Strategies on How to Save Money

[Maurice Bedard]

Many people are suffering financially and they are looking for strategies on how to save money. This is an open post and I invite others to please pay it forward and share their tips. We all have to help one another through these tough times and learn how to be happy with less, right?

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You may find yourself sitting around the dinner table wondering how you are going to make it through the economic recession. While it's important to make contingency plans in case of a loss in pay or even time off of work, there are some important proactive steps you can take to lower your budget.

Rather than thinking of your budget costs as a sacrifice (though they are), you can come up with creative solutions that might even be broadly beneficial to your lifestyle. It is said that companies truly learn who they are during tough times - the same can be said of households, as families often come together as they seek inexpensive ways to save during a recession.

One great way that you can save is by having family meals instead of eating out.

A creative way to do this is to assign each night of the week to a different family member - that individual gets to plan a menu around a budget, including shopping for the ingredients and preparing the meal. While it might seem convenient to eat out all the time, the costs can quickly add up; even if you are able to keep costs low at fast food establishments, you have to make sure everyone is eating healthy and getting their nutritional requirements.

You'd be surprised how many creative, low cost ideas there are to cook home meals - when you're working on a budget, you can get creative with the recipes, and make sure that everyone has to include all the basic food groups (vegetables, protein, grains and fruit) as well. You can find a wealth of recipes on line at sites like the Food Network (see FoodTV.com) where you can find lots of meals on a budget.

How about an online auction like EBay or a garage sale?

If you go through your house, there are probably a lot of unused pieces from furniture to old clothing to unwatched ****** that aren't being put to much use. Hold a family challenge to see who can raise the most money by selling what they no longer need on eBay - you can auction off nearly anything that's in good condition, and can donate part of the proceeds to a local charity.

Offer your children incentives to go through their old clothes and toys by rewarding them with an allowance based upon what they raise - this will help teach them valuable financial lessons, while also making it fun for them to learn about money. If you favor the more traditional route, you could also hold a garage sale. Either way, you're bound to unlock some hidden value that will go a long way towards helping you earn some side income.

Do you really need to drive you car all the time?

If your family has multiple cars, consider carpooling to save money - that way you can leave early, drop the kids off at school, then drop your spouse off all before you get to work. By taking a single car, you can save quite a bit on gas which can add up over time. If you have multiple cars, consider selling the one that gets lower gas mileage - it might take some adjustment, but you're bound to grow closer as a family as you work to save in tough times.

[Sunbeam]

Coupons...I never clipped coupons. Now I subscribe to www.CouponMom.com. I still don't clip them. I save the entire section from the Sunday paper and put it in a file marked with the date. Then I shop "on-line" using Coupon Mom and she tells me which file to get the coupons out of that I need. She does the work...she tells me where the sales aer (which store in my area) and which coupon to combine with that sale to save lots of $$$. I grab the file, cut out the one I need and put the whole thing back into the file. Easy.

[Maurice Bedard]

Here are some great videos that you can view at your liesure.

Save money on ten things you don't need with this checklist.

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Everybody's saying the environment is going down the toilet. But simple fixes around the house can help prevent it. With one easy adjustment, you'll save money, water and the environment one flush at a time.

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Mike Sullivan, Director of Education at Take Charge America, discusses why many Americans find themselves getting into financially stressful situations during the holidays. Learn some basic tips for controlling holiday spending and for making this years holiday season financially responsible.

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[Maurice Bedard]

Here are some articles from major news sources that you can check out and study to get more ideas also.

10 tips to save money with an entry-level salary

Save $500 Extra for Holiday Spending

7 More Ways to Save Money and Go Green This Thanksgiving

Best Ways To Save Money On Twitter

Save Money When Flying

5 tips can help you save money heating your Valley home

Save money by making this takeout staple in your own kitchen

Advice for saving money on pet care

Easy ways to cut waste, save money and live greener

Quitting Smoking to Save Money in Today's Economy

The engagement ring: 10 rules for saving money

A festive way to save money in a tough economy

[Maurice Bedard]

Coupons...I never clipped coupons. Now I subscribe to www.CouponMom.com. I still don't clip them. I save the entire section from the Sunday paper and put it in a file marked with the date. Then I shop "on-line" using Coupon Mom and she tells me which file to get the coupons out of that I need. She does the work...she tells me where the sales aer (which store in my area) and which coupon to combine with that sale to save lots of $$$. I grab the file, cut out the one I need and put the whole thing back into the file. Easy.

