Tips for Saving Money, Cutting Expenses, etc.

[ThetaDancer]

I mentioned in another thread that a few of my close friends have been laid off fairly recently, or had to take unpaid time off, reduced hours, etc. It's made me much more aware of how mindlessly I spend money sometimes, so I'm trying to be more careful and find ways to stop being such a spender. I'd love to hear other people's tips and ideas for ways to save, especially on the "everyday" sorts of things.

Some little things I'm trying:

I've been bringing my lunch to work pretty much 4 out of 5 days instead of going out.

I'm making coffee at home more often now and trying to make Starbucks a treat instead of an everyday stop.

I'm trying to utilize the library more often instead of buying books all of the time.

Any GCer's have other things they've been doing to cut back? Thanks!

[ComradesTrue]

I buy as many groceries as possible at Target instead of the grocery store. In my area the cereal can be as much as $2 cheaper at Target, and milk is almost $1 cheaper. Everything else is approx .25-.50 cheaper, which adds up really fast for a family of four.

When I was first dating my now husband he was buying EVERYTHING at the grocery store- shampoo, paper towels, cleaning products, trash bags, etc. I broke him of that soooo fast. Needless to say, if any of you bachelor-types out there are buying anything at the grocery store that they also sell at Target (or Wal-Mart, or K-mart, or your discount store of choice) then you are crazy!!! You would be shocked to see how much you save.

[PhoenixAzul]

I mentioned in the other thread that my husband and I are in a bit of a bind lately because of my injury/lack of jobs out there, but we've been doing a lot of what you listed up thread.

-Keeping our heating/lighting costs down by opening windows/blinds.
-staying in and playing rock band or watching our NetFlix rather than going out
-If we go out, we split meals or take home leftovers
-At least one of us cycles to work every day so we can save cash on gas.
-Library books
-Coupons and double coupons if we have to go to the grocery store
-Aldi (hey, a can of tomatoes is a can of tomatoes)
-Growing our own veg with some friends of ours who have some land...they provide the dirt, we provide hands for weeding.
-The credit cards are on lock down.

[RaggedyAnn]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

-Coupons and double coupons if we have to go to the grocery store

That's honestly the only reason I get the local paper anymore. (The writing has gone down hill.) They offer a weekend subscription.

[jennyj87]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

I buy as many groceries as possible at Target instead of the grocery store. In my area the cereal can be as much as $2 cheaper at Target, and milk is almost $1 cheaper. Everything else is approx .25-.50 cheaper, which adds up really fast for a family of four.

When I was first dating my now husband he was buying EVERYTHING at the grocery store- shampoo, paper towels, cleaning products, trash bags, etc. I broke him of that soooo fast. Needless to say, if any of you bachelor-types out there are buying anything at the grocery store that they also sell at Target (or Wal-Mart, or K-mart, or your discount store of choice) then you are crazy!!! You would be shocked to see how much you save.

Thats weird. the target in my town is more expensive than the gorcery store....hmm.

[WVU alpha phi]

I've always been borderline obsessive about money, so I watch my spending and cut costs anywhere I can.

-Track EVERY penny spent. I have a notebook that is broken down monthly into categories (bills, gas, groceries, going out, food [not groceries], miscellaneous). I write down the date I bought something, what I bought, where I bought it, and how much it cost. I total everything up at the end of the month. It really keeps my spending in check, the first month I did it I realized I had spent $300+ eating out, so I've kept that around $100 since.

-Coupons and grocery shopping at WalMart. The closest grocery store to me is a Harris Teeter a mile away, and WalMart's about 10 miles, but HT is WAY too expensive. I save atleast $20 each time I go to WalMart.

-Entertainment book. It's worth it if you eat out a lot, like me and my boyfriend do. We get to try new restaurants and get good deals at the same time- we each got Italian Ice last weekend for only 43 cents!

-Packing my lunch versus going out. I bring a lunch 4 days a week and eat out one, and on that day I always go to Firehouse Subs for their employer appreciation day (you get free chips and a drink, saves $2).

