Money Saving Tips

[Steve B]

I saw a list on my AOL Homepage that suggested ways to save $18,000 per year. It got my interest, but in order to come up with that number they assumed someone was making every financial mistake in the book (buying coffee at Starbucks, paying credit card late fees, not buying things "on sale").

So, I thought I'd see if I could uncover a few tips that might really help me.

I try to do lots of other things you've all heard about (checking tire pressue, not paying interest on credit cards, never buying a new car, using CFL's, etc.).

Does anything do anything a bit unusual they do to save money they'd like to share.

The most unusual thing I do is cut my own hair and now my two boy's hair with a Flowbee. That thing has saved me about $6,000 since I've had it (15 years).

I also heat my house with a woodburning stove - almost 100%.

[Evan]

The thing is when you "cut costs", people don't really see the "savings" because they tend to spend it on other things. To really save, instead of spending $2 on that coffee, it's transferring it to savings.

I find rounding up all transactions to the next dollar and depositing the "change" in a savings account works. Download your transactions from your credit card statement in an Excel spreadsheet. Take $1 minus the change in the transactions, and sum it up. Transfer that money into savings!

[Steve B]

I like the new photo Evan.

Very true, I wish I could put my hands on that $6,000 right now.

A friend of mine was used to using quarters to do his laundry when he was in college. When he got a job and his own place, he kept a jar on his washer and dryer and routinely deposited the same amount for each load. I'm not sure how it worked out for him as I've lost touch, but it seemed like a great idea. For two reasons, one he collected the money. And, two it made him think about the cost of doing a load. I'll bet he thought twice before he threw that towel in the laundry instead of hanging it up one more time.

[tuitionsource]

Cancel the cable TV.

[billbenson]

My wife loves to shop. Shoes have to match the blouse, lipstick etc. We live near a very affluent waterfront community (multimillion dollar homes etc). My wife shops at thrift shops. Frequently she will find a pair of $200 designer shoes for $5 unused. Someone bought it, never used them, gave them to a thrift. Wife has a ton of shoes, but at $5 its great. Same thing for jeans, pants, blouses, and makeup. I think we are somewhat lucky in the sense that we are near the affluent community.

The other thing that works well are flea markets if you are in the right area. They aren't any good where I live now, but when I was in South Florida there were a lot of wholesalers selling blem clothing by the pound. People would buy 100 lbs of clothing and sell it at the flea market. A lot of designer stuff cheap.

I have a large chest freezer in the garage. Its full of shrimp, scallops, fillet mignon's. I buy stuff on sale or in quantity at costco. If you buy a whole beef tenderloin,, for example, and cut it into fillets its about $8 per pound. Buy a filet at the butcher shop and its $25 per pound. Thats a big spread.

[Blessed]

I buy the family packs of meat when it's on sale and split it at home into smaller packages, I also watch the sales and stock up on non-perishables when they go on sale. I shop clearance racks, thrift stores, garage sales, and consignment stores and sales too.

We heat with wood, I try to keep the lights turned off, use regular dishes and wash them instead of using disposables, we don't eat out much, I cut hubby's hair, I don't cut my hair (hey I like it long and Hubby likes it long so why bother...), I check out books from the library instead of buying them new, I make some of our mine and Sugar's clothes, if someone offers me something I'll use for free I accept it...

I save all of my change in jars at home - I never spend it. Then a couple of times a year I cash it in and that is my fun money for a day out with my girlfriends or to buy something special I've been wanting - it's how I bought my first chocolate lab - $250 worth of change!

[Steve B]

I thought of a couple more.

My wife also learned to groom the dog we adopted last year. I never had a dog that had to be groomed before (Yorkie) - this saves us $20 per month.

It's funny I have CFL's in every lamp at home, but I leave lights on all the time. I need to get better at that.

My wife buys the kids clothes at garage sales, or trades with her sisters.

We have two freezers and buy our beef a half a cow at a time.

I'm planning on having a bigger garden this year and being better at it.

[huggytree]

we buy 95% of the kids clothes at rummage sales (kids are little so they dont care)

i dont have a Flobee, but i have a Wahl hair cutter...works great for the buzz cut...only my wife pays for haircuts...

as for work. i pay my suppliers on time and get 1-2% off my bill (probably $2k a year)

I also have put all incoming checks into a money market fund and have that money automatically sweep into my company checking account when the checking account is low on money...i made $1,500 on interest last year...i didnt know about this the year before.

