Favorite Everyday Savings Trick

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manda0812 that is very sensible.. if you like living there and it's affordable then that's more important than having that big house where you will have to sacrifice so much more to pay it off.. I am also trying to not buy new furniture just because I am sick of the old, I am repainting and recycling old things that were used in other rooms and trying them out as something different..

We are just living in this state temporarily. It keeps us from expanding too much to stay in a small place. Everything we own has to fit in a UHAUL & move with us again. But, the efficient heating & cooling is a great bonus. Noise is the biggest problem, but I finally found a solution with an ocean sounds CD. it make me dream about Riviera Maya everynight

[dragonfly]

Well as a stay at home mom of 5, savings is something I have learned how to do very well. I shop by flyers, I make my lists based on what items are on sale that week. I don't shop at high end grocery stores, I stock up on items that are on sale on $1 days at our grocery stores. I only buy no name chips for the kids. I limit the budget on treats for school, and once they are gone the kids have to wait til shopping days for more. I buy no name tp for the kids( I get the good stuff) because they are wasteful. When we go out to dinner as a family we take advantage of midweek specials like buy 1 entre get 1 half price or 15cent wings. We go to musuems on special days some times they are free. I always bake birthday cakes (out of a box, lol) cost about 4 dollars as opposed to 20 dollars to buy one. when we go to the movies I bring a big purse and throw drinks and treats in it for the kids. We love the drive in, Sunday night 10 dollar car load, can't beat that for a family of 7. Every one in my family brings their lunch to school/work. I have energy saving light bulbs in kids rooms, basements, garage, and closets. We keep the heat low and at night we turn it down lower, programmable thermostats are great for saving money. All of our appliances are energy efficient, our hot water tank is also a new energy efficient tank, we also keep our water temp down. I have blankets and shawls in every room, if your cold in my house grab a blanket or a shawl, lol. I love $1 stores for kids craft/school projects, school supplies, and lot's of other stuff. I make all of my own cards on my computer, ton's of money saved doing this. We utilize the library for our reading material. We are advid readers and keeping us supplied in books was costing me a fortune. we also trade our books in after use to a second hand bookstore. I shop sale racks at places like the Gap, AE, ect. I also regift, I have a closet full of presents, and gift bags and tissue paper. I also buy many different toy items if they are a good price so that I always have a gift on hand for all of those b-day's Liam is always being invited to. I have so much more but this is most likely boring the majority of you. When you have a large family, you learn how to cut costs, it's a matter of survival in this cash hungry world.

 

Oh I however can not save my change, I really try but it goes in the change jar at our front door, and it get's taken out just as quickly for all of those millions of school extra's that are always being thrown at us!

 

We also recycle everything but that is for our enviroment . I don't know how that saves us anything, except maybe our compost for our garden's.

[beachbride08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikkiStreak Also, in the winter when it's cold and we're baking something in the oven for dinner--- we leave the oven door open after dinner is done cooking and the oven is turned off, so we can use that dinner heat for warming of our kitching/breakfast nook. * I almost always wash our clothes in cold water so we aren't using the water heater (gas) to wash clothes. We also don't do laundry until we have a nice full load.

I do this as well.

FI and I stopped going out to eat as much. We go to a restaurant maybe once a month if that, but we still order in pizza or pick up something quick 1-2 times a week. We spend a lot less $ doing that than going out to a good restaurant.

We don't have a house phone, and have a family plan on our cell phones.

We also don't go out that much anymore, but that is due more to FI's work schedule than saving money. We also rent DVDs from RedBox instead of going to the theatre. It is only $1 so it is still cheaper than Blockbuster.

I try to take a lunch with me when I go into the office, but the rest of the week I work from home so I also eat what we have at home. This has saved me a lot of money since I used to buy breakfast and lunch everyday!

I stock up on necessities-TP, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, etc. when things are on sale even if we are not running low.

[rodent]

I thought of another. We buy the kids meals at fast food places. Less calories & a lot cheaper. Plus you get a toy! The kids meals usually have as many calories as a normal adult meal, so it's enough food.