-Going out one night a weekend. We do a lot more renting movies/drinking wine nights. Trader Joe's has $3 bottles of wine.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

I buy as many groceries as possible at Target instead of the grocery store. In my area the cereal can be as much as $2 cheaper at Target, and milk is almost $1 cheaper. Everything else is approx .25-.50 cheaper, which adds up really fast for a family of four.

When I was first dating my now husband he was buying EVERYTHING at the grocery store- shampoo, paper towels, cleaning products, trash bags, etc. I broke him of that soooo fast. Needless to say, if any of you bachelor-types out there are buying anything at the grocery store that they also sell at Target (or Wal-Mart, or K-mart, or your discount store of choice) then you are crazy!!! You would be shocked to see how much you save.

I wish the Target here would sell those kinds of items cheaper!! They are the most expensive, then wal-mart, then kroger. But having said that, it also depends on the item--Wal-Mart sells dog food, women's products, paper products, and toiletries cheaper than Kroger almost always. The Krogers here are currently on this massive kick to compete head to head with walmart and have built Kroger Marketplaces aka Super Krogers all over the place. Plus Kroger will double coupons that are 50 cents or less and walmart does not double coupons (but they do take coupons).

So having said that I do the following to cut costs:
Coupons, coupons, coupons!! Whether they come in the mail, email, discount cards (as long as they are free) or the sunday paper (the only paper we get) I am a believer in coupons. When I shop at Kroger, I often can get savings on the kroger plus card and a coupon on the same item which saves even more.

For the most part we have gone to Kroger & Walmart branded items instead of name brand things like Campbell's, Kraft, etc.

This is a drastic measure for some, but in an effort to both save money and be healthier we no longer buy soft drinks at my house. We drink water (we have a water filter on our kitchen tap and the fridge dispenser so we dont buy bottled), milk, coffee, and kroger or walmart brand sugar free kool-aid, with an occasional buying of orange or cranapple juice.

Instead or ordering pizza or going out to eat once a week, we have cut back and do that once a month. Between pizza orderings we make our own pizzas or buy frozen.

I have cut back on my Sephora, Ulta, & The Body Shop bills (sadly) and have gone to cheaper brands available at walmart, kroger, and drugstores: Olay, Herbal Essences, RoC, Neutrogena, St. Ives, Queen Helene, etc. I didnt realize how expensive my cleanser was until I started cutting back--former cleanser was $32, my new cleanser is $7. I will never give up my Bare Minerals however

We also are growing whatever produce we can on our own which cuts costs from buying fresh produce, canned & frozen veggies & fruit, jams, & jellies, herbs, and sunflower seeds. We do canning, freezing, and make our own jams and jellies.

I try to fill up my car at the cheapest places possible which here is usually Kroger with the kroger plus card. In the past two months I've earned two free fill ups!

We are renovating the entire interior of my home and are doing all the work ourselves instead of paying someone to do it. It is slower going, but we have saved so much money by doing it ourselves.

We try our best to pay credit cards off at the end of every month and not carry a balance as well as trying to pay cash when we can instead of charging everything to the credit cards.

[jojapeach]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

This is a drastic measure for some, but in an effort to both save money and be healthier we no longer buy soft drinks at my house. We drink water (we have a water filter on our kitchen tap and the fridge dispenser so we dont buy bottled), milk, coffee, and kroger or walmart brand sugar free kool-aid, with an occasional buying of orange or cranapple juice.

You beat me to it! But I have a "compromise" for sensitive types like me.

I tried the water filter for a while in '03 or '04 after I decided traveling to a special co-op in Atlanta for filtered water from a machine that include radiation, etc. was getting too expensive, ie price & gasoline. The filtered water did not agree with my skin and broke me out terribly, even when I poured it into the Brita pitcher 3 times before drinking.

Fast forward, and the cost of the filtered machines have gone down, and the machines are in more places, ie Publix, Kroger, meaning less gas. This water is delicious and will satisfy. The cost is usually $0.30 - $0.35 per gallon instead of paying much more for bottled water. (I've bought gallons of Publix/Kroger water, then re-used the bottles.)

