The Digerati Life experiments with a cash only budget. That’s a lot of envelopes! But what about the credit card perks she is missing? Perhaps she makes up for it in never having to pay a credit card fee or a finance charge, not that I ever pay my bill late. Hey, if you can’t stick to spending less than you earn and paying your credit card bill off in full every month, then accept that about yourself and move to a cash or debit card system…such as envelopes!
The Simple Dollar shares 12 simple household substitutions that save money. I use a lot of these and am hoping to make my own laundry detergent soon. UPDATE: Five years later and I. Have. Still. Not. Made. My. Own. Laundry. Detergent. I keep saying to myself, the NEXT time I run out, I’ll make it. And then I find a deal on detergent and buy it instead of making it. I currently have more than a year’s worth of detergent sitting in my laundry closet (it’s less than 20 square feet) so maybe NEXT time I’ll experiment with making it.
Tightwad Tod praises food that gives you gas. If you shop at Price Chopper’s, Shaw’s, Kroger, Giant Eagle, or Vons you need to read this. I’ve since started shopping at Stop & Shop, which has a gas rewards program in which you can earn up to $.80 cents off per gallon. That’s a significant drop in gas prices, especially if you have a big honkin’ gas tank. The only problem I have with the Stop & Shop program is that you have to spend $1 for every 1 point. Then 100 points turns into $.10 off per gallon. So $100 gets you $.10 off per gallon. For my 13 gallon tank, that means I spend $100 to get $1.30 off my gas bill. Or $200 for $2.60 off my gas bill. Ohhhh, I’m going to retire soooooo soon because of my gas savings. Yeah, right.
Wise Bread rounds up some hot deals today, including 70 percent off at Banana Republic, 50 percent off Keen shoes, and a 10-piece household tool set at Sears. I do like coupon roundups, but the problem is that they are pretty random. I don’t usually shop randomly online. I shop when I need something. Otherwise my credit card bill would disqualify me as the Bargain Babe. I shop when I need something and usually when I have needed something for some time. I like to think about my purchases for several days, if not weeks, before I buy them. What about you?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
The 12 Household substitutions is a winner! Thanks for sharing.
Detergent:
I live in an area that has grocery stores which carry products for the hispanic community. I’ve looked up some of their detergent products and found out that while they are made in Mexico, they are the Mexican brand for a much more expensive US (famous) brand name.
They’re packed in a large plastic (quite strong) bag rather than a box which adds to the savings. The bag will have the same information on number of loads worth of detergent it contains so you can calculate the cost per load just as with the major brands.
I wait until one of the brands ( is on sale to buy a bag and I’ve been paying less than one half the cost of any regular brand, and sometimes only one third.
Air Freshener:
Vinegar in a dish will counteract some odors (fried fish, smoke, etc) and once evaporated, you don’t smell it either.
Save petals from flowers or leaves (if they’re fragrant) and put a small amount on the floor and make that the first thing you vacuum…it will continue to scent the room as you vacuum. Lemon and orange peels will add a nice, natural citrus scent, etc.
Cleaning:
I remember using the newspaper and water or vinegar for glass but that was before they changed the ink to a soy based one. I don’t know how well the new newsprint works now.
And as Julia can testify, how many of us have stopped getting the daily newspaper so we would have the paper on hand for cleaning?