List your most effective expense saving moves

Three of my friends are marshals/starters/cart jockeys at nearby golf courses. For six hours of work a week, they play for free the rest of the week.


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One of the best things we ever did was move into a 1200 sq. ft. house on 10 acres. We built it ourselves, and included:
1. 4" insulation
2. tankless hot water heater
3. Vegetable garden
4. Whole house fan
Plus, we:
1. Purchase bulk foods, cook meals, and freeze
2. Have no cable...just antenna & online
3. Then there's the usual like old cars, thrift store clothes, and yard sales.

The biggest savings is energy. During our hot summers, we have never spent more than $90.00 for air conditioning. We have a wood stove for winters.

Knowing that I have time to visit friends & family, take a trip, read, or just look at the stars is priceless. We don't have that debt monkey on our backs!
 
Three big ones: Paid off the mortgage. Child support and alimony ended (at last). I charge my live-in girlfriend to stay here.
 
Insulated my attic. $30 off a/c bill and more comfortable. Got a thermostat with a remote so I can adjust temperature to upstairs comfort. Both these probably won't pay for themselves before I move but I claim victory anyway.
 
Do almost all home maintenance myself
Don't eat out as much as we used to
Don't drive as much as we used to
Turned down heat in winter, AC up in summer
Negotiate cable bill
Still using company cell phone



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Got a roommate who cooks! The additional food costs for a third person pale in comparison to how much we used to spend going out when I didn't feel like cooking.
And free pet sitting when we travel.

We do a lot of the other things listed here, as well, especially the old cars and DIY home and car repairs.
 
Just fired my f*nancial advis*r for my retirement $ by rolling over 401K to self-directed IRA -- saving 1% a year-- enough to pay for my health insurance.

Living in small house.

Buying classic stuff -- particularly furniture and clothes. The classics never are out of date, and have everything to do with style, not with fashion. Much of these things were bought used -- eBay, etc.

Am a DIY fanatic. Won't risk doing plumbing or electrical, but all else is fair game. It ain't hard, just requires patience and practice (and several YouTube how-to videos!) :)

Like many others, dumped cable and use Netflix.

Buy used books or classics for free or a buck on amazon Kindle.

Have several rich friends who love house guests. Cook, clean up and/or treat to a great meal at a local restaurant. Plenty of beach time that way.

Travel off season -- always.

Strop my Gillette multi-blade razor on an old pair of jeans hanging in bath closet. Blade lasts me 4-6 months (YMMV -- I grow light stubble -- if you are hairy, it'll only last 3 months!)

Costco.

Bargain for the big ticket items. Most vendors will knock off 10-15%.
 
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We paid off all our debts, including mortgage. We have vehicles that are over 10 years old and we keep them maintained. We only go out to eat about 2x per week and often split meals, because most places serve huge portions. Since retirement, we don't use the dry cleaners. We get several quotes for any jobs we have done. Recently, we were getting quotes of $1400-1500 for tree trimming, then a neighbor who owns a landscape business gave us the name of the company he uses and they charged $600. Plus they did a great job. Just having the time to be conscious of what we are spending has helped to painlessly reduce our expenses.


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Moving to a no income tax state can put an extra $5K-10K in your pocket each and every year. WADR, beats having to diddle with the thermostat!
 
marko said:
Moving to a no income tax state can put an extra $5K-10K in your pocket each and every year. WADR, beats having to diddle with the thermostat!
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But then, one needs to balance that tax with the cost of selling the home, moving, buying new home, making new friends, the cost of flying home to visit relatives, etc...

Perhaps it is best to keep on working. One then has money to pay tax and still gets to keep plenty to run a cool AC. :cool:
 
In no particular order.

Bought smallest house in Rich Man's neighborhood, children got world class education for property tax rate vs. private vs. usual poor quality public.

Purchased least expensive in overall cost cars and ran them into the ground.

Married frugal wife.

Maxed all tax advantaged accounts.

You can cut your netflix or cable or whatever all you want but it was the tens of thousands per year that the above saved us that did the trick.
 
Use the library whenever not travelling for extended periods.

Buy used books to read and discard while travelling. (As a family we brought used books with us on our 9 week trip - swapped them all around, then discarded.)

