also help keep allergies in check.  For further savings, buy a programmable thermostat like this one and your bill will go down in no time!

4. Finally got around to canceling a subscription and a membership we weren’t using anymore. If you like and use that gym,  twitch, gym membership, or whatever there’s no frugal law that says you can’t keep it. Personally we have cable TV and we’re keeping it at the moment. This  may change since everything we tend to watch is through the cable On Demand service. Any thoughts on this?

5. Cleaned the dryer vent from the outside of the house with a dryer vent brush like this one. Not only can lint build up cause dryer fires but it also makes your dryer use more energy to dry laundry. I was also losing money on my heating and cooling bill because a wad of lint propped dryer vent flap open. Whoops!

6. Installed a more energy efficient dryer vent and sealed the HUGE gaps between the wall and dryer vent with caulk. (This is the exact energy efficient dryer vent I used.)  The flap on the old dryer vent didn’t close all of the way after cleaning. I figured I should upgrade to an energy efficient dryer vent that is also much easier to clean. I and sealed the HUGE gaps in between the hole cut in the wall for the dryer duct and the duct itself. With air leaks like that no wonder that part of the house is always so cold during the winter! 

7. Started Christmas shopping. Yes I know it’s October and many of you are giving me Stink Eye through your screen but we are in that time of year when there are a bunch of cool pop up craft, art, and holiday shops starting this time of year. If I see the perfect gift or get a great idea, I buy it now because it probably won’t be around in December.

8. Sorta started meal planning. I am using a meal planning notepad similar to this one to make meal planning easy. So far so good.

9. Harvested, froze or dehydrated the last of my summer container garden vegetables and herbs. Bittersweet because I love growing and cooking with fresh herbs I can’t find in a grocery store. Hopefully they will last until it is time to plant more.

10.  Reused and recycled my clothing and props from one year to the next to make a somewhat expensive endeavor less so. My husband and I met as historical entertainers. We sometimes we still perform and usually as our noble characters, which as you can see from my photo below, is not cheap!

The dress and underclothes weighs from 30 to 50 pounds, which is fairly lightweight considering the entire outfit is made from upholstery fabric. It takes me about an hour to get dressed from start to finish. I get as dressed as I can at home (boots, wig, and underpinnings,) I do my makeup in the car as my husband drives, and put the hoop and top layers on when I arrive.

There are ways to make it less expensive. For example, I make most of what my husband and I wear, stack store sales and coupons like a boss, and source materials from unusual places. For example, all of the material for my dress is remnant upholstery fabric I bought from Old Time Pottery for $4 bucks a yard – a steal!

Just like our thrifty forefathers, I recycle old or broken things into new props and clothing too. For example, I made my partlet (shirt) from an old curtain and turned a broken earring into one of my favorite princess rings.

Looking for more saving money tools and ideas? Check out the following options AND MORE! below!

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