Tell us a few little things you do to save money

[braumeister]

When you get to "use both sides of the TP" I think you've carried things too far.

 

[ERD50]

I skimmed this post, and this is what I got out of it:

Buying wine by the case ... which helped while raising 4 children. ... .

Full context:

Buying wine by the case was one of Andrew Tobias' examples of high ROI strategies in 'The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need'. DW and I don't drink so couldn't take advantage of this one but Costco has helped with bulk purchases over the years which helped while raising 4 children. And bought in bulk when on sale at Costco usually.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

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

The more you drink, the more you save!

 

[W2R]

FIRECalc says I should increase my spending, but I still do things to save money and then spend it on fun stuff (if that makes any sense?). Here are some of the little things I do to save money:

1) I cancelled my land line.

2) I switched from an iPhone on Verizon to a free LG phone on Cricket.

3) I cancelled my cable TV and I don't pay for any streaming services or devices for TV reception, other than a $5 homemade antenna for local OTA.

I have Amazon Prime (for shipping), but don't ever get around to using it for streaming, even free streaming. Amazon sends me e-mails asking why not.

 

[Packman]

My DW does most of the savings in our household - every time she comes home with bags of clothes, decorations, etc. Over the years, she has saved us enough to ER.

 

[FreeBear]

We stopped drinking wine during our frequent dinners out. We couldn't stomach the 3x to 4x wine markups at restaurants when we can drink some much better at home.

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.

Oh, I'm sure we can save my not eating out so much, but I don't like to cook and clean. The only way we save on restaurants is that we favor ethnic food which is typically less expensive.

 

[GravitySucks]

I went six weeks in a row without traveling this June and some of July. Longest stretch since leaving w*rk in 2013.
Do most of my house repairs. Do my own brake jobs. Eat a lot of chicken.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I do some bigger things and some little things to save $. This list is not exhaustive:

-Use a cash back CC as much as I can (Amex Cash Preferred)
-Eat at Home Often
-Use coupons for oil changes (free or deeply discounted)
-Never finance ANYTHING, EVER
-Negotiate Prices (internet, trash service, etc.)

I also keep an eye out for good deals that "can't be passed up". This isn't just clipping coupons; since I say that you can't SAVE money by spending it...

One of the best deals I have found this year was cell/phone service. Sprint had a deal going last month trying to swipe customers from Verizon. I *was* using Republic wireless but with a little patience and some work, I now have one year of "free" unlimited talk/text/data through Sprint. The taxes/fees do cost me $3.89 a month, so it isn't truly free, but it is cheaper than the $13-15 a month I *was* paying.

 

[Music Lover]

Next time you are about to buy something from Amazon, check the price on eBay before you commit. I just did that and found filters for my reverse osmosis water system for about $36 as opposed to Amazon's $53.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I can't say that we're saving money, but I don't care since we are definitely drinking better.

This is all that matters! Enjoy

 

[gauss]

When you get to "use both sides of the TP" I think you've carried things too far.

But what about converting double-ply into single-ply?

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

But what about converting double-ply into single-ply?

Its too thin, I tried.

 

[Music Lover]

But what about converting double-ply into single-ply?

Someone needs to do a cost analysis to determine how long it would take to pay off a bidet based on the toilet paper savings.

Don't forget to factor in the cost to heat the water....

 

[Nemo2]

..heat the water....

Luxury!!

 

[Meadbh]

Someone needs to do a cost analysis to determine how long it would take to pay off a bidet based on the toilet paper savings.

Don't forget to factor in the cost to heat the water....

Somebody did. And it was published in Scientific American.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-bidets/

 

[Teacher Terry]

I shop around for the big items like insurance, internet, cable every year and then negotiate the price down. I belong to some dining clubs and also use restaurant .com for eating out.

 

[2017ish]

We stopped drinking wine during our frequent dinners out. We couldn't stomach the 3x to 4x wine markups at restaurants when we can drink some much better at home.

...

Have you checked into the corkage fees at your restaurants of choice? (Assuming your local law allows it.)

We pay between $0-25 when we go out, which makes a big difference--and our cellar has better wines, not to mention well aged, than most restaurants.

 

[easysurfer]

Water with a filtered pitcher instead of bottled water.

 

[aja8888]

Soon DLDS will chime in here with her standard money saving paragraph...

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I buy wine for at home from Grocery Outlet. For wine tasting, this year I bought Napa and Sonoma annual passes on sale from Groupon.

We also have a chest freezer and stockpile meat on sale, plus any other grocery items on sale or clearance that I can freeze or are non-perishable.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Soon DLDS will chime in here with her standard money saving paragraph...

I'm keeping it brief today. There is too much to put even if I just did this month alone.

 

[brucethebroker]

I was "forced" to do my own renos and repairs early in my career due to low earnings. I found that I liked it and it ended up that most of my family and friends are also DIYers. Someone wants a deck built...6 or 8 of us get together, build it, and then barbeque and have a couple beers on it. Someone needs a fence built, a few people get together and build it.

Reno projects have also become some of the best family/friend gatherings over the years. Suppose we are shingling a roof...those who may not want to (or shouldn't) get on a roof will help out by cleaning the job site, watching the kids, fetching tools, making lunch, running to the hardware store. Just like an old fashioned barn raising...everyone chips in in some way.

What a great idea. Wish I lived nearby.........

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I thought of one new money saving idea this week. We scoped out the parking lots online for a music venue recently before we went. The parking lot next door had a big sign - $30 event parking. We walked a few blocks away and paid $4 instead and had an easier time getting out of the lot at the end of the concert.

 

[aja8888]

I thought of one new money saving idea this week. We scoped out the parking lots online for a music venue recently before we went. The parking lot next door had a big sign - $30 event parking. We walked a few blocks away and paid $4 instead and had an easier time getting out of the lot at the end of the concert.

See, I knew you couldn't keep it short. You are the Champ on this stuff!

 

[Gumby]

I do all of my own car maintenance. I also drive them wheels off them before I buy a new one. My current daily driver has over 254k miles on it.

We also shop at Goodwill.

We pay for almost everything with a cash back credit card, and pay it in full every month.