What is your best money saving tip?

[easysurfer]

I said goodbye to my cable tv bill when I built a good indoor over-the-air digital tv antenna from wood, coat hangers, and pipe. I'm quite happy with the reception (works better than store-bought indoor antennas). Here's a picture of it:

 

[Koolau]

Cool! Over what distance will it pick up good signals?

We have cable in our condo fee, but don't receive any digital with that.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm not exactly what distance it picks up. But I now clearly get all the local stations (cbs,nbc, abc, fox, etc.) and more with very little interference. I also live in a condo and not far from a train tracks. When I used a store bought antenna, each time a train would go by my signal would break up. Now that very rarely happens. That's why I got a long pipe, to raise the antenna above my balcony railing from the window inside.

Here's the link to the build plans I used, if you are ever wanted to give it a try or just want to check it out:

Make: Online : Maker Workshop - DTV Antenna & Steadycam on MAKE: television

It's pretty cool.

 

[brett]

I call the cell phone company, internet provider every so often and ask them what notice we need to cancel the service (and move to a competitor). It is surprising how many special offers for long term customers start coming out of the box.....that never seemed to be there before. When travelling on vacation in Europe we often pay for hotels in cash after asking if there is a cash discount. We usually get anywhere from 5 percent to 10 percent.

 

[Dreamer]

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...

They did a great job. I have not tried our local school. I might give it a try one of these days.

 

[simple girl]

They did a great job. I have not tried our local school. I might give it a try one of these days.

Thanks! I was really nervous, but a friend of mine had gone there, and her cut was great...so I took the risk! You do have to sign some liability forms acknowledging that they are students, you can't sue, etc.

They have instructors that walk the floor. The instructor comes to you and your student for the initial consultation, and they design a plan together. Along the way, the instructor checks back, gives feedback, etc. My student/stylist was really nervous and slow, and asked the instructor for feedback regularly. I preferred that over one that maybe would have been too confident, LOL. He did a good job, just needs to learn how to get faster. You also really learn a lot about why they choose a certain color/technique, etc. It gave me a whole new respect for what stylists know and do with their hands.

 

[Meadbh]

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...

Nice hair, but for a Simple Girl, you're pretty high maintenance!
What's six hours of your time worth?

 

[samclem]

Here's the link to the build plans I used, if you are ever wanted to give it a try or just want to check it out:
Make: Online : Maker Workshop - DTV Antenna & Steadycam on MAKE: television
It's pretty cool.

I built one, too, when we were discussing this last time, and it is still working great.

A funny coincidence (and minor rant): As I was reading this post, AT&T (my "wired" home phone provider) called to try to sell me their Uverse add-on package for TV. This is the second call to my home in a week trying to sell this. So, I called AT&T customer service, went through their menu maze, and finally talked to someone who could put me on their "no call" list. Then, before we hang up, she advises me that I should really try their cell phone service.

Aaagh! "I called you to be taken OFF the pitch list, and you use my call as an opportunity to try to sell me something else. Can you understand why this might enrage some of your customers and be counterproductive?"

Back to money-saving tips . . .

 

[simple girl]

Nice hair, but for a Simple Girl, you're pretty high maintenance!
What's six hours of your time worth?

LOL, I know, right?

I had no idea I'd be sittin' in that chair 6 hours! I think I just happened to get the slowest student there! I should have known when the instructor said to me quietly, "he's good, but he's slow. You're gonna be here a while. There's a snack machine in the back." I was like "ruh-oh" at that point, but there was no turning back. Good thing I didn't have to be anywhere special! The real question would be what is 3 extra hours of my time worth, since I normally spend 3 hours doing this anyways. Well, I was just sitting there relaxing reading a magazine - so not a big deal at all to me to chill out for a couple extra hours. I would do it again. Next time, though, I'll come with a novel, my own snacks, and maybe a pina colada!

 

[Khan]

No makeup, no hair dying curling cutting.

 

[easysurfer]

I built one, too, when we were discussing this last time, and it is still working great.

A funny coincidence (and minor rant): As I was reading this post, AT&T (my "wired" home phone provider) called to try to sell me their Uverse add-on package for TV. This is the second call to my home in a week trying to sell this. So, I called AT&T customer service, went through their menu maze, and finally talked to someone who could put me on their "no call" list. Then, before we hang up, she advises me that I should really try their cell phone service.

Aaagh! "I called you to be taken OFF the pitch list, and you use my call as an opportunity to try to sell me something else. Can you understand why this might enrage some of your customers and be counterproductive?"

Back to money-saving tips . . .

Great that you built one of these. I really like the reception as the strength meter on my dtv tuner often shows in the 90 percent range.

Yeah, it sure is frustrating trying to just cancel, to the point of almost having to firmly say, "NO..I do not want the service" (kinda like when purchasing something and they want to sell the extended warranty.

 

[Alan]

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...

DW has been doing my hair this last 10- 15 years. As you see from the pic I just posted, my hi-lites turned out great as well.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/recent-photo-50002.html#post932252

 

[W2R]

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

I love your hi-lites! I simply don't have the patience to go through hours at the beauty parlor, but you sure got a good result from doing so.