Thanks for the tip SunBeam. How much does it cost monthly and what do you save? I have heard of the Coupons, Grocery Coupons - The Grocery Game, but never signed up for these services.

I was always blown away by this lady who buys groceries for like $5 bucks a week.

Mom Feeds a Family of Six on $4 a Week: Coupon cutting and special savings can drastically cut the grocery bill.

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[Sunbeam]

Couponmom.com is 100% free and I am saving about $200.00 off our grocery bill shopping this way; combining sale prices with coupons. I was spending $800-$900 per month on groceries and now we are down to about $600.00. I never used to even pay attention to what I was spending on groceries...I think I wasted a lot of money. I also get bread from the bread outlet and freeze it. We are a family of three, however we have two grown children who eat at our house about 2-3 times weekly and occasionally "borrow" from the pantry.

[LexieMustang]

One of the things that has helped me - if your area has a farmer's market, shop there for produce and fruit. There is a huge one here in Atlanta that is cheaper on quite a few items I buy on a regular basis.

An added bonus is that the food may be locally grown, so you're contributing to the area economy

[Maurice Bedard]

I do the same thing Lexie. I am even taking it a step further and have started a huge garden where I plan to grow all our vegetables and give the excess away to the homeless.

Keep it local!!

[jewls]

Yes! We doubled the size of the garden this year for our local food bank. Planted 8 extra fruit trees 2 years ago. When the extra fruit falls neighbors stop by and pick the rotting fruit for pigs and other animals, Actually one guy wanted to make applesauce with some of the bad fruit. My mom lives with me so she did most of the garden tasks of weeding, watering and picking of the fruit and veges. She took all the extras to the food bank. As a bonus at the end of the year you receive a statement with the totals that you can use as a tax deduction. A win win situation, and I never know when I might also need the help.

[Social Apocalypse]

Fast food at home:
Whenever you make a meal out of casseroles or stews, double or quadruple the recipe. It literally takes NO extra time, and the increased cost for the extra ingredients is very little. Eat ONE of the servings and package the rest and freeze.

It REALLY helps on those busy nights when you would normally head to the fast food joint to stick a nice tray of home made lasagna in the oven while you change your clothes and enjoy a pre-dinner beverage and relax. It's a wonderful habit to get into!

I am a big fan of "Once A Month Cooking" and this can save HUNDREDS of dollars over the course of a year. You can do this sort of thing with even a small freezer. The most important thing to remember is to only freeze things that reheat well. Never freeze gravies, cream sauces or cheeses. Add those AFTER reheating to ensure your family is thrilled with the new habit. You'll love it.

[Sunbeam]

Got rid of netflicks, any reoccuring charges, working out at home instead of gym, no magazines....if I want to read a magazine, the library is great...and you can check out DVDs at the library. And the library LENDS books...no need to buy them.

Making coffee at home.

My husband does not like to shop at big box stores and so we have a compromise...he likes small independant grocers. We go to our neighborhood market every couple of weeks and it is a "date". He's happy, he gets to go where everyone knows him and I, on my way home from work go to the box store with my coupons to get the mainstays.

[Maurice Bedard]

Jewls - That is so nice and thoughtful. Just think if we had more people like you who would do their parts to pay it fwd in their communities. Hopefully others read our words and get inspired to pay it forward.

Social - I love the tip on cooking for the month. I have been doing the two week cook. Simple, 4x's the ingredients now become meals for the month. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Sunbeam - I just told my wife to look at our statements and give me a list of our monthly reoccurring charges. Your tip will save me some cash, I am SURE! Since I have a business now, I have a feeling there may be $100 or so a month of just crap....

Please keep the paying it forward money saving tips community!!! This is great!

[caldwell02]

I stopped buying coffee at starbucks and even at our local coffee hangouts a while ago. I mean $4 a day adds up! So I got a relatively good coffee maker (not espresso) and it's programmable and I love to wake up to the smell of fresh coffee every day!

This year I must admit I let alot of my apples in the back yard "go" because I was always too tired after working and this whole mess, but if/when I am assured I will keep this house then next year the apples go to the food bank. Nice idea. Thanks.

