How to save $$ in little ways

[kuntrygurl78]

I was reading the Womens Day magazine (the one with the IC article in it). One of the articles was about doing little things to save money. One of the suggestions was to save all your $5 bills and stash them. I liked that idea. I went thru my wallet and found three of them. I found an old make up bag and put the fives in it and then put it in my dresser. I am hoping to use that money for my trip to Nashville this summer.

Also, here in central IL, the main power company has be de-regulated. That means that power bills are doubling and trippling, and they are still expected to go up and up and up.

I thought this might be a great way to start a thread to show how we all do little things in our lives to save money.

For example:
We just finished switching all of the lightbulbs in the house to energy efficient bulbs.

We turn off the computer when we arent using it.

Our heat is turned down two degrees when we are asleep or not at home. Sometimes more if we are going to be gone all day. (yesterday we turned it down 3 degrees)

We shop the sale ads in the newspaper and plan our meals to whats on sale.

I have set up with my bank for an automatic amount of money to go to savings from checking every month. That little bit has made a big difference!

These are just some of the little things we do around here. What kinds of things do you do?

[kadi]

Library for books instead of buying them: Use the online catalog & request books not at my branch. When they arrive, I get an email to pick them up.

Batch cooking & freezing extra servings. Cooking with full packages of things prevents waste.

Turn off the heater at night & while at work.

Never grocery shop hungry.

Do not buy packages of cookies, crackers, etc. Not necessary for nutrition, bad for pants size, very expensive. If I really want cookies, I make them & because they were so much work, I eat them slowly because I'm lazy & don't want to do all that again soon.

Instead of going to movies, go to the park & walk or relax instead. Leave the car outside the park & walk in, instead of paying parking fee.

Have money automatically deducted from my paycheck PRETAX for medical expenses--Section 125 plan. Repay myself from that fund for doctor & prescription copays & OTC meds.

Have money automatically deducted from my paycheck PRETAX for my 401K.

Really watch how much time I talk on my cell phone. Mostly use it for calls I have to make from work during business hours. Make sure if I make or take social calls, that they are to people in my network. Everyone else can wait til I get home! Through SBC, I got a plan for long distance. $20 a month for all long distance calls. Period.

[ICNDonna]

I empty all the change from my purse almost daily and keep it in a ceramic dish. When the dish gets full or I want to buy something special, I take it to the bank. Last time I had almost $300.

Donna

[Moonheart]

Good ideas ladies! I'm a member of a group online dealing with simple living. It is a wonder of suggestions for making your own things, being frugal, etc. I enjoy it very much.

[waterflow]

I used to do the coupon thing but there are no more good coupons out. Seems the companies stopped putting them out. I could save $100 a week with coupons. I only eat out maybe once a year for a treat. Haven't seen in a movie in the theaters for years. I just wait until it comes on tv. I close the empty rooms so that way they are not heated during the winter. Close blinds and drapes once the sun goes down during the winter also. Will leave the picture window blinds and drapes closed during the day on very windy cold days. Helps a lot to keep the wind from blowing in.

[Moonheart]

I used to do the coupon thing but there are no more good coupons out. Seems the companies stopped putting them out. I could save $100 a week with coupons. I only eat out maybe once a year for a treat. Haven't seen in a movie in the theaters for years. I just wait until it comes on tv. I close the empty rooms so that way they are not heated during the winter. Close blinds and drapes once the sun goes down during the winter also. Will leave the picture window blinds and drapes closed during the day on very windy cold days. Helps a lot to keep the wind from blowing in.

There are coupons online that give you excellent discounts. I have to leave for a bit, but I'll pm you with some great ideas for coupons later.

[tigger_gal]

I just started throwing change and singles in a christmas tin on top of my cupboards.. hopefully I won't dip into it..

[mary124]

For the last 8 years, my husband and I threw our change in a 3lb coffee can, for our son's graduations. Both have now graduated from H.S. One son had $800.00 (thats because we had to dipped into it) and the other had almost $1,000.00). Now that they are out of school, we are still doing this, just for us. So far, we have half a can of change. Haven't really thought about putting $1.00 bills up in a makeup case or anything, might try that as my friend and I want to take her grandchildren to Sea World this Summer.

I cut out my coupons, but someone else was right, there isn't as many good coupons as there was before, but I still save some money, I don't go to the store hungry. Never take the kids with you. Look at the sales ads. I usually just go to one or 2 stores.

[green_the_fish]

Ooh, love this thread.

I think one thing people need to learn, especially people my age, is that you do not need brand names. The majority of the time, off-brand anything is just as good. The majority of the time, the off-brand stuff at your local grocery store tastes just as good as the brand name stuff.