PS I recommend Glacier machines over others. I don't know why there's a difference, but there clearly is.

[whiteandblack]

Originally Posted by jojapeach

You beat me to it! But I have a "compromise" for sensitive types like me.

I tried the water filter for a while in '03 or '04 after I decided traveling to a special co-op in Atlanta for filtered water from a machine that include radiation, etc. was getting too expensive, ie price & gasoline. The filtered water did not agree with my skin and broke me out terribly, even when I poured it into the Brita pitcher 3 times before drinking.

Fast forward, and the cost of the filtered machines have gone down, and the machines are in more places, ie Publix, Kroger, meaning less gas. This water is delicious and will satisfy. The cost is usually $0.30 - $0.35 per gallon instead of paying much more for bottled water. (I've bought gallons of Publix/Kroger water, then re-used the bottles.)

PS I recommend Glacier machines over others. I don't know why there's a difference, but there clearly is.

I have a question about the Brita pitchers. when you put tap water in the pitcher is fresh water immediate? or does it have to sit a while... btw I love this thread. great information.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by whiteandblack

I have a question about the Brita pitchers. when you put tap water in the pitcher is fresh water immediate? or does it have to sit a while... btw I love this thread. great information.

It's immediate. It goes through a filter, and what is in the bottom of the pitcher is ready. We love ours!

[RaggedyAnn]

I mentioned this in another thread, but a great way to save on the electric bill is to turn off or unplug everything when you're not using it. A phone charger uses electricity even when it's not charging. We unplugged our base this month for our regular phone and my bill went down again. The phone lasted a good week without a charge. Our TV and cable box are also attached to a power strip which we turn off if we're not watching it. We turn off the internet as well.

I also lump all of my errands in an area. That saves time and money.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

I mentioned this in another thread, but a great way to save on the electric bill is to turn off or unplug everything when you're not using it. A phone charger uses electricity even when it's not charging. We unplugged our base this month for our regular phone and my bill went down again. The phone lasted a good week without a charge. Our TV and cable box are also attached to a power strip which we turn off if we're not watching it. We turn off the internet as well.

I also lump all of my errands in an area. That saves time and money.

I cant believe I forgot this! In the winter we turned our thermostat down to 68 and just layered clothes and blankets. However, My husband, daughter, and I dont do well with heat, and the boys usually could care less but everyone seemed to enjoy it at that level this year. For the summer on most days we have it set on 70, but on really hot days we move it up to 72. Two degrees doesnt seem like much but the electric/gas bill says otherwise. We got rid of our land phone line because everyone in the family now has a cell phone and didnt see the need for it anymore. We also got rid of digital cable and just have regular cable--I really am missing my history international, national geographic, and science channels We try hard to turn off tv's and lights too when we leave a room.

[AGDee]

And shop the sales. I plan my menus around what meats are on sale that week. I buy the fruit that's on sale, etc. I too have been packing my lunch, not only to save money, but to save calories. It's better to know what I'm eating ahead of time than to wander around the cafeteria trying to find what I can eat. I use my freezer a lot. I used to find that I could buy a package of lunch meat and throw away more than half of it because I couldn't use it all by the time it went bad. So now, I divide it up into individual portions when I buy it and freeze them. You can put frozen lunch meat on a sandwich that's going into a school lunch and it will be thawed by the time the kids have to eat it and I don't buy lunch meat as often.

[christiangirl]

2 words: Student. Discount. Even if you're not in school anymore, if you've got your old ID card and you still look like the picture... I only go to Moe's on SD day (which is today, so I'm tempted). Plus, I eat free at work so whenever I go in, I have my meals there and the caf staff gives the extras to anyone who wants them. I've brought home days worth of meals that way.

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

2 words: Student. Discount. Even if you're not in school anymore, if you've got your old ID card and you still look like the picture... I only go to Moe's on SD day (which is today, so I'm tempted). Plus, I eat free at work so whenever I go in, I have my meals there and the caf staff gives the extras to anyone who wants them. I've brought home days worth of meals that way.

Good point! I use my student ID still for discounts at the movies and offer my monthly tanning package.