When price matching (mainly grocery items) I make a list by Competing Store Ad then try to keep all price match items on one end of the cart. I place all price match items on the belt after my regular items. Having the items listed by ad keeps you from shuffling ads at the register. This keeps people behind you happier. When the cashier sees how organized you are they usually only ask to see the first ad and then the rest just flies by. Bonus Tip - It always helps ease tension if you mention to the person behind you in line that one or two of their items is available from a certain store at the sale price. The cashier usually allows the next person to match one or two items without an ad, especially if they just matched it for you.

I've discovered a way to save money and put it in an emergency fund. Every evening I collect the change from my purse, my husband's pockets, and the change-cups in our cars. Once every 3-4 weeks I take it all to the bank to be counted and deposited. We've been saving an extra $40-60 every month!

When I receive a bill in the mail, I open it and check the payment due date. On the outside of the envelope I write the due date on it, but make it 5 days earlier than it really is. Then I try to put it in a designated place on the desk. That way if you do overlook it, you have a little grace period to get it in the mail.

As parents, it seems like something always comes up financially that we weren't expecting, so we started to plan better. Christmas and the start of the school year typically hit most people hard in the pocketbook. We decided to put money back every month for Christmas, birthdays, school clothes, etc. The stress on the bank account is gone because we already planned ahead. It's been a great change for us and it's fun to get gifts and school clothes knowing that they will be paid for right then. :)

One thing i really want to work on is organization of the family's finances. It seemed like we were always forgetting something that needed paid or spent too much money on something and then we'd be short somewhere else. I took envelopes and wrote on them to whom or where the money needed to go. I wrote the balance, if any, on the top of the envelope. I then noted how much was due or needed. I took these envelopes with me to the bank and i got exact amounts for each one and placed the cash in them. As i went to pay bills i would mark what was paid under the balance and do the math on the envelope. Also if there was any receipts or notes i simply placed them in the envelopes. So far it's work great.

Teaching Children to Tithe: We have 3 separate banks: A church bank for the 10% tithe, a bank that looks like a safe for 10% savings, and then a bank of their choice for the money they have left over to spend on extras.

Make a spreadsheet with every bill we had including our credit cards and what the payment amount is due and what day it is due in the order the dates the billings are due. I also changes some features on our dish network to make the billing lesser for us during this hard time.
Believe it or not the spreadsheet has helped us so much that I am one week ahead of schedule most of the time and sometimes maybe a few days extra. It has also made me see that we needed to stop using credit cards so much and only purchase necessities.

To keep all of our "paid bills" and "receipts" in check, I went to our local office supply store and picked up an expandable file folder labeled with all 12 months and we place all paid bills/receipts in the month that they are paid in. Then at the end of the year they are all in order and together.

I watch for really good meat sales and buy ground beef, etc in bulk packages. Then I will brown the beef and freeze in various sized packages so that I can make tacos, sloppy joes, casseroles, filling for stuffed peppers, etc very quickly for meals in a hurry. I crock pot chicken, pulled pork, Italian beef and freeze for quick meals, or make large pots of soups and freeze in recycled ice cream pails to microwave for a quick meal or to take to a needy family.

When I go to the store I carry a calculator and keep track of what Im spending, I round everything up by 1 dollar-to figure in tax. I always have enough money to cover my purchases and I never have to exprience the embrassement that comes from being short of money and having to put items back while a line of people form behind me.