What is your best money saving tip?

[REWahoo]

Yeah, i saw that but was trying to avoid paying that fee, cheap as i am.

OK. Since you said "...it appears the only way I could join...", I thought you'd missed seeing the NMFA option.

In case you reconsider, the NMFA has a good score with regard to passing along a large percentage of funds donated to recipients. And the $20 is tax deductible.

 

[Nords]

what do you think? Should i go for it?

Yes.

I grumbled & grumped for several years before joining PenFed via the $20 tax-deduction route.

Since then I've earned at least 0.25% higher on CDs than competing credit unions, scored a HELOC at 2.75% interest, and refinanced to a 30-year fixed 3.625% mortgage.

I haven't applied for a credit card yet but it's become more convenient to buy gas at Costco (for 2% back on everything) with an Amex than to chase around the island for 5% on gas and only 1% on many other purchases.

IMO PenFed is the credit-union equivalent of Vanguard. They both have extremely low fees but their customer service and their infrastructure are... fragile at times. I trust PenFed not to screw around (too much) with CDs and loans but apparently credit cards are a different sort of challenge.

 

[fern]

Very illuminating, Nords. I'd never heard of them before, but that's very helpful info. I haven't ruled them out, still "ruminating." I don't anticipate any needs for loans of any kind.

Do you think the current number of CCs i have is too much? I have 2 major credit cards (a visa and Amex), both of which i've had a long time, and also these store credit cards: Pier 1, Sears, Kohl's, Macy's.

 

[Nords]

Very illuminating, Nords. I'd never heard of them before, but that's very helpful info. I haven't ruled them out, still "ruminating." I don't anticipate any needs for loans of any kind.
Do you think the current number of CCs i have is too much? I have 2 major credit cards (a visa and Amex), both of which i've had a long time, and also these store credit cards: Pier 1, Sears, Kohl's, Macy's.

I don't know enough about credit ratings to know how much this aspect factors into the overall number. Store cards may also be weighted differently than major cards, and I think the credit rating is affected more by having a large number of recent card issues.

However there are a number of posters with more cards than that who still have high-700s credit ratings.

 

[travelover]

I'm still in the process of setting up a trip to Peru. A lot can be done over the internet, but I'm finding that a few places simply need a phone call and I was struggling for a way to do that really cheaply. Even Google Voice has a $10 minimum credit, sooooooooo.......it occurred to me that my prepaid cell phone has a couple of hundred bucks in rolling credit that I will probably never use. I authorized it for international calls and it works great.

OK, back to straining the glass shards out of the peanut butter.

 

[FreeAtLast]

Working Part Time. I have a more limited supply of time that I can be spending.

Every Friday morning I work on some cost saving project. Everything from leaky toilets to save on water to shopping for better insurance rates.

 

[freebird5825]

Baby oil.

 

[KingB]

Forget recycling dryer sheets. Don't use them at all.

 

[sheehs1]

Haven't read thru ALL the post so if these have been posted before (I'm sure they have) ...sorry for the redundancy.
1. As Bank5 said, call the companies you use for telephone, t.V., Cable, Internet etc. If they don't give you a promotion discount the first time, ask for "their customer retention" department. This works... as the people in this department have given me promotions when the first customer service rep would not.
2. Don't take the "bundle" services. Once they have all of your services, you have less leverage to negotiate better prices. For ex: I can tell the cable company Verizon wants me to stay. Give me a reason to stay with you...etc...etc."
3. If you have heat pumps turn them "off" not just "down or up" in temperate weather or under conditions where you are not that uncomfortable. If you turn them off 30% of the day or more, you can consistently reduce your energy bills by that percentage. I know...they tell you not to turn them off...but I recently had an energy person admit to me that is the only way to significantly reduce your bill. I have 3 heat pumps and can "zone" my house by keeping the upstairs off with the children no longer here.
4. Go the the library instead of buying books unless it is a book you want to keep.
5. Eat you left overs instead of throwing them out. With the price of food these days...this can be significant. My husband doesn't like left overs so this has been eye opening for him. LOL !
There are so many other ways to save significant dollars...such as doing your own yard work, your own painting....but of course one either has to know how to do it or enjoy doing it for these things to work....

 

[missionfinder]

5. Eat you left overs instead of throwing them out. With the price of food these days...this can be significant. My husband doesn't like left overs so this has been eye opening for him. LOL !

+1. This one has saved us huge amounts of money. Along those lines, I do most of the cooking and have tried to reduce the size of the initial meal to reduce the chance of left-overs. Occasionally the meal comes up a little short, but that's taken care of with a couple slices of bread to go with it. Also, we reduced our dog food budget by taking left-overs which don't make it back to the table and mixing them with the dog food. Vet says this is perfectly okay so long as we mix it and feed it as part of their normal schedule.

