What is your best money saving tip?

[misty57]

Remember, it doesn't matter how much you save on an item if you are constantly spending! You will save more if you just don't shop at all than if you buy, buy, buy even if what you buy is a good deal.

That is unless you learn how to make money buying stuff. This is what I do for a "hobby". Today I made over $20 buying stuff at two of the major drug chains. I will get an additional $13 by submitting some of the receipts for a manufacturer's rebate. I will even "make" some additional dough by donating some of the items to the local food pantry for a tax deduction.

Other than shopping "for a profit", I pretty much hate to shop and even then sometimes I don't really enjoy it; but it is a great way to get the things that we need/use for free or pennies on the dollar.

 

[misty57]

I found a $4 charge on my savings account statement 'Maintenance' so-called.

I saw a $25 charge on my investment account. Apparently they look at the balance in December and if your account is below a certain level, you are charged the fee. A family member had an emergency in Dec and needed a very short term loan so we helped them out. It was during that very "short term" that the bank looked at our balance.

I called the bank, pointed out to them that our balance is most ALWAYS way above their minimum (to avoid the fee), and asked them to refund it, which they promptly did.

One of my favorite adages, "If you don't ask, the answer is already 'no' ".

 

[marvholly]

Dsncin
had the same bit w/ a local bank charging me a $3 inactivity fee cple months back which overdrafted the account. I had wanted to close the account several years ago but had to stand in line & wait to talk to a banker instead of just being able to cash out the account w/ a teller. Went in. Talked to a "personal banker." Had the fees reversed and promptly CLOSED the account.

 

[calmloki]

Just back from a two week 3500 mile car trip through Eastern Oregon & Nevada, SW Utah and Arizona & California. Before crossing the border into Oregon we stopped at a discount liquor store and I stocked up for much of the coming year - Big fun buying cases of booze and doing best guesses at what consumption habits will be like for the upcoming year. Big fun acting like Diamond Jim and spending like a big dog. Even bigger fun taking the sales receipt in to the local Green Front and finding that even after paying Cali's whopping sales tax i saved 37% vs. buying in Oregon.

Could I save more by not drinking? Yes. Will I sneeze at drinking a notch better hooch and saving several hundred bucks over the coming year? No.

Vacationing and buying things you use that are cheaper where you are vacationing makes travel even less expensive.

 

[powerplay]

My favorite is coupons, rebates, and sales at places like Rite Aid and Walgreens. There are lots of free and better than free deals to be had. I am able to get lots of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, razors, lotions, bodywash, cold and allergy products, and eye care products for free resulting in almost never having to pay for these things. I read Fat Wallet, Slick Deals, and Hot Coupon World to learn about how to best maximize the deals. The surplus can be donated or some people report having stockpile yard sales and earning some money for the effort.

 

[NW-Bound]

...after paying Cali's whopping sales tax i saved 37% vs. buying in Oregon.

You piqued my curiosity, so I researched and found this on the Web.

In Oregon, the state buys and sells all hard liquor. Independent agents receive a commission for operating the stores that sell the spirits, getting at most 8.88 percent of sales.​

What? What kind of communist policy is that? What other goods does the state reserve for itself as the sole merchant? When traveling through some eastern seaboard states, it bothered me to have to look for liquor stores on the turnpikes, but it never occurred to me that these may also be state-owned stores.

 

[samclem]

What other goods does the state reserve for itself as the sole merchant?

Hmm, what others?
-- In a lot of states, gambling is one service only the state is allowed to sell (lotteries).
-- Use of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum is a license available only from the government.

 

[TromboneAl]

Didn't cost you a thing if it was a gift!

On a related note, at an after-Christmas gift exchange, I got some of four of these LED nightlights:

Amazon.com: 8 LED Nightlights: Furniture & Decor

They not only use about .2 watts instead of 4, but they have a sensor that turns them off during the day. It would take a while for them to save enough money to pay for themselves, but as a gift...

Note that the ad copy on Amazon says "These LED Nightlights will save you $312 in energy cost per pack per year. (As compared to using standard 7 watt incandescent nightlights at 12 cents per kWh.)" However, if 7 watt lights are on 24/7, then in one year they will cost 8 * 7 watts * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year / 1000 watts/kw * .12 $/kwh = $59.

