Monday is here again, and here in the Midwest we moved our clocks forward to  daylight savings time. I love this time of year because it gives you the feeling of fresh air, fresh ideas, and kind of a second chance for making good on all those New Year’s resolutions or promises you made at the beginning of the New Year. This is the perfect opportunity to evaluate your financial plan too.

The first quarter of the year is almost behind us. It is the perfect time to look at how you are doing with saving money and find fresh ways to look for savings in the next 3 months. Evaluating the plan every 3 months keeps things fresh and new, and helps you to see progress. It can also offer you the opportunity to adjust things that are not working for your budget so changes can be made.

I have added several small writing gigs to my income this last three months. Have you added any additional income to your budget? If not, consider these simple ways to add extra change.

1. Clean out your closet and consider taking clothing items to a second hand boutique. You will receive a small amount of money in exchange for a clutter free closet.

2. Consider planting a small garden or patio potted garden for items like tomatoes, herbs, and peppers. These are wonderful items to add to salads for the summer and can offer you some down time as you tend to your plants as well as savings.

3. Consider watching the grocery adds for spring, Easter, and Summer grocery sales. Stock up on items that can be stored to avoid paying higher prices later on items that you need all summer.

4. Decrease the amount of cleaning supplies you buy. It will help you to use less chemicals and decrease your grocery bill. Google natural and homemade soap, cleaning , chemical free cleaning, low cost cleaning supplies, or other key words for recipes for making your own liquid soap. Vinegar, lemon juice, borax, and vanilla are some of the natural items often used in cleaning. Vinegar and water for instance makes great window cleaner.

Look for new ideas for you budget and new ways to save a few pennies. Your assignment for this week is to find one good cleaning solution you can make at home and to share your recipe here. We will combine your information in a free handout for our readers . Share what you know… it will help us all to live a debt free and cleaner life.