Money saving tips

[gailrmv]

Whether due to concern about the recession and gas prices, trying to get ahead on mortgages etc, or saving up for something specific, I bet there are lots of us trying to watch our pennies these days. Does anyone have any tips to share on how they've saved (or planned to save) money?

I've stopped browsing the mall as much, and only shopping when I actually need something specific. I think we're also going to cut down our TV cable subscription to the bare minimum, as the great price we had just went up and we don't watch much TV anyway. We've also been eating home more and out less, for both calorie and $$ savings.

I just thought this could be a fun or informative thread.

 

[somethingshiny]

Actually, we INCREASED our TV package. We both love TV and movies, and if we can watch them at home, there''s less of a want to go to the theatre, buy popcorn, etc. And, we will pay-per-view a movie for around the same price that we would rent one and we save the gas. (We don''t PPV often, if we did I think Netflix would be a better route).

We really don''t eat out. Maybe once every 2 months. However, we make "out food". Homemade pizza, steaks, etc. are all much less expensive to make at home. You save HUGE on the alcohol too. And, of course, you save on gas.

Grocery shop once a week or less. If you''re in the store, you''re more likely to buy.

DH always takes a lunch to work. And sodas and snacks. Stay away from vending, cafeteria, etc.

When in NEED of something, set a BUDGET! STICK TO THE BUDGET!!

 

[sumbride]

I deleted all the shopping bookmarks on my computers at home and work. That has actually really helped. I haven't bought anything online in ages. If I REALLY want it, I have to physically go to the store, and that's such a hassle that I don't bother.

We've also cut way back on dining out. We're cooking more, yes, but on the occasion that we don't have a lot of time, the convenience foods from the market are cheaper than takeout. Trader Joe's has a fab pre-cooked pack of carnitas that is way cheaper than a night of fajitas and margaritas. I'm also teaching DH how to read the shelf prices better... how much per oz., etc... he'd not been looking very closely at those things. We're also buying a lot more store brand items, from TJ's and Wegmans. They are just as good as the name brand items, at least at those stores. Buying a lot less packaged, a lot more "whole".... i.e. no more packaged lettuce... just bags of spinach from the farmers market. Sure, I have to wash them, but it tastes better anyway.

We need to find a way to cut back on catfood... the prices have gone way up! But I can't figure out how to do it without jeapordizing their health. We already buy it at the wholesale place, but the price of a 36 ct box went up $5 last year, to $16! With 3 cats, eating 2 cans a day each, we're going through 42 cans a week! That's about $20 a week just for cat food! It's adding up. Still cheaper than kids though.

 

[ladypirate]

The single best thing we''ve done is keep all our receipts and enter them into a spreadsheet throughout the month so we can see where our money is going. We also rarely eat out (we both love to cook, so we treat making dinner sort of like a date in and of itself) and we cut down to one car (that we bought used so we don''t have car payments) to save on insurance/upkeep/gas. SO takes the bus to work most days (or drops me off at work if he''ll need the car that day).

It''s amazing how much you can save if you really make the effort--we''re moving 1000 miles away in a couple of months and are hoping to save enough for a down payment on a house in the next 2-3 years, so we''re trying to save as much as possible.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I''ve started to get more into coupons since having a baby. It''s kind of fun! (I''m a nerd) I just saved $20 at target the other day. You can use a target coupon AND the brand''s coupon for example so the savings start to add up. Diapers are expensive!

 

[Skippy123]

I noticed prices increasing overall. I try to limit the times I eat out in a week. I am cooking more. I use the Costco coupon's and stock up on those things. I am trying hard not to drive all over the place. I buy meats, veggies, fruits on sale. Also, I love our dollar movies and rentals. For fun we have been biking. We probably won't take anymore vacations after Memorial day or at least none outside the US.

 

[gailrmv]

Wow, lots of great ideas already! One of my friends saves a ton with grocery coupons. I really should make the effort to clip them. I used to enter everything into a spreadsheet. I should start doing that again. The biggest money saving thing I think we are doing is putting off purchasing a new car. DH was itching for one earlier this year, but we decided that since nothing is wrong with our car at all (aside from it being fairly old) there is absolutely no reason to replace it yet. Yay!

I hope I didn''t make it sound like we''re bad with money or anything - we''re quite conservative with spending in most arenas really. It is just fun to share tips!

 

[gailrmv]

Skippy, I remember you are a costco fan! I like shopping there as well! It's great to stock up on non perishables!

