Every couple weeks we get a nice direct deposit in our bank account from Uncle Sam and within an hour all of our money is directed elsewhere. Does this sound familiar to you? Between the normal bills from the electric company and the water company along with cable, internet and cell phone bills and all of our “fun” stuff including dinners out (or groceries in) we don’t have much extra.

I’ve found that taking the time to search for good deals (shopping or even “fun” deals) and actually clip (and use) coupons from the paper and internet – I save a little (tiny) bit of money each month. I also try and supplement our income by taking some freelance work on the internet (be it blogging or design work). It’s not a lot of money – but it makes my PayPal account happy which in turn makes me happy because I can actually afford to see a movie or take my kid to Chuck E. Cheese occasionally. What I really need to do is try and find some easy scholarships that I can apply for and take a chunk out of those darn student loans I keep applying for! Now THAT would be a nice money saver!

What do you do to save money or bring a little extra dough into the house?

Please share your tips!