Save Money: Home
Utility bills are a major portion of household expenses. Here's how to reduce heating, cooling, electricity, trash and water bills in Minneapolis and St. Paul.Make money from your home by holding a yard sale. Minnesotans love garage sales for clearing out unwanted items and making a few dollars. We also love shopping at garage sales, where household items are especially good value and often bargain-priced. Read about finding the best yard sales, and tips and tricks for holding your own yard sale.
Save Money: Yard and Garden
The City of Minneapolis provides free wood chips at 13 sites across the city. Show up and take what you need. Ramsey County offers wood chips, dirt, compost and mulch on a seasonal basis at county yard waste collection sites.In the spring, several cities in the Twin Cities metro area hold tree sales in conjunction with the Tree Trust, offering residents the chance to order trees and shrubs for discount prices.
Free yard and garden items are common on classified item websites and in newspapers. Here's where to find classified adverts listing free items.
In the winter, Christmas trees are cheaper if you cut your own. Here's where Christmas tree farms are near the Twin Cities.
Save Money: Car
Here are some tips and tricks to save money on vehicle-related expenses, like where to find the cheapest gas, programs to help low-income families buy and repair their cars, and a $5 preventative maintenance tip that will keep your car running much longer.Save Money: Entertainment
Save money at bars, on movies, and music with this guide to thrifty nightlife in Minneapolis and St. Paul.Save Money: Children and Babies
Children don't need to be expensive to entertain: there's plenty of free attractions and entertainment for babies and children in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and lots of low-budget activities here in the Twin Cities.One of the most significant baby expenses is diapers. Cloth diapers are cheaper than disposable ones and many baby stores in the Twin Cities love to get moms started cloth diapering. And we have a local non-profit organization, Teenie Greenies, which gives parents free cloth diapers.
Save Money: Fashion and Beauty
Budget fashionistas can find designer clothing at a discount at one of several local designer discount stores and outlet malls.
One of the best names in hair styling and salon services, Aveda, has a training school in Minneapolis. Aveda Institute students need people to practice on, supervised by instructors. It will take twice as long to get a hair cut, but it will cost a lot less than in a salon.
Save Money: Food
Which store in the Twin Cities has the cheapest groceries? It depends on what exactly you are shopping for. Here's a guide to which stores are the best value in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The Minnesota Food Support Program (Food stamps), the Women, Infants and Children program, and local food shelves, help low-income families with food in Minnesota.
Save Money: Exercise
Do you really need that gym membership? There's a lot of ways to get exercise that are free or low-cost. Running is very popular in the summer and the winter too. Cycling is also one of the Twin Cities' most popular ways to be active. Commuting by bike is something over 4% of Minneapolitans do, reasoning that if you have to get to work, it makes sense to get exercise and save money on transport costs while you do it.Several malls in the Twin Cities will help you get fit for free. There are free dance and yoga classes, free stroller fitness classes for new moms, and free mall walking clubs at local malls.
