What have you done differently or want to do differently that would be practical

I need some heavy curtains for my windows and plan on making them instead of buying them. Just by taking some lightweight cloth and adding a back of flannel to it will do the trick. I have plenty of material stashed away that was given to me so it won't cost me a penny.

Now I only but things I absolutely have to have...as in essentials. I do not shop in retail stores anymore and I always try to find stuff second hand before I have to go into a regular retail store. I take leftovers to work for my lunches. I bag my own chips at home and bring my own cokes to drink. Stuff like that. Once all my debt is cleared I know I will keep up most of this stuff, but it will be nice to know if I get the urge to treat myself to something I can. In the past I did anyways and it got me into debt that has taken over seven years to clear off. I learned my lesson and do not plan to ever repeat it again....debtors prison LOL

One practical suggestion is to stop buying paper towels. You can always launder hand towels along with other laundry and save. When possible, it sometimes makes sense to buy in quantity and divide it up when you get home. And I buy powdered laundry detergent, rather than paying for water in the liquid containers.

I live with my husband only. We don't have kids. So I guess there is not much money to be spent by the two of us. However, even though it is just the two of us, our expenses are a lot. We have to pay for the electricity, water, internet, house rentals. Because of that, we only have several hundreds left for us to spend on food and gas and other stuffs. It is very difficult for us, but I tried very hard to minimize our expenses. My husband goes to work by motorcycle, so this saves a lot of petrol if compared to driving a car. Even though I drive a car to my workplace, the office is very near and it costs me very little for the petrol. Other than that, I try to cook our meals every time. We avoid buying ready cooked food from outside because this is very expensive. And all of our groceries things we buy from the hypermarket such as Tesco, Giant and Jusco. I know how to sew our basic traditional dress, the 'baju kurung'. So I try to sew my own clothes so that I can save the money on other more important things. I also sew my own curtains. In fact, I am planning to sew my own cushion cover if I have extra money and time in the near future. We also eat our food until it is finished. Leftovers are kept in the fridge and will be reheated and we will eat them until they are finished. We save a lot on that. And we try to prepare everything from home, such as when we feel like eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, I take out my own chicken from the fridge and fry it using the one dollar kentucky flour. The taste is delicious, and my husband says it is more delicious than KFC because we eat it steaming hot straight from the pan.

Well, I make xmas gifts to save $$, but I do that almost every year!

I wouldn't have thought to ever try to make underwear! That is very creative of you! The main thing I've done to save money is shop for all produce at farmers' markets. We have quite a few of those down here that are held on the weekend days, usually just Saturdays. I pay about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of produce there that I do at our grocery stores. It's been a pretty big savings. Also, we now eat ALL leftovers. My husband is not a leftover eater, so that means that I eat the leftovers. I'll cook him a piece of fresh meat each day that we eat at home and I just eat what was left from the day before. Occasionally, he'll eat the side dishes from the day before with his piece of chicken or pork chop or whatever. Also, I try to not go out in the car at all 1 or 2 days a week so I can save gas. And I wait until the tank is below 1/4 before I fill up with gas. I stretch it out as long as possible.

Just a thought... does some of your old underwear have good enough elastic to use on your homemade underwear? You might save a little there. I save elastic from anything I cut up or throw out, along with buttons, zippers, etc.

I'm making more of our Christmas gifts. A lot of what we have done to save money has been to go without, as opposed to making other things.

What a good idea if you are handy with elastic. Would save you some money to make your own undies. I can't be practical and save money when it comes to making things for myself. Am so unhandy and hate to sew. Just don't have the talent. The patience I do have but not the smarts. What I can do and did this morning was buy a set of cooking items in a package of 3 all for a total of $5.00. What I need to do and intend to do is toss my old stuff, make room in my cabinets and cook more often. I don't cook and need to quit eating out every night. It would save us alot of money each week. That's my goal for 2009, 2010 or 2011. As you can see, I am in no hurry....lol

Hi, friend. I want to go to work by bike, it's only about 15 minutes' ride by bike. Though public transport costs me just a little money, I hate waiting for the bus. Moreover, buses are usually crowded. Considering high theft rate, I give up the idea at last.

A practical thing I do, which is also a part of green living and reusing thing, not wasting, is I have a supply of the canvas shopping bags that many stores here have sold for 99 cents. I bring them shopping, and use them to cary my groceries. I also have found several other uses for them. I feel it may save money in the long run as if the stores spend less on plastic bags, it may trickle down and save me in the long run.