Work:

• Car Pool – Now that my wife and I car pool, we actually drive 5 miles more per day, but save $10/day in parking. There’s also more freeway driving, so we get better gas mileage.
• Bag Lunches – My wife takes food to work rather than eating out now, which saves a lot. I eat lunch at home & take care of leftovers, so we don’t waste food.

Utilities:

• Cancel Home Phone – Not really necessary these days with skype, cell phones and email, unless you need to use a fax machine, but then there’s always eFax.
• Cut Cell Phone Bill – I realized that I don’t text enough to need an unlimited plan, so I switched. Of course, once I’m eligible for a new phone, it will be hard to resist a Blackberry with a data plan.
• Cancel Pest Control – We had it for a while and it seemed to have worked, but now we’ll see how we do without it. So far so good.

Entertainment:

• Cancel SIRIUS – Two recent rate increases made this an easy decision & I don’t listen to it for more than an hour or two a day.
• Cancel Book/Movie Clubs – My wife loves these and even though she sent books back, it was still a charge on our credit card and wait for a refund. I’m glad to be rid of these.
• Don’t Renew Magazines – I’m a firm believer that everything in magazines can be found for free online. They’re a waste of money and trees. My wife is letting all subscriptions lapse.
• Lower Netflix Plan – One movie at a time is enough for us right now, especially with a RedBox around the corner. We may cancel it entirely in the future.
• Record Movies – I took advantage of free Showtime this month on AT&T U-Verse and recorded a bunch of movies that were on our Netflix queue.
• Buy Used Books – Many used book stores will also buy books in turn for credit, so you can then buy books at half price.

Home:

• Switch to CFLs – Almost every light in our house is a compact fluorescent and those that aren’t don’t get used much.
• Cover Windows – During the heat of the day, block it by keeping blinds and drapes closed.
• Open Windows – When it cools down outside, open windows and turn off the air conditioning.
• Recycle – We saved our aluminum cans and plastic water bottles to take the recyclers. We don’t buy those anymore, but family members save theirs and the CRV goes to our son’s account.
• Sell Baby Stuff - Craigslist is great – you can get barely used baby items at great prices & turn around and resell them for about the same price. You, basically, got to use it for free. A local Craiglist type site is SactoClassifieds.
• Swap Baby Stuff – If you have a baby, chances are you know others who do as well. We swap, or rotate clothing & toys among friends & think of it as free off site storage.

Food:

• Veggie Garden – Its fun and worthwhile not having to buy lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. It’s also healthy and educational for our son! He loves picking tomatoes, even if they’re not ripe…
• Eat Less – Generally, we over indulge, so if you split a meal in half or leave enough for lunch the next day, you can save money and lose weight.
• Generic Food – Many name brand foods have identical generic counterparts that cost much less & taste the same.
• Ditch Bottled Water – Our fridge has a water filter, so why not use it? We refill bottles and rarely buy them anymore, which is also better for the environment.
• No More Soda – A while back I stopped drinking soda. I’ve had some a few times at BBQs, but I don’t buy it.

Other ideas that we could implement to save even more money:

• Cancel Cable – We would still have Internet, but I think we’d be miserable without decent TV
• Cancel Netflix – Getting rid of the lowest level they offer would save almost $10/mo
• Turn Off Computers – I tend to leave my desktop PC on all the time as I never know when I can jump on and get some work done
• Change Thermostat – Since my body tends to run warm, I’d be miserable during the summer
• Reduce Water Usage – Once they start metering water, we’ll need to decrease our sprinkler timers.
• Change Auto Insurance – I’m a faithful kind of guy, but if I need to, I’ll shop around for cheaper insurance, like at esurance.