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Saving money is always one of my goals. My parents stressed the importance of saving ever since I was a little girl and I still strive to save often. Since it can be an expensive time of year (second after the holidays for me), I thought I would share some money saving tips for spring. These are little things that I have found have saved me money over time.

1. Make your own greeting cards – for graduation, weddings, showers and other occasions. Greeting cards average around $4.99 each now and that is a big hunk of change! You can still make your sentiment personal by writing a heartfelt message. I know I love receiving a handmade card.

2. Make your own inexpensive graduation and Father’s day gifts. They mean just as much if not more to the receiver, and allow you to stay within your gift budget.

3. Brown bag lunches – for everyone in the family. Eating out can be really convenient, but also can be really expensive over the weeks. Make extra portions for dinner and take them with you the next day. Even if it is not every day, just doing it once a week adds up.

4. Be sure to take stock in what you already have. If you are not sure what is in your pantry, take some time to organize it. By knowing what you have on hand it can save you a lot of money so that you avoid buying duplicates. Maintaining and organize pantry will also allow you last waste due to expiration dates.

5. After you make purchases at some of the larger retailer chains, check back in a week or two to see if the items you recently purchased have lower prices. Many stores will give you an adjustment within two weeks of purchasing the item just by taking in the receipt.

6. Stock up on hamburgers and steaks when they become on sale for BBQ season. Make meal plans using these cuts of meat and freeze extra for another time. These foods are at really low prices around Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.

7. Review your current monthly expenses. Do you really need that extended cable package or are you watching more things online now? The same goes for insurance policies. Most people tend to stick with the same insurance company they had for years without evaluating every year. There may other cheaper options but we just need to make the time to look for them.

8. Reduce purchases of coffee shop coffee by one day per week. At $3.5o each, one per week amounts to $182  per year.

9. If your child has a school lunch account, check to see if there is a balance available. If the balance will not transfer to their next school, ask for a refund of the balance. Note, this also applies to high school and college students that have online school accounts and are graduating.

Do you already do any of these? What else would you add?