Some Simple Tricks for Saving Money

[DreamerTheresa]

I figured some of you might benefit from some tricks Mike and I have been using.

First and foremost, you MUST learn discipline.


*One of the best tricks is a scheme we both first learned from local radio talk show host, Neal Boortz.

Simply, DO NOT spend your $1 bills. Put them in a jar (we have one of those big water cooler thingies).

That way, when you have two $1 bills and a $10 bill in your wallet, and you've sworn off spending your $1's, you'll be a little more hard-pressed to spend $1.50 at McDonald's when you really don't want to break a $10.

Going a little further, we empty any loose change we have every day into the jar.




*Cut back on eating out.

Food is SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE at a restaurant, even some fast food places, than it is to go to the grocery store and buy it yourself. And it's usually higher quality if you make it yourself.

Additionally, some store brand foods are just as good as name brand foods. Not all of them. Sometimes you have to go by trial and error. Most grocery stores will take back whatever you've not used for a full refund so you can go ahead and get the name brand.

Need help cooking? PM me and I'll walk you through what you get stuck with.


One of those George Foreman grills are great if you live in an apartment or a dorm when you can't have a real grill.




*Get thee a copy of Quicken.

It is worth it's weight in gold and then some. Seeing how spending $100 today can screw yourself over next month before you do it is great.

You can plan your budget out to eternity.

 

[shaeff]

That's some good advice. I noticed that I was spending a decent amount of money per week that I really didn't have to. (Girlfriend and I would go out to eat up to 4 nights!- and no, we're not fat. We're both very in shape. )

We've since cut back about a month ago, and it's amazing how much cash we've saved! I'm going to try that put the dollar bills in a jar thing, I already do that with my change and make a killing off of it. LOL.

 

[Nick M]

Get rid of your Supra you can not afford.

Drive a ten year old 4 cylinder Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. With an automatic.

Your insurance company will love you even more.

 

[LilMissMkIII]

1. Plan ALL meals out in advance, and write down exactly what you need on a shopping list.
When you go to the grocery store, only buy what is on your list. I have saved close to $50 a week doing this as I am not buying things I don't need (that sit in the fridge and go off), and I am also not wasting petrol going to the store every other day

2. Get your salary or wages paid into a few different accounts.

I get what I need for bills and groceries into one account, and the rest goes into a high interest savings account that I do not have immediate access to. This way, if something comes up I would like to splurge on, I need to make extra effort to get the cash, and 9 times out of 10, realise that it's too much effort and I don't really need that splurge anyways.

3. Stop buying coffee from retail outlets.

Instead, buy some nice beans and brew your own. $2 here and there really adds up.

4. Take lunch to work.

Plan lunches in with your weekly grocery shop. Not only cheaper, but healthier aswell

 

[GrimJack]

And if you think eating out is expensive, try tracking how much it costs for booze and cigarettes. The reason that I have so much more nice stuff than all my friends from school 20+ years ago is that I haven't spent a dime on liquor or smokes.

Instead, I have a Supra that gobbles up spare cash...

 

[ms07s]

Stop drinkig soda, beer, tea, and bottled water. Get a pur or britta filtration system, $20 last time I checked. This saves you money and helps reduce your waist size. I'm down 10 lbs and up $100 a month.

 

[Doward]

Ha! Yep, eating out eats your wallet

 

[trucker]

yeah, quit smoking last week...alredy notice a diference money wise...7 bucks a pack in jersy? 8 in new york?

and no one has died yet.


Seriously...go out and get a book, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

But the plans he puts out only works out if you do it.Personal finance is 80% personal, 20% math. Some of his plan is incorrect mathematically, but deliberately so for a reason.

Just be aware that the guy is an evangellical christian.If you can get past that, the dude has his shit straight.I know he has a radio show on the jesus channels, as well as both satellite networks.

 

[drunk_medic]

Get rid of your Supra you can not afford.

Drive a ten year old 4 cylinder Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. With an automatic.

Your insurance company will love you even more.

This did work. '91 Supra T Targa -> '98 Civic LX Auto = full coverage price cut in half for me.

Also, we've been putting all coins in a jug for quite awhile, but haven't visited throwing dollar bills in there yet. I think I will start that.

When DT says that trying store brand items is hit and miss, she means it. Trial and error here, folks. One thing I do know is that store brand "shells and cheese" is horribad. If you want it, get the real stuff.

Malt-O-Meal "Cocoa Dyno Bites" is just like Cocoa Pebbles and the stuff that is like Super Golden Crisp [I think "Golden Puffs"] is good, but beware the Malt-O-Meal ones that look like Cap'n Crunch, because they taste like garbage if you are expecting them to taste like the real thing - too sweet, and the wrong kind of sweet.

A crock pot and soups with beans can be pretty healthy, tasty and cheap if you do it right. Patience is a virtue here though.

 

[Who]

I try to avoid all the tech magazines, tech websites, and the brick and mortar electronics stores. They all try to suck you in and empty your wallet.
Don't carry a balance on your credit cards but use them for cash backs, gas rebates or airline miles. When you do shop online try and shop through a commission kickback website like FatWallet. Its not a gimmick.

