Unique ways to save money

The other night I was watching the TLC show, Extreme Couponing, and was amazed.  This television documentary showed the lives of a few people who took cutting out simple grocery store coupons to a new extreme.  One woman had $638.64 worth of food items and only paid $2.64.  She saved 98%.  Another women had a retail sale of over $200 but only paid about $2.00 after coupons.  A man had a over 2000 times from the grocery store and only spent about $200.  After watching these people save up their coupons and have storage areas piled with food, I had one thought: why am I not doing this!?

I always get those magazines in the mail with a bunch of little coupons and never had the thought to actually look through them.  Unlike my mother, who cuts out every useful coupon she can find, I'm not quite the bargain shopper.  I've come to realize though how many different way there are to save money!  While coupons may be a great way, there are several other unique ways that people save money.

I found a website that had useful household cleaning tips with foods you find in your fridge.  If you want to clean silver, use the inside of a banana peel.  To clean copper-bottoms pans, use ketchup.  To clean the garbage disposal or to freshen it, run slices of a lemon through it.  Other useful tips are for an ant deterrent, use Cayenne pepper or cinnamon.  On minor wounds or burns, spread honey.  Honey acts as a good antibiotic cream.  These are just some of the many tis out there for people to save money.

With our economy being unpredictable at times, I think people need to start using these ways to save money.  Maybe not going to the extreme of couponing taking over your life, or using honey to clean a wound, however there should be a balance of using ways to save money.  The people profiled in the show Extreme Couponing, they are taking it to a new level.  For years they cut out coupons for that one moment they go to the store and stock up.  This show has given those annoying magazines a new light to me.

What are the different ways you do or have heard to save money?

This article is the unique ways to clean:
www.mint.com/blog/saving/household-products-food-02162011/

This article is about the TLC show Extreme Couponing
http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/29/the-perils-of-extreme-couponing/