Tell us a few little things you do to save money

[FiveDriver]

Some pretty good suggestions for saving money on this thread.

One of the first things we did when we moved down here was to appeal our RE Taxes. I found good Comps in our subdivision with the same Golf Course Views and submitted the package to the Assessor. To our surprise, he agreed to my figures without any further negotiations. The Assessor's Office was swamped with a county Re-Valuation and they must have "rubber-stamped" any Appeal that looked solid. That cut our Taxes by $500 bucks per year and that's some real high-octane money.

Other big savings --
We rarely order a drink with Dinner. Our Daughter worked in Food & Beverage, and she described the markup -- which was astounding !! I don't mind an after-dinner cocktail on my patio......but dining out is always Unsweetened Ice Tea.

Shop around for Insurance. There's new FEMA Maps for our area, and we are now in Zone X. The old maps were developed in 1986, before this subdivision was even built. I'll keep the Flood Insurance, but I expect it to be much less.

Cable Internet and Phone service is all on one Bill, and I claim a Expense Deduction to offset Income from a Small Business.

Use the local public Library. Don't buy Newspapers. Stock the Freezer when good sales come around. I do my own Lawn Care and Fertilizer Applications.

We keep an eye on Gas Prices. My car needs Premium, but I'm only filing up once a month these past few years...I really don't care it it's $40 or $42 per month. DW's Car runs on Regular and gets crazy good mileage.

There's some other small potatoes stuff that I can't bring myself to worry about -- a 12 pack of BIC Disposable Razors lasts me 6 months and costs $5 or less. $10 bucks a year gets lost in the noise. A haircut is $15 with tip, I go on even-numbered months and it keeps me groomed for the Major Holidays. Clothing expense is minimal, I still have quality shirts in my w*rking days and they're still quality 12 years later. LL Bean will never go out of style.

Of course we work the Credit Card Cash Back angles diligently. No Points, Just gimme the Cash.

I honestly can't think of any other cost saving strategies.

 

[Scrapr]

There's some other small potatoes stuff that I can't bring myself to worry about -- a 12 pack of BIC Disposable Razors lasts me 6 months and costs $5 or less. $10 bucks a year gets lost in the noise. A haircut is $15 with tip, I go on even-numbered months and it keeps me groomed for the Major Holidays.

That sounds about like the barber I used to have. $12 rounded up to 15w/tip. Then price raised to $13. Well, ok that's $15 w/tip. Then became Oh, I don't have change for a $20 a couple times. after the 2nd or 3rd time i went to the Beauty Supply store and bought a nice set of clippers. Now Mrs scrapr cuts it. It's easy. If she remembers to put the #1 guard on i get a #1. If not I get a #0...and like it Mister! That clipper has saved us a lot of money over the last 10 years

 

[Rummy]

I shake my head when I see people in my local supermarket buy "Deer Park" bottled water. The spring where the water comes from is 1/4 mile away north of the market. It's trucked about 50 miles, bottled, then sent back.

Our township water supply comes from the same aquifer, deep wells and springs.

Just turn the tap...

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

She said "Close enough." and that was 10% off. I padded the tip a bit over 20%.

.

When we were still able to go out to eat, Once in a blue moon, the server would tell us about a discount that was being offered that I knew nothing about, and that I didnt have the coupon/ eligibility for. One that comes to mind was we went to the outback, they had steak and lobster special. I wanted to supersize the steak and super size the lobster tail. The waiter said "oh that was a special a few weeks ago". When the bill came he said that the code for that special we ordered was still in the cash register. We got $12 bucks off each meal. I left him the regular tip Plus $20. I still saved $4 bucks, he got an extra 20. I got what I wanted and paid less than I expected. He thanked me profusely. I left the place full and made me feel good that I made him happy.

 

[Pilot2013]

Found out that now I am in style drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer "PBR" since it has become a craft/designer/yuppie brand in our area. 18 pack for $10.95 and I must admit taste the same as some pricier IPA's.☺

Now, I drink PBR with my boss when we go to Cigar bar, but I am not about to say it tastes the same as an IPA.

