Use microfiber. These towels, mops and dusters can be washed and reused hundreds of times – a great savings over disposable products. They are great products that can trap dust, liquids, oils and even bacteria. Most important, you can clean with water instead of using harsh, expensive cleaning products.

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Splurge in smart home devices to save in the future. Some gadgets can help trim utility bills – Nest thermostat adjusts heat and air conditioning for better energy efficiency, and Belkin Wemo Mini Smart Plug controls the power to any device that’s plugged in.

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Skip the router rental. Your internet provider might be charging you a monthly fee for your equipment – but you can buy your own modem and router and make up the cost in a year.

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Get paid for shipping! If you have Amazon Prime (meaning you often get two-day shipping for free), you can opt for slower shipping on some orders to get other discounts, like $1 of Kindle books or Amazon music, or money towards a Prime Pantry box (food, snacks and household supplies).

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High-Tech Savings. Confirm it’s really a sale price. If you aren’t sure whether a price on Amazon is good, plug it into a free price tracker, such as the CamelCamelCamel website or the Pricepulse phone app, to see the item’s cost over time.

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Buy wild-caught domestic fish. It’s healthier and better tasting than farm-raised. To save money, look for specials on cod, pollack and haddock – delicious and inexpensive species.

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Make vegetable stock. Save veggie scraps and peels, and once you have plenty, put in a pot, cover with water and boil for an hour or so. Strain it, and you have a vegetable stock for making soup or cooking rice, lentils or quinoa.

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Braise and save. There are two ways to get tender cuts, or buy tougher cuts at a fraction of the price and cook them to tenderness. So get out that old cookbook or a recipe from the internet and braise low-priced chuck or stew meat, along with overflow veggies, for a low-cost, delicious stew.

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Shop where there’s competition. Where farmers markets are back in business, remember that lots of vendors will have produce that’s being harvested locally – so the price will be lowest for those items. Skip the shopping list, buy what’s abundant and choose recipes based on what you buy.

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Shop at warehouse clubs without a membership. You can buy prescription drugs a Costco or Sam’s Club without being a member. You can also buy almost anything in Costco if someone gives you a gift card. Nonmembers can buy alcohol and get free hearing tests at Sam’s Club.

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