I use the bank at the local food store...this way i pay myself milage to get groceries and deposit my checks at the same time...same with walmart or home depot...i buy something related to work and the milage is deductable.

all of my clothes become work clothes eventually...blue jeans get alittle tattered become work pants and tee shirts become rags...i deduct all clothes i buy as work clothes...(we talking like 6 pairs of jeans a year..nothing major)

i use my networking connections when i do improvements on my house...i just got a $800 April air for $350 including free installation....he was a friend and someone i share tips back and forth with..

i use my suppliers for discounts when i do home improvements on my house...i got plumbing fixtures on my bath remodel for 33% of list price and 1 sink was free just to try it out....i saved $2,300 on my powderroom/laundry room...just because i asked for a discount....use your connections!!!

[KristineS]

Wow, there are a lot of good ideas here. I especially like the laundry quarter one. I used to pay to do laundry until I moved into my condo last year. I save quarters now too, and will eventually cash them in and put the money into savings. It is an easy and painless way to save, and something I was doing anyway, so it just feels natural.

[nealrm]

I'm not sure this is really a cost savings idea, but it does save money. We have switched to paying cash for everything. While we were frugal before, this has helped us reduce are spending even more.

[Dan Furman]

I'm not sure this is really a cost savings idea, but it does save money. We have switched to paying cash for everything. While we were frugal before, this has helped us reduce are spending even more.

For some this will work well - for me, it would cost me money. We use credit for almost everything, and get back like 1-2%. Then we pay the bill in full every month.

It's an interest-free loan, really (one that pays you for using it). The caveat is you have to pay the bill in full.

[Steve B]

Dan - I think the thought on paying cash is more because it will make you think twice before handing over the green stuff.

I do what you do - but, sometimes that makes spending money a little too easy. Not spending it in the first place is the best way to save (ala Ben Franklin, a Penny Saved is a Penny Earned).

[nealrm]

Steve is correct. By using cash you tend to spend less. First it make you very conscience of the amount you spend. Counting out $100 for groceries is a lot harder than signing a credit card receipt for $100.

Second, staying in budget is easier. Withdraw your weekly budget on Monday. You stop buying when you run out of money.

Last that "interest free" loan is only free if you pay the balance every single time. Hold a balance only once will set you back months worth of earnings.

I have been told most people save about 5% of their total credit card purchases.

[Steve B]

My wife went away for a few days last weekend. The first time in 10 years. I did all the housework for 3 days - and, I'm kind of on a roll and have kept up with it.

Since I was doing all the laundry, I couldn't help but notice that the towels keep showing up in the dirty laundry after just one use (maybe two). When I was in college everyone in the dorm used the same towel all week (maybe it was just mon-fri). I don't remember it being gross or anything. I'm going to try to train the kids to hang up the towels and re-use them more often. How many uses is reasonable. I vote for 5 - but, my wife won't go for it. This will save water, electricity, time, and we won't wear out the towels and buy new ones as often.

[Dan Furman]

Dan - I think the thought on paying cash is more because it will make you think twice before handing over the green stuff.

I do what you do - but, sometimes that makes spending money a little too easy. Not spending it in the first place is the best way to save (ala Ben Franklin, a Penny Saved is a Penny Earned).

Agreed with the spending less thing.

I guess maybe I'm odd in that it doesn't matter if I have cash or not - I don't see any difference in my spending (to be honest, my wife and I were never big spenders in the first place)

[Dan Furman]

I vote for 5 - but, my wife won't go for it.

5 is a little high for non-college (i.e: civilized) people. :)

I'd say 3-4 in winter, 1-2 in summer (they get nasty quick in the summer)

[Steve B]

I thought of another simple one. We stopped buying Windex last year and only use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water for just about all cleaning (windows, countertops etc.). It works just as well - and costs only a few pennies per bottle.

[huggytree]

i had an faucet which i got a great deal on and then couldnt sell later on. i ended up donating it to a charity auction. i was able to deduct the full 'list' price value and will end up with more off my taxes than i even paid for it....i turned a charity gift into profit!

[kml9870]

We save a considerable amount of money hunting and growing a garden. I'm very against hunting if you do not consume the meat, but I average 3 meals a week that didn't come from the grocery store. For someone who lives in the city I think that's pretty good :D