 

[Koolau]

I do lots of the stuff already mentioned. A couple of other items - shower with my lady. Saves water and is more fun.

Pick up "Hawaiian nickels." In Paradise, we have a 5 cent returnable fee on all plastic and aluminum soda/water containers. As we are out and about, I pick these "nickels" up from the ground (sadly, tourists do NOT toss these on the ground - local people do, but that's another thread) or pick them from the trash. It's not a lot, but it's good for the environment and the nickels are nice to have.

YMMV

 

[Bamaman]

My wife went to a couponing seminar last week. Now, she's trying to figure out all of the grocery and drug store games--to get something for almost nothing.

It all gets complicated. I finally told her to have fun, but quit giving me the details on how to save a buck because I simply don't want to hear about it.

When we're retired, it's nice just keeping life simple and not worrying about the small details about which store to go to this week.

 

[Walt34]

When we're retired, it's nice just keeping life simple and not worrying about the small details about which store to go to this week.

Exactly. I see people at the grocery store with handfuls of coupons and wonder how much time they spent on gathering all that together and is it for stuff they were going to buy anyway, or are they buying stuff because they got it cheap and will it eventually expire and be thrown out?

Right now one of the credit cards is offering a 10% statement credit for groceries, gas and restaurant meals and I use that for stuff we were going to buy anyway, but nothing more. Last statement I had a credit of $177, mostly groceries and some gas for the car and truck.

I wonder how they can make any money doing that, but hey, that's not my concern.

 

[RobbieB]

I refuse to pay to shop.

No Costco, no Sam's Club, no Amazon prime.

 

[Walt34]

I refuse to pay to shop.

No Costco, no Sam's Club, no Amazon prime.

That's my initial reaction too, but....

I consider the total cost of the transaction(s). For example, if I needed hearing aids I read here that Costco offers substantially lower prices, like half off, than the local audiologist. In that case then paying say, $2k for a set at Costco vs. $4k a set for the same quality, then yeah, I'm gonna pay for the Costco membership. (I know you don't need the membership for hearing aids, just using it as an example.) If we lived near one (we don't) and we went there often, over a year's time it probably would be cost-effective to pay for the annual membership. So for me I look at the total cost and I'd get over the membership fee as a cost of doing business.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I personally don't find most grocery coupons to come out to a lot of savings per hour of work and car mileage. I do shop at places like 99 Cents Only and Grocery Outlet. My last trip to GO I spent around $50 and saved $90 off local retail type supermarket prices so I find that to be a good use of an hour of my time. Sometimes Safeway will have good deals on $5 Friday so I will go and stock up on items like pesto sauce at 1/3 the retail price.

I sign up for many newsletters and store programs and have the offers go to a junk email mailbox I scan once a day. I also join a variety of nonprofits and seat filler groups, am a store product reviewer and do some of the credit card, store rewards, Reddit beer money and bank bonus hacks. In a good month I get $2k worth of freebies and discounts. We're trying to declutter so most of that is usually event tickets and consumables. Some random freebies from this past week or so - three tickets for a movie screening, three concert tickets, two musical play tickets, a $5 gift card for a home improvement store, a $5 Amazon gift card, three heads of lettuce, $20 in merchandise from an office supply store and $50 worth of toilet paper. Most of the events aren't completely free - I pay for the seat filler memberships. But the price usually comes out to under a $1 to $10 an event ticket with the cost of membership included.

 

[GravitySucks]

Now, I drink PBR with my boss when we go to Cigar bar, but I am not about to say it tastes the same as an IPA.

I discovered I like hoppy IPAs since I've ERd. Not just like, but like like.
i am going to have to go into RIP and redo my expenses. If it comes out as failing before 92 I'm changing my end date before I go back to PBR.

 

[kcowan]

I refuse to pay to shop.