Cook food with in-season ingredients. Tasty and far cheaper than dining out.

Exploit free entertainment activities - like going to the beach, parks, etc.

Exploit senior discounts and child discounts where-ever possible. Kids get cheap bus passes, DH gets an even cheaper bus pass and is acquiring the lifetime senior NPS pass today.

Buy used when possible. My son was thrilled to find video game themed t-shirts at good will. Our piano was bought off craigslist. We always survey local yard sales.

Reduce or eliminate monthly recurring charges: swapped landline to magic-jack, swapped verizon cell phones to Ting, reduced cable bill by more than half, DH cancelled gym membership when he realized he was exercising more frequently on his "death marches" with the dog - supplemented with some free weights.

I've set a mandatory rule against "in game purchases" on video games for my sons. No more "pay to win" games (Hello team fortress 2 and the stupid hats!)

Don't replace items just because there are newer, shinier versions available. Our tv is 9 years old... sure those 4k tv's look nice at Costco... but our tv is still functioning. Same with clothes, same with furniture, same with almost everything.... use it till it has no use left.
 
NW-Bound said:
But then, one needs to balance that tax with the cost of selling the home, moving, buying new home, making new friends, the cost of flying home to visit relatives, etc...

Perhaps it is best to keep on working. One then has money to pay tax and still gets to keep plenty to run a cool AC. :cool:
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But then, one would be in the wrong forum! :LOL:

Seriously, for some folks (living in northern Mass for example) moving to NH could be a matter of moving 2 or 3 miles.

Most folks here already just drive an extra mile or two to get liquor, gas, cigs, TVs, laptops, appliances etc. Registering your car/boat in NH is another common pastime (excise tax alone can be $800 each year).
 
The RV was expensive. But having people rent my flat while I travel full time is not bad.

And having friends visiting in the RV for weeks sharing the costs is both fun and frugal.
 
How could I forget: no divorce, no kids, although married


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Christine said:
... And having friends visiting in the RV for weeks sharing the costs is both fun and frugal.
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They would have to be very good friends. My RV is small, but even if I have a larger one I don't think I have any friends or even relatives I like to share it with. Not unless they make an RV that has two bedrooms and two baths.
 
poorcarver said:
In no particular order.

Bought smallest house in Rich Man's neighborhood, children got world class education for property tax rate vs. private vs. usual poor quality public.

Purchased least expensive in overall cost cars and ran them into the ground.

Married frugal wife.

Maxed all tax advantaged accounts.

You can cut your netflix or cable or whatever all you want but it was the tens of thousands per year that the above saved us that did the trick.
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I believe the question pertains to post-FIRE, when, hopefully, things like getting married to a like minded person, educating kids economically, and maxing out savings accounts are all been-there, done-that items.

The benefit of minding the small things in FIRE, for us at least, is that the monies freed up can be directed elsewhere as we see fit. We have bumped up several budget lines over the years through efficiency achieved elsewhere, most notably our travel line. And our stockpile of boutique wine and craft beers which we categorize under 'Entertainment.' :)
 
The biggest for us was to cut out Comcast cable tv. We've been 2-3 years now without it and we are surviving just fine. Saves $100/ month.

Next would be to just simply pay attention to your gas/electric usage. I find that when I pay attention to it, I work on conserving more. It gets my excited to try and optimize it. This is vs. ignoring it and not caring at all. To me it is a win-win....environment wins, I win.

Next on the list is the mortgage interest expense. We are at a point where the PEASE act essentially wipes out the deduction so I'm on a 'get rid of the mortage interest' bender.
 
NW-Bound said:
They would have to be very good friends. My RV is small, but even if I have a larger one I don't think I have any friends or even relatives I like to share it with. Not unless they make an RV that has two bedrooms and two baths.
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I guess mine is small too compared to many although 33 ft is large here in Europe. So only one bath and guests sleep in the lounge area. I usually have one visitor at a time but when my brother and his two kids came on holiday one summer we had loads of fun. Not all family members have been invited though... :angel:
 
gretah said:
... Turn off hot water heater until 3 hours before needed. I only need hot water in the morning so that saves lots of electricity. ...
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Actually, not heating the water until you need it is probably not really saving you anything measurable at all (not 'lots'). Modern electric water heaters are well insulated, very little energy is required to keep the water hot, compared to the amount of energy required to get the water hot (which is the same in either case).

