Let's Make A List of the BEST Saving Money Tips!!

[Emme]

We are buying three adult AP's this trip so we are already down around $1,134.00. We NEVER use credit cards for vacation only money we have saved. So we have been doing very well with our saving, but really need to cram some serious savings into the next couple of months. I loved :love: the idea of the no eating out thread and if we all put our heads together I know we can come up with some awesome ideas to share :grouphug:

For us, I put all my DH's overtime into an envelope. To me it is found money, and I pretend we never got it. Next...

[jenr812]

My ING account is helping me save :) That money is paying for our gas money so far. We are exactly 100 days out, so we're in the same boat - desperately need to save for that spending money, etc. All else is paid for (or will be when the taxes come in). I'm looking forward to some great ideas :flower:

[CajunDixie]

Use coupons and rebates for groceries. Then take the money you saved (most groceries now total your savings on the receipt) and place it either in an envelope or a special bank account. I like my ING account for this money since it is not easily accesible.
Look around for items to sell on Ebay. Most of the organizers on TV tell peeps to get rid of items they haven't used in 6 months. Same for clothes. If you don't think you can do Ebay then have a garage sale. Take leftovers to Goodwill and get a receipt for your taxes. That won't help at the moment but it does make a difference on your tax return next year.
Try store brand items instead of brand name. Don't use coupons for items you don't actually need. Big pitfall for many peeps is to buy an item because they have a coupon.....or the store brand is cheaper even after the coupon.
Look for a bread outlet. My local outlet sells bread for $.59 now...this includes all loaves even the new low carb ones. I can also get big restaurant packs of buns for $.59. Last time I went I got pita shells for $.39. My bread outlet also carries for few other items like chips and gravy mixes. Many times the one that is located in Ft Wayne gives you a free item with purchase...at Christmas it was free dinner rolls.
Saving change is always an easy way to save.
Save gas by car-pooling children of friends to school events.
Cut splurges like buying coffee, using vending machines, buying new books (library has free books), and buying water. Water for us is a big one. Why pay $1.29 for a small bottle of water when you can buy a gallon for $.39? When we are going anywhere we carry water bottles for everyone and take an extra full gallon when we know we'll be gone all day.

[EthansMom]

Well, here's a start:

Shop around every couple years for better car & house insurance rates -- usually saves me $200-$300/year.

Note sizes and favorite brands of clothing for each family member and stock up when clothes are on sale. (I purchase many clothes for the kids at the season closeouts -- pay less than $10 each for sweaters that are more than $30.)

Unless you have something in particular that you need to buy, stay out of the mall and other stores.

Buy ingredients and make dinner from scratch (when possible). It often doesn't take much more time, costs less, and is healthier.

Shop from a shopping list. (We keep a dry wipe board mounted on the fridge for anyone to list want/needs as they arise. I copy the list before going shopping.)

Do not shop when hungry/tired/emotional.

Plan your dinner menu for the week. Shop on only one or two days, as possible. Shop at only the one or two grocery stores that give the best overall prices. (I used to run myself ragged trying to get the sale items at 4-5 different stores each week -- it just isn't worth it.)

Use your pantry and freezer to store basics. (I always have potatoes, onions, canned tomatoes, frozen beef, frozen fish, and frozen chicken on hand. Even if I have no idea what I'm cooking, I can throw a ziploc bag of ground beef in a bowl of cool water in the morning and it will be thawed for meatloaf, tacos, or spaghetti by dinner time.)

Replace regular light bulbs with flourescent compact bulbs -- saved us about $5/month on the electric bill here in the NE.

Turn off lights/t.v./radio/etc. when not in the room.

During the summer, avoid cooking in the house -- you'll pay to heat the oven and then pay to cool the extra heat from the house. Likewise, during the summer, run the clothes dryer at night when the house is cooler.

When making large purchases, do your homework and shop around. Be willing to purchase used items (we love used books), make purchases online, and/or delay a purchase in order to get a better price.

Wash your cars at home, change the oil and brakes yourself (well, o.k., DH does this).

Drive your car until it starts costing more in maintenance than the payments on a new car would cost. (We like to buy our cars new, but we drive them forever before replacing them.)

Also, check out web sites like http://www.edmunds.com to find out recommended prices to pay for the car you want. If you don't like dealing with high pressure sales tactics of car salespeople, then use a car buying service like "Costco" has -- you'll only pay a few hundred bucks more than you might otherwise be able to barter down to, but you'll pay less than full sticker, on most cars.

Perform your own home maintenance, as much as possible.

If you watch a lot of movies, shop for the best deal on rentals. (http://www.netflix.com has been pretty good to us for the last several months, but Blockbuster just unveiled a new plan for $14.99/mo. for unlimited rentals.)

On your home phone, shop for the cheapest long distance. If you have a Sam's or Costco membership, consider purchasing a long distance card. It's a pain to dial all of the numbers when making a call, but for less than 3 cents per minute, I'll dial a lot of numbers.

Also, on your phone, there really is no need for most people to have call waiting and voicemail at home. Get yourself an answering machine, if you don't already have one and drop down to the basic phone line. Also, definitely get rid of interior line insurance -- over the long term, you will save enough money to pay for the charge if any of your phone lines go bad in your house (how likely is that?).

For t.v., don't pay for cable packages you don't watch. (When I called up the cable company and asked for "Basic Cable", the salesperson tried to sell me a "basic" package for $30/mo. When I asked what they had that would just give me the major networks clearly, there was a package for $13/mo.)

When eating out, order ice water with lemon instead of soda. Soda is just sugar water and will cost upwards of $2 ea. at a restaurant. (We only get soda when it comes in a fast food meal deal or I'll occasionally buy it in 2 liter bottles for home (69 cents for 2 liters as opposed to $2/person at the restaurant).

I hope this helps!

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

[jenr812]

Great tips already!


I agree with most of EthansMom's post :) I use the calling card from sam's for LD and the #s are programmed into my speed dial - can't be easier! To make the savings even greater, my best friend has unlimited LD for a set fee - so when I call her, she calls me right back, saving my minutes :flower:


Regarding the interior line insurance on the phone line...while it may be true that in the long run you'll likely save the cost of any repair, what if??? We had a problem with the phone line and it would have cost us $75 to repair it. $75 we definitely didn't have to shell out, so thank God it was covered 100%! It is much easier for me to pay less than $2 a month for this service than to have to come up with a chunk of change like that. It's piece of mind too. But everyone's different :)


I have stopped stocking up on frozen meats except for ground beef and frozen chicken breasts (bought already frozen). I've just not been good about using the meats, so I'm now starting to (try to at least!) plan my meals around the meat that is on sale each week. But with ground beef, I buy lots when it is on sale. Then I fry most of it up and separate it into gallon sized baggies. Then I freeze the cooked meat. It makes dinner a breeze when we're having tacos, chili, enchiladas, hamburger helper, etc. I also make a huge batch of meatballs with the GB, cook them, flash freeze them, and then place them in a gallon sized baggie to be used as needed. Time and money saver! I also do the same with chicken, as I have a couple of favorite chicken recipes that call for cut up cooked chicken.

[Focusdude]

Thanks for all the great info!!! I got lots of great ideas from this thread! I am quitting my job in a few months and am looking for ways to save - the bread outlet is a great idea. There is a big one near my house, but because of my job I never have time to get there during regular business hours. I will try to make the extra effort now!

I think the change jar is a great saving tool. I put all the change from my wallet, the washer and dryer, bottle return money and cash the kids get in holiday cards in there. Also - I try to get $20 in quarters every week from the bank to put in there (if there are bills - it is too easy to take them - but nobody wants to be bothered looking through or taking change!

Happy saving!!