No Costco, no Sam's Club, no Amazon prime.

Our downtown Costco has pay parking with no rebates! Talk about paying to play!

 

[Music Lover]

I personally don't find most grocery coupons to come out to a lot of savings per hour of work and car mileage.

How can a coupon not work out? It takes 5 seconds to cut one out if you see one you will use, and if you're going to the store anyway there is no extra gas expense. Some of the grocery stores around here actually have a wall of coupons by the main entrance...30 seconds looking them over can save $5 - $10 at the till.

Of course, if you spend hours searching and then driving all over to save 50 cents, then it's a different story.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

How can a coupon not work out? It takes 5 seconds to cut one out if you see one you will use, and if you're going to the store anyway there is no extra gas expense. Some of the grocery stores around here actually have a wall of coupons by the main entrance...30 seconds looking them over can save $5 - $10 at the till.

Of course, if you spend hours searching and then driving all over to save 50 cents, then it's a different story.

I mainly shop at stores that do not take coupons but tend to have lower prices than items with coupons at the retail stores. I get a newsletter from a couponing group with all this free stuff but usually the directions are to print and combine these 3 coupons from different sources to save $1 here and then drive 5 miles and save $2 there. They aren't taking into account how much time they are using to read the newsletter, obtain and print the coupons and the gas and mileage of driving all over to use the coupons. Plus most of the coupons are for processed foods or chemical cleaners and we try to limit how much of those kinds of items we buy in favor of more whole foods and DIY non-toxic cleaners.

 

[audreyh1]

Honestly, nothing.

I don't go out of my way either.

I try not to overpay for things, and focus on quality - happy to pay up for something higher quality if it's important to me.

In general I don't buy a lot of stuff.

I don't like hassle and time wasting, so I'm generally willing to pay more to avoid them.

 

[athena53]

Plus most of the coupons are for processed foods or chemical cleaners and we try to limit how much of those kinds of items we buy in favor of more whole foods and DIY non-toxic cleaners.

Same here- I buy very few processed foods. The values of coupons have gone way down, too- I remember the days of $1 off coupons and double coupons on certain days of the week (but no more than $1 off total). Now you have to register on Web sites and get spammed with e-mails and most of the coupons I see are for 50 cents off when you buy 3 of something I don't want or need.

 

[Marita40]

I still use coupons. Not a lot of them, but some that definitely save money. For example, Supertarget very often sends coupon books for all sorts of things, including fresh food like avocados, meat, etc. I just got one in the mail today. I also typically use coupons for cat litter and treats, hair color, toilet paper, toothpaste and a few other items I buy all the time.

 

[Music Lover]

I mainly shop at stores that do not take coupons but tend to have lower prices than items with coupons at the retail stores. I get a newsletter from a couponing group with all this free stuff but usually the directions are to print and combine these 3 coupons from different sources to save $1 here and then drive 5 miles and save $2 there. They aren't taking into account how much time they are using to read the newsletter, obtain and print the coupons and the gas and mileage of driving all over to use the coupons. Plus most of the coupons are for processed foods or chemical cleaners and we try to limit how much of those kinds of items we buy in favor of more whole foods and DIY non-toxic cleaners.

Yeah, in those cases I wouldn't bother either.

The best coupon deal for me is a golf coupon book...buy one round, get one free (plus other discounts such as 4 can play for price of 3). Each book has coupons for 8 different courses, 5 that I play regularly. I bought 5 books under a promotional discount for $65, and so far have used about 15 coupons saving about $300 - $400 in green fees.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Yeah, in those cases I wouldn't bother either.

The best coupon deal for me is a golf coupon book...buy one round, get one free (plus other discounts such as 4 can play for price of 3). Each book has coupons for 8 different courses, 5 that I play regularly. I bought 5 books under a promotional discount for $65, and so far have used about 15 coupons saving about $300 - $400 in green fees.

We use usually have some kind of half off coupon when we go out to eat, usually a Groupon or Entertainment book coupon.

