Saving money can come easy with smart thinking and creative measures. Having small saving strategies in several places adds up quick to large sums of retained cash. One tip for adding another small saving tip to your wealth management plan is stretching out your liquid hand soap.

First tip for saving money on soap is to always look for coupons online and offline. Second tip is to buy in bulk (preferably a wholesale bulk discount centers like Costco). Aim to purchase bulk refill packages as these offer extra savings.

Final tip is to stretch out the savings and quantity of your liquid soap by adding a portion of water to the dispenser each time you refill. Experiment with the proportions of water and avoid over diluting the hand soap. Try about 10-20% water to volume of the dispenser. Eventually, you will find the right consistency that offers sufficient washing effect. When mixing the water and hand soap, avoid vigorous stirring or shaking to prevent the formation of suds.

Often, the concentration of hand soap is far more than actually needed for ample cleaning. By wetting hands first and then dispensing diluted hand soap onto your hands, you will have plenty of soap and suds to wash your hands.

By diluting your hand soap, you save on the number times you need to purchase liquid soap, and you also reduce the consumption of plastic and fossil fuels used to produce and transport this product to the store. Reducing your consumption of liquid soap also reduces the total amount of chemicals going down the drain each time you wash your hands. For those wishing to go that extra ‘green-mile’, consider buying the new range of biodegradable and non-antibacterial liquid soaps. We do not need all the colorings, perfumes, and other fancy agents to get our hands clean.

Saving money on simple things like hand soap offers the opportunity to save money for more meaningful and rewarding ventures in life. Remember, life is no fun when money is hoarded, but life is way more fun when we can get more out of our savings.

Each year, online purchases become more popular as shopping through the internet provides convenience and more accessibility to products. Shopping online can be tricky, but with some simple strategies, you can save a bundle of money on your purchases.

Here are some simple tips and guidelines for shopping online:

*Go through to the ‘checkout’ before purchasing and see if the vendor has a ‘coupon code’ option. If so, then enter keywords for this product or vendor (like “online coupons fancypants.com”) in search engines. If no online coupons can be found, contact the vendor and ask for a promotional code.

*If you are purchasing a service or subscription, ask for a free trial before buying. Avoid free trials that require credit card submissions. If you do submit your credit card, confirm with the vendor when the first payment will be applied. Enter this date on your calendar to remind you to cancel. Most vendors with subscription models make large portion of their money from people who do not use the service and who forget to cancel the payments.

*Watch out for the shipping fees. Make sure the savings you get online are not eaten up by the shipping fees. If you are purchasing products from another country, also be careful about calculating possible duty fees. Also avoid being up-sold with the idea of buying more to save on shipping costs. Don’t buy something you don’t need. If the vendor offers free shipping when a certain amount is purchased, see if friends are interested in buying products to help you reach this free shipping threshold.

*Take a little time for research. Spend time finding comparable products on other sites and see what vendors can offer to gain your purchase. Also do research on reviews of this product before buying to avoid “duds and lemons”.

*Read the ‘terms of use’ and all other policies to insure you can cancel/return the purchase and get a refund, if needed. The ‘terms of use’ can be a long-winded page, but take the time to read what contract you are agreeing to.

Become a savvy online shopper and use your savings strategies to the fullest. Enjoy getting the most out of your money.

Two major issues dominate society today-environment and fuel costs. A simple action we can all take to support there issues is to reduce the usage and consumption of plastic bags. With this reduced use of plastic bags, we can also generate a handful of savings.

Plastic bags are a major source of pollution and environmental harm. Plastic bags fill our garbage dumps and act s deadly agents for wildlife. On a recent trip across the Pacific Ocean, I was disheartened to see the middle of ocean littered with plastic bags and other garbage.

Our obsession with using plastic bags also contributes greatly to the consumption of oil, thus increasing our dependency on foreign oil and inflating costs of fuel and consumer goods.

Here are some tips for reducing the usage of plastic bags:
*When going grocery shopping, bring old plastic bags, cloth bags or cardboard boxes with you and use these to carry home your groceries.
*Place a plastic bag in every purse, bag, knap snack, and coat so that when you are out and unexpectedly go into a store, you immediately have your own bag to use.
*Ask your grocer if they provide refunds on using your own bags. Many stores now give you $.03-.05 for every bag you reuse. With a big grocery trip reusing 10 bags, this could produce $.50 in savings. If you do this every week, you can save around $25 a year-a nice chunk of money for doing something good for the environment.
*Utilize recycling, composting, and garburators to reduce household waste and use of plastic garbage bags that hold this waste.
*Find retailers that offer collection services and recycle plastic bags.
*Look for more biodegradable alternatives for carrying and storing items (ie. paper bags made from post consumer paper products).

Get in the habit of carrying spare bags with you wherever you go. See where retailers offer incentives to reusing bags and add to your savings strategies. Enjoy the overall benefits of being green, saving money, and supporting the bigger picture of global and economic sustainability.

Explore your local independent fruit and vegetable vendors for great deals. Often these vendors offer very competitive prices on their produce compared to large grocery outlets. This holds true for organic produce as well. You will often find these independent vendors place extra deals on produce that is at its’ peak ripeness. This is where creativity can truly maximize your savings:

*purchase ripe discounted bananas – bananas contain the highest nutrients when fully ripe (slight appearance of brown spots is the ideal time to eat bananas). I buy over-ripe bananas in bulk gaining huge savings. I immediately peel and cut them up into large chunks. You can them lay them out on a baking sheet and freeze (only takes a couple hours). Once frozen, they can be stored in a freezer bag.

I then use these frozen bananas as base for daily fruit smoothies. The frozen texture creates a super thick, healthy drink. Quick note: avoid initially letting the bananas sit open too long in the freezer as they will go from frozen hard to soft and mushy on the baking tray. Eventually, the bananas will turn brown and soft in the freezer bag, but don’t frit, this ugly mush is great for muffins, loafs, and pancakes.

*look for those bags of slightly bruised apples and pears – again, more great savings by buying discounted apples and pears. Simply peel and cut out the bruised area. Great for pies and baking or making homemade apple/pear sauce. Homemade applesauce is one of the easiest treats to prepare – cut up your apples, throw them in a saucepan with a little water and slowly cook them on medium heat. In a short time, the apples soften and can be pureed. I make apple/pear sauce in large batches and then freeze into small portions.

Other simple tips:
*use ripe strawberries and other berries for making salad dressings and vinaigrettes
*use ripe fruits and vegetables for making chutneys, salsa, and stews
*use ripe fruits for making rich sauces for desserts or savory meat dishes
*explore making hearty soups with ripe vegetables

Get to know the owner/manager of these independent produce vendors. Find out when they gather their ripe produce for placing on special. You can even ask them to contact you when bulk discount bags of produce are available.

Some cautions when buying over-ripe product:
*avoid produce that is severely over-ripe – you may end up having to throw away a great portion resulting in less than expected savings
*avoid certain vegetables that have green discoloration like potatoes and carrots
*avoid produce that has signs of mold or breakage of the peel/skin
*do not use over-ripe fruit for jams as the fruit loses pectin

Keep in mind that the longer most produce sits, the less nutritional value it has. But as mentioned, some produce like bananas and pomegranates have more dietary value when properly ripened. Be creative with recipes and enjoy saving money as you savor healthy meals.