This year is all about saving money every day while trying to increase your income potential. If you did one thing each day that could save as little as $5 over the course of a year, you could have an extra $1800 in your pocket at the end of the year. Not all of these tips may apply to you, so to keep it fair, not all of them will apply to me.

Every week, more and more junk mail fills my mail box. Pizza, fast food, and neighborhood coupons as is save us money on food and dry cleaning. What do you do with the rest of the junk? the recycling bin? I think you put it into the shredder. The free junk mail in your mail box makes excellent packing material for boxes and presents. If you give five presents a year, which most people go through at Christmas time, you can easily save $5 in tissue paper alone. Best of all, junk mail is designed to be colorful and eye-catching, which means your packing will be too.

Storage isn’t a big deal either. Put the shredded papers into a gallon ziploc-type bag, roll out the air, and seal flat. When you’re ready to use it, open the bag and shake out your packing material.

And did I mention this could be considered recycling? Greener is better. If anyone gives you a hard time about your repurposed packing material, just look at them dryly and say, “I care about the environment.” Guilt always trumps snobbery.

365 Days of Saving: $425 annually