 

[scrabbler1]

My LF clips coupons, mainly for herself but if she finds some I can use she gives them to me. I often go food shopping for both of us and that sometimes enables us to use those store coupons for $x off if you spend at least $(10x). In fact, for the second time in about 10 years, I was just a dollar or so short of using one of those coupons, then ran back to pick up one more item, had it put me over the minimum to use the coupon, so the store effectively paid ME to "buy" the extra item (i.e. negative marginal cost). My kind of marginal cost LOL!

 

[sengsational]

I figure I get 60% off when I brew my own beer (not counting labor), and have the benefit of some hours spent doing a hobby I enjoy.

There's another benefit: I don't pay the sin tax. My theory is that homebrewing wouldn't be quite as popular without the "stickin' it to the man" aspect

Lots of comments in the thread about alcoholic beverages:

I always buy 4 bottles of booze at the store, saves 10%

I buy a six month supply in Costco down in California and transport it up to Oregon in late spring. Even with the Cali sales tax it saves 25% or better.

Buying wine by the case was one of Andrew Tobias' examples of high ROI strategies

The more you drink, the more you save!

We have a wine fridge filled with decent stuff from Costco and our semi-local wine tasting excursions. I can't say that we're saving money, but I don't care since we are definitely drinking better.

I have a few of my own brewskis at home before attending. No more $6.00 12 ounce "pints" for me. Cost savings in the hundreds of dollars per year.

.... and get happy hour 22 oz beers for $5.

That's good. We have a specialty wine beer grocery store that has a "bar", where you pay grocery store prices for good beer. It's a deal...a beer out for cheap. And they don't even allow tipping!

Darn, I posted this photo I took in another thread, instead of here.

Mmmmm Belgians! My latest is a saison with the Dupont (belgian) yeast. Yummmy.

Found out that now I am in style drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer "PBR" since it has become a craft/designer/yuppie brand in our area. 18 pack for $10.95 and I must admit taste the same as some pricier IPA's.☺

Now, I drink PBR with my boss when we go to Cigar bar, but I am not about to say it tastes the same as an IPA.

If any IPA tastes like a PBR, they have completely failed at creating an IPA! My last homebrew cost $17 per 18 pack, so the PBR beats me on price. But I'd never buy/drink an 18 pack of American light lager.

 

[Idnar7]

Cut our own firewood. Log splitter has paid for itself. My pet peeve is using a Weber to cook and then not closing the vents when done. You can reuse the same coals multiple times by just adding some new ones. My family lets them burn down to ash and it drives me crazy.

 

[Philliefan33]

Today I saved some money by buying t-shirts instead of sleepwear.

I had noticed that the tops I wear to bed were looking a little raggedy. (I recently sewed myself some sleep shorts in fun fabrics, so my bottoms are ok). Off to Target I went, intending to pick up some sleep separates.

The price for one top in the sleepwear department was $20. Instead, I took advantage of the 2 for $14 sale on cotton t-shirts in the women's clothing section.

Something I've started recently is checking the meat department for "special today" items whenever I'm at the grocery store. The meat is never past its seem-by date, just getting within a day or two so the store wants to unload it. Last week I scored a London broil for about 25% of the original price, today it was turkey drumsticks for about half price.

The meat is either eaten right away or goes into the freezer to be used at a later date. We can afford to feed ourselves without doing this, but it's sort of fun to find the bargains and it's led me to try cuts of meat that I normally don't buy.

 

[Jerry1]

We get fuel points at Kroger. If you buy gift cards you can max out the program and get up to a dollar off on a gallon of gas. I have a truck so filling that up when empty can save me over $20. Sometimes they have 4x fuel points on gift cards. So, if I buy $250 in Amazon or Home Depot I'll get 1000 points which converts to $1 off per gallon. With a fill up at over $20, that's almost a 10% discount on what I buy at Amazon or Home Depot. Buy something at Home Depot on sale, with that discount, and the savings is pretty good.