My $5 challenge - ways I'm saving $5

You could also sell any unwanted books you have on Half.com to make a little extra money on books you are no longer interested in anyways.

You could also take some clothing that you no longer wear to a consignment shop.

Instead of giving recyclable's like aluminum cans to the city collect them and seperate them yourself and take them to a recycling center your self to get paid for them.

Make sure everyone in the family hangs their towels when they are done using them and use each towel 3 times before washing. Have each family member hang up their jeans after wearing them and wear each pair 2 times before washing. Hanging them will air them out a bit, and you will save about a load of laundry per week which will really add up, and the jeans will last longer as well.

Best of luck to you on earning and saving that extra money.

Helloo,
I have a simple suggestion to add to your challenge actually. You should take a bath or shower faster to reduce the water supply needed:)

Your challenge is very interesting and environmental friendly. Great!
I wish you the best of luck in saving some money..

Do you use compact fluorescent lights? We do in almost every fixture in our house and it saves a ton of money. We have a house the same size and age as my mother's house and our electric bill runs about half of what hers does.

Also, turn down the thermostat in your house by just one degree and you will notice a difference in your home heating costs but your body won't really notice the difference in the ambient temeperature of the house.

Another idea is to use the computer less time, and if you have a laptop use it instead of a desktop machine (as they consume much less energy). I don't know for sure, but maybe, and just maybe, you could save more money by not using mylot than the amount you earn by using it (but that depends on many things, like the cost per kw, the power consumption of your computer, the amount of time you spend online, etc).

You can also unplug any device you don't use, such as the mobile charger, because they consume energy even when not charging anything at all. Oh, and include the tv, the microwave oven and the cable modem on that list!

Ah, and before I forget, there was this note on the news the other day saying that you could save some water by peeing on the shower... but that's up to you to try;)

don't just turn off electricals - take out the plugs - especially for cell phines that have already been charged. Unplug microwave when not in use. Wash on shortest cycle in cold water. Use half of recommended amount of detergent in washing machine. $5 is not a great deal of money so you could save much more than that. Turn down the thermostat on the central heating and wear sweaters. Good luck

Freezing bread you buy is better than putting it in a bread bin as it will now last a few weeks instead of a few days so you won't have to chuck out stale or mouldy bread.
To save money on food you can freeze most of your leftovers, then on days when you are stuck for something to eat you have a meal ready to heat up.

we will be cleaning out or freezer to see what is lurking in the bottom, we will be making soups and stews over the winter with homemade bread (the breadmaker was free!) (i can get a soup bone for under a dollar!) i take public transit for free (because i walk with a quad cane. i am also making a ton of christmas presents too this year plus making all my own cards and gift tags.

Here's a few ideas for you to try.

~Turn the temperature down on your washing machine.~

~When watching TV at night, for the final hour switch all the lights out.~

~Rather then putting the heating on when cold, wear an extra layer of clothing.~

~When boiling a kettle only boil the amount of water that's needed, if you boil too much pour the remainder into a flask and use for your next brew.~

~Don't leave appliances on standby.~

~Use a shopping list, it cuts down on impulse buys.~

That just a few of the little ways to help save some money.

I guess that if you're on this site that you already use the internet to make money in other ways. Is this correct? If not sign up to some survey sites. They are a quick and easy way to make some extra cash.

Hope you meet your challenge.

This is a really good idea! We do a number of things to save money. We grown our own vegetables, compost all our household waste - I don;t have to buy compost form the garden centre then.
When using hot water I only turn the boiler on about 1/2 hour before I need the water then switch it off as soon as I have had my bath or shower. This saves us a lot of money as we used to keep it on all day!
Good luck with your challenge!

yeah its true dear.due to inflation we need to saved in rainny days.try use bicycle instead using public transport.avoid buying cars if can find a boyfrined with car.