A Saver's Dozen

Don’t buy canned goods at the grocery until at least half of the ones on your shelf are gone. I find that I often don’t use the cans at the back of the shelf just because I can’t see them. —Balika Haakan­son, Kodiak, Alaska

Keep condiment packages given to you when you eat takeout food. Don’t steal them, but save them. They add up. —Anna M. Aquino, Kissimmee, Fla.

Buy the huge popcorn at the movies for about $6. A small bag is about $4, so instead of buying four small ones, we buy one huge bag, split it and save $10. —Cathie Ericson, Wilsonville, Ore.

Take online surveys from legitimate market researchers in your spare time and make $100 or more a month. —Tricia Meyer, Indianapolis

Stick with basic recipes when you cook. New ones almost always add costs for new spices, specific cuts of meat and other fancy ingredients or equipment you’ll never use again. —Tonya Gustafson, Seattle

Go barefoot more. You’ll buy fewer shoes. —Jan Patenaude, Marble, Colo.

Turn off call waiting. It saved me $5 a month, or $60 a year. —John Ulzheimer, Atlanta

Make all your kids wear white socks. When they lose a sock or wear a hole in it, keep the other as a spare. With three kids, it saves our family about $40 a year. —Julie Parrish, West Linn, Ore.

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