1. Other than neccessities like milk and bread, if it isn't on sale, we don't get it.  I peruse the sales on the online flyers for the local stores, and go from there. Our stores are about 4 blocks from each other, so we drive a straight line to get from one to another. We start our week by going to Aldis on Sunday after church, and using Price Chopper and Hy Vee to fill in the missing pieces.
2. We do Angel Food Ministries. If you're not familiar with this program, I highly reccomend it. It's a ministry based food co-op that doesn't adhere to income guidelines. You get lots of high quality food, and the option to purchase special boxes. We have a freezer full of steaks, chicken, vegetables, etc. It's great!
3. After my workout on Wednesdays, I head across the street to the Farmer's Market. I never know what I'm going to find there, but I always have great choices for everything from vegetable soup to vegetable stir fry. I can usually get 2 meals for under $8 there.  I toss in peppers and tomatoes from our family garden so the kids can take ownership.
4. Gardening will give you vegetables that you love, and the kids enjoy eating the fruits of their efforts. We typically have several tomato vines and pepper plants. We also plant strawberries and mint for yummy additions to tea.  We have a huge blackberry patch in our backyard, perfect for fruit smoothies and cobbler. I hope to plant both an apple and a cherry tree this fall. I see the apples falling from my neighbor's trees, and it just makes me hungry for baked apples, apple pie, and more.

Clothing:

1. I never pay full price for any item of clothing. NEVER. I sign up for every email club, coupon club, perks club, etc that I can find. I buy online, where you can get unbelievable deals in any clearance or outlet section of most stores, and most of the time, I can find free shipping codes on the internet. I start Christmas shopping in January, and thanks to websites like The Bargain Shopper Lady, I find tons of amazing CHEAP offers from places like Children's Store, ShoeBuy, Victoria's Secret and more.  She has helped me learn how to combine codes for what people really want.
2. We buy basic pieces for the most part, and dazzle them up with a few stylish pieces. I've had the same black slacks and black tee for years. I add necklaces, belts, jackets, boots, shoes, cover shirts, etc. and have a stylish, classic outfit perfect for any occasion. Darren buys Dockers (on sale, of course) and can use them with a shirt and tie and jacket for mediation, or a golf shirt for office work. Emily's main staples are good jeans (we splurged $13 on 2 pairs of Aeropostales and $15 for a pair of American Eagles last year, and they're still stylish and good), a black skirt, and leggings. She loves the clearance aisle at Aeropostale and Kohl's, and always BOGOs at Payless. She is one of the best dressed teens out there. People always comment on how she's always so well put together. Matt has a couple of Hollister and American Eagle tees, that make him look fashionable, but were $5 each. He wears them long, so who cares that he's wearing Target jeans?  Mikey gets lots of Matthew's hand me downs, lot of basics like tees and golf shirts and sweat pants.
3. We love Old Navy and Forever 21. For quick doses of inexpensive but stylish clothes, they are the best.

Entertainment:

1. We love to do family things, but I don't like spending lots of money. We sometimes buy offers in bulk, which usually gives us a couple of outings. For example, at the beginning of the year, our bowling alley had a card where you can bowl 10 times for $5. Take that there on Tuesdays, which is Ladies' Night, and I'm free.
2. Our movie theater has a special email club. We get half off tickets, free snack bar food and drinks, and more.
3. Our skating rink, which is where I was a competitor for many years, always has BOGO coupons in the newspapers, through the schools, and on the back of grocery receipts.
4. All of our local restaurants have coupons in those flyers they send in the mail. We take full advantage of those after church on Sunday.
5. We splurged and purchased season tickets to Worlds and Oceans of Fun. The initial output was spendy, but we never had the "I'm bored" over the summer. We rode and sunbathed to our heart's content. We live 15 minutes from the park, and were there at least once a week; often more. Inside the park, we could either choose to bring our lunch (we often picnicked in the parking lot, using our camp chairs to sit, and our cooler as a table) or with our pass, we got enough of a discount at certain places to eat lunch for the same price as at Perkins.
6. Tuesday Night is Kids Eat Free night at many of our restaurants. We go to Perkins or Ponderosa and for $15, our family of 5 can enjoy chatting, bonding, and laughing. Added benefit is more time together, because there is no time spent cooking and cleaning.
7. Use a points program. I use My Points. I earn entertainment, shopping and dining gift cards through reading emails and using their website to link to popular merchants to shop. I earn at least 5 points per email read. I have earned as many as 2.000 points through shopping online. I often use these gift cards as presents, incentives (a prize offered for my annual chili cookoff), and for my own leisure time, such as a Mom Only lunch at Olive Garden.
8. We are lucky to live in a wonderful community with lots of family bonding. We live about 4 blocks from "The Square." This is an historic area of town, that's seeing new growth. There are weekly concerts, a huge fountain where kids are encouraged to splash, sidewalk activities, the Jesse James Bank Museum, the Clay County Historical Society, a little theater, and lots of family friendly events. Sometimes it's just fun to walk up there, walk around, and window shop.
9. Nothing beats Family Game Night. Grab the cards and M&Ms and play poker or Go Fish. Fun, bonding, and silly.
10. Blockbuster often has email offers for rental deals. Many times, we rent a movie for $1.99, pop some corn, grab blankets and pillows, and cuddle in the front room in front of the TV.