My Favorite Products

It's a pretty agreed-upon frugal principle that it's not usually a good idea to buy things in order to "save" money!  However, there are a few products that I have purchased or received as gifts that quickly made up for their initial investment in the amount they save me every day.  Some of these involve a decent initial investment; others are very inexpensive.  All have been worth it to me!

So, today for Works for Me Wednesday, I thought I'd highlight these favorite money saving products:

  - Thermos Water Bottle- This was a gift from my husband.  I wanted a stainless steel water bottle, and this was the one the one he picked.  It is seriously the best water bottle ever!  The insulation is so good that I can leave it in a blazing hot car in the summer time and the water inside will still be ice cold!  Since it is stainless steel, I also don't worry about chemicals from plastic leaching into the water.  We love Thermos so much now that our whole family has them.  My husband has this one and the girls have these.  We pretty much never buy bottled water now, since I always have these when we're out and about.

 

- Microfiber Cleaning Cloths - I bought a 4-pack of assorted microfiber cleaning cloths at Target a while back, and I use them all the time.  They have definitely saved me plenty of money on paper towels and Swiffer cloths.  They do everything a Swiffer cloth can do, except that they're machine washable.  They're also much stronger.  The pack I have has a different colored and textured one for each job (like dusting or floors), which is really convenient.

- Bread machine - I received my Hamilton Beach bread machine from Freecycle, so I actually never spent money on it.  However, I would consider it worth the cost.  I can bake almost any kind of bread using it for under $1.00 per loaf or batch, and the nutritional value is so much greater than store-bought.  It is so easy to make bread this way that for over a year I have really only purchased bread for a special circumstance or if it was such a great deal that it was cheaper than homemade.

- Check file and coupon box  - These are two very cheap items that ultimately have probably helped me save hundreds of dollars!  I use a check file to file my receipts every month.  They don't go into the file until they have been entered into Pear Budget, so I know I am tracking my spending.  I also have the year's worth of receipts at my fingertips, in case I need to return anything.  At the end of the year, I simply discard the receipts and start again.  As a coupon box, I use a plastic dollar-store shoe box and follow a similar organization plan to Crystal's.  Since I started serious couponing and using the box, I have no doubt saved literally thousands of dollars on groceries.

-  Bumpkins Bibs - This might seem like a strange item to include with money-saving products, especially since these seem really pricey for bibs.  However, these bibs have been worth every penny for the amount of money I have saved on water for rewashing clothes, stain removers, and even ruined clothes.  That's not even mention the saved time and frustration!  The Bumpkins bibs are great because they're waterproof and both wipeable and machine washable.  I rinse the bib out after each use and let it air dry for the next meal, and every couple of days I wash it.  They also make a long-sleeved version that ties - full coverage that a toddler can't escape. ;-)

These products all Work for Me!  What are some of your favorite money-saving products?

Disclaimer: I do not have a relationship with any of these companies, nor I did I receive any of these products for free (except the used bread machine from freecycle).  I am just highlighting products my family has purchased and enjoyed.  However, I am an Amazon affiliate, so if you should happen to purchase one of these through my link I would earn a tiny percentage.  Thanks.