How Do You Keep Track of Frugal Ideas?

I've found the hardest part of doing anything is remembering to do it. Have you ever been in the car and heard about an upcoming event that was important to you only to forget about it once the next song came on? That's how I am. A few weeks ago I heard a piece on our local NPR station about renewable energy and upcoming workshops on how to get started. This appealed to me on two levels, frugalness and sustainabilty, but I had the hardest time remembering to go online and get the info. Finally, I wrote myself a note because that is what works best for me.

Similarly, when I read books that are just chock full of information that I want to follow up on, I write myself a note. I was just reading Invest In Yourself Six Secrets to a Rich Life by Marc Eisenson, Gerri Detweiler, and Nancy Castleman. It's a great book, chock full of easy to understand, practical ideas, not dry reading at all. In it they referenced two frugal cookbooks, one of which I already own. I wanted to check out the other from the library, so I wrote the title and author on the piece of paper I was using as a bookmark.

When I'm done with a book, the bookmark goes into the next book. About once a week, I take the list down to my computer and log into our library system to request the titles be sent to my local branch. This is a great convenience and its free at our library, although some library systems do charge.

I've just started to keep a binder of frugal projects I'm working on. I'm not sure how it will work out but it seems like a good idea right now.

My husband, Jim, prefers to use the voice notes feature on his cell phone. Lists don't generally work well for him because he loses the lists. He's also been known to call home and leave messages to himself on our answering machine. The wipe off calendar in our kitchen is a big help to everyone, its got everything on it for everyone in the house. My planner is the back up for the wipe off calendar.

How can this save money? Well, Wednesday from 6-9pm is discount night at our local farm/specialty store. You get 10% off your total order. Although many things are more expensive, the Silk is the best price around. The catch is, we have to remember to go to the store that night. That's where the calendar helps, its written on the calendar.


How do you keep track of frugal ideas?