I've also just stopped shopping very much. I really do not need another pair of shoes or that jacket. Looking at my needs vs. my wants.

If I lived in a big city I would do what my son did - sell my car. He sold his car and bought an Iphone. He rides his bike or takes public transportation and saves a good $800 a month or more.

[Maurice Bedard]

Coffee - Check, implemented that last year

Apples - I have 5 leased acres with lime trees and grapefruit on about 1 acre now. I am expanding to apples, oranges, nectarines, plums and grapes as well as vegetables. I moved here and my water bill was almost $200-300 a month watering things I cannot eat or get a return on for that $3,000 a year of water.

I think if more people would just simply plant a couple fruit trees and a small garden of veggies, we wouldn't have as many people starving here in the US.

Shopping - Everyone should take heed to that advice. Especially some of the women who have so much stuff, that they think this stuff defines them. Nope, sorry. It CONTROLS you.

Ditch the car - Great idea if you can manage without one.

In 2003 I had my 2002 $36,000 Ford Expedition repossessed when I went through my foreclosure, divorce and my own depression. I ended up losing everything (yes, I lost everything. Kids, wife, freedom and STUFF) in 2004 and after all the pain had went way. It was as if I was now reborn and wise to the way the world works.

In 2006, my wife and I were in a big lawsuit and settled. We then searched for the best deals to pay cash and found a 2005 Expedition for $9k cash. I know, not environmentally friendly, but I have 5 kids and we like to surf and snowboard. This requires a big vehicle and 4WD often.

You know as they say and I KNOW most all of you can relate, "NO PAIN, NO GAIN!"

[jewls]

Moe-What dedication you truely walk the talk. I have a 2 wells which increased my power last summer, no irrigation rights on my property. So I'll trade you a box of limes for a box of Oregon pears?

[Sunbeam]

Just got back from a walk with some of my girl friends. We walked to the bakery outlet. One of my friends could not believe that the same loaf of bread she just paid over $3.00 at the grocery store was sitting there on the shelf, just as fresh (not day old) for $.75. That's 75 cents...

After awhile saving money gets to be kind of a game. I actually enjoy it.

[Maurice Bedard]

Moe-What dedication you truely walk the talk. I have a 2 wells which increased my power last summer, no irrigation rights on my property. So I'll trade you a box of limes for a box of Oregon pears?

Sweet, thanks jewls . I just looooove pears. You just gave me an idea for a possible future forum here. Kinda of like a food and living barter forum mmmm.

sunbeam - After awhile saving money gets to be kind of a game. I actually enjoy it.

Wow, thats a cool little story. I was just thinking that today when my wife and I were shopping. If we would spend a few hours weekly planning on how to save money and get educated using online tools and a little more thought, we could trim hundreds of dollars off our monthly nut.

I then contemplated why many of us as humans do not do such a simple tasks to make their lives less stressful. The answer came almost just as fast, we are trained to be good little working men and women who consume goods and ask no questions because the TV says so.

[justdeb]

learn to bake and can!

I did not know how to do this until last year - trial and error . Now I make most everything from scratch; breads, rolls, muffins, brownies - all can be frozen. You'll pay $2.50 for one of those "gourmet" blueberry muffins at the store - I can make 25 of them (the extra large ones!) for roughly $5.00 in ingredients (and thats using real blueberries).

Bread - pennies on the dollar for a loaf. I have the best yeast roll recipe...YUM! and they freeze beautifully.

Jams and jellies: The MOST SIMPLE thing to make ever! 1 quart of fruit will get you about 8 half pints or 4 pints of homemade jam. Apple butter crock pot is easy to make as well - or you can do pear butter/peach butter the same way. If you dont know how to do a water bath for canning, its very very simple. Buy a Ball Blue Book for canning and have at it!

Veggies can easily - or you can freeze them after blanching. Buy a food saver (we live with ours ) - go to a farmers market and buy in bulk - either can them or freeze them. (Flash freeze on a baking sheet before putting them in the foodsaver bags - that way they dont mash down).

Make your own stock vs. buying "store bought" stock at $4.00 a box. I just made a huge 16 quart batch yesterday of chicken stock - took 2 quarts out and made chicken and dumplings for dinner - then froze the rest in containers - and will pop them out and foodsaver them today. Lasts a very long time in a food saver bag. You can also put it in ice cube trays and freeze it, then pop them out and foodsaver them.