My regular grocery store prints on the receipt how much you've saved by using their member card (both that trip and for the year). That's always fun to see. When something we use goes on sale 2 for 1, I always stock up. I save a bunch that way as long as it's stuff I can use before it expires!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/13/2008 5:05:07 PM
Author: TanDogMom
Skippy, I remember you are a costco fan! I like shopping there as well! It''s great to stock up on non perishables!

My regular grocery store prints on the receipt how much you''ve saved by using their member card (both that trip and for the year). That''s always fun to see. When something we use goes on sale 2 for 1, I always stock up. I save a bunch that way as long as it''s stuff I can use before it expires!

I know I am such a nuttball; my hubby makes fun of me for loving costco! Glad you like it as well. I always look there 1st and if I can''t find what I need then I look elsewhere. TDM I totally miss seeing you around in the workout thread (sorry for the threadjack).

I also like to buy clothes on sale at Macy''s, Target (mostly for hubby and work out clothes for me) and JcPenny''s, Gap and other stores.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

A few things.
No vending machine snacks or sodas at all. I don''t drink soda for health reasons, but you consider the cost of soda, energy drinks, gatorade, bottled water, lattes, etc versus a plain cup of coffee or tea or tap water, and it really adds up fast. You can save roughly $12.50 a week by cutting 2 out vending machine sodas a day at work.

We don''t drive. We either walk, bike or take the bus.

We don''t go out to eat almost at all, instead we might get ice cream or something so we get the treat, but it costs a lot less than a meal.

Smoking. My FMILs smoke a lot, 2-3 packs a day between them. They make very litle money and we figured it once, they literally spend 1/6 of their annual income on ciggarettes and only because they have a wholesale discount. Otherwise it would be a lot higher.

 

[Independent Gal]

Another way to keep track of your spending, if you''re good with credit, is to put everything on the same card. Then you can see exactly what you spent where, without the effort of plonking things into a spreadsheet.

I put $100 in my wallet on Monday morning. That is the cash I have to spend for the week. That helps me think more carefully about each ''frittering'' type purchase (like lattes).

We don''t own a car, and try to eat out no more than twice a week. I get a lot of restaurant coupons in the mail, even for nice places, so we try to go to those places.

A great idea is to check your phone service: do you really need all those features and all that crap? You can get a phone line for about $9 if you cut the frills. You have to pay per call, but at 5 cents a call, you would have to be making something like 50 calls per day to bring it up to the cost of a line with calls included.

 

[MsP]

I spend more than I''d like to admit on produce but I''ve found that I can cut that WAY down by going to frozen vegetables. A typical meal for me is some lean meat, a large serving of cooked/steamed/roasted vegetables and a salad. I was using fresh produce for my cooked veggies and really...I''ve found that frozen work just as well and are quite a bit cheaper(and they don''t go bad, although I rarely have that problem). Also, I cut out bagged lettuce a while ago and I think I''m going to reduce my "fancy" lettuce consumption too because that can get really costly(ie $7 for two servings).


...local produce stands and farmers markets can be great cost saving tools but you need to actually check the prices and not just assume they''re cheaper. While I like to support local grown(I eat primarily grass fed local meats), I''m not willing to shop at the ''boutique'' farmers markets and pay a ridiculous premium. There are some lesser known, more mom and pop stands that provide the same quality at a lower price.

 

[lyra]

This is definitely on my mind these days. No more bling this year for sure!!!! We are driving less. I''m not going shopping as often. Going to the grocery store with a list and sticking to it helps. We''re not ordering takeout, or going out to eat as much. What I seriously have to get a handle on is splurging on my kids so much. I need to start thinking about our retirement more now too. I have a serious book vice, but it keeps me off the streets spending money, you know?

 

[LegacyGirl]

I started making my own bread. It is wayyyy tastier and I''m not paying $4 a loaf like I would at the store

Then the normal stuff like not eating out, trying not to drive many places, driving slower, ect.

 

[Dancing Fire]

including lunch and dinner....we eat out about 10 X per week,plus Starbucks everyday

 

[ljmorgan]

mint.com !! it tracks all of your expenses automatically, shows you where your money is going through pie charts, gives a great overview of your finances, lets you set custom budgets -- for example, $600 for food a month, and you can see where you are every time you log in. i love it! it''s like a budget spreadsheet without having to enter the transactions yourself.

 

[Pandora II]

I only have 1 credit card - so I can easily keep track of spending. Ditto for FI.

We checked all our standing orders, direct debits, utility providers etc to make sure we didn''t have unneccessary subscriptions and that we were getting the best deal on our electricity/gas/insurance etc.

My bank called me (I LOVE my bank) to tell me that if I moved my savings account to an e-savings account I would get a much higher rate of interest - 30 seconds later it was moved!