[jamisoncollette]

We also use the library, FI gets alot of books on cd this way.

 

I have found that using an online savings account, like HSBC, helps me save my savings. The money is automatically deducted from my checking and it is too many steps for me to access it unless I really need it.

 

We don't use an ATM machine. Cash is taken out bimonthly and when its gone, oh well.

[Kristy!]

-I buy some toiletries in bulk (tp, lotion, toothpaste, tampons).

-Pack lunch at home

-Take leftovers for lunch

-Refill water bottles. I drink TONS of water, so investing in a Brita was a smart idea.

-I do not have a landline, just a cell phone.

-I do not have the internet at home.

-Meal planning really does save a ton of money. I used to throw out so much produce (amoung other items) and I got so fed up with myself.

-Invite friends over for "game night" (think The Break-up).

[LCBride2007]

you all are making me realize how much better I could be doing! let's just say I am doing my part to help the economy!

 

i guess i do some things, but i could be so much better. i do wash in cold, and we keep our house at a pretty moderate temperature in both the winter and summer, and this house doesn't have central AC! i do eat out a lot, mainly because i travel for work, but right now it's because our kitchen is under construction. and i do put my change in a jar - and it does add up!

[Pisces]

We have automatic savings deductions come out of our account like any other bill. It goes directly to our mutual funds investment and we never see the money.

 

I shop by the sales flyers as well- every meal is pre-planned from our grocery shop that I do Sunday, and I work out the approx bill before I even go to the store. We have a budget of $100 per week for the two of us, and that includes our packed lunches, our dinners for the week and breakfast.

 

We have personal entertainment budgets of $200 per month each. Neither of us sees what the other spends it on and we use our personal credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month. Anytime we eat out, grab a coffee, go to a movie, buy anything for ourselves, it is considered our entertainment. Our gym fees also come out of this budget. This is actually nice because we can still "treat" eachother if we want to and it feels like it really is being treated.

 

We rarely go out- we are more homebodies anyways, but we go for nightly walks, and we play tennis outside or we download movies (bad, I know).

 

I also shop at 2nd hand stores for clothes. I just keep my eye open for good stuff- it's amazing what you can find at some of the more "high end" consignment stores. I have gotten tons of name-brand stuff in really good condition this way. I also shop in regular stores for lots of stuff, but I plan my clothing budget and don't impulse buy.

 

I am generally lucky because I have a strong hate for shopping. There is nothing I loathe more than shopping and spending money. I love saving and watching our bank account grow.

[A10CalGal]

Wow, great ideas ladies. Everyone is so resourceful. I definitely have room for improvement, but here's our list:

 

-We cook dinner at home every night. We may go out to eat once a month maybe?

-My husband packs his lunch every day - takes dinner left-overs I end up buying my lunch usually because we never have enough left-overs for both of us. However, I never spend more than $5 for lunch.

-I make coffee at home - saves at least $4/day

-I bring cereal or a PB&J for breakfast to work every morning.

-Our new home has all energy star appliance, a tankless water heater and energy efficient light bulbs.

-We do not have a land line at home.

-I am strongly considering taking public transportation to work to save on gas $.

-I definitely use the oven heating trick that Maria shared.

-I auto-transfer at least $500/month from my checking to a ING Savings account.

-I contribute the max to my IRA at work.

 

I need all the tips I can get at this point, so keep em coming ladies!

[jamisoncollette]

Ok, what else do I do?

I use my tea bags or leaves twice.

I don't pay for makeup. Whenever I need something new I host a party (Body Shop or Mary Kay) for the free stuff, always stop by the makeup counters at the mall during sample give-aways and also utilize free-bates through Rite-Aid or Eckerd's.

I havn't had to "buy" toothpaste or Fructis products in over a year because of free-bates. I check online for the monthly flyer and plan from there for when I have coupons.

During the summer I also stop by the farmer's market right before closing time and bargain with the farmers. They don't want to load produce back onto thier trucks and will often go 1/2 off or better, sometimes even free. One farmer got so used to me he gave me a pumpkin for my daughter and half a bushel of apples.