"I never have enough time to do everything!"

Do you find yourself saying the above sentence frequently? There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do. Never enough time to spend with family, pursue a hobby, work on your investments, study for a degree, read or do the homework you need to be better at your job. Or is there? Perhaps you DO have the time, but something is sucking it away from you and making your time less productive. It's something that is probably sitting in a prominent place in your living room right now. It's your television set.

Now, I have to admit, I'm a bit of a couch potato. I watch a LOT of television...not as much as I used to, but it is still a lot. I usually come home from work and watch a few hours of TV every night. It's my way of unwinding. I especially enjoy watching CNBC, BBC America and The History Channel. At least I'm learning something while I'm watching TV. But, all that TV watching that I thought was making me smarter is actually pretty dumb.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a book called "The Little Red Book of Selling" by Jeffrey Gitomer. I purchased it on Half.com (of course) because I wanted to give myself an edge at work. I work in a sales-driven environment, and this book came highly recommended by a co-worker. There was good, common sense sales advice in the book, but there was another piece of info I found that really had nothing to do with sales that made the most sense to me. That is, successful people watch very little TV.

It's not that successful people find TV is beneath them or that they are "too good" to be bothered to watch TV. Their priorities are just different. They view TV as being a big time-suck. Time is money, or an opportunity to spend on things that are more important, and therefore TV interferes with those opportunities. While most people are zoned out in front of their TV sets watching another episode of "Lost", successful people are preparing for the next day at work...reading emails, checking appointments, laying out their clothes for the next day, reading trade journals, reading enlightening books, taking a distance education course, networking with friends and clients via email, working on their household spending plans, doing volunteer work, etc. They are simply being more efficient with their time.

You might be wondering what this has to do with the subject of Savvy Frugality, but isn't your time worth something to you? What would you do with an extra hour or two each day? That is an extra 14 hours every week. If you had that much extra time each week, and decided to apply it toward something productive...either professionally or personally...how much do you think you could accomplish?

I'm not advocating dumping your TV altogether. I have a DVR, so I can just record the shows I really want to see, or watch them later on my computer. I am just putting off my TV viewing to a later time each night, so I can spend those two hours after I get home from work to do all of the things I can never seem to find the time to do. I currently take online marketing courses, so I'll certainly have more time for homework. I'll have more time to read good books and fill my head with something more useful than what I would find on The Food Network. My son will have a play buddy instead of some guy who sits on the couch next to him to watch The Simpsons. What can I do with an extra two hours a day...two hours I used to spend sitting in front of the TV? A lot.

There's a reason it's called "The Idiot Box". Take back your time. You'll be a better person for it.

If you are like most families, the cost of household cleaning products comes out of your grocery budget. It makes sense, because most people purchase their cleaning products at the grocery store while they are doing their food shopping. However, if you aren't already making your own household cleaning products with lemon, vinegar and baking soda, cleansers are probably one of the most expensive purchases you will make at the grocery store.

If you actually prefer the store-bought cleansers, there is another way of saving money on those products. Remember the mantra of Savvy Frugality (borrowed from The Tightwad Gazette): buy it cheaper, make it last longer. That is, buy the cleaners while they are on sale (or use a coupon) and then use less of it.

I'm not saying you should do less cleaning around the house. Like most people, I prefer a neat and tidy house. But, you can use less of the cleansers you buy and still have a clean home. If you follow the directions on the packaging of the cleansers, or use more than it calls for, you may be using more than you really need to in order to get the same results.

I have long suspected that the recommended amounts listed on the packaging of cleaning products is, to a certain extent, intended to get you to go through the product faster in order to get you to go out and buy more of the product more often. I started experimenting with varying amounts of cleansers to see how much was REALLY needed to get the job done. What I found surprised me.

I discovered that for most products, I really only needed about half the amount that was listed on the packaging. For laundry detergents, which call for a full cup of powder to do a load of laundry, I use only half a cup. The same goes for the bleach. When I run the automatic dishwasher, I fill the cups halfway, instead of filling them, as suggested on the packaging. I call it "The 50 Percent Solution".

The result? I have not noticed any difference in the effectiveness of the product. I have even applied The 50 Percent Solution to things like shampoo and toothpaste. Using half as much is just as effective as using the full amount listed on the package.

As an example, let's say the average family spends $40 per month on the cost of cleaning products. If you use only half as much as the package calls for, those cleaning products will now last two months. Not only that, they will save $240 per year on the cost of cleaning products. That's $240 which could be used to apply toward food or gasoline, which is increasing in price. The savings could also be deposited in a families emergency savings account.

Try The 50 Percent Solution for yourself. You may find that you are not buying these products as often, or spending as much of your grocery budget on things you can't eat.