Mrs. ThePoint

You might be thinking: what is she talking about?
Yes, a citrus tree can help you save.

1. Save on air sanitizer. A citrus tree often blooms flowers during or before spring time. The flower is extremely fragrant. If you have one citrus tree, you won’t feel the need for air sanitizer while it is blooming.
2. Save on air purifier. A house plant can help you improve your indoor air quality. So, instead of buying an air purifier, buy a tree that is full with leaves.
3. Save on grocery bills. We often don’t eat large quantities of citrus fruits. I often run into the situation where I need some lemon zest or a drop of lime juice. If I buy a lemon in a grocery store, it often costs between $o.50 and $0.80 for just one lemon. The most frustrating thing is I often don’t even need the whole fruit. Two mature citrus fruit trees can supply you with constant citrus fruit during the warm season.

Citrus fruit trees are generally hardy and able to grow indoors in a pot. So you can have a citrus tree pretty much anywhere you live. As long as you keep them above 30°F, 0°C for the winter, they will be happy and produce some fruit for you in the summer.

I saw this post on Get Rich Slowly a couple of days ago. It’s about the current electricity crisis in Alaska.
Last Wednesday, they had a avalanche which affected their electricity generation. Their electricity costs went from $0.11 per kilowatt-hour to $0.50. The people in Juneau, Alaska are asking for solutions and tips to save their electricity usage.

I lived in a very cold climate in China once; the people there don’t have much resources. Therefore, they are forced to live through cold winters without much energy supplies . Here is what I learned and hopefully it helps someone.

1. Unplug your refrigerator- Since it is still cold outside, place your food outside in an closed container.
2. Fill small pillow cases with rice- This is a tip from a friend of mine. She saved on her heating bill filling a small pillow case with rice. She put the pillow case in an oven or microwave for a couple of minutes and she goes to bed with the rice pillow. She said the pillow can keep her warm through out the night during the frigid New England winter.
3. Boil your bath water on the stove- This only works if you have a gas stove.
4. Use your shower water to wash your clothes- This is a perfect idea, so you don’t end up washing your clothes with cold water. However, make sure you use soap instead of laundry detergent because laundry detergent is a lot more difficult to wash off.
5. Dry your clothes outside- In the very cold weather, your clothes will freeze. So make sure you go break off the ice the next day and allow it to air dry for 2-3 days.
6. Eat a lots of BBQ and Salad - If you have a electric stove, BBQ your food when you can.
7. Get Fluorescent light bulbs- I just recently converted all my light bulbs to Fluorescent. They are great. I believe I’ve saved at least $10 per month.
8. Use a fire place when at home- 90% of the people in the town where I stayed in China are using fire places for heat in the winter. Some of them even BBQ with their fire places.
9. Cover your windows and walls with blankets- This really works, especially with wooden houses, but it requires a lot of fabric.
10. Place rice pillows inside of your clothes- In China, people use a thick plastic water bag filled with hot water, but I always found that to be scary. I think the rice pillow will have the same effect but safer.
11. Unplug all electric equipment when you are not using it- Any electric equipment still uses small amounts of electricity even when you are not operating it. Unplug them completely to save that small amount.
12. Eat a lots of stew and spicy food- After a hot stew and spicy meal, you feel warm for a couple of hours. Hey…that is still a couple of hours, right?
13. Check out my post on how to save cooking energy to save more electricity on cooking.
14. Read a lot of books.

I am a saver. Every penny counts. There are couple of strategies I use to save on groceries. Maybe some of you will find this helpful.

1. Grow your own herbs. Fresh herbs are always more fragrant and tasty than dry herbs, but most of the grocery stores sells fresh herbs at extremely high prices and often they come in larger quantities than you need. Many dishes only require a small amount of each herb, and this is a great reason to grow your own herbs. Most of the herbs can grow in a pot on your kitchen window throughout the year. So instead of dropping 4 dollars each time you need some herbs, you can pick them yourself from your herb plants.
2. Buy large quantities. Often the prices between 16oz. and 32oz. is closer than you think. Therefore, if you know you can finish a product before the expiration date, go for the bigger one. This of course is not always true, and you should check the unit price on everything you buy. Keep in mind, buying larger quantities may save you additional trips to the store.
3. Use your own shopping bag. Many grocery stores (Trader Joe’s in particular) have started to offer grocery gift card lotteries if you bring in your own shopping bags. Each time you bring your own bag, they will put your name into a drawing for the free gift card. It is a great way to save the world and save your money if you do win.
4. Get the discount card. Many grocery stores offer membership/discount cards for free. All you need to do is sign up. For just a little effort, you can get the discount price on various products. Coupons are always helpful too.
5. Don’t be afraid of store brand products. Many large chain stores have their own store brand products. They are often a lot cheaper than the brand name ones. The products are very similar but have much lower prices.
6. Don’t spend money on packaging. I used to buy the sugar that comes in a box. I feel it is so much easier to use. However, I realizes I am paying the same price as the sugar which in a paper bag but getting half the amount.
7. Check your prices at the register. Just today, I noticed a difference in price at the checkout counter than what was labeled on the shelf. I notified an attendant and she changed the price for me. Not only that, but the store policy was to give anyone who spots an expired tag one of the products for free (news to me). So I saved about $4.50 just for being attentive.
8. Use the self-serve scanner if they have it. Some people find technology scary, but I imagine anyone reading this is the exception to that. Some stores have scanners you can carry around the store that help you keep track of your spending. Not only does that keep you in check, but the scanners often tell you what is on sale.

We like to send each other cards for special occasions. A simple greeting card makes us feel connected with our friends and family. Hallmark reported sales of $4.3 billion dollars on greeting cards alone. Some people might send an e-card, but we all know how impersonal that is. So here is how I save on my cards.

1. Save all the cards you have received.
2. Cut off the main pictures, characters or drawings from the front of the cards.
3. In pencil, write down each name of the persons who sent you the cards.
4. Go to a craft store to get a bag of thick solid colored paper. Also get a stick of glue.
5. Cut the craft paper into rectangles that will fit into a normal envelope when folded.
6. Choose one of the pictures you saved from an old card. Glue it to the front of your card. Make sure you check the name on the back of the picture or you will get busted.
7. Write some nice, caring, expressive words inside your “HOMEMADE” card.
8. Stick it in the envelope and send.

An average greeting card costs between $1.99 and $ 4.99 at Hallmark. If you send 12 cards a year, that is at least 24 dollars that you can save. The receiver of your card might appreciate a homemade card more and think you are an extremely thoughtful person.

I want to save money by not eating out and cooking at home. But I also want to reduce my cooking energy bill to its minimum. So here is how I do it.

1. Chop the food smaller-For example, mash potatoes. Chop the potato into smaller, and it can reduce the cooking time by as much as half. It is not only saving your energy, it is also saving your time.
2. Always use a lid- A lid will allow the heat to stay inside of the pot. That way, your food will cook faster.
   
3. Don’t use more water than necessary to boil things- We often use too much water to boil many things (eggs, potatoes…etc). The more water you put in, the longer it is going to take for the water to boil and cook the food. So put just enough water to cover the food.
4. Get a pressure cooker instead of slow cooker- There are many dishes which require slow cooking such as stew, chicken soup…etc. A slow cooker will require electricity whole day. However, a pressure cooker won’t. Most pressure cookers only require you to bring the ingredients up to boil it will do the rest.
5. Get a toaster oven instead of toaster- A toaster oven can offer you the same functions as  a toaster and more. You can bake brownies, pizza or even bread in a medium size toaster oven but with a fraction of the energy your oven will use. It is a smaller space that requires much less energy to heat up.