Well, everyone knows I dumped my $120 per month hair habit (cut/color). My fabulous haircut from Saturdays was only $17 (plus a $6 tip) and I went back to coloring my own hair. The red I tried was a tad... Ronald McDonald, which was not what I was after (though everyone at work LOVES it) but I expected to do a little fine tuning until I got it right. Also, I got great advice about techniques to use to make that red color REALLY stick (the tips were good because I TRIED to wash this stuff out and it didn't budge - in 6 shampoos!) so I'm thinking I won't have to color as often. Saving about $89 per month.
I switched to a wash-it-every-day hard plastic water bottle and ditched my daily water bottle habit. Saving between $0.50 and $1.25 per day.
I started buying Diet Pepsi cans at a HUGE savings over the ridiculous vending machine price and keeping it in my locker at work. Every day I put cans in a bag in the refrigerator so I'll have cold pop the next day. Buying cans on sale, as opposed to from the vending machines saves me about 57 cents per can.
I've become nuts about saving on paper products. When I really studied the grocery store sale ads and realized how much toilet paper and paper towels cost, per roll, it blew my mind (Hint: It's INSANE!). The upshot, I really pay attention to how much toilet paper I pull off the roll (rather than just absentmindedly pulling off sheet after sheet), and I put a towel in the kitchen and before I grab a for the paper towels I stop and think 'Can I just use a towel here?' That simple gesture has made such a difference in how often I change paper towels. I have no clue what I'm saving her but it's big.
I'm cold water washing everything. If there's a real stain to deal with I hit it with the SHOUT gel before throwing the item down the laundry chute. Detergents are made to work great in cold water these days and my colors don't fade as quickly. Also, the loads are always FULL.
I was always good about running water in the shower only at the moment I need it to soap up or rinse off and I still am.
Cancelled nearly all of my magazine subscriptions. I had about twelve subscriptions and now have three (soon to be down to two).
Thanks to the gasoline pinch, I plan all trips before leaving the house so I can hit all stops in the pattern that will use the least amount of gasoline. I get my allergy shots at a doctor's office across town and used to make a special trip to the place on my off day. Now, because it's nearer my workplace, I take a different route to work once a week and hit it on my way in.
Biggest thing of all: I used to eat out ALL the time, often twice in the same day. In the two month's I cut that out I've gotten take-out ONCE. I used to frequent the vending machines and the cafeteria at work, even though the "food" wasn't that good, all because I just didn't think I had time (or energy) to plan and cook. I cook daily now and plan my meals. People complain about the sudden high cost of groceries but I wouldn't know since I never really bought all that many. But whatever my groceries cost now it's still SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than what I paid on take-out. And nothing goes bad in my fridge. I use everything, one way or another. Forget all that crap about carbs. A 10-lb. bag of white (oh no!) potatoes goes a long long way - for pennies! I need to get a garden going because I love bell pepper but not the stupid price.
Unseasonably mild temperatures are saving me from having to question how long I can stand to sweat before I can no longer stand it. I'm so grateful I have rarely needed to turn on the central air.
I'm trying to figure out how to get that cable bill down but my cable covers my dvr and my high-speed internet, two things I love a lot.
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