[txgirl]

I do lots of these things, but some are new to me and I love to save! :banana:

Years ago, before kids Dh and I saved for a trip to Cancun by rounding our checkbook. For some this may not work (especially if you like to reconcile your register to the penny) but we would round every deduction up to the nearest dollar and round every deposit down. For example if we spent $137.13 at Wal-mart we would record $138.00. In the shaded section of the register we would record the actual amount and then when we received our statement we would reconcile the checkbook. Sounds crazy, but we actually saved hundreds over a matter of months and we were definitely living week to week at that time. Because we never "saw" the extra money we never touched it. We called it our "cushion" and it worked great. DH would never do it now, because he loves to keep our checking reconciled perfectly! :teacher:

Wal-mart matches ad prices, so I review the ads weekly and do all my shopping at Wal-mart. I am a coupon clipper as well and we budget with envelopes for the week. DON'T USE THE DEBIT CARD :sad2: :sad2: :sad2: If you know you have "X" amount to spend for groceries, gas, misc. and you can see it in your envelope you are less likely to spend more.

I have been know to cancel cable and cable internet for a couple of months to make a difference. The cable company allows for many "promotional" deals when you re-connect.

I agree with the previous post about the phones. You can save a bundle when you trim down your packages.

GAS GAS GAS (excuse me :teeth: )
Seriously, I drive a gas guzzler so I am extra careful about my trips to and from. If you had to pay cash every time you used a gallon of gas you would be much more likely to conserve and make your trips count.

[txgirl]

We are buying three adult AP's this trip so we are already down around $1,134.00. We NEVER use credit cards for vacation only money we have saved. So we have been doing very well with our saving, but really need to cram some serious savings into the next couple of months. I loved :love: the idea of the no eating out thread and if we all put our heads together I know we can come up with some awesome ideas to share :grouphug:

For us, I put all my DH's overtime into an envelope. To me it is found money, and I pretend we never got it. Next...

where is the "no eating out" thread?

[juliegirl]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=740619

[EthansMom]

Oh, and if you've got a cell phone for personal use and tend to go over your minutes, then stop using your phone to "chat".

If you're looking for a cell phone for emergencies and the occasional call (ie. low use), consider getting a prepaid phone. At $50 for a phone and $20/3 month card with 80 minutes, the phone I just ordered will cost me a minimum of $130/yr. The lowest-cost monthly plan I could find would have cost me $30/mo. before tax for a minimum cost of $360/yr!!!!

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

[jenndisney]

I made signs to hang by all the light switches in the familyroom, bedrooms and bathroom that say:

"Help Mom and Dad save for Disney. Turn off the light"

"By turning off the light, you can save enough for a Disney treat."

"Tink likes to fly in the dark, so Turn out the Light!"

I put clip art with each sign. They are not large, but we see them and I helps us to remember what we are saving for.

[EthansMom]

Don't forget the "Latte Factor" too! Whether it's a coffee from Starbucks every morning for Mom or an afternoon soda from the vending machine at school for junior, you'll pay a hefty fee for convenience. You're much better off to bring your morning coffee from home and pack afternoon snacks for the munchies. I could buy canned soda in bulk for less than 25 cents a can that DH would get charged $1 per can for at the office vending machine.

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

[crazymomof4]

Well, since I just got my checks today I'll have to say I love to "save silently" with my cashback credit cards. I use my citibank dividends card for groceries, gas and drugstores bc it gives me 5% cashback on those. But bc they limit the total cashback to $300 per calendar yr., I use it only for those purchases and use my Discover card (1% cashback on all purchases) for everything else. I just got the two checks from them. They totalled $307. That's going into my ING Disney Fund for 2.8% interest. Just before our Sept trip to WDW I'll again request my cashback checks for even more spending $$$ I love it!!!!!!!!! :goodvibes


[QUOTE]Seriously, I drive a gas guzzler so I am extra careful about my trips to and from. If you had to pay cash every time you used a gallon of gas you would be much more likely to conserve and make your trips count. [QUOTE]

Me too. Our suburban gets about 14 mi/gal!!! Ugh! So I let the errands pile up and organize them into a "route". I usually do at least 3 sometimes up to 6 stops at once. I rarely run out for just one thing! That way a (40 gal) tank lasts me a month. Not bad.

[Okiemom]

That is too funny. I just cut back my phone package at home to basic & caller ID. I dropped all the extra like call waiting, call blocker, privacy manager, voice mail. I did want to keep Caller ID, since I have 2 teens, I like to know who is calling my kids. It cut my bill in half!!!

Then a week later, a sales person called from SWB wanting to offer me a package deal with all that same stuff..... Can not believe that, They never call me. I just told the lady I cancelled all that stuff to save money!!!

I agree with the line insurance. We have had trouble, but it has always been on the outside of house, their problem. I think it is rare it happens on your side of home. So , we don't do that either.

Cell phones, we love the family plan with cingular. Mobile to Mobile minutes is saving our hides!!!! With teens, it is the way to go for us....

[Bella the Ball 360]

If you are a lemon and water person when you go to a restaurant put a couple of packages of sweetner in them and make lemonade. I love it. I try to use Spleanda b/c I am on a diet. You can also do it with lime and orange too. Also, know that I hve the money to pay them off, I put everything on charges that pay a dividend. I saved over 2K on my last car. You do need to be careful when you do this however b/c charges do not give you unlimited amounts of money some have a yearly ceiling. When that happens ..switch to another card. Also we wait till the entertainment book goes down in price April(?). Usually we will buy one for Orlando and Massachusetts. It cost us 30.00 last year (15 ea and free shipping) but the cards in the front of the book are not area specific so if we did not use the card in orlando we used it for a couple of favorite restaurants in Mass. We saved over 100.00 on things like that.
I also try and do much of my Christmas shopping at after Christmas sales. People that you need to give a small gift at work etc love to get ornaments or other Christmasy things so why not buy them the year before (as long as they are not dated) and have them ready(It is costly for me I have to give to 30 coworkers). If there are those on your list that you would buy nice leather gloves or a bathrobe or nightgown then those things can easily be purchased in Feb or after Christmas.

OH and I know I am only part of 2% of the population (as my husband keeps telling me)that does not have cable tv. My feeling is that kids watch enough tv and if there is nothing they like on then they MIGHT pick up a book.

[toesmom]

First of all I've my kids around all the time, so I'm not really tempted to go to stores or the mall. That leaves money in the pocket right there.

We have sold numerous items on e-bay, even little things eventually add up to $500 usd when you sell enough of them. My daughter still asks where some of her toys have disappeared LOL!!!

I'm not really embarrased about this but... if we get gifts for the kids ie. toys that I know they don't need... I will exchange the gifts for either a credit that I can use to by groceries or diapers with at wal-mart, because I always need those things.

If there are gifts I can't return, then I keep them to give as birthday gifts for children's parties. Don't get me wrong, we already have a toy store going here, they are not missing out.

When I see what would be good birthday presents for other kids or christmas gifts for good prices, I buy a few and leave them in the storage. Saves me money and time.

Food... well we do not eat out at all. I'm home with the little one so I can prepare some kind of meal everyday. Dh works close by so he can come home to eat as well. Grocery bill is probably fairly high, but that's where we spend all our money really.

Shake and bake is one of my favourites, that with rice and a small salad is a healthy, quick and easy meal. Mashed potatoes with shake and bake chicken or pork chops.. yum.

I make a lot of soup, chicken soup with lots of vegetables. I'm trying to lose weight and can't get to a gym so that seems to keep the weight off. And it is really cheap and tastes great (there is a great seasoning called VEGETA which makes the soup wonderful).

I drink all my coffee at home, and with a 1yo who nurses still at night I need my coffee.

Oh yes, and I still nurse my little guy so I've saved on formula probably $900.

We've taught my dd to shut off all lights when not in the rooms.

We've lowered the water heater temperature.

We purchase all our clothing (except underwear and socks) from the second-hand shops.

We stocked up on lots of toys from garage sales.

Anytime anyone asked if I wanted clothes for my little guy, or toys or books, I always accept the offer. When I'm done with them, they go to the second-hand charity store in our neighborhood.

Basically, we have decided to be really careful about where to spend money, I borrow many books from the library and read about finances. This helps to motivate me.

I watch the Suze Orman show on saturday nights and get some great advice.