 

[W2R]

On a related note, at an after-Christmas gift exchange, I got some of these LED nightlights:

Amazon.com: 8 LED Nightlights: Furniture & Decor

They not only use about .2 watts instead of 4, but they have a sensor that turns them off during the day. They would take years to save enough money to pay for themselves, but as a gift...

How cool to have a nightlight that turns itself off! I want to get a nightlight.

Last fall I started leaving my dressing room light on, 60W bulb but also with the dimmer turned way down, for a nightlight. (As I age, I am becoming more afraid of falling in the dark if I get up to use the bathroom, or maybe that is TMI, sorry.) The 60W bulb will burn out eventually, and have to be replaced and that will cost money even if I don't fall off the ladder and break anything. So, I should probably get a nightlight.


But I just looked at my electric bills and now I am not so worried about the electricity cost. My average monthly electric bill for the last three months of 2009 was $0.67 less than it was in 2008 for some reason, so even using the 60W dressing room light the cost difference is imperceptible for me. I can't imagine why that could be, given that I was retired for half of those three months during 2009 but not 2008. In retirement I have been staying up about 4-5 hours later than before, with the TV on. It's a mystery to me.

AHA!!!! I KNOW. I am not setting my alarm any more. That alarm clock must have been the culprit, using kwh like there was no tomorrow. Yet another reason to retire.

 

[Kroeran]

read somewhere that you should use nightlights and not turn on regular lights when getting up for the washroom in the middle of the night - regular light instantly burns off your melatonin (the eye being tricked into thinking it is dawn) making it more difficult to get back to sleep as well as disrupting the nightly healing process

this idea extends into evening light usage. Lower lighting in the evening mimics the natural twilight transition and brings on melatonin release, encouraging sleep and hastening the beginning of the nightly recuperative process

for myself, I can get to sleep much easier listening to the TV, but I use the setting that turns the TV off after a certain hour or after a certain number of minutes from when I trigger it

 

[Orchidflower]

Speaking of picking up loose change, I found about 21 cents the other day outside Walgreens in the snow. Picked it all up and felt "rich!" I'm not that proud..ha!

Calmloki's lemon squeezer is being exported by the dozens from Mexico to Texas. I've used mine for years and years and love it. Enjoy!

We have to have night lights here as Mom gets up to pee at night, but I'm sold on having them on and used them before in Houston, too. I think I'm jumping on the bandwagon to get those that turn themselves off, but for now we are using them 24/7. Amazing how looooong they will run before they burn out, too.
I never turn lights on at night (don't have to because we have so many night lights anyway), but I also read an article on melatonin. Must work as I have absolutely no problem going back to sleep in the middle of the night now.

 

[simple girl]

The other night when I got up to use the restroom, I walked head first into the closet door. The icon says it all. Still, I refuse to put in a nightlight yet. It's a new apartment, and I just haven't memorized my "nightly walk" yet, LOL!

 

[easysurfer]

Ouch...

Look at the bright side. At least you didn't do a Barry Manilow from back in 2003:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2961622.stmhttp://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-06-04-manilow-nose_x.htm

 

[simple girl]

Ouch...

Look at the bright side. At least you didn't do a Barry Manilow from back in 2003:

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Manilow breaks his nose

 

[ksr]

read somewhere that you should use nightlights and not turn on regular lights when getting up for the washroom in the middle of the night - regular light instantly burns off your melatonin (the eye being tricked into thinking it is dawn) making it more difficult to get back to sleep as well as disrupting the nightly healing process

Great information - I sure do learn all kinds of things here!

I've never understood why, being a very sound sleeper, I find it almost impossible to fall back to sleep if I get up in the middle of the night. I'll have to try a nightlight and see if that helps.

 

[Kroeran]

anyone tried this?

IPEVO SOLO Skype Desktop Ethernet VOIP Internet Speaker Phone (White) NO PC REQUIRED

 

[Orchidflower]

Trust me, ksr, a nightlight will help. Just don't forget and turn on a light switch or you blow the whole deal. It works!

 

[TromboneAl]

The other night when I got up to use the restroom, I walked head first into the closet door. The icon says it all. Still, I refuse to put in a nightlight yet. It's a new apartment, and I just haven't memorized my "nightly walk" yet, LOL!