I save a lot on clothes this way. For example, I shop at Goodwill a lot. A lot of the people I've told this to are never gonna believe me, but it's true: half of my Homecoming dresses have been from Goodwill. A lot of my clothes were picked up from local thrift stores. If you have the eye, you can make cute, edgy outfits by taking clothes from your local thrift store and pairing them with a few accessories from the mall. Target and Walmart are also good places to look. If you poke around the sale section on a regular basis, you will find cute stuff. My style is more punky than grandma, and I am choosy about clothes... but I'm choosy about the style, not whose name is written on the tag.

Another thing I save on is shoes. If you pay a lot for shoes, make sure you're paying for quality, not a name. I buy sturdy, black shoes and make them last. It cracks me up to see people spending $120 every few months on those white Nikes, then having to go out and get new ones when the old ones get too dirty. I've had the same black, $20 pair of sneakers for four years.

That's not to say I've never spent a lot on shoes. I did spend nearly $100 on black boots before. That was also about four years ago, and I've been wearing them several times a week. I just had to get them repaired once. It's worth it to spend money on something you know can take a lot of abuse.

My approach to high heels and fancy shoes can be summed up as: black and timeless. Closed-toe, moderate black pumps will always be in fashion. Now, those really high, tan wedges with the tall, angled heels made out of cork material? Yeah, not so much. If you go for that kinda shoe, at least try and find it on sale, so it doesn't hurt as much when it goes outta style.

In my opnion, accessories like funky tights, studded belts, and chokers are worth getting new. Yeah, they might go outta style in a couple years, but who cares? They didn't cost you all that much in the first place.

I will say that this method is not for everyone. It's harder than just going to the mall and pulling stuff off the shelves, and it takes longer. You have to define your own style, and spend a lot of time poking around without the gaurantee that you will find something you like this time around. But it makes you feel great to get complements on an outfit that cost you $30

[ihurttoo]

I just want to say that I love this thread too!!! I put most of my hints on here on another thread, a while back. But, I love reading this kind of stuff. Keep 'em coming!!! Thanks for starting this topic!!! You all have great ideas! Hugs, Amy

[Bessie]

I always round up my deductions in my checkbook. If something costs $1.75 I will write down $1.75 in the checkbook but I subtract $2.00. I know that might sound kind of crazy but you will be amazed at how much "extra" money you will have in your account.

[lnseagraves]

Hey,

Most of mine are on here already, too, but noone yet has addressed pet expenses. Pet coupons can be really good, especially when using the pet chains like petsmart/ petco. Petco gives away free bags of dry food when you buy so many at the store. Also, they generally have better selection/ better sales than the grocery stores for pet food.

That said, when jarred baby food goes on sale it is generally cheaper than canned cat food (I don't know about dog). Its also better quality meat, so I stock up on canned meat baby food for my cat. She loves it as a nice treat. (just check ingrediants, some spices are toxic to cats like garlic and onion... so be wary)

Also, noone has addressed traveling. If any of you out there are full-time university students (even graduate students) there is a travel website called studentuniverse.com which will SERIOUSLY lower any airfare. A few years ago, I flew to London at just over 100$ a ticket when the going rate was over 350$. Its a shame I'm no longer a student.

Also, when traveling hit the grocery stores. My husband and I always stock up on breakfast and even lunches and put the stuff in our hotel room. We eat breakfast before we go out for the day, pack a small picnic-ish lunch and then only eat out for dinner.

[green_the_fish]

Great advice, lnseagraves. I've found that when I go on vaccations with my family, most of the $$$ we end up spending is actually on eating out at restaurants.

What I've been doing for the past few years is stocking up on Ensures before I leave. Sometimes, if I can't find the kind I'm looking for, I get the new SlimFasts instead, although Ensure works better for this purpose. You can pretty much elminate lunch this way. Wake up early and eat the continental breakfast at your hotel, then have one or two Ensures for lunch. Then, like lnseagraves said, only eat out for dinner.

I packed a solid duffel bag of Ensures once, when I went Chicago with some friends. They may have doubted me at first, but not for long

[ABliske]

I shop at Goodwill for clothes, the dollar store for shampoo and hairspray, and Costco for toilet paper, paper towels, and meat. I buy cute little things on sale to give as gifts. I cook at home, rent movies rather than going to the theater, and try to resist impulse buys. I also wash my car myself and have my husband trim my hair.

[July]

Many restaurants have better deals for lunch time hours, so it may save money to eat lunch out rather than dinner.

Breakfasts at restaurants also tend to be less expensive.