Re Disney, we always stayed at value resorts with discounts at the cheapest times of the year... this year we bought a dvc membership b/c the numbers just make sense and my dh is sick of the small rooms at value (although I love and the kids love the theming).

I love the idea of not using a debit card, and using cash instead because then you are bound by how much cash you have in hand.

Always pay for things in cash, it makes you reconsider what you want to buy.

We don't go out to movies, but take the kids to parks and local amusement parks by buying an annual pass for less than $70 Canadian for the summer (that is worth the money).

At disney, we usually don't go to the parks everyday. We try to go to 2 parks over a 7 day period. With little ones, it sometimes is just so much money with the crowds. And children really enjoy the simple things like swimming in the pools and walking around resorts, eating ice cream. Don't get me wrong, we still have character meals and all the rest, we just try not to blow our budget.

Since we cook here all the time, at disney, we eat out. Well earl of sandwich eat out. And McDonalds, because we never eat it here. Of course we just buy 3 big macs and drink water. Cheap and everyone is happy.

We did buy some quick and casual vouchers for the trip in February, got them for a decent price, and what we didn't use I sold on e-bay for a little profit.

It is a lot easier to spend money, but much harder to find ways to not spend it.

L&M Car Rental in Orlando... by far the cheapest, and they include a second driver for free if you are married (the other places charge $8 per day for that privilege).

I will think of more ideas and post them later...

[becca011906]

WOW great tips keep them coming. here's my 2 #1 money savers...
I breastfeed my dd who's 7 months old and she hates baby food so i don't buy it when she's ready for talbe food she'll do great with it.
Also i use cloth diapers that has saved me ruffly $1000 over the past 7 months prolly and will continue to save over the next 1-2 years!!!
I cook 99% of meals at home. Most from scratch or mostly.
Dh works nights so there are no fast food open for him to blow $ on.
I only get groocheries 1 time a month and use the heck out of my freezer i do the double and triple coupon days i shop at aldies or payless and bread stores more to come need to go make my phone calls ... oh there's another i work from home so no child care expences!!! YIPPY

[toesmom]

We do not buy new furniture... I try to keep the house tidy, but we don't have nice matching furniture sets. Our couch is from my parents, but we did buy new foam cushions (about $100 canadian) for it, definitely worth the money, b/c it feels like a new couch.

We bought a carpet cleaning machine on sale, and use it to keep up the carpets. Every time you clean, if feels like you have a new carpet.

When the little guy outgrows things, ie cribs, infant play things etc, I post ads in the local classifieds for free and sell those items. Usually I sell them as a lot to get rid of a few things with no real value along with things that have some value. They get a deal and I get rid of things and put money back in my wallet. Most of those things were bought second hand.

Friends of mine are going to a concert ($80 per ticket), I was invited to go, and b/c I never see them, I decided to spend the money on one night out. Still hurts to spend it though. Spoke with one of them, she purchased the cd for the group, I can't believe someone would spend $15 plus tax on it. That's how people end up in debt, because of small purchases like this. As if the $80 isn't enough, plus parking and a meal out that night.

Save the pennies and the dollars look after themselves, it really is true.

Think twice about even the smallest purchases.

We've done the birthday parties both at home and at party places. You can do a cheap party at home if you want. We always always make our own cakes. Add whipped cream to regular cake icing... yum.


Haircuts.. my dh always goes to a barber. My dh has been cutting my dd's hair since she was small. We bought scissors for 15.00 and have used them consistently. My hair is growing long now, so I cut my own bangs and dh cuts my hair at the back. And I really really like my hair now, it is healthy and long. My mom offered to send me to get my hair done with highlights etc, but she has a hard time understanding that I can't be bothered b/c then I have to maintain that. $20 per month is a lot of money, when we could put that towards the mortgage payments.


These things may sound like a very frugal person, but we have paid off most of our home mortgage by doing this. Our daughter goes to a private school by doing these things. And we always enjoy disney because we try to save at other times in the year.

[Disneefun]

Love the tips. We do most of what's been mentioned, but here's one I didn't see... Get a clothesline! We found a huge umbrella style on sale at Home Depot that will hold 3 loads of laundry and it has cut our utility bill. The dryer really eats up the electricity (even though we supposedly have an "energy friendly" model). Around here we get a good 6-8 months of the year where we can use it consistently and then the odd bright days during the winter. I know it's alittle extra work, but it saves money and I love the smell of air dried clothes.

[txgirl]

I would love the clothesline idea since I am frugal and old-fashioned :cutie: but does it make your clothes (towels) stiff? :confused3

[crazymomof4]

OH and I know I am only part of 2% of the population (as my husband keeps telling me)that does not have cable tv.

LOL-- I was just saying this morning that I think a lot more would get done around the house if we did NOT have cable TV. My kids think that we are paupers bc. we don't have any pay channels-just basic cable.

[CajunDixie]

I would love the clothesline idea since I am frugal and old-fashioned but does it make your clothes (towels) stiff?

In the summer I usually hang towels outside to dry then toss them in the dryer for about 5 minutes on low heat with 1/2 a dryer sheet. For sweaters I lay them flat on a screen set on 2 small wood blocks on the table out back. Other shirts/blouses I put directly on plastic hangers and hang on the metal tubing part of the umbrella dryer. It's pretty cold here today but I have 2 comforters and a quilt hanging outside.

[EthansMom]

What great ideas! I love the idea of getting a clothesline this summer -- wonder if my DH will go for that.

I also save money by cutting my kids' hair myself -- spent about $50 on a cape, scissors, and professional clippers. I'm saving at least $120 a year just on haircuts for my son, whose hair grows like a weed. I also go to the salon only once every three or four months and trim my bangs myself in between haircuts.

We've saved a bundle by trimming back on the gift giving. In general, we've stopped giving gifts to adults in the family (other than to each other). There is nothing the adults need/want that they would not go buy for themselves. So, a few years ago, we told everyone well before Christmas season that we would prefer not exchanging gifts between adults. Frankly, most of the family found it a relief not to have to exchange gifts. Instead, we get a professional family photo (DH, me & the kids) taken in the late fall and send out copies to our parents, grandparents, and siblings. Everyone seems to appreciate photos.

I try to limit spending on gifts for the 5 nieces and nephews to $15 per child per holiday. Basically, I look for the nicest gift that fits each child in that price range. For my nieces on the other side of the country, I shop online at at a store with free shipping and have the presents sent to my Mom's house. My mom wraps the gifts and makes sure my nieces get them.

For our own children, we tend to buy some toys throughout the year. So, for holidays we just don't go overboard. For my daughter's recent birthday we got her one gift -- a doll house for toddlers. I got it on a Buy-One-Get-One-Free deal so I've got another doll house under the stairs for her younger cousin's birthday. For Christmas, Santa brings each of our kids one smallish gift (~$20) and fills their stockings and we buy them one bigger gift (usually in the $50 range) and one smaller gift -- so maybe $125 per child total.

My parents who live on the other side of the country often send money for the kids, which I've been putting in savings to help pay for a playset for the kids this spring -- I've saved 1/3 of the cost of a nice wood playset just from gift money.

For DH and I, gifts tend to be stuff to do. For Christmas, my gift from DH was quilting lessons. We often give each other tickets to shows.

Basically, we're trying to get back to sharing the holiday season by spending time with each other rather than spending money. This last year, I made the ornaments for our tree, we frosted Christmas cookies, and we had a potluck Christmas dinner here at the house. Between Christmas gifts and cards, I think we spent less than $600, which is still a lot of money, but, thankfully nowhere near what we used to spend.

I also exchange kids' clothes with my SIL and one of my neighbors. Our kids are staggered in ages such that we're getting lots of use out of each other's clothes.