 

[simple girl]

DW has been doing my hair this last 10- 15 years. As you see from the pic I just posted, my hi-lites turned out great as well.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/recent-photo-50002.html#post932252

Hey! Thanks for pointing me to that thread - so cool to see real pics of each other! And yes, your hi-lites did turn out great! LOL. BTW, looking very fit and trim my friend. Looks like you are being very good on the diet even when on vacation!

 

[haha]

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

Nice tease!

 

[Alan]

Hey! Thanks for pointing me to that thread - so cool to see real pics of each other! And yes, your hi-lites did turn out great! LOL. BTW, looking very fit and trim my friend. Looks like you are being very good on the diet even when on vacation!

We'll see about the 'diet' when I weigh in again in about 3 weeks time

(I think I'm falling into the exercise trap of eating too much after a long hike in the hills).

As far as vacations and money saving tips go, I definitely recommend renting a house particularly if you have other friends or family sharing the cost. Last year, 8 of us (4 couples coming from 4 cities and 3 countries) shared a house for a week in Spain followed by a week in France. Excellent value

In this case now it is just the 2 of us in a 2 bedroom place, although we do have friends coming down next week from Boulder to spend the weekend with us.

Later this year we are going to the Toronto and Niagara Falls area and are meeting with a bunch of DW's relatives from England, Scotland, Germany and Winnipeg. We have 2 houses booked for the dozen or so that will be meeting up.

 

[Rustward]

Suggested they (Great Clips) consider taking photos and storing those if the customer wants to do it. They could probably rig up something cheap with a digital camera and a few mirrors.

I guess the customer could take his own photos when he gets home and bring them in next time.

 

[travelover]

I stumbled onto coupon codes recently. I wanted to replace my beloved Asolo hiking boots which has started to leak, so I was looking for a good price on replacements. They were $180 at REI, but I found them for $125 at Sierra Trading post, which seemed like a great deal. Before I clicked the BUY button, I searched for a coupon code for Sierra. I quickly found a bunch at Fat Wallet and I saved an additional $25! So my lesson is to search for coupon codes before you buy on line. I think his Bunniness had mentioned this before, but it didn't sink in.

 

[mf15]

Someone may have mentioned before but on our car insurance,we were paying quarterly. I just realized that this was costing me an extra 100 a year or about 7% extra. I guess 15 or so years ago when I first went with this company, we had 3 in college and I could not afford a large single payment. So now being retired I can afford to make the single yearly payment. Go figure.
Old Mike

 

[Meadbh]

At current low interest rates, it makes no sense to pay annual fees in instalments, since there is almost always a significant "administrative fee" for this. If you want to calculate whether it's a good deal (and this applies to comparing car loans and leases, or any deferred purchase), set up the payments in an Excel worksheet (all cash outflows should be negative) and use the NPV (Net Present Value) function.

 

[bright eyed]

80% off now!

We don't eat out a lot, but when we do, we try to go wherever we have a coupon from restaurant.com.

Details: You normally buy a $25 coupon (must spend $35, alcohol/taxes not included) at their website for $10. However, I wait until they offer an 80% off sale. So, I get a $25 coupon for $2. Essentially, if you spend $35, you get $23 off, or actually only spend $12 for that meal.

It's a sweet deal!

Hi, - there is 80% currently for restaurant.com I just bought a load of gift cards/certificates for friends and only spent $20...!!!

Use code DEAL at check out

The restaurant list has improved since when I first saw folks mention it here...thought I'd share!

 

[TromboneAl]

The 2 liter containers of soda (e.g. A&W Diet Root Beer) are much cheaper than cans, but the trick is to make the fizz last. I had one of these fizz keepers, but found, through experiments and Internet research, that they don't work.

The trick to keeping the fizz is to (a) not open the bottles when they are warm, and (b) to be extremely gentle with the bottle. That is, you act as if it's a bottle of nitroglycerin, and take it in and out of the fridge very slowly (don't keep it on the door). When you pour, for example, don't let the liquid blurp against the top of the opening. If you see any bubbles, you are being too rough.

If you pour it down the side of the glass, you'll lose a lot of fizz, so first put several ounces of cold (from the fridge) water in the glass and pour the soda into the water. This stuff is too sweet anyway, so diluting is a good idea.

With these techniques, there's still some fizz in the last pour from the bottle.

 

[Orchidflower]

Hi, - there is 80% currently for restaurant.com I just bought a load of gift cards/certificates for friends and only spent $20...!!!

Use code DEAL at check out

Am I missing it? I don't see anything offering 80% off. Where is it mentioned?

 

[artist59]

restaurant.com 80%

I just tried it and it worked. For the restaurant you are interested in, select the gift card you want (i.e.,) $25 dollar card for $10 and select the quantity (I selected 4). Then click add to cart. At the top of the page there should be a field to enter the code, enter "deal". It should then apply the savings.

My 4 - $25 cards (for $10 each) showed up as $40 with a savings of $32 for a grand total of $8

Note: for the specific restaurant I picked, there was a disclosure that 20% gratuity is added to the bill before the discount is applied.

 

[obgyn65]

My best money saving tip is to remain single.