Seven Ways I Saved Money in April

Like many people, I try to be frugal every day of the year — and here are some ways I saved money in April:

1) Got a renewal notice from HGTV magazine that seemed very high. Love reading it, but didn’t want to pay that much, so I went to the Hearst publishing website to try to find a lower rate. When that didn’t happen and I was leaving the site, a pop-up appeared. It offered me a one-year renewal for $13 less than the original bill. That was definitely worth spending a few minutes online!

2) Charged the hanging geraniums I purchased for the front porch ($100) on my Lowe’s credit card and saved $5. Did you know you get a five percent discount with all Lowe’s charge card purchases? (If you normally pay cash and don’t like to incur debt — just subtract it from your checkbook then, so you know you’ll have the money when the bill comes.)

3) Re-used Miracle Grow potting soil from a bunch of old flower pots in the back yard instead of buying new bags of it to put into my colorful new $7 thrift store pots. That saved about $10. (I also filled the bottom of the pots with smaller flower pots to avoid having to use as much soil.)

4) Planted seeds from the dollar store (four packages for a dollar) in my new flower pots instead of buying live plants.

5) A young military member in a sporty car rear-ended my (less-than-one-year-old!) car as I was leaving work one night this month. After getting an estimate and collecting the money from the young man, the collision shop person said it would take a day and a half to fix it. I asked him if there was any way they could do it all in one day (saving the hassle and cost of an overnight rental car — and causing me to only have to telework one day). I also asked if there was a way they could drive me home after I dropped off the car and come pick me up when it was finished (saving two four-mile hikes each way or two taxi fares) — and the man said yes! Sometimes you can save money — and hassle — just by asking!

6) Signed up for Redbox movie rental emails at their website and got a code for a free night’s rental. Try it yourself at www.redbox.com. (You can always cancel your email subscription if they become bothersome — but a free movie rental is always nice.)

7) Went to Easter church service at Boone Hall Plantation, a nearby tourist attraction. Got to wander around the beautiful grounds before and after the service — and saved the usual $20 admission fee.