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

[crazymomof4]

For those who have pets! In our area each spring they hold rabies clinics. Veternarians vounteer to to give free rabies shots to cats and dogs. I have 3 cats and this saves me almost $70 (going by what my vet charges) I call my municiple center to find out when the clinic is scheduled for our town. If I miss ours, I go to one that is held in a neighboring township.
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I would love the clothesline idea since I am frugal and old-fashioned :cutie: but does it make your clothes (towels) stiff? :confused3
I toss all of my clothes in the dryer ("De-wrinkle" cycle) for about 5 mins. This fluffs out the wrinkles caused by the spin cycle of the washer and cuts down on the stiffness. I prefer clothes line to machine drying for several reasons.
I can get more done in one day bc. I have a long clothes line. In one hour I can have 3 loads hanging on the line all drying at the same time.
I love the way they smell, esp. sheets!
The clothes have less wrinkles than from the dryer. Cotton t-shirts actually look as if they've been ironed!

[Disneefun]

For the person who asked about towels getting stiff on a clothesline: I've not had a problem, but you could add some liquid softener to the wash to help if you find them too stiff.

Also, found this group of articles at womansday.com (http://www.womansday.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=9551&page_number=1&pl=A15C)

Lots of neat tips, most of which we already know, but maybe you can find some new gems.

[madison66]

Combine coupons, with rebates and sales. Did you know you can use two mft. Coupons on a buy 1 get one free offer. For example: Wishbone salad dressing B1G1F $2.39 – 2 $0.50 mft. Coupons = $1.39/2

Use pretty glass bottle with liquor pourer at kitchen sink. Fill ¼ with dish liquid soap and fill the rest with water…dilute the soap and it goes further.

Add water to the end of shampoo bottles to get last little bit out.

Buy holiday/birthday gifts at clearance/sale price long before needed. For example, Borders reduced all clearance books on Tuesday, March 22 to $1. Bought beautiful huge encyclopedia of Baseball book (brother’s Christmas gift); huge perennial book for mother’s day gift; Holiday pop up books for neice and nephew. These books were originally $19 - $50. Will stop at Target the Sunday FOLLOWING Easter when all Easter goods are 90% off. Get non-Eastery spring looking baskets and grass to make baby shower and baby basket gifts. Will fill with items that were free or inexpensive from coupons/rebates.

Give dh his own weekly allowance. This is the only entertainment budget. If he wants to take me to a movie or dinner, that’s his choice, but it comes out of his allowance. $75 per week. If he wants coffee or an out of town newspaper or magazine or lunch out with friends..that’s all from the same budget. No credit card use. We only eat out once a week. I cook the rest of the week.

Removed all long distance and custom calling features from local telephone line. Retained caller ID. Use cell phone after 7 pm weeknights or on weekends for free long distance calls. *Removed inside wire maintenance plan from account. The $6 per month times 12 months is $72/yr. If we have no trouble on our side of the network interface, we've saved $72. We've lived in our home that we built for 14 years. Only called twice. Once to have additional line added ($25 for the inside jack work) and once to have additional line removed ($25 for the inside jack work). If you are in an old house, it might be appropriate, but if you are in new construction, there should be very little likelihood of inside wire going bad that quickly.

Cook from scratch & price match. I comb the grocery ads each week for the best price. Take ads to SuperWalmart and price match. This way I only have to make one grocery trip. They won’t percent match or buy one get one free match, but will price match.

Use internet free greeting card email sites like Hallmark to send birthday and anniversary cards to relatives. Cut down on the stamps and card purchases.

Use fireplace in winter, open windows in spring and summer to avoid use of heat and air conditioning.

Contacted local electric company to request free energy audit. They identified nonmonetary ways to minimize our electric usage.

Draw shades in the summer to cool house down. Open shades in winter to take advantage of sunshine.

Cancel all magazine subscriptions. Sign up for free magazine subscriptions found on the internet; stop at local library and purchase magazines (recent!) for $0.25 each. Get only the issues we want. Dh does this often. I get so many subscriptions for free, I don't need to purchase any longer.

Madison :)

[Emme]

I would love the clothesline idea since I am frugal and old-fashioned :cutie: but does it make your clothes (towels) stiff? :confused3

I tell my family to "Think Exfoliating" as you are drying off :rotfl2:

[mdmbfly]

Love this! Such a cute idea for little ones. I'm gonna use it. Thanks.

[DiznEeyore]

Years ago, before kids Dh and I saved for a trip to Cancun by rounding our checkbook. For some this may not work (especially if you like to reconcile your register to the penny) but we would round every deduction up to the nearest dollar and round every deposit down. For example if we spent $137.13 at Wal-mart we would record $138.00. In the shaded section of the register we would record the actual amount and then when we received our statement we would reconcile the checkbook. Sounds crazy, but we actually saved hundreds over a matter of months and we were definitely living week to week at that time. Because we never "saw" the extra money we never touched it. We called it our "cushion" and it worked great. DH would never do it now, because he loves to keep our checking reconciled perfectly! :teacher:

Actually, you can still keep it reconciled -- just keep track of the "extra" amount, and add it to your balance. I've been doing this for several years and my checkbook is always up-to-date. :)

[minnie1928]

Here's one I just started using in the past few weeks. My dishwasher is "builder grade" and came with our new house 5 years ago. It doesn't do a fabulous job, sometimes I have mystery goo on my drinking glasses :confused3 but overall it's an "ok" dishwasher. It doesn't bother me enough to go buy a new one. Anyway, for the past several weeks I've started running a fully packed load on the "light" cycle. It runs for less time (less electricity) and uses less water and gives me the same results. I've gotta be saving some money on it!

Also, I haven't tried it yet but consumer reports did a study on dishwasher detergent and found that Wal-Mart's brand did a great job and was, I think, about a third of the price for Cascade, Sunlight, etc.

[Okiemom]

I use the Wal-Mart brand of dishpowder and it works great! In fact we use alot of the Great Value, Wal-mart brand of things. The peanut butter is just as good as the other kinds, their trash bags are very good and much cheaper. Can you tell we shop at Wal-Mart soooo much. We are their job-security!!!
We don't have cable, either. I now know we are not the only ones that don't.
I send the internet cards, and pay bills on line.
I too buy gifts at clearance, and use throughout the year. Christmas is still a stress, but maybe we can we can get the adults to agree to cut way back.
It is so easy to spend money, so if I put myself in less places to spend, I do better. Love everyone ideas!!! Gotta go, OSU basketball game is about start!!

[CinderellasMama]

Here's some things we do to save money

*buy pretty much only store brand stuff. I rarely use coupons because store brands are usually cheaper and just as good. We don't have double/triple coupons here.

*have at least one meatless meal a week to cut back on the cost of meat. My DH also hunts so I usually have a deer or elk in the freezer each year. We process our own meat and that saves a bundle.

*I usually do all the laundry in one day instead of a load everyday. That way I do full loads.

*We live 20 miles from the closest Wal-Mart or large stores so I plan ahead of time and do all my shopping and errands in one day so I don't waste gas.

*DH rides with the bosses son-in-law to work since he has a company truck--that saves us a ton on gas

*I cook dinner at home most every night. We never eat out at night unless it's a special occassion.

*During the summer I open the windows instead of turning on the air conditioner as much as possible. We keep the heater set at 63 degrees and if you are cold you put on another layer of clothes.

*we have a long distance calling plan that is 5 cents a minute up to $20 then it unlimited after $20. DH makes a lot of calls to family out of state so it helps. When we don't make a lot of calls it's still not to much.

*I still have dial-up....eeekkk!!! :earseek:

That's all I can think of now!
Brenda

[CinderellasMama]

Can you tell we shop at Wal-Mart soooo much. We are their job-security!!!


Thanks so much!! LOL! I work part-time at our local W-M for the discount and the extra money it provides.

Brenda :flower:

[jenr812]

Here's one I just started using in the past few weeks. My dishwasher is "builder grade" and came with our new house 5 years ago. It doesn't do a fabulous job, sometimes I have mystery goo on my drinking glasses :confused3 but overall it's an "ok" dishwasher. It doesn't bother me enough to go buy a new one. Anyway, for the past several weeks I've started running a fully packed load on the "light" cycle. It runs for less time (less electricity) and uses less water and gives me the same results. I've gotta be saving some money on it!

Also, I haven't tried it yet but consumer reports did a study on dishwasher detergent and found that Wal-Mart's brand did a great job and was, I think, about a third of the price for Cascade, Sunlight, etc.