If you have to raise the water from say 60 F to 130 F, that is a 70 F increase. But an electric tank may only lose a few degrees overnight. And those are either made up in the morning, or in stages at night. So there is almost no difference at all.

If you want to get really technical, if the average temperature overnight is 125 F rather than being kept at 130 F, it will lose energy at a slightly lower rate (slight less T-delta), but this is minuscule.


antmary said:
...
2. tankless hot water heater
...
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Much the same applies to a tankless.

But more importantly, it seems you both could save much more $$$. Why are you heating hot water? If it's hot, you don't need a water heater, or spend any money on energy.

OK, that probably belongs in the 'pet peeve' thread, but it is a water heater, not a hot water heater. You don't need to heat hot water, it is already hot.

-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
But more importantly, it seems you both could save much more $$$. Why are you heating hot water? If it's hot, you don't need a water heater, or spend any money on energy.

OK, that probably belongs in the 'pet peeve' thread, but it is a water heater, not a hot water heater. You don't need to heat hot water, it is already hot.
-ERD50
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My dad has been arguing this point for decades, and still hasn't won over the universe. But hey, still worth trying, right? :D
 
Buy new car for cash, keep until wheels fall off, liability insurance only.
Avoid needless trips in car, saves gas and liability exposure, walk if possible.
Buy condo for cash, avoid mortgage payments.
Air condition a small room, leave rest of home with fans and open windows.
Borrow books/DVDs/CDs from library.
MagicJack for landline replacement.
Internet only cable, used Netflix for a while, then cancelled it.
Target razor blades, no fancy overpriced gizmo blades.
Buy off season clothes on sale.
Do not buy shampoo, use regular soap on hair.
Buy food on sale if possible, with coupons.
Shop at multiple supermarkets for weekly specials.
Never buy snacks/soda out of a machine.
Make sure qualified dividends are enough to avoid paying income tax.
When I was working, put max allowed into 401k.
Keep income under 16k to get free medical, cell phone, and reduced electric rates.
Almost never eat out or go to bars.
Get enough clothes so wash only needs to be done once a month.
Build own computer and use a open source operating system.
No pets.
Stay unattached to avoid alimony, child support, wife expenses.
Stop drinking soda or alcohol.
No financial advisor.
Do not buy apps or music.
Cut own hair. ...maybe in the future.
 
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Andre1969 said:
Last week I moved my '79 New Yorker 5th Ave from my regular car insurance to my antique policy. On the regular policy it was $200 a year for liability-only. On the antique, it's $53 a year for full coverage of an agreed value of $4,000.

So, about a $150 per year savings. It's small, but it's a start!
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If you don't mind sharing, who issued the antique policy? I am paying 200/yr for an agreed value of 8k.
 
At present, I'm saving some serious money doing corrective and preventative maintenance on our cars. While you don't save much by doing your own oil change as compared to Jiffy Lube, you DO save a boatload by doing a little bit of internet research, finding the service manual for your car, using Auto Zone to check your Maintenance Indicating Lights and buying your own parts for routine stuff like air filter replacements, etc.

In the last six months, I've: replaced both headlights; cleaned the IACV and throttle body in my wife's car, correcting her stall-on-idle issue. That likely saved several hundred dollars in labor, costing less than $20 in parts and fluids and about four hours of my life doing something fun anyway. Just this week, I took my car to Auto Zone to check the MIL code, found that my high idle was due to idle air control issues, so I started simple and inspected/replaced my air filters. Turns out, one of them wasn't seated properly, so instead of having someone hunt down a vacuum leak that didn't exist and renting a car for a day, I fixed that one on my own.

Next up, rear diff lube change, oil change, and cabin air filter change. I suspect it'll cost me ~$80 and about two hours to do all of that rather than the $150+ the shop wants.

Learning to do your own automotive maintenance can save boatloads of money (and give you something to do in retirement!)
 
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