As a work at home Mother, I know the value of a deal. Any smart business person knows that the best way to make money is to SAVE money.

Recently my husband quit his 9 to 5 salaried career to work from home with me. In order to afford this we had to take a good long look at our typical expenses and determine what we could do to cut our costs.

We quickly realized how much money is spent to make money. A quick peruse through our refrigerator revealed a lifestyle of haste. Almost our entire diet consisted of prepared foods. We made a pact to take turns cooking meals and freezing leftovers to see how much money we could save.

What we found out is that it was actually easy to cut our grocery bill in HALF on a consistent basis, simply by preparing our meals! It may not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, but it was shocking to us to see how much money we had been spending simply for the convenience of quick meals to support our unbalanced, quick paced lifestyle.

Food that may have been wasted in the past is now the source of one or two more meals. We freeze a lot of food so that it doesn't feel so much like eating leftovers and when we shop we look for deals. We actually find that we eat healthier then ever and certainly enjoy the quality of our meals more.

One of my favorite ways to save money is using online coupon codes. When I have to purchase any item for my home office, birthday gifts, clothing for the kids, etc. I always do a search for a coupon code first. You would be amazed at how many merchants that you shop from on a regular basis actually offer coupons for free shipping, 10 - 20% off your entire purchase, etc.

To use a coupon code, simply visit a website that carries them such as http://www.promotionhub.com and locate the store that you plan to shop at. If there is a code noted, make sure to copy it down in case you are asked for it when you go to pay for your order. Generally though, the coupon code is embedded in the link you click and you will receive the discount simply by arriving at the website through that link.

Another tremendous source of savings gasoline! My husband had been commuting two hours a day, five days a week. The gas tank was filled on a weekly basis. Since he has been working from home, we fill the tank only on very rare occasions. Our trips are short and infrequent.

We also became acutely aware of our energy usage. Turning off lights became religion. Warm clothes is mandatory before even considering turning on heat.

Cutting expenses is an extremely viable way to help make your real dreams a reality. For us, it was that both of us could be work-at-home parents . To me, that is the ultimate American Dream. To you it may mean saving money for a vacation you never thought that you could afford, or paying off debt that could otherwise have taken years.

Find ways to cut your expenses and you have instantly increased your income! Happy Savings!

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Lori Redfield is a freelance Internet entrepreneur. She and her husband work solely from home and support their family of five comfortably with plenty of time for play! You can obtain more information by visiting her websites, http://www.freelancemom.com and http://www.associatehub.com.

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