Lynnae at the Being Frugal blog threw out this challenge to her readers: What are your favorite money saving tips?

I responded to her blog with three things I am doing now, that I wasn’t doing six months ago:

I learned how to use the drugstore rebates. It’s a hit and miss with those promotions, like with couponing, but sometimes I really land a bargain. (This week it was shampoo on sale + coupon + rebate).

When I’m in and out during the day, I park on the street rather than use the electric garage door opener as frequently as before.

We can’t escape out-of-town drives when most of our relatives live an hour away and the daughter’s college is three hours away. But we have cut back on the number of those trips, and will bunch up as many other errands possible during out-of-town travels.

Lynnae plans to compile the tips her readers sent in into one big list she’ll post in a week or two.

Now, let’s do the same thing with a Monroe, Mich., spin. Comments are open here on the Monroe on a Budget blog, and I’ll set up a related thread at the MonroeTalks site.

If you live in southeast Michigan, you’ve been dealing with tight finances a lot longer than many other people across the country. To complement the campaign at the Being Frugal blog, I’ll compile a roundup list of what Monroe County residents are doing.

So …

What are your favorite money-saving tips?