We have extremely hard water and had awful buildup on glasses (etching and some gooey stuff :sad2: ). I started using the jet dry (or the cascade brand) and it works wonders. I know it's an extra expense, but it's only about $2.50 or so and lasts a month or so. HTH

[disneymom3]

The only one I can think of right now that hasn't been mentioned is to garden. I am not much of a green thumb, but raspberries, tomatoes and lettuce are easy as can be. This year I am adding peas and something else, but I haven't decided what yet.

My biggest thing is to really keep track of what things cost so if there is a good deal, you know it really is. For instance, our local grocery store will have these "Price Shocker" signs, but many times they are not all that good a price--I can get it cheaper at Walmart.

My dumb moment came quite recently when I read a recipe for meatballs and realized they were pretty darn easy! I had been buying the Simeks meatballs, BOGO for years and then figured out that even at 2 lbs for $8, I was still paying waaaayyyy more for them than i would making them myself. Also figured out how much cheaper it is to make Hamburger Helper type meals from scratch. Especially if you use rice instead of pasta. And I find rice is more filling than pasta anyway.

Love to make bread and even though it is not less than buying regular old white bread, it is a lot cheaper than I can get "gourmet" loaves for around here. Tried making bagels recently and they were not worth the effort involved. (and weren't real great to tell the truth!!)

And my big sacrifice this month (lol) is that I bought a spiral cut, honey ham at the grocery store instead of the Honey Baked Ham I really wanted to buy.

Also cut my boys and even DHs hair now. Bought a clipper for $20 more than a year ago and have done the boys hair for awhile but just did DH for the third time last week. Still makes me nervous to do his, but it always has looked great so far! (Who cares if a 3 and 4 year old have a great haircut, but a grown man should at least look presentable!!) DD is growing her hair out for Locks of Love so no haircuts there!

[jeancbpugh]

Love the tips. We do most of what's been mentioned, but here's one I didn't see... Get a clothesline! We found a huge umbrella style on sale at Home Depot that will hold 3 loads of laundry and it has cut our utility bill. The dryer really eats up the electricity (even though we supposedly have an "energy friendly" model). Around here we get a good 6-8 months of the year where we can use it consistently and then the odd bright days during the winter. I know it's alittle extra work, but it saves money and I love the smell of air dried clothes.

If you have pollen allergies, it isn't a good idea to dry your laundry outdoors. You can still hang small loads up inside though.

[jeancbpugh]

Also, I haven't tried it yet but consumer reports did a study on dishwasher detergent and found that Wal-Mart's brand did a great job and was, I think, about a third of the price for Cascade, Sunlight, etc.

I guess I'll have to start shopping at Walmart. I avoid our closest one because checking out takes FOREVER. But there is a new one only a few miles further away.

To save money on papergoods: use cloth napkins. They don't take up much more room in the clotheswasher and then you don't need to buy paper napkins. We also use old washclothes in the kitchen instead of paper towels for wiping up spills.

[Mady/Sophiemom]

Do not shop when hungry/tired/emotional.

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

:rotfl2:
When do you shop??? I am always at least one of these. Most days all three :teeth: I would definately save $$, since I'd NEVER be able to shop.

Seriously- Great tips everyone. I have enjoyed reading them.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but my kids just know to expect Disney dollars for Valentine's day, Easter, Christmas, etc. They add up fast, and are only spent at disney. Can't be tempted by anything else, that comes up. We usually try to save about $100 each for the 4 of us, and that is our sovenier $$

[EthansMom]

The only one I can think of right now that hasn't been mentioned is to garden.

..................

Oh, I would love to have a garden!

Unfortunately, the deer, racoons, squirrels and chipmunks would love it too! Do you think I could make a garden, set some traps and have both my veggies and meat taken care of? :rotfl:

[mickeyluv'r]

We got a good deal on our cell phones, so we try to use them for most of our long distsance calls. Especially at night when our plans are unlimited.

We have a water filter on our fridge. So we don't buy bottled water hardly at all, but when we do, we save the bottles. Then we run them through the dishwasher, and refill them. Most of them last a LONG time. Be certain to lay them on their side. I don't know how much this saves, but I just hate to pay for water.


Pay attention to discount offers. One restaurant near us offered a $5 coupon for buying a $20 gift certificate. WE bought the cert. and used both to pay for our own meal, getting $5 off.

[jdk5672]

I've been using a netflix membership to save $ on movie rentals, but I'm cancelling it on Monday! Our HEB (local grocery store) just installed a DVD vending machine! New Release DVD's for $1.00 per day. Just insert a CC or DC and pick your movie. Spits it out the front just like a coke! Take it back the next day and feed it back in the slot. If you have it more days it $1.00 per day up to 14 days. At 14 days, you've bought it for $27.50. So that's the only bad part... But, we certainly don't manage to get 20 movies out of netflix each month, so I'm sure this will save some disney $! :cool1:

[CajunDixie]

Unfortunately, the deer, racoons, squirrels and chipmunks would love it too! Do you think I could make a garden, set some traps and have both my veggies and meat taken care of?

Now that's an idea!! Venison stew anyone? :rotfl:

My mom loves to find odd lil things to buy herself. Last time I went down she had bought this tomato bag thingy. I hangs like you'd hang a basket plant but you plant a tomato plant in the bottom and it grows downward. She'll literally be able to walk a step out the backdoor and pick a tomato for breakfast.

[jnrrt]

We love to grow things for ourselves, but we have the same problem - lots of them get eaten.

One thing we do every year is go to a local orchard (we're in apple land) and pick millions of apples (that's what my daughters will tell you) and then I make apple sauce for a long time, and freeze or can it. You can make it by the gallon and we always have applesauce for the whole year, and it's nothing like the stuff you get in the store - it's fabulous. And the apples are a fraction of the cost and we get a fun family outing too.

Also, I never buy any meat unless it's on a really good sale. I also brown all my ground beef at once and freeze it flat (it thaws a lot faster) in 1lb. bags which saves a lot of time making dinner. With chicken I wait until it's on a good sale and then cook and shred in and freeze it in 1 cup bags for later use. Or I bread chicken and fish and flash freeze them so we can use them as we need them. I do the same thing with cookie dough, make like a triple batch and flash freeze them in balls and then put them in a big bag in the freezer. That doesn't save you any money, but it does save time, and you can just put as many as you need on a tray instead of baking a whole batch and having them go stale (or eating them so they won't go stale!)

Whenever things we use are on sale I buy as many as I think we will use before they go on sale again - you get a feel for your store's specials. I pretty much never buy anything that can be frozen or stored at full price.

[wdwpluto]

Our bank offers free online bill pay, so we use that and save on postage. So if we have 10 bills/month we're saving $3.70 in stamps. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's almost $45/year. :teeth:

[alliecats]

We love to grow things for ourselves, but we have the same problem - lots of them get eaten.

One thing we do every year is go to a local orchard (we're in apple land) and pick millions of apples (that's what my daughters will tell you) and then I make apple sauce for a long time, and freeze or can it. You can make it by the gallon and we always have applesauce for the whole year, and it's nothing like the stuff you get in the store - it's fabulous. And the apples are a fraction of the cost and we get a fun family outing too.

Also, I never buy any meat unless it's on a really good sale. I also brown all my ground beef at once and freeze it flat (it thaws a lot faster) in 1lb. bags which saves a lot of time making dinner. With chicken I wait until it's on a good sale and then cook and shred in and freeze it in 1 cup bags for later use. Or I bread chicken and fish and flash freeze them so we can use them as we need them. I do the same thing with cookie dough, make like a triple batch and flash freeze them in balls and then put them in a big bag in the freezer. That doesn't save you any money, but it does save time, and you can just put as many as you need on a tray instead of baking a whole batch and having them go stale (or eating them so they won't go stale!)

Whenever things we use are on sale I buy as many as I think we will use before they go on sale again - you get a feel for your store's specials. I pretty much never buy anything that can be frozen or stored at full price.