I'd like to add giving myself a cash allowance and leaving cards in a drawer at home. I find myself asking myself if I really need to swing by some place for lunch/dinner or do I really need that gadget. I gave myself $50 allowance two weeks ago and have only spent about $7.80 cents so far. Gasoline is exempt from allowance, we fill up the tanks at the beginning of allowance periods.

 

[Isoman]

Move out from my high tax country( socialist ) to a decent taxed country.

 

[samclem]

Along those lines, I do most of the cooking and have tried to reduce the size of the initial meal to reduce the chance of left-overs.

Funny how folks are wired differently--I save money by doing just the opposite. Neither DW nor I enjoy cooking and are fine with leftovers. So, We make sure to cook enough for two night's worth of dinners (and sometimes an intervening lunch). If the food is in the 'fridge just waiting to be warmed up, we're far less likely to talk ourselves into going out to eat.
I have a theory: If a person doesn't like to cook and has no one else to do it for him/her, he/she is far less likely to reject leftovers.

 

[W2R]

I'd like to add giving myself a cash allowance and leaving cards in a drawer at home. I find myself asking myself if I really need to swing by some place for lunch/dinner or do I really need that gadget. I gave myself $50 allowance two weeks ago and have only spent about $7.80 cents so far. Gasoline is exempt from allowance, we fill up the tanks at the beginning of allowance periods.

Wow, $7.80 in two weeks? That is wonderful! I am so impressed. Sounds like you have a terrific method for saving money.

 

[rescueme]

Move out from my high tax country( socialist ) to a decent taxed country.

Sweden as compared to whom?

 

[Isoman]

Sweden as compared to whom?

Almost any country will do..why not Spain, Thailand or France. I can retire much earlier if i do that.

 

[spirit]

Marry well

No not marry rich, you will earn every penny.Marry well.

 

[smjsl]

Neither DW nor I enjoy cooking and are fine with leftovers. So, We make sure to cook enough for two night's worth of dinners (and sometimes an intervening lunch).

You can take it further and cook weeks worth of food at a time. Then freeze it, and move next day's (or couple of days) food from freezer to fridge so it thaws by the time you need it.

 

[missionfinder]

Funny how folks are wired differently--I save money by doing just the opposite. Neither DW nor I enjoy cooking and are fine with leftovers. So, We make sure to cook enough for two night's worth of dinners (and sometimes an intervening lunch). If the food is in the 'fridge just waiting to be warmed up, we're far less likely to talk ourselves into going out to eat.
I have a theory: If a person doesn't like to cook and has no one else to do it for him/her, he/she is far less likely to reject leftovers.

Well, actually I do a little of both. Most meals I cook enough for just that night. Pasta dishes keep well so I when I cook those I tend to cook enough for 3-4 days... the kids will eat it anytime! When I cook ground beef I'll cook 4-5 lbs at a time as I can use it in a variety of "quick" dishes. If I make biscuits or rolls, same thing: make as much as we'll use for several days. Our problem with leftovers is our two boys are going through finicky stages and non-stables are harder to get rid of.

Going out for a meal requires planning on our part, more than eating at home since we're in the boonies and it's not short trip to the decent places.

Agree with your theory. My wife hates cooking and will eat most left overs. I love cooking, experimenting, watch cooking shows and cooking reality shows (Ramsay especially).

 

[obgyn65]

Or never marry at all.

No not marry rich, you will earn every penny.Marry well.

 

[braumeister]

5 Tips For Using Aluminum Foil

Everyone knows that aluminum foil is great for wrapping up leftovers. But you can also use foil in many other handy ways around the home. See our five great tips for using aluminum foil.

 

[travelover]

5 Tips For Using Aluminum Foil

This is better than tearing dryer sheets in half if it really works.

 

[beowulf]

He left out the most important one - making a large piece of heavy duty foil into a hat to protect you from all those alien thought patterns and ambient radiation .

 

[TromboneAl]

5 Tips For Using Aluminum Foil

I tried the block of brown sugar trick with a block of garlic, and it didn't work. Oh well, back to scraping off bits with a knife.

 

[freebird5825]

I tried the block of brown sugar trick with a block of garlic, and it didn't work. Oh well, back to scraping off bits with a knife.

An easier way is to place the clove on a cutting board, place the flat side of a chef's knife (widest blade in the set) on top of the clove, and pound on it once quickly with your palm. The clove will be smashed a bit, but the skin will come right off.
Piece of cake!

In the first part of this video, you will see the technique.
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-peel-mince-garlic-333208/

 

[TromboneAl]

I should have said block of garlic powder. This this is like cement. I usually chip off a little and put it in the mortar and grind it with the pestle.