7 Ways I Saved in August

At the beginning of the year, I started reflecting on ways I had saved throughout the month. I wanted to be intentional about it because I think there are countless ways we all save but we often forget about them in the busy moments of life.

It was a rough month for us (grocery budget wise) but I still managed to save. Some of the savings are little things but I continue to hold to the fact that even the smallest of savings add up! Here’s what I did to save this month.

1. I refilled my small glass jar of vinegar with a big bargain jug of vinegar. Vinegar is one of many things that is cheaper when you buy it in bulk. I keep a large jug of vinegar in my basement pantry and refill the regular size vinegar bottle in my pantry as needed. It’s another reason I like stockpiling!

2. I bought 7 jars of Jif peanut butter on sale for $0.99. Normally, my stock-up price is $1.50 to $1.99. By buying name brand peanut butter on sale, I saved at least $3.50 (to as much as $7) and I’m ready to make buckeyes!

3. We ate meat from our downstairs freezer stockpile. Meat is pricey but this is one of the ways I save on meat. I stock-up when there are good sales and freeze it in our the upright freezer I have in the basement. Our freezer is one of our most used wedding gifts and it saves us so much money!

4. I used a gift card to treat myself to lunch at Panera. My husband was out of town last week with his 8th graders, which left Nathan and I on our own for a couple days. While we were out and about running errands one day, I treated myself to a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich at Panera – using a gift card, of course. So good and a special treat!

5. I redeemed $15 in free app credits from Amazon. For some reason, I received a promotional email with $15 to spend on Amazon on any apps for my tablet. I don’t really buy or use many apps but bought a couple Daniel Tiger apps for Nathan instead. It was free money so why not use it? I’m planning ahead and think these will be nice to have when we travel.

6. I used Mperks rewards to save money as I grocery shopped. For those of you who follow my shopping in pictures (every Friday) where I share all I buy on our monthly $200 grocery budget, you know I went over budget in August. Still, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, thanks to Mperks coupons and rewards. I’m especially thankful for the ones that help me save on produce, meat and diapers!

7. We ate from our freezer, fridge and pantry the last week of the month. As an effort to keep my budget on track, we ate from the food I already had at home. We had some interesting meals as we finished up odds and ends but enjoyed meals like homemade pancakes, too. My freezer and fridge are cleaned out now and my budget was glad for the break.

What did you do to save in August?