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A staple meal around these parts is a green salad, steamed veggies, sweet potatoes & grilled chicken. Instead of buying family packs of chicken and splitting them up or the gigantic mutant growth hormone fed chicken breasts that could feed a small family, I opt for a single chicken breast, split in half by the butcher. Turns out it is plenty of chicken for two people, in two nice sized portions that cooks evenly. Best part is, the low cost.  I've also become a menu-planner that goes to the grocery store with a list...and I stick to my list the best I can. This stops me from over-buying and impulse buying things I don't really need. 

I'm also a face cream snob & addict. My favorites? Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream, Philosophy When Hope Is Not Enough, Clinique Superdefense, and various Chanel and Lancome creams. However, when my last tub of Kiehls ran out I sadly threw it away and trudged to the nearest Walgreens to select a more cost-effective moisturizer. I went with Olay Total Effects Daily Moisturizer (I had a coupon) and you know what? My skin is actually smoother and more clear than it was with any of my fancy face creams. Hmmmm. A modern day mystery. 

Places where I know I lose money? I'm definitely a "natural" cleaning products kind of gal and they typically cost a little more. I've decided that the benefits are worth it (at least to me) and the only "real" cleaners I have are my dishwashing soap and my toilet scrub. (I'm sorry but clean dishes and toilets are important and I have yet to find a natural product that works effectively.) Everything else? Glass spray, counter spray, bathroom cleaner, shower spray, laundry soap, dryer sheets? All natural baby. I clean with the power of essential oils! Or something like that. 

I also use a Brita filter (and buy filter packs at Costco) instead of bottled water (my delicate stomach demands filtered water and I think that one ER bill alone would prove it to you in numbers) and I've become someone who eats leftovers for lunch every day. I've stopped buying any new clothes and instead of cuticle oil? I use some olive oil from the kitchen and my nails look just fine.  I've quit drinking coffee and instead I brew a cup of tea at home for any morning lift that I need. 

So I'm curious...what do you do to cut down your monthly bills? (My building comes with free cable & internet and I only pay electricity, about $30 a month....so cutting those "luxuries" isn't really part of my plan here....) I'm talking grocery bills, miscellaneous bills, your day to day expenses? Share away, and we can all save a few more dollars this month. 

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