Excuse the dumb question, but how do you/what is flash freezing?? Also, any special instructions when you reheat the ground beef or the chicken? Do you need to add water?

[jnrrt]

Excuse the dumb question, but how do you/what is flash freezing?? Also, any special instructions when you reheat the ground beef or the chicken? Do you need to add water?

Not a dumb question - flash freezing is supposed to be freezing things very quickly and separately, but since I have a regular freezer, that's not really what I do. By that I mean to freeze them separately (I can't do it super fast) and then packaging them together so that you can use as many as you need and they don't all freeze in one lump. I usually put waxed paper on a cookie sheet and then put the breaded chicken or fish or cookies or whatever on that and stick it in the freezer until they're hard - for cookies it takes 1/2 hour, for chicken it can take a few hours if it's thick. Once it's frozen hard you can put them all in one big gallon bag and they won't freeze together. You can even leave it overnight, but if you leave it forever it'll start to taste like your freezer.

As for the meat, no, you don't have to add anything. I usually use my microwave's defrost option, but I have even put in the ground beef for tacos or casseroles of whatever totally frozen and it always works fine. And I'm a lot more likely to make an actual dinner if I can skip the browning the meat part.

For chicken I always buy boneless/skinless when they're cheap (and look like I'm feeding an army because I buy a ton) and then I put them in a packet of tinfoil - usually 4 or 5 breasts to a packet and you have to make sure it's sealed really well just by folding the edges of the tinfoil together. I bake it at 400 degrees for an hour to an hour 15 minutes. It sounds like it would be really overcooked, but it basically steams itself, and when you take it out and let it cool a little, it'll just fall apart into shredded chicken - very easy and very tasty - my kids like to eat it just like that. When you thaw it you can use it directly into casseroles or chicken salad or quesadillas or whatever.

And, BTW, your picture is hilarious!

[jnrrt]

bumping for more tips :flower:

[funnygarcia]

For more tips and to get your creative juices flowing.. read the Tightwad Gazette books. After reading those you start to question "how much is this really WORTH to me?" when buying things for fun vs things you need.
And some ways of saving money cost you more $ in the long run, because it may be too time consuming for your lifestyle.


Some things I do..
gift closet:
I buy toys, fun things, small gift items at Target when they clearance out their holiday stuff. I have a large closet stuffed full and whenever a co owrker's birthday comes up or my boys have a party to attend .. I "shop" in my closet. Example: This yr I gave my co workers large star shaped candles in tins (and free form wax stars with floating candles inside) that I picked up after 4th of July for less than a dollar each. Red and white candles work well for Christmas :)

I buy my romance novels at garage sales , thrift stores and Half Price bookstore. When done with them I bring them in to Half Price books and get credit for to buy more. I also bring in my old magazines (free subscriptions thanks to internet!) - you don't get much for them but it adds up.

We change our cable /internet provider frequently. When a current deal ends we stop service- eventually the competing company will knock at our door and offer a better deal for a set amt of months. Right now we get all the movie channels and digital cable for free and a big discount on internet for one yr. Same hold true for newspaper subscriptions.

Read various deal/coupon boards for the best codes and shopping deals.
mycoupons. com fatwallet.com cutouthunger.org

[EthansMom]

Here's another one:

Buy socks in bulk -- I usually buy 2 packs of 6 pairs at a time, all in the same style/size/color. When one sock gets a hole, throw it out (but don't throw a match). You don't have to worry about matching the socks up after washing and twelve pairs of matching socks lasts a lot longer than 12 pairs of different socks. I do this for each person in the family -- no fancy socks, just white (and black ones for DH's work). My SIL who does the same thing uses two different style socks for her two boys who wear the same size socks.

In a similar vein, avoid purchasing specialty outfits or acessories that don't cooridinate with most of your wardrobe. I tend to stick to blues and browns for DH and I; blues, greys and greens for DS3; and pinks, purples and blues for DD1. DH can pull out a pair of pants for work and easily find a shirt that matches. I've found that if I buy an outfit in an off-the-wall style or color, I have to then purchase new shoes to go with it -- and the new outfit and shoes don't get worn nearly as often as anything else I own. When shopping last fall for a new pair of shoes for a formal event, I ignored the flashy "bling-bling" shoes and instead purchased a beautiful pair of black leather heels that would look great with a dress or with slacks.

[DisneyAddict_M]

I haven't read all the posts, so forgive me if I'm repeating.

I don't have long distance on my phone. I use my cell phone for all my long distance calls. I also don't have call waiting or caller i.d. or any other extras. I have dial-up internet (that's the main reason I have the landline), since I'm not on the 'net very much.

Definitely make out a shopping list and don't just wing it. Also, processed foods are very expensive. It's much cheaper to cook from scratch. I have hundreds of recipes saved on my computer that I collected over the years. The day before shopping day, I decide what I want to cook over the 2 week period (after paydays) and print those recipes out. Then I make a list from that.

I have basic cable and only pay $12.90/month. The next step up would be $46/month. I don't watch most of those extra channels, so why bother?

For awhile, I was charging myself a $5 "fee" for every check I wrote. At the end of the month, I would add up all the "fees" and put it into my savings account.

Any change (includes coins AND bills) I have in my wallet at the end of the day goes into my piggy bank. I only use bills for purchases and save the coins I get back for my piggy bank.

At the end of a season, buy children's clothes off the clearance rack and sell it on eBay at the beginning of that season the following year. (for example, last month, I picked up a gorgeous winter jacket at The Children's Place outlet for $2.99. It's original price was $49.50. I'm planning on selling it on eBay in October or November).

[kkana]

need to read this whole board - 95 days and counting

[MsMulan]

We are buying three adult AP's this trip so we are already down around $1,134.00. We NEVER use credit cards for vacation only money we have saved. So we have been doing very well with our saving, but really need to cram some serious savings into the next couple of months. I loved :love: the idea of the no eating out thread and if we all put our heads together I know we can come up with some awesome ideas to share :grouphug:

For us, I put all my DH's overtime into an envelope. To me it is found money, and I pretend we never got it. Next...

Are you guys going to WDW more than one time in a years span? I guess what I am asking is if all three of you need AP's?

[Emme]

Are you guys going to WDW more than one time in a years span? I guess what I am asking is if all three of you need AP's?


Yes, we are going for 8 days this June and then 8 days again this October. We are also planning a March of next year trip, so we should actually get 3 trips from this years AP. We have gotten AP's the last 4 years and it works out wonderfully for us! :flower:

[chrismiss56]

I used to buy Starbucks everyday. I invested in a Capresso coffee maker with milk frother and make my own lattes at home. Every morning while I am making my latte I take $5 out of my wallet and put it in an envelope. That adds up fast and makes me think twice when I am out and seeing a Starbucks store.

Also I never pay with change or dollar bills. Every night I empty my wallet of change and dollar bills. When the dollar bills get to 50 I take them to the bank for a $50 bill or put into directly into my ING account. I also ask my kids and DH for their change.

Every little bit helps.....

Have a magical Disney Day!!

[ReneeQ]

I've gotten so many good tips from this thread! I'm bumping it back to the top so it doesn't get lost. :teeth:

[jnrrt]

I thought of something else. Someone else mentioned that they cut their family member's hair - I do that too. It started just because my girls were afraid to go, and then I realized it's not that hard if your kid has a pretty straightforward cut. But then, I started cutting people's hair as favors in college when no one had any money, so I'm not fearful! They couldn't get mad at you when you messed up because it was free :rotfl: .

On that line, though, we have a schnauzer, and I clip her as well. It's not nearly as hard as you think it might be, espcially if someone can help hold the dog, and I don't worry about her getting nicked when she's being groomed. She used to freak out so much that she'd get cut, and then she'd freak out more the next time, etc. etc. So I started doing it, she's much more comfortable with us, obviously, and it cost me $40 for good clippers. I think I've been using them for about 6 years, and I used to have to have her groomed every two or three months at $35-$40 a pop. Wow, I never added that up until I typed it just now!