Others have said it..but plant a garden! If you dont have the land to do it, do it in pots .

Get some chickens or find someone that has them - and barter for eggs We are lucky enough to have 6 chickens, and we give our eggs away to our neighbors, but we also use alot of them for cooking/eating. Nothing like a farm fresh organic egg

Shop at 2nd hand stores for knock around clothing (and even some work clothes). Who is going to know? (and more importantly..who cares)

when shopping online - type in PROMO CODE for the store you're shopping at. (i.e., JCpenny promo code) most stores have them, you just need to find them This is how I do 95% of my Christmas shopping and I save roughly 30-40% MORE by doing it this way vs. going into the store. AND... most of the time it ships for free, so I save on gas and dont have to fight crowds (I hate shopping).

[miami]

Ditch your cable or satellite! I recently downgraded my cable with Time Warner to the basic 13 channel lineup. (Actually with the digital transition, you get more than 13 channels and you still get local HD channels). In lieu of a HD DVR, I use Hulu and my Xbox to watch TV. With Hulu, you can "subscribe" to most of your favorite shows. The shows usually get added the day after they air and , if you have a home network, you can stream the shows to your TV through an Xbox or PS3. I'm saving about $140 a month doing this. It's not that big of a deal to watch shows the next day except when you accidentally see who got booted from American Idol!

[lisasxr]

Miami - thanks for the info. We stream Netflix via PS3, but I had no idea I could do the same with hulu. (PS I use hulu at my office computer daily because I can't stay up late enough to watch some of the shows I enjoy!!)

[Elora123]

Sewing is becoming a lost art. I have saved a lot in my lifetime remodeling old clothes, adding trims to others to change the look. Resale shops have materials and patterns for pennies on the dollar. I also buy used clothes to make other items such as velvet dress turned into fancy pillow or stuffed animals. Reuse and recycle and old things become new again. Strip buttons and zippers from too worn items to use again. Cut off long pants for shorts and long sleeve shirts for short sleeve. Sewing can be simple.

[judithoo5]

i dry our clothes outside during summer time...

[sweetyk2]

Great tips you people are sharing here

[izzle]

My new years resolution for 2010 was to look at every "necessary expense" and cut it down this year. I was able to trim over $300 a month, or $3600 a year. That pays for a nice vacation. I did pay upfront costs to reduce my monthly expense. I can not stand the long term contracts. Here is what I did.

Cell Phones: My wife and I had two cell phones each with a 2 year contract with T-Mobile. We were paying $165/month for unlimited talk/300 text/internet each. I went back over the previous 6 months looking at my usage patterns.
We did not use the internet on the phones, and I realized I did not use my phone that much and would be much better to switch over to T-Mobile prepaid. They offer .10 minute on calls and .10 on texts. I realized that if I switched my phone over I would use about $12/month in prepaid usage. I still had over 14 months on my contract and it cost me $200 to break it. I bought a $100 card an T-Mobile switched my phone from post-paid to pre-paid. I have used about $12/month it call time.

I waited to convert my wife's phone over until this month as she is now off contract. She uses it alot, but they offer a prepaid unlimited talk/unlimited texts for $50/month. This is $15 less than postpaid.

Keep in mind we did lose the internet on the phone, but we lived without it on the phones back in the early 2000s anyway.

Phone 1:
Initial cost: $200 cancel contract+$100 card: cost recouped after 4 months
Initial monthly expense: $85
New monthly expense: $12
Savings: $73

Phone 2:
Initial cost: $100 card
Initial monthly expense: $85
New monthly expense: $50
Savings: $35


Cable TV: I was spending over $110 a month on cable TV just to watch 4 or 5 favorite shows. I decided it was time to cut cable TV off last year once they raised the prices, again.... I do love to watch local sports. Here is what I ended up doing:

1. Purchase antenna for over air HD broadcasts. I live within 20 miles of the tower so I am able to receive all the network programming.

2. Subscribe to Netflix + Streaming.

2. Purchase a mac mini ($600) and install Plex(free). This cost of the mac mini paid for itself in 6 months. This allows me to do several really cool things with Plex.
I can:

• stream netflix show/****** right to my TV,
• play DVDs in the mac Mini,
• stream hulu, and just about any other web page that offers video from a very nice interface
• use the mac mini as a DVR and record live over the air broadcasts( like football) This allows me to watch a football game in less than an hour. I love fast forwarding through all the commercials.

