Are you throwing money away?
   If you aren’t reusing you are.   

Paper or styrofoam plates cost a lot more than it does to just wash a plate or bowl. Each item that you purchase disposable plates you just toss them in the trash because with food on them they cannot be recycled. Which means that you have more garbage to throw out. Instead if you use reusable plastic or “china” plates and just toss them into the dishwasher as part of a full load you are saving time, energy and money.

Paper towels are very convenient but by using a towel that you can wash instead of a disposable towel you save money. Granted there are some messes that you want to use a paper towel for and at about $1.50 a roll for 70 or so sheets a roll can go pretty quickly. For the bathroom, have small towels – fingertip towels for hand drying. 

Another paper product that you can do without is the humble paper napkin. I challenged myself a few months ago to just use cloth napkins. I don’t miss the paper napkin at all. Every few days I use a different cloth napkin and then just toss them into the wash. I already had the napkins rather than having to purchase paper napkins. I don’t use ones that match a tablecloth for daily use because then they will be faded and won’t match the tablecloth, but instead buy stray napkins from the clearance areas of stores where I see them. Some can be

Reuse some containers that you have at home. If food came in the container, wash it out and use it a few times. This is especially useful if you want to give someone some food, if you forget to bring containers back from lunch or want to store up some tomato sauce and don’t want to stain your good plasticware. Think about those sour cream or dip containers – use them. What about the spray bottle or pump that you have, buy the refill and use the container again, instead of buying the smaller size. 

Batteries give you the blues? If so, buy some rechargeable batteries which will pay for themselves in a short while if you use batteries often. Rechargeable batteries are not lifetime batteries and must be replaced but by that time you will have saved a considerable amount of money instead of tossing $2.00 or so in the trash for a couple of AA or AAA batteries.

Some stores require you to purchase bags like Aldi’s or Save-A-Lot charge you for each bag you need. If you know that you are shopping there bring your own, even if you are reusing the plastic bags from a different store. 

After you replace your baking soda container in the refrigerator, pour the old baking soda down the drain to keep your drain smelling sweet or save it to sprinkle on your floor before you vacuum.

No matter how much you make, you can’t afford to throw away money.

Cash is coming back in style. This isn’t popular with some retailers just as Christmas is around the corner. Since more people are afraid of incurring more credit card debt people are looking to pay for things in cash. That is great but if you have a credit card and choose to use it wisely that isn’t a problem. 

Using cash isn’t the only thing that is troubling for retailers since the holidays are coming up… people are planning to spend less than they did last year on gifts.

Both of these things can be really great for us as consumers because this will mean that retailers will be pulling out more stops than they did last year to encourage people to buy. This means that more free shipping deals will abound (if you haven’t seen any already) and discount coupons will be available in stores.

As I’ve said before using a credit card isn’t bad, if you can pay off the balance.

Before spending, make a budget for holiday spending or if you have a large family try to see if you can set a spending limit or participate in a gift exchange with one family member. For those with children, nieces, nephews, etc. you may have more difficulty buying just one gift but you could also find out what is one item that the child really wants.

Holiday shopping shouldn’t be comprised of impulse buys. Christmas and Hanukkah come every year. This should not be a surprise that people have to scramble to buy gifts or to make preparations. If you have to go into debt to buy gifts, then you shouldn’t. If you have the makings of a gift at home then do that but spending because you want to give a gift you can’t really afford, makes no sense. 

Start putting those dollar bills aside now to help ease the burden of gift shopping. Even if you are making tins of cookies for people, or other homemade goodies, you need to make sure that you have enough materials. Better late than never to start preparing for Christmas.

Have some things that are usable but you can’t really donate to a thrift store? Have your own White Elephant exchange or swap. If you don’t feel like organizing your own While Elephant, you could just put a few things in a bag for someone you think might like them. If they are food items you could put them in the break room at work to get rid of them. You know those breakfast bars that are still good but you tried one and they weren’t as tasty as you thought. Or that great deal you got on single servings of beverage mix to use in bottles or on the go, was just well not to your taste. If something is too sweet, not sweet enough or you discover that you have an allergy reaction to it, give it to a friend who doesn’t.

Consignment, thrift and resale shops don’t deal in perishables but what can you do with those perishables that are still good. You can swap them or just give them away so that they won’t be wasted. I have tried different things and discovered that I knew someone else, generally a family member or close friend who would like the item more than I do.

If you choose to organize a swap, look around your house and see what you have that you can get rid of. This can also be a fun way to get together for people who do not have a lot of money but want to just gather together. 

A swap can be organized around a central theme, if you know crafters, they can only get rid of things in their stash. Or you could have everyone bring a mug filled with goodies. Swapping  materials, or items you have no need for can be fun and most people have things that they want to get rid of.

Need ideas or guidance on having a swap? Check out this site.

If its too much of a problem, just leave some things in your office breakroom, they will disappear quickly.

Not everything is available for a trial run before you decide to buy it, that is why there are movie trailers, book excerpts and free samples.

If you receive a sample it allows to test something that is new or a product that you may not ordinarily buy. If you are putting together a gift basket, you could also use some samples to help fill in some of the space in a basket.

If you are in the doctors office, ask if your doctor has any samples. This may give you an opportunity to save a few dollars especially if this is a newly prescribed medication that you are unsure of trying.

When you go to the grocery store on a weekend, there are often samples to try and test. If you are shopping from a list trying something isn’t always a bad thing because you may decide that you want to purchase the item you sampled later. Or you could try an item and discover that you dislike the sample so much that you are glad you didn’t succumb to the tempting description from the advertisements and commercials and waste your money. (I’m glad I sampled one of those supposedly chocolate-y microwave desserts in the store and discovered that I didn’t like it without spending any money.)

Samples of beverages both alcoholic and non alcoholic can make you aware of new products. I did buy a bottle of wine I had sampled on a trip to Trader Joe’s because the store had a few wines for tasting. Maybe it was luck since wine was already on my list and in the same price range of the one I already had in my cart before I reached the tasting table.

A sample of a perfume or cologne that you like can be added to some inexpensive unscented face cream to make your own scented body cream. 

If used correctly, samples can be a boon and boost for your wallet. Trying before you buy can really give you an idea of whether or not an item suits your needs or tastes.

Can’t get a sample or a trial of something you are interested in? Ask a friend with similar tastes for their opinion.

Barrels of oil are now less than half the price of their highs. Currently trading at just over $69, this will give people some leeway in their budgets because the lower prices are finally trickling down to the consumer.  

But before you get too happy, read this.

An Iraqi official says Iraq believes that the $100 a barrel is a “fair and acceptable” oil price for both producers and consumers.

Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad says that if crude prices continue to fluctuate, OPEC will cut its production.

That’s right. Oil producers are losing money and definitely want to recoup some of their losses by cutting production. Even if oil increased slightly to $75 a barrel, oil consumption globally has decreased because of the economic crises.

The rescue plan has cut everyone’s investment gains, worldwide. Oil producing countries just don’t want to have to take their cut for the team like the rest of the world’s citizens. Also since people are unsure whether or not the prices will remain low, or if they will be able to have money to use for other things, consuming gasoline through driving or nonessential trips have taken a backseat while people try to pay for essentials like food and housing.

Looking at other commodities, at about 12:30 (CST, 10-16-2008) the only ones that were in positive territory were natural, gas, live cattle and feeder cattle. The only one that showed any gains of note were the feeder cattle up by 98 cents.

Spend within your means and hold tight.  Governments are now having to do this, but greed may have finally met its match.