Check this out:



It's an LED nightlight that we got free somewhere (advertisement on the front). I taped off everything except a tiny spot on the bottom. The room stays nice and dark, but when your eyes are dark-adapted, you see just enough of a glow to orient yourself.

I made this after being woken up at the sounds of DW walking into things when she gets up to go to the bathroom.

 

[simple girl]

Take a look at this:

View attachment 8161

It's an LED nightlight that we got free somewhere (advertisement on the front). I taped off everything except a tiny spot on the bottom. The room stays nice and dark, but when your eyes are dark-adapted, you see just enough of a glow to orient yourself.

I made this after being woken up at the sounds of DW walking into things when she gets up to go to the bathroom.

LOL, I'll have to keep my eye out for something like that...sounds perfect - we really need the room dark.

 

[ERD50]

On a related note, at an after-Christmas gift exchange, I got some of four of these LED nightlights:

Amazon.com: 8 LED Nightlights: Furniture & Decor


Note that the ad copy on Amazon says "These LED Nightlights will save you $312 in energy cost per pack per year. (As compared to using standard 7 watt incandescent nightlights at 12 cents per kWh.)" However, if 7 watt lights are on 24/7, then in one year they will cost 8 * 7 watts * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year / 1000 watts/kw * .12 $/kwh = $59.

Yep, it is wrong. They are maybe comparing to 40W bulbs - the numbers make sense then, but that is not a good comparison. Or maybe "lifetime"? But no way does one year make sense.

I'd also be skeptical of the auto-sense on/off feature. A bunch of reviewers said it didn't work well. That has been my experience with others like that. They either are not sensitive enough to turn off with indoor light levels, or they flicker continuously in dim light (very obnoxious), as they turn on, "see" their own light, and turn off again. With the low power of an LED - just leave it on 24/7. It probably takes more energy to add the on/off circuit than what you save over the life of the thing.

-ERD50

 

[FUEGO]

I'd also be skeptical of the auto-sense on/off feature. A bunch of reviewers said it didn't work well. That has been my experience with others like that. They either are not sensitive enough to turn off with indoor light levels, or they flicker continuously in dim light (very obnoxious), as they turn on, "see" their own light, and turn off again. With the low power of an LED - just leave it on 24/7. It probably takes more energy to add the on/off circuit than what you save over the life of the thing.

We got a number of these light sensitive LED nightlights from walmart. Maybe $1-2 each and I believe we bought them in a bulk pack of 2-3. They work flawlessly. But I wouldn't pay a whole lot extra for them since my LED lights only consume around 1-2 watts based on Kill a Watt readings when lit. Not sure how much if any they draw when not lit.

It looks like they are designed with very tiny button-sized photovoltaic cells on the front. I assume when current/voltage from the PV cell decreases, the circuitry starts drawing current from the outlet to illuminate the LED. In my area, I use a rule of thumb that 1 watt costs $1 over the course of the year. So avoiding using 1 watt half the time saves me $0.50.

 

[simple girl]

Today I saved almost 50% getting my hair done! Normally, I get expensive hi-lites and lo-lites, followed by a cut for around $115 (including tip). This actually, was a pretty reasonable price, since we lived in a lower cost of living area. Now that we've moved to a more metro area, prices are steeper. I wouldn't be able to get out of the salon for likely less than $140 - $150. That sure adds up when you go to the salon every 7-8 wks.

Well, today I went to a local school that trains hair stylists and had the same service done. It only cost me $64. The drawback was that I was in the salon 6, yes SIX hours. (Normally it takes 2 - 3 hours to get my hair done.) OK, yes, I will admit, this is one area where I am NOT a simple girl...a bit high maintenance when it comes to my hair, LOL.

My hi-lites turned out great! I've attached a pic...incognito, of course...

 

[Rustward]

I am on about the same schedule but I go to Great Clips with a coupon and pay $8 including tip. But your hair does look so much nicer than mine. Seriously, it does look nice.

 

[simple girl]

I am on about the same schedule but I go to Great Clips with a coupon and pay $8 including tip. But your hair does look so much nicer than mine. Seriously, it does look nice.

I soooooooo wish I could get away with $8! And thank you!

 

[easysurfer]

Just went to Great Clips myself (no coupon) yesterday. Paid $14 after tip. I like the way they store your haircut preference on the computer so each time, they just say, same as last time? Without hit-or-miss saying "How do you want it?"