Initial expense: $600, + $30 for antenna : cost recouped after 6 months
Monthly expense: $9 for netflix
Monthly saving: $101


Home Phone: This was bundled in with the Cable provider. I was paying over $40 plus tax for home phone service. I researched and tried several different VOIP phones. I decided the best one for me was OOMA. They provide a box that looks liek an answering machine that plugs into your Internet connection and then it connects to your phone. The device cost $200 up front but only costs $3 a month for taxes. The call quality (if you have a decent internet connection) is superb. I work at home and use the phone several hours a day and nobody even knows that I switched.

Initial expense: $200, cost recouped after 5 months
New monthly expense: $3
Monthly Savings: $37

Internet: Since I had one of those triple play packages (Internet/Phone/Cable TV), I had to pay a little more since I canceled the other two services. I still need the high speed internet as my phone (ooma), and now TV (streaming netflix, hulu,etc) rely upon it. At least now I get my moneys worth....

Old monthly expense: $65
New monthly expense: $65
Monthly Savings: $0

Insurance: This one made me mad. My insurance company of almost 10 years sent me a premium increase of over %15 for my homeowners insurance (included in escrow, so I really didnt see it. Once I saw that the insurance premium on my house was double what it was within 5 years, and the house value has fallen by 25% I called my agent to see what was up. He stated that rates are all going up among all insurance companies... I didn't believe him, and shopped around. I ended up saving over $100 a month in home/auto insurance by switching companies. Oh and it was fun to tell my current agent... "Time to get competitive or lose my business.... " He said he could not match the price and I was able to tell him goodbye.

Initial expense: a day of time calling insurance agents
monthly savings: $100


Electricity I purchased a KillaWatt (meter you can plug your device into) to measure certain appliance power usage. I know, but I love little gadgets like that... Anyway, I was surprised by the fact that my aquarium uses quite a bit of power. So I put it on a timer and only have the light go on a little less every day. The bonus is that less algae grows in the tank now.... I also have setup my computers to sleep a few minutes sooner and that helps a little bit. The poster who drys clothes outside, this is a good idea, the clothes dryer uses the most power in the average home.

Initial expense: $30 killawatt, $5 timer: payback time 4 months
Monthly Savings: $10

Oh the other comments about canning. I bought a canner this summer and made jam/jellies, and canned peaches. It was alot of fun and was easy. Now I have more jams/peaches in the pantry than ever before....

[judithoo5]

wow Izze its amazing you are saving $300 monthly...I want to try the antena thing since cable is so expensive..actually the rental equipments is the most expensive, especially the one for HDTV...for one hddvr rental i am paying 15.99 and i have two old tv equipments each is 4.99 and then i have HBOS 12 dollars..the cable itself is 43.99...we only watch a lot of ****** and my children a lot of cartoons and sometimes we watch the discovery channel....my total is $82 + tax....

[izzle]

wow Izze its amazing you are saving $300 monthly...I want to try the antena thing since cable is so expensive..actually the rental equipments is the most expensive, especially the one for HDTV...for one hddvr rental i am paying 15.99 and i have two old tv equipments each is 4.99 and then i have HBOS 12 dollars..the cable itself is 43.99...we only watch a lot of ****** and my children a lot of cartoons and sometimes we watch the discovery channel....my total is $82 + tax....

Yeah all the rental charges the cable company throws on is truly amazing. A fee for this a rental fee for than and soon enough your bill is almost $100. I was truly upset with the situation as my December bill last year showed each of the rental items going up almost a dollar each. I had enough... I figured I could cut cable and save enough money to purchase a new lcd tv every year.

My kids watch cartoons and kids ******, I have used netflix to get new dvds to watch, and the netflix streaming has many of the nick, and discovery channel shows. I did miss channel surfing for the first few months, but once I could see how much I was saving I got used to it... Plus I watch a whole lot less commercials. There is also redbox which I have not tried yet. It looks to be about a dollar a day per *****. Not a bad price. Cheaper than Blockbuster/Cable on demand.... I may try it but so far am very happy with Netflix.

It was the same thing with my phone, once I dropped the internet for the first few weeks I kept pulling my phone out to look at it, but realized there was nothing to look at. Now, I dont have the bad habit of constantly pulling my phone out, or walking down the street staring at my phone.... I enjoy watching other people do that... I wonder if they realize how silly they look...