We do 90% of our grocery shopping online with Sainsbury''s and have it delivered once every 3 months. That way we aren''t tempted to buy extra bargains that you didn''t know you needed the way you do in the actual store and I just pick up fresh meat and vegetables from the local shop once a week.

Only use public transport.

If we eat out I always book through TopTable and we go to somewhere with a 50% off offer or similar. That way we try new places and we save a lot of money. We''re not the restaurants favourite people though as we don''t drink alcohol - the 50% is only on the food. Works great for us!

I buy nearly everything I can on ebay. I have had some ridiculous bargains - a brand new Mulberry jacket with the sales tags still on it ($900) for $18.

 

[Ellen]

Hi you!

We already do a lot of the things mentioned. One thing, with having kids, was to finally put the clamps down on leaving lights and the TV on when they leave the room. We were emphatic about it, and they finally got it. I have definitely noticed a difference. We've also turned the furnace off even though it's still really chilly some days, but warm others. I open up when it's warm, then shut it up before it starts cooling off at night. Then it stays decent in here, til I can open up again.

I plan my errands to coincide with appts. etc, so I burn less gas.

I also try to stock up more at the grocery when items I use are on a really good sale. And I make out menus for the week, you buy less if you know what you need and have a plan. I actually try to do it for 2 weeks at a time, but that doesn't always happen.

 

[dragonfly411]

Not all have this option, but our local farmer''s market is much cheaper than the grocery. I can get two bags of greens for salad, 6 tomatoes, a large loaf of breakfast bread, a normal bunch size group of carrots, around 6-8 squash, and some kind of fruit for around 20 dollars. I go every Saturday and it takes care of a good deal of my weekly groceries. I also get local free roam fresh eggs for $2.00 a dozen, sometimes more for the same price if they have too many and aren''t getting them all sold!

I look for sales and coupons for groceries, and tend to do a lot of price comparison.

eating home more, bringing bagged lunch

I''m going to start walking to our grocery, it''s only a few blocks away, and I''m going to try biking to work (around 3-5 miles?).

Less trips and longer day trips. We''ll be doing more walking in the area, biking in local areas, and local parks.

In replacement of regular bookstores (I''m a book fiend) I go to the local library OR to the local used bookstore, which sells books at half the retail price. I can find recipes online instead of buying cookbooks.

 

[simplysplendid]

Avoid pricescope.
Avoid the purse forum.

 

[jewelerman]

When i went back to school(in my 40s) I decided to live off savings for 4 years.I cut out cable,news papers and magizines,eating out,movies and all expensive junk food and soda pop.I had to stop mall and discount store browsing.I sold any jewelry and artwork that wasnt being used or enjoyed.I moved to a smaller home and took the bus rather then driving.I went to the library rather then buying anything in print.I went to costco type places for food. found that i didnt miss alot of what i had to give up in the beginning.

 

[Independent Gal]

Taking public transport is a big one. DH sold his car more than a year ago, and can't believe how much extra money he's been able to save. We take the bus to work, and when we go out at night, we walk or take taxis. Most of what we need (groceries, drugstore, hardware store) is within a few blocks, so with our trusty granny-cart, we walk to run errands. Even with the occasional taxi, it still works out waaaaaay less expensive. It has saved us something like 8K.

Of course, that means you have to live somewhere with good public transport!

 

[cnspotts]

I'm also a great fan of Costco!
We get our pet food there (never had a problem with the recall issues) and I always try their brand products especially if it's organic. We've been pleased and have been members for several years.

I grocery shop much less and only buy the stuff I know we'll use up or eat completely. I'm "meat free" too so that cuts down on a lot of products and most dairy items. Because of our different schedules we rarely eat together but usually dine out one nice meal a week, we now make that a lunch instead of dinner. We're less likely to "drink" and lunch is cheaper than dinner. I also make my own coffee drinks and only go to "Starbucks" as a treat.

Husband has 4 cars and is finally thinking about parting with at least 2 of them. He also has a Salt water aquarium (2) hobby, after having a long talk (mostly by me) he's realized that he should pick a hobby to focus on. We're both scuba divers so he has to consider that yearly trip too, plus we're renovating a house (he's doing most of the work) and I've gotten great deals on Overstock when I see them.

We have cable with Movie channels, so we're not going to the theater or renting now.

So far there haven't been any huge changes but I do think about areas we can cut back while staying on track with our goals. Very important.

Part of me feels a little guilty for having a custom eternity ring made (details later) but a few months or year from now it might not be possible and it didn't seem to bother DH at all.

Okay then.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/14/2008 1:43:35 PM
Author: simplysplendid
Avoid pricescope.
Avoid the purse forum.

True...so true......