10 Easy Ways to Save Money Every Day

1.  Keep your freezer FULL.  Did you know it actually takes less energy to keep food cold when the freezer is full?  It's absolutely true.  You see, the cold food helps keep all the rest of the food cold.  And cold food takes much longer to warm up than cold air does.  So, if you have lots of cold air in your freezer, you're spending a lot of money to cool the air.  If your freezer isn't full, fill clean milk jugs or cartons with water and freeze them.  The big chunks of ice work great in a cooler (when you get more food for the freezer). 
2.  Here are some other ideas for filling your freezer.  Store flour in a sealed container in the freezer to prevent weevils.  Keep paprika (especially imported paprika) in the freezer for the same reason.  Other herbs and spices can also be frozen.  Buy bread in bulk and freeze it.  It will be as fresh as new when you thaw it.  Store an extra gallon milk.  Keep extra bags of frozen vegetables.  Not only do they make quick additions to a meal, but they are excellent ice packs in case of injuries.  Buy meat in quantity.  Freeze cans of fruit for delicious snacks.  Just thaw slightly and serve.  It's a great way to cool off on a hot day--and more nutritious than Popsicles are.
3.  Unplug electronics or plug them into a power strip you can turn off. If you're like me, you have a bunch of electronics that come on almost instantly when you hit the 'on' switch.  They can do that because they are always part way on.  Some of them, I am not willing to wait for (or I rely on their digital clock), but most only take a few extra seconds to get going.  So, unplug them and save electricity.  It will save you money.  If you have several plugged in to the same outlet anyway, put a switchable power strip there, and turn them all off at once.  
4.  Use coupons--but only for products you planned to buy anyway.  It really isn't a savings if you buy a product just to "save" money on the purchase price.  If you don't buy it (because you didn't really intend to anyway), you don't just save the $1.00 off the coupon promises.  You save the ENTIRE purchase price.  One exception is when using a coupon allows you to try a product you've wanted to try--but at a reduced price.
5.  Choose one or two stores to grocery shop in, and be a loyal customer.  If you regularly patronize the same stores, you learn their secrets for where the best deals are.  You will also be familiar to the staff, who just might tell you about upcoming sales and promotions--often before the general public knows.  This can allow you to delay the purchase of an item a few days--at a substantial savings.  Also, driving from one store to another to save a few cents often costs more in gasoline than you saved inside the store.  And, isn't your time worth anything?
6.  Take a simple calculator with you when you shop.  Stores have lots of ways to "help" you spend your money.  Have you noticed that there is almost always a Special" running on something?  Of course you have.  But, not every "special" really saves you money.  Get in the habit of calculating the cost-per-use or cost-per-serving for whatever you are buying. Simply divide the total cost by the number of uses or servings.  Buy whichever is less. And be vigilant.  At one store I regularly patronize,   5-lb. bags of potatoes often sell for around $2.00 - $2.50, while the 10-lb bags sell for $5.99.  Bigger is not always better.  This also works in hardware stores, big box stores, and other retail stores.
7.  Make a list.  Retailers count on customers to buy on impulse.  That's why their displays are so attractive, there are extra displays in the aisles, and they make you walk all the way to the back of the store (passing all those displays) to buy a gallon of milk. Only purchase items that are not on your list if 1) You use that item regularly, AND the current savings is substantial, or 2) You realize the item is something you need but forgot to put on the list.  The key here is that you truly forgot it--not that you just want it because you happened to see it today.
8.  Use concentrated cleaning products.  We are all tempted to buy the biggest, cheapest products on the shelf.  Often that means we are buying extra water. Read the labels.  Many times, a smaller package will have more uses--and not cost any more.  Read the label.  In determining the best value, calculate the price per use.   Simply, divide the cost of the package by the number of uses it promises.  This strategy also means you don't have to shop as often, and that saves gas!
9.  Use less hot water.  Put the hot water heater on a timer so that it turns off just before the last bath is typically taken and comes back on about an hour before the first person showers.  Take shorter showers.  Use cold water to launder everything except underwear and linen.  Use cold water to wash your floors.  Best of all, install a solar water heater.  This will cost money up front, but it will save money in the long run.
10.  Start a small business.  The IRS recognizes that businesses incur expenses and allows them to pay for those expenses before they pay taxes.  If you receive a W-2, your first expense is taxes.  It is also true that over half of all jobs are created in small business that employ  fewer than 50 workers.  The Small Business Administration (sba.gov) has a huge amount of information available.