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Finding extra money to save for your emergency fund or financial goals may be easier than you think. In his comedy special “Going Home”, D.L. Hughley talks about how his mother believed in getting every penny’s worth of a condiment and would add water to the mustard bottle when it got too low in order to stretch it out further. (If I weren’t an only child, I would have sworn D.L. must have grown up at my house.) But, I can appreciate the cost cutting strategies his mother undertook to help her family make ends meet.

As a collector of creative cost cutting strategies, myself, I thought I would share just a few of the fun ways NEA members save on their expenses, which I found while browsing the Works4Me section of NEA.org. (And in honor of Mrs. Hughley, I store my condiments spout side down when they start getting low so gravity aides in getting the last amount out of the bottle…)

• Cut off your address from the charity address labels you receive in the mail and use the picture portion as stickers (from Nancy in Rhode Island).
• Buy discounted, book-themed calendars (Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, etc.) in late January or February to use, and when the year is up laminate the pictures for classroom displays (from Cathlina in Kansas).
• Design your own student reward coupons for things like extra computer time, free-trips to the water fountain, or inviting a friend from another class to join a student at the lunch table. Printing costs are your only expense (from Elizabeth, a 1^st grade teacher).
• Recycle the 16.43 lb Tide detergent boxes to make portfolio cases or portable file boxes. Cover them with contact paper and hanging folders fit perfectly inside (from Carleen in Ohio).
• Ask your local card shop to save the leftover envelopes from cards that didn’t sell, if they would normally throw them out. The bright colors stand out more when used to send home notes or status reports with students (from Coleen in Massachusetts).

If you have any other cost savings tips, post a comment and share them.