Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension program offering variety of tips through ‘Ways to Save’ initiative

Simple steps provided to cut utility bills, manage food costs and waste, and enable landscaping on a budget.

“Whether the economy is booming, buckling, or bouncing along somewhere in between, everyone can benefit from tools and techniques that cut costs,” as the staff of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension program in Sarasota County points out in a news release.

“And Sarasota County is bringing myriad money-saving tips into the spotlight, with its new Ways to Save initiative,” the release adds.

“With today’s economy, every dollar counts,” said Dr. Maria Portelos-Rometo, Family and Consumer Sciences agent with UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, in the release. “The Ways to Save project can help anyone interested in saving money in and around their home, as well as help preserve valuable environmental resources,” she added in the release.

“The Ways to Save project aims to provide county residents with information and approaches to better manage the daily costs of living.

That includes sharing an array of money-saving strategies,” the release points out. Among them are “simple steps that can cut utility bills, plans to manage food costs and waste,” and advice for gardening and landscaping on a budget.

“The Ways to Save series includes current and future online and in-person classes centered around money-saving topics”; fact sheets featuring cost-cutting tips for homeowners; a blog and social media posts “with quick bites of information”; and a series of short videos highlighting saving tips and practices, the release continues.

“All classes are free and open to anyone interested in learning more about saving,” the release explains.

Launched late last year, Ways to Save is slated to run through September, “with longer-term plans to develop new classes and other resources,” the release notes.

Additionally, Sarasota County Extension offers free homeowner irrigation evaluations and an array of other opportunities and resources, the release says. To learn more, visit sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasota or scgov.net/extension.

“Saving money,” Portelos-Rometo said in the release, “is always valuable and relevant.”