 

[drunk_medic]

Bottled water. Get a pur or britta filtration system, $20 last time I checked. This saves you money and helps reduce your waist size. I'm down 10 lbs and up $100 a month.

In some places, this is not an option. Seriously.

In Florida they have that water that tastes a little strange and smells a little like sulfur. The PUR filter takes that out, no problem - my wife and I drank that for years.
In Yuma, Arizona however, the water out of the tap smells and tastes so bad that the filter just will not help, and I'm sure it has made me a little sick a few times. In the summer, the water comes out of the tap HOT, too, so that doesn't help your refreshment any. I guess I could have put a PUR pitcher in the fridge, but if a faucet mount unit doesn't work, why would a pitcher? Bottled water was a decent expense there, especially in a place where proper hydration can be a chore.

 

[Kai]

Yep - make multi-day meals. Like what i did today, a Beef Stew.

Take one onion, one potato, handful of pearl barley, small tin of flageloet beans and a single carrot, and some rough cut beef (doesn't need to be fantastic).

Chop onion. Put in pot with tablespoon of oil. Put on low heat with lid. Sweat Onion.

Chop beef. Add to pot. Brown it.

Add a cup of water.

Add the beans

Chop the carrot and potato. Add to the pot.

I use instant gravy powder (bisto) to make the stock, about a pint worth - but use whatever you have over there.

Add stock. Put lid on. Leave it for 3 hours.

Makes stew for 4 people, or for one person for about 5 days.

Simply put, you have a stew on days 1 and 2, and as its winter, its hearty and warm and winteryish.

Days 3/4/5 you can either keep having stew, or you can blend it and have a warming beef & vegetable soup.

Sum total cost of ingredients? $10 tops.

Meals for $2 a day = win.

 

[trucker]

life on the road limits what i can do for food

loaf of bread
pkg bologna
mayo
pb&j
dollar store cereal
half gal milk
couple cases sams diet pop
case of water(not an option...drink local tap water several times a day in different markets, not good idea)

like what 25 bucks? gets me thru the week...fortunately i still like these foods, guess i never grew up.(and i love ramen too, best stuff in the workd, but can't make it on the truck)

eat in truckstops, and you can easily be at 45 bucks a day...i only eat off the truck couple of times a week.not that this applies to most of you...

 

[tissimo]

discipline is the biggest thing you need. Just set your self a budget and stick to it. Dont sway from it at all. If something doesn't fit in your budget, DONT BUY IT!

 

[Poodles]

ANYONE wanting to know about survival should know about Kurt Saxon... I'll let you guys find the info yourself, but he's made a few books and videos.

 

[phoenix6]

these are all really good tips! Im finally 100% in my own place for once in my life, and Im worried to shit my $2100 to $2500 monthly income isnt enough, but its only bc of the lifestyle Im mostly used to...

Ive got rent, car insur., cell, water, electric and internet.

So far I think Im doing pretty good but I cant stop thinking how i could be saving more money or how at the end of this month somehow I wont have enough to pay rent AND live off of.

One of my biggest issues is cooking, I found this AMAZING grocery store where I can spend $50 and feed myself for a month! Only issue, Im limited to what I can make due to experience, I really dont know how to make ALOT..... Id LOVE some recipe ideas (I know we had a thread) and some tips on cooking.

Im also gonna start tracking my spending closer in Quicken or M$ money. I think it will help, I need to quit splurging on a few things too, which I tend to do from time to time...

Anyways lets keep this going, AMAZING thread!

 

[Kai]

$50 a month? Jesus.....i spend $400 a month, MINIMUM, even with all the savings

Excel Spreadsheets are just as good as financial management packages as well - you just gotta STICK to the figures

 

[LilMissMkIII]

One of my biggest issues is cooking, I found this AMAZING grocery store where I can spend $50 and feed myself for a month! Only issue, Im limited to what I can make due to experience, I really dont know how to make ALOT..... Id LOVE some recipe ideas (I know we had a thread) and some tips on cooking.

4 Ingredients.

BEST RECIPE BOOK EVER!

 

[DreamerTheresa]

Phoenix - what store? Aldi? We have one not too far from us, but I've never been in one.

Pasta is quick, cheap, and easy. I like to get some italian sausage, some pasta of choice, and some alfredo sauce. Two boxes of pasta, two pounds of sausage, three jars of sauce is like... $12. Mostly because of the meat, but it feeds me and Mike for four or five days.


One of my faves is to get a pound of chicken, cut it up, put a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herbs soup over it, bake at like 400 for 35 minutes, put a few slices of swiss cheese over it, bake another 10 mins. Some people put bread crumbs/bread stuffing over that.

While that's cooking, I'll make two boxes of Rice O Roni Nature's Recipe Italian Cheese and Herb rice ($1.10 per box). When everything's done, I pour the chicken goop over the rice, and that feeds us for two days, I think the total of that meal is like $8-$10.

 

[LilMissMkIII]

DT - we have Aldi here, and it is AWESOME!

The do unit pricing also, so you know EXACTLY what you're paying for.

Some of their items aren't great, but the trial and error is worth it for the savings.