[nikfrz]

I'm intested on how to stream hulu to my tv, which isnt HD, BTW. How do I set that up? HELP!

[sclay1983]

Thanks for the tip SunBeam. How much does it cost monthly and what do you save? I have heard of the Coupons, Grocery Coupons - The Grocery Game, but never signed up for these services.

I was always blown away by this lady who buys groceries for like $5 bucks a week.

Mom Feeds a Family of Six on $4 a Week: Coupon cutting and special savings can drastically cut the grocery bill.

[YOUTUBE]yQNvdKNTZUg[/YOUTUBE]

I have done Grocery Game in the past -- it is really good for stockpiling your pantry. Expect to spend 2-3 hours per week compiling your grocery list and coupons. You can do a free trial for 4 weeks. Before doing your free trial I would suggest collecting at least 4 weeks of Sunday papers/coupons so you have something to cull from. After your 4 week trial, it is $10 for every 6 weeks - FOR ONE STORE. An additional $5 for each additional store. I dropped off as my nest became emptier with kids going off to college. I am seriously considering doing it again and hitting it heavy for about 3-4 months, to stockpile. The beauty of Grocery Game is no clipping and filing of your coupons. Buy a box of bulldog clips and a sharpie pen - pull this week's coupons, clip them all together and write a big 12/26/10 on the front of your coupons. File them chronologically as this is how Grocery Game will tell you how to find your coupon, and in which flyer (SmartSource vs. Red Plum, etc).

I never got so good that I paid $5 for a basketfull of groceries, but I did regularly save 55-60%. Expect that 2-3 hours at least of list making and coupon compiling.

[neonjohn]

I recently realized I needed to start saving money and becoming more frugal. To do this I have been biking to work instead of driving, writing down everything I spend down to the last penny to see where my money is going and where is unnecessary. I also have significantly cut back on going out to eat and have been cooking more at home. One more thing is making sure I am unplugging appliances when not in use as well as making sure unnecessary lights are shut off. Already saving a bundle...suggest it to everyone to give it a try!

[jumbo2011]

Wow Great. I think it’s great to see the discussion out there about saving money. I want to make thank you for all the peoples who are participating in this discussion. Good Day Ahead….

[FaithinGod]

I consume a lot of water bottles and soda bottles. I make sure that I keep all empty bottles to recycle later on. Even if I took the water bottle to work, I would bring the empty bottles home. I have those blue bins that I dump the recycables in. When full, I take them to the recycle centers and make about $30. I then use this money for grocery.
Thank you for all the other suggestions. Will most definitely relook at my expenses to see what can be eliminated.

[misty2002]

Hi Moe,
This forum has been an incredible help to our family as we've dug our way out of debt, gone thru a loan mod with WF and are now looking for information on what hard assets to invest in/buy before the dollar crashes. We know the dollar will lose it's place as the worlds reserve currency, when that happens, our money will be almost worthless. What things should we buy now before we lose our purchasing power? We don't have alot, about$10,000 ina 401K and a couple thousand in savings. I have purchased silver over the last 2 years but don't have too much extra to put towards that now. What did people do back in the depression days? We do have 2 acres of land and were thinking about buying fruit trees and some goats/pigs, what would be your suggestion?

[Daysi2]

I have another year before I can cancel my phone contract and buy a "throwaway". I regularly call 2 relatives overseas and use Skype for this. Calls to Denmark are free because my d-in-law uses Skype too, but it costs me a couple of cents a minute to call my son in the UK who hasn't got a computer to sign-up. I watch only one program on TV regularly {Monk} and will cancel the satellite ASAP; also next year. I try not to use the a/c in the daytime but use it set high at night for safety reasons [I live alone and don't want doors and windows cracked open]. I have a solar powered pump for my outdoor fish tank. And I water my rose garden with the water from the tank when I need to change it out, by installing a faucet and hose and draining it from the bottom. Fertilize and water at the same time. When I move I hope to have a proper veggie garden and if I can transplant my new-ish fruit trees I will have a crop from them, too. I use cloth hand towels - laundered frequently - instead of paper towels. I'm 73, so I remember WW2 and make-do-and-mend, and food rationing, so I am not so afraid of being economical.