So basically, I'm the only one who gets to go and get my hair done, LOL! But then, I don't trust my husband to do my hair, and I can't do it in the mirror - we're not that desperate yet!

[calie_j]

I've been cutting my hair myself for years, but I have long hair and just trim my bangs when needed. I get it professionally cut to trim the back only once or twice a year, and ALWAYS at the cheap places like Great Clips or Fantastic Sams. I also color my own hair but only once or twice a year just to lighten it up a bit.

I just started cutting DD's bangs myself, she's finally old enough it doesn't all fall forward so I want a definate part/line for where then start. I just put her hair up in a pony tail so I can see where the bangs are and trim them as needed. Not brave enough to do the back but this will cut back haircuts for her from every other month to a few times/yr.

I haven't read thru all of this thread but here's a few other things I do to save money.

I've started packing lunches when I take DD to lessons (3 times/week), we used to pick up fast food every time. I also do this when we go swimming in the summer or other outings.

We rarely go to a theater to see a movie, for $3.99 I can order it off PPV and tape it to watch it when we have time. Less hassle then renting from a store and my satellite company sends coupons for a free PPV a few times/yr.

Sending the kids to Grandma's for meals helps save too, LOL.

Calie

[liveforthemagic]

I LOVE this thread! So many good ideas!

Along the lines of not spending money--we use American Express everywhere we can. You can't get into trouble cause you have to pay it off at the end of the month--plus every $1 we spend is one air mile. In only two years, we earned enough to get 2 of our 4 airline tickets to WDW FREE!

Also--we have one of those thermostat timer things. It turns the heat down at night when everybody is sleeping with tons of blankets on. Ours is set to kick the heat up around 6 am, so at 6:45 when we all get up, its nice and toasty. I'm not sure how much they cost--it came with the house--but I really think its worth it.

This is my DH's idea--which I hated at first--but it really is a great trick. Only go to your "weakness" store once a month. For me, its Wal Mart. You know, you go for one thing and end up with 12. Keep a running list of what you are out of and getting ready to run out of. You go to Walmart one day a month--for me, its the 15th. And get everything you need. Then you can't go back until the next month. After a few months, you start to figure out how many rolls of toilet paper and jugs of detergent you'll use in a month, and the house really starts to run smoothly. And check out the store brands--they really do work as well as the name brands, and are often half the price-especially for cleaning supplies, detergents, etc.

Also--if you are trying to get some extra cash quick in hand in addition to the money you are saving, have a garage sale! Ours is this coming SAturday. I have a basement full of stuff--and hope to make at least $150. This is all spending money for WDW.

We also sell clothes to a used clothing store called Once Upon a Child. The trick to getting top dollar is to make sure that everything is clean and I iron and fold everything very nicely. Then I find out the day that they start buying the season that you want to sell, and I get there first thing. They are more likely to buy more if they are low on inventory. I usually go to two different stores, cause one may not need what the other one does. I can generally make around $75 each season--not bad for used clothes!

Happy Savings!

[crisi]

Someone mentioned a gift closet. Even better, limit gifts.

Obviously, if your kid needs to go to a birthday party, they need a present, but watch the gifts you are giving to shirttail relatives and coworkers and neighbors. If I had the money someone had spent on all the little coffee cups and picture frames and beanie babies I've been given by coworkers over the years, it would be several hundred dollars.

I do keep a set of nice notecards at my desk, so I can write notes. Which are appreciated as much as a coffee mug.

Same thing with exchanging gifts at Christmas. Think about what you got last year and how much you needed/wanted any of it. Then talk to your families about limiting gifts to tokens, or exchanging names, or gifting to charity. We spent more last year giving to the Children's Hospital than we did to my family.

[gary4jenn]

at a consignment store. I get a better price than I would on ebay per item and it seems as though the lots of clothing on ebay offer an average of .50 per item. That's what I could get at a grage sale without paying the fees.

I also signed up to be an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay. Talk about the best $100 I ever spent. That's how much it is to start and I make 50% on everything I sell. So in addition to my regular income (home daycare) I know have extra money to ensure we can keep going every year!

I also have $25 automaticaly put in my ING account every Friday- come on- who misses $25? After a year I will have $1300 saved. That's our food and spending money for our trip. What a painless way to save.

I also keep any cash I get back from returns in an envelope in my closet. It's easier to dip into that so I should put it in my ING and earn some interest on it.

COUPONS! Use them! I get the leftover ones from my inlaws too so I always have double or triple the coupons which can really work in my favor when the stores have 2/$5 and I have 2 coupons (one for each item).

[mickeyluv'r]

Okay, this is a little one, but if you use a sponge in your kitchen, they last a lot longer (i.e. dont' get smelly and gross) if you put them in the dishwasher every few days - they also stay sanitized (provided you run the dishwasher), which means less spreading of germs - so maybe this saves more money than I thought.

:wizard: For Christmas, we agreed that our 'gift' to each other would be a trip to WDW later in the year. The 'gift' is that we get to celebrate twice - at Christmas and in Florida, instead of just once at Christmas. I suppose some people would disagree with this, but it really helped us focus in on the importance of just being together as a family. Having something to look forward to really helps us get through the gloomy winter months, and getting together in Florida really takes the pressure off of my mother - she doesn't have to play housemaid or chef. [Y'know that old saying, "When momma's not happy, nobody's happy." Since she doesn't have to take care of everyone, my mom gets to really enjoy herself, which rewards everyone!]

[leahannpen]

Wow, I'm so glad I found this thread. Lots of wonderful tips...which I'll gladly take. I've been trying to watch the spending for some time now.

Any other great tips out there to go with all these wonderful ones?

[fourfoxesinpa]

Sorry if this has been posted before but use your public library to borrow movies, instead of paying to rent them at Blockbuster, etc. You can also borrow magazines - instead of paying to subscribe to them. Books on tape are fun to borrow too for the summer road trips.

[fourfoxesinpa]

Oops. I forgot to add another idea. Whenever you see "free after rebate" items at Staples or Ace Hardware, etc., buy them even if you can't use them. Pens, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, whatever! I have never had a problem with these two businesses (Office Max is good too.) You just have to remember to fill in the rebate as soon as you come home from the store. THEN, you donate the items to a school, a library, a church, any non-profit organization. You can take the tax deduction for the market value of the item which is the original price (before the rebate). You won't see the savings instantaneously, but come tax time, it adds up in the Charitable Contribution section.

[jnrrt]

Sorry if this has been posted before but use your public library to borrow movies, instead of paying to rent them at Blockbuster, etc. You can also borrow magazines - instead of paying to subscribe to them. Books on tape are fun to borrow too for the summer road trips.

On this idea, our library lets you log on from anywhere and reserve movies. We do this from home. And you can reserve them as soon as they're on order for the library, so we put in for new ones a bit before they come in at the rental places. Since the system usually has a couple hundred copies, it doesn't take very long to get it, they pull it for you, and send an email when it's in, and you get it for a week for free. We almost never rent anything anymore.

[Kritlyn]

Hi. I just thought I would add that I used to "clean" sponges in the dishwasher as well but have been informed by a representative of the food safety hotline that this method is actually ineffective. The sponge stays to moist in the dishwasher (even w/ the drying cylce) to kill many household kitchen germs. However, an effective method is to put your sponge in the washing machine AND dryer. This will kill kitchen germs. Just thought I'd pass on something I learned> I hope this will decrease the likelihood of getting any of the nasty food posioning bugs. :crazy: Kristen

[grlpwrd]

Walgreens, Eckerd's, and Rite Aid have rebates. Be sure when there's a B1G1F sale you use a coupon for the one you buy. Otherwise, you can also use a store coupon (ie Walgreens) with a manufacturer's coupon (ie Dove brand).

Use natural cleansers as much as possible which is better for you, your pocketbook, and the environment. For example, alcohol for cleaning mirrors and vinegar for windows, as a rinsing agent for in the washer for clothes and the dishwasher, and diluted with water to clean floors and in wet carpet cleaners.

Learn to freeze produce from your garden, can fruits and veggies, and use a dehydrator or oven.

Stockpile as much as you can. Buy low ( low in price, or get them with a coupon, or thru rebates) for things you know you will use - toilet paper, toothpaste, cold medicines, etc.

Eat more vegetarian, non meat dishes. Low carb or not you can still make meals with beans, TVP, tofu, etc.

Yes, keep family activities cheap, but fun. Fly a kite, have a picnic, buy annual passes to places you frequent a lot, go bike riding or scooter riding as a family, go to the playground or other free play area (petting zoo), etc.


:wizard:

[crazymomof4]

I just thought of something else I do to save $$. Often, instead of buying lunchmeat, I will throw a few boneless chicken breasts on the grill. No big deal, just some salt and pepper and about 15 mins total grilling time. Slice and use to make sandwiches instead of deli lunchmeat. Here boneless breast goes on sale a lot for $1.99/lb. Deli sliced turkey breast can be any where from $5.99-$8.99/lb.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Keep up on your car maintanence, it'll save $ in the long run. Also make sure your tires are inflated properly, it improves gas mileage. Whenever possible do your own repairs, oil changes, etc. :moped:

Don't speed, anything over 65 mph uses more gas.

If you have AAA, take advantage of discounts at auto parts stores.

If there is a smoker in your house visit the websites for the brand they prefer and register, most of the bigger name brands send out coupons (of course quitting is even better).

Same thing if there's a baby in the house, go to formula and diaper websites and register.

If you're buying a new car seat for your child, check with your insurance company to see if they offer any rebates, especially for newborns. Mine used to offer up to $65, you just filled out a form and sent in a receipt, but I think they only offer $20 now, still better than nothing with the prices of some of these seats!

[jnrrt]

This is a little random, but if you like to cook different ethnic dishes, try to find a grocery specific to that region for the spices and ingredients. They are often much cheaper. For example, we use a Japanese and an Indian grocery here quite frequently, and especially for spices it's amazing the price difference between buying there and buying "ethnic" foods from the regular supermarket chains. You can also get "specialty" foods (basmati or Japanese rices, for example) which are not specialty at all in the ethnic stores for far less, and/or in much greater quantities. And it's much more authentic than most of what the regular stores carry. Much easier than trying to make do with the American version of whatever you need.

[EthansMom]

Bumping for those who are interested.

[stahshee]

If you are a lemon and water person when you go to a restaurant put a couple of packages of sweetner in them and make lemonade. I love it. I try to use Spleanda b/c I am on a diet. You can also do it with lime and orange too. Also, know that I hve the money to pay them off, I put everything on charges that pay a dividend. I saved over 2K on my last car. You do need to be careful when you do this however b/c charges do not give you unlimited amounts of money some have a yearly ceiling. When that happens ..switch to another card. Also we wait till the entertainment book goes down in price April(?). Usually we will buy one for Orlando and Massachusetts. It cost us 30.00 last year (15 ea and free shipping) but the cards in the front of the book are not area specific so if we did not use the card in orlando we used it for a couple of favorite restaurants in Mass. We saved over 100.00 on things like that.
I also try and do much of my Christmas shopping at after Christmas sales. People that you need to give a small gift at work etc love to get ornaments or other Christmasy things so why not buy them the year before (as long as they are not dated) and have them ready(It is costly for me I have to give to 30 coworkers). If there are those on your list that you would buy nice leather gloves or a bathrobe or nightgown then those things can easily be purchased in Feb or after Christmas.

OH and I know I am only part of 2% of the population (as my husband keeps telling me)that does not have cable tv. My feeling is that kids watch enough tv and if there is nothing they like on then they MIGHT pick up a book.


Well we must be related. I buy SO many Christams/ birthday presents the day after Christmas. I save big time. I usually buy it with the Christmas/ birthday money I was given the cost = 0 . I also do not have cabel. I have bunny ears and we get 4 tv channels. We also rent movies at our local store 15 per month unlimited. So on weekend we rent up to 6 movies ( during winter months) :love:

[Disbug]

Hi. I just thought I would add that I used to "clean" sponges in the dishwasher as well but have been informed by a representative of the food safety hotline that this method is actually ineffective. The sponge stays to moist in the dishwasher (even w/ the drying cylce) to kill many household kitchen germs. However, an effective method is to put your sponge in the washing machine AND dryer. This will kill kitchen germs. Just thought I'd pass on something I learned> I hope this will decrease the likelihood of getting any of the nasty food posioning bugs. :crazy: Kristen

One of the best ways to sanitize a wet sponge is to stick it in the microwave for 1 minute. However, quite honestly... I have changed over to using wash clothes. They make a dish rag now that is terry on one side and a nylon net on the other. These are more sanitary than a sponge... easier to keep clean!

[stahshee]

Here are my tips............ 1
Use the bread bags to save cookies or dh lunch

when a good item is thrown out in the neighbor hood clean it up and sell it at your garage sale

Aldi some times gives out free bread( that is going to be stale) ask the cashier when that day will be

Free Samples take them to wdw

shop at Wal mart for tooth paste and shampoo it cheeper than dollar store

:cloud9:

[MayMom]

My husband and I became devout Goodwill believers as we are paying off our debt in two years. I never thought I would be a person that bought used clothing, however I like to wear good, well-made clothing. You wouldn't believe the clothes that we have found at the Goodwill. Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hillfiger, Nautica, Gap, Limited Brands, etc. We have bought many things with tags still on them. At $2.00 for a $60.00 shirt - you can't beat this. My husband turned into a Goodwill junkie when he was able to get a new wardrobe for spring for $25.00. We have fun now going to Goodwill stores whenever we are out of town. This works well for adults - kids clothing is more hard to find at the Goodwill.


:cool1:

[katedrew94]

Great tips everyone, thanks!

[MommyBoo!]

This is a little random, but if you like to cook different ethnic dishes, try to find a grocery specific to that region for the spices and ingredients. They are often much cheaper. For example, we use a Japanese and an Indian grocery here quite frequently, and especially for spices it's amazing the price difference between buying there and buying "ethnic" foods from the regular supermarket chains. You can also get "specialty" foods (basmati or Japanese rices, for example) which are not specialty at all in the ethnic stores for far less, and/or in much greater quantities. And it's much more authentic than most of what the regular stores carry. Much easier than trying to make do with the American version of whatever you need.

You can also get better prices on spices and stuff at restaurants. DH got a spice at the Chinese takeout the other day for $3.00 less than the store.

[kellypooh]

This thread is too good to let die!

2 little things I do to save money --

* I re-use my coffee grounds...day 1 make coffee as usual. Day 2 add half the usual amount of coffee to the basket on top of day 1 coffee grounds and make the coffee. We have been doing this for quite a while now and don't notice any difference in the taste of the coffee...

* We aren't people who need to see the movies while they are still new -- it's no problem for us to wait until they come out on HBO or Starz or whatever....but I don't like paying for the premium channels all month :crazy: Our satellite service is through Directv -- when I see a movie we'd like to see coming up on HBO or one of the other channels, I go to Directv's website, change my programming to get that channel and we watch the movie. I then can go back on the website and change my programming again to turn off the channel. Directv pro-rates the charges (12 bucks a month divided by 30 days in the month; works out to 40 cents a day) so I get charged for one days service :rolleyes1 .... 40 cents sure beats the 3.99 pay per view charge! As far as I know, doing this all on-line will only work with Directv...my sister has Dish Network. She can turn on the premium channels on-line but has to call them to cancel the service....and even though it's a toll-free call, it's still time on hold that I wouldn't want to hassle with!

Thanks for all the great tips everybody! :goodvibes

[EthansMom]

I cut my dryer sheets in half and only use 1/2 of a dryer sheet per load of laundry.

Instead of buying expensive baby juice, I give my baby 1 part regular apple juice mixed with 1 part water.

[jenimay]

The garbage bags are just as good as Hefty and 1/2 the price and haven't noticed a difference between the Walmart dishwasher brand and Cascade. One thing I refused to buy generic was Mac n Cheese, then someone suggested to put half