Whether it be for your home business or your personal use, computer supplies, postage stamps, stationery, and envelopes cost you money! Recycle whenever possible and when you have to buy, never spend more than you have to.

• Printer Paper - Whenever possible recycle printer paper. Save paper that has been printed on one side and print on the other side. Watch for rebates and sales at office supplies stores. Our local Office Depot and Staples have frequent sales on printer paper. I took advantage of a great rebate offer some time back myself. I acquired an entire case of printer paper for free. Staples also offers a free pack of paper with every ink cartridge received for recycling. Following up on all the sales, rebates, and giveaways could mean you never have to pay for printer paper.
• Business Cards - Vista Print offers free color business cards. You pay shipping only. Plus, they offer a variety of free bonuses with orders. You can even use their tools and graphics to create your own customized cards. An empty cassette tape holder makes a wonderful business card holder. Just open completely and rest on table with tape holder facing out. You can even decorate these to suit your color scheme. Also, you can take it with you! Just pick it up, close it, and you’ll have business cards with you wherever you go.
• Office Furniture - Keep your eyes open for free file cabinets, desks, even computers. Many times I see office furniture given away through our local FreeCycle group http://www.freecycle.org or in our local newspapers. When people upgrade office furnishings they often give away the old items which are still in great condition. Recycle your own furniture. Many times existing furnishings can be relocated to the office and adapted to suit your office needs. Always shop at home first
• Envelopes - Save return envelopes from the various junk mail offers you receive. They’ll come in handy when you have an envelope shortage. Use an appropriate size label to cover addresses or windows. If they have a bar code, cross through it with a marker. Some large companies use these bar codes in bulk mailing.
• Address Labels -When you get freebies in the mail, use them. I have quite a collection of address labels from donation seekers. I try to donate if at all possible otherwise I just get that guilty feeling all over (even though I never asked for the darn things). Be sure to check out the charity however. I can’t always donate because of my current financial situation, but that doesn’t mean I should trash perfectly good address labels. That’s just wasteful and irresponsible in my opinion.
• Copies - If you have need to use a printing company, you may be spending more than necessary on printing or copies. First, of course, check around for the best price and any sales or special promotions. Always ask what the price is if you supply your own paper for copies or printing projects. You don’t want to pay top price for paper if you have a case (that you got for free like I did!) sitting at home. Most companies will offer a reduce rate.
• Printer Ink - Why pay more than you have to? Some brand name cartridges can cost quite a bit. I’ve been using reconditioned cartridges for years and have had excellent service from them. No problems so far. I save a lot of money as compared to the new cartridges. This is also a great way to reduce waste and support our environment. Set your printer preferences to “draft” or “low” quality. Most printers have this or a similar setting to reduce ink usage on projects that don’t require high quality copies. I use this setting about 90% of the time since I mainly print for my own reference. Your cartridge could last 50% longer or more if you use this feature. If the kids do a school project I can change it to better quality as needed. Many printers automatically use a photo quality when printing photos. However, not all do so, be sure to check your preferences when printing photos and change if necessary.

Author Resource: Cheryl Johnson is on a mission to become debt free. As publisher of SimpleDebtFreeLiving.com she hopes to guide and encourage others to live debt free through household budgeting, debt management, and money savings tips and strategies that save you money everyday and reduce living expenses.