By Jeffrey Strain | MainStreet.com

When times are tough, people typically rein in their budgets. While most people cut everyday extravagances like gourmet coffee or premium cable channels, others take frugality to the extreme. Here are some unusual ways people are trying to save money:

Toilet training your cat: Buying kitty litter will put a dent in your wallet. Cleaning up the box is another pain. The ultra-frugal are addressing the issue by toilet training their cats. If that seems like too much work (or Lord Fluffington proves uncooperative), you could try making your own kitty litter instead.

Reusing toilet cloths: Some penny-pinching consumers have switched from toilet paper to cloth napkins, which have the added benefit of helping the environment. The same principle applies to paper towels, though with less of the ick factor.

Green-minded savers say that wiping with cloth in the bathroom is similar to using cloth diapers on babies instead of disposable ones. Wallypop, a family business in Des Moines, Iowa, sells colorful wipes in a variety of fabrics. The reusable towels are machine washable.

Picking up plants from funeral homes: Fresh flowers can brighten up a home, but they can be expensive. The obvious solution is to grow your own, but that’s messy and takes time. Some people have tried calling local funeral homes to see if they can take plants left over from funerals. Mourners seldom take home all their flowers, and funeral directors might be happy to unload the bouquets.

Turning pet hair into clothing: Knitting can be a wonderfully frugal way to outfit your family. If you’re an extreme saver, there’s a way to avoid buying yarn. Kendall Crolius tells readers how to turn extraneous pet hair into yarn in her book Knitting With Dog Hair. The book’s tagline says it all: “Better a sweater from a dog you know and love than from a sheep you’ll never meet.”

Baking cookies in cars: If you have a sweet tooth and live in a warm climate, you could cut the cost of your treats by making them in a solar oven. These metal rigs use the sun’s rays to cook food for free.

The Baking Bites blog takes this idea a step further by showing you how to bake cookies in your car on hot summer days. The process might leave your vehicle smelling of chocolate chip cookies for the rest of the week, which some people might consider a good thing.

Although it’s wise to cut expenses when the economy spirals, some things shouldn’t be discounted. But it’s up to you to make that distinction.

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What better way to be set up for success when it comes to couponing, than to have advice from  another coupon-er.  Recently, we have had the opportunity to interview and get some advice from an avid coupon mom – Jennifer.  She has given some insight to her coupon experiences, as well as tips on how to get set up before you hit the stores.  She’s back this week, sharing more advice.

Which stores, and how many?

Pick one grocery store and one drug store. It takes too much time to get deals from everywhere and then drive from store to store. For me it’s Lowes Foods and CVS. They are right next to each other in my town and Lowes doubles coupons up to $0.99.  My prescriptions are at CVS and they have the Extra Bucks program that I love.  I hit Walgreen’s for the paper, so I always check their circular to see if there’s anything worth getting, but I don’t spend a ton of time on it and most weeks only get the paper there.  Lately Harris Teeter has been tripling coupons about once every 4-6 weeks. There isn’t one near me, but there is one I pass going to church, so if it’s triples I will stop on Sunday to see what I can get for free or almost free. The tip for triples is to only get the amazing deals. I have found that produce is generally more expensive at HT so I save that for my weekly Lowes trip.

Is there a way I can get some help?  At least to get started?

Expect to spend some time doing this. Fast or cheap. Pick one. Saving money takes a little effort, but once you get into a system it’s great! I haven’t used it myself because I stay home and can spend time on my coupons, but I have heard that The Grocery Game is great. For a fee, the service e-mails you the deals and coupon match ups for your selected stores each week.

How can I protect my coupons?  What should I keep on hand with my coupons?

I have a 3-ring binder organized by grocery store aisles with baseball card holders holding the coupons where I can see them. It has a canvas cover that zips closed so nothing escapes when my toddler throws it across the room.  It also has a shoulder strap so I can have my hands free in the chance that I have to take the boys to the store with me. Inside I keep a calculator, pen, blank paper and paperclips.

How can I tell if it’s the best price?

If you’re just starting out, start writing down the prices each week for things you buy frequently. After awhile you’ll see what the best prices are for those items. I keep a list in my binder of best prices, so if I see something for that or less, I know to stock up.

Where am I supposed to keep it all?

Stock up! I have several shelves in our garage for groceries I stock up on when they are cheap. I also have an upright freezer for the same purpose. You can freeze meat, bread, milk, cheese, veggies, berries and even complete meals!

Can I use expired coupons?

Some stores accept expired coupons. Find out the policy at your store. If you can’t use them, don’t toss them! Military personnel overseas can use coupons up to 3 months expired at the commissary. Get with a few other people and pool your expired and send them to help our troops. To find some bases that accept expired coupons, go here. Be careful about the weight of the package, though. If it’s too heavy you may have to pay extra fees for postage.

There’s so much to couponing – I don’t think I can do this!

Don’t get overwhelmed. There’s always more you could do, so start with a few things and work up. To start just get one paper and clip and sort the coupons. If you only use one or two each trip, it’s still more than you were saving before! Next time try to use three. Once you get good at that, start looking for deals online or printing coupons.

And remember!

Keep track of your savings. At the top of my blog I have a grocery savings ticker. It’s very easy each week to add my total savings (on the bottom of the receipt). I can see at a glance how much I’ve saved this year. It makes me feel so good to see how much I’ve saved!

Thanks for all the great tips Jennifer!  Hopefully you have been able to put others at ease when it comes to couponing.  Once you get the hang of it, you are sure to enjoy it!  Stay tuned next week for Jennifers’ final 7 tips to help be set up for success!

Also, don’t forget, $6,000 will go a long way if you are able to use it along side coupons and sales!  Register today for your chance to win in The Great Geezeo Bailout!

We recently interviewed an avid couponer, Jennifer.  She blogs about all the great deals she finds, and keeps track of her savings.  For instance, one of her most recent posts were about Del Monte Tomatoes at Lowe’s Foods that would end up being FREE!  Just how did she do it?  Organization is key!  Here’s how Jennifer gets set up for success before her shopping trips:

To start out with, I have a 3-ring binder organized by grocery store aisle with baseball card holders holding the coupons where I can see them. It has a canvas cover that zips closed so nothing escapes when my toddler throws it across the room, as well as a shoulder strap so I have my hands free in the chance that I have to take the boys to the store with me. Inside I keep a calculator, pen, blank paper, a couple of empty zip lock sandwich bags, and a couple of paperclips. There are also a couple of mesh pockets where I keep the paper ads and coupons that are too large for the card holder slots.

Before I go to the store I make sure all my coupons are clipped and sorted in my binder. I have a gallon sized Ziploc bag with smaller sandwich bags inside that are labeled by category (i.e. groceries, drugs/vitamins, paper products, pets, personal items, etc.) for coupons I don’t think I will use. I keep them for swaps or my train (check out eHow for their simple explanation on how to start a coupon train), and also if a deal comes along that’s just too good to pass up, I still have the coupon. This also helps because if someone asks for a certain coupon I don’t have to sort through an enormous pile of them to find it. Once a month I go through and remove the expired coupons from both my binder and my bag.

I have a dry erase board on my fridge and whenever I notice something is getting low or gone, I add it to the list. I get the circulars for my area grocery stores and drug stores e-mailed to me each week. When it first arrives I open it and do a quick glance to see if there’s anything on sale that we use frequently or need. If there’s something I want to make sure I get before the sale is over, I add it to my list for that store with the letter “s” in parenthesis beside it indicating that it’s on sale.

Then I go to my coupons and see what I have that matches up with what’s on sale. If I have a coupon for an item, I put an asterisks beside it so I don’t forget to use the coupon. I also pull the coupon out of it’s slot and paperclip it to the inside front of the binder so I don’t have to search for it at the store.

I also check several websites for deals and/or match ups I may have overlooked. I check savvydollar.org as well as a couple of other mom’s blogs.

Lastly, I go online and see if I can find print-ables for anything that’s on my list that I don’t have a coupon for.

I make sure everything is written on my list in order of the grocery store aisles and that the coupons are also in the same order. Once I’ve grabbed the item and put it in my cart, the coupon goes in my right pocket. If I end up not using a coupon because the item is out of stock or too expensive or whatever, I put that coupon in my left pocket. When I get to the check out, all the coupons I’m going to use are all there in my right pocket and I just hand them over. The ones I need to refile are in my left pocket and get sorted once I get home.

You may do things a bit differently (or not all! Oh the motivation!).  However you do it, we know it works.  We see many save-a-holics who, like Jennifer (and this other Jennifer), make all this “work” well worth it!  To see which blogs Jennifer looks to for more tips and tricks, check out the list on the right side of her blog.  Also, check out this video of coupon-queen Angie Childs, as she spends only $19.74 for over $200 worth of groceries.  What do you do to get set up for success when it comes to your coupons?  Tell us in the comments below.

Also, remember how far $6,000 will go if you are able to use it along side coupons and sales!  Register today for your chance to win in The Great Geezeo Bailout!

Geezeo is all about helping people make educated financial decisions, not turning them into misers.  Keeping a budget and focusing on your money doesn’t make you cheap.  Cheap is not the same as thrift or frugality.  Frugal is a way of being that emphasizes getting the most value for your dollar.  Cheap is strictly about spending as little as possible.  The quest to become master of your financial domain is useless if you end up sitting alone on a mountain of cash.  To keep from going there, read these four cheapskate warning signs.

You feel entitled to a discount.  All the time.   
A wise money manager always inquires about deals and does so politely. Cheapsters consistently try to get something for nothing.  The worst offenders actively seek deficiency in a product or service to justify being given a discount. You may notice them yelling, berating sales people, or otherwise pushing people around to get what they want. It’s not the principle it’s the money.  Smart consumers know they have endless choices when shopping and there is no need to tolerate truly bad service or quality, even for a discount.  

Nobody likes going to dinner with you.   
Do you pull out a calculator when the check comes?   Nobody wants to ruin a good time haggling over a bill.  Eating out with friends is give and take.  Take turns picking up the check.  It’s dinner not a math test.  If you’re on a budget let your friends know and stick to your number. 

But calculating every penny isn’t the worst cheapskate dining behavior.  Do you know someone who is NEVER happy with the service and leaves little or nothing as a tip?   While over-tipping isn’t recommended, choosing to under-tip after receiving competent service says a lot about your character.  A date or business associate won’t be impressed if you seem to lack the ability to treat others fairly.  

Your buying decisions are based on solely on price. 
Researching and taking the time to find the best deal on an item is frugal.  A low price doesn’t  make something economical. Buying the cheapest can actually cost more if the item needs to be replaced or repaired.  Even in an economic crisis most Americans are still fortunate enough to consider the impact their purchases have on the environment, their community, and the world.  A good buy used to mean great product at a great price.  Now it can also mean supporting the companies and people who share your values.  If you can only afford the cheapest then so be it. Being able to afford the best value and buying the cheapest doesn’t mean you’re spending wisely. 

You give thoughtless gifts. 
The point of a gift is to let a person know you love, appreciate, or respect them.  Thoughtless gifts send the opposite message which is bad for all relationships, from love to business.  This doesn’t mean you can’t re-gift.  Re-gifting is frugal when done with consideration.  Giving Aunt Mabel those stilettos you never wore is cheap. Unfortunately custom sometimes demands we buy a gift for a person  we’re not crazy about. In the end it’s about the relationship and not the gift itself.  Make sure what you give is appropriate to enhance or maintain the relationship.  At bare minimum your gift should demonstrate respect for the receiver. 

So you’re probably noticing an underlying theme here.  Everything comes back to the golden rule.  If saving a few bucks gets in the way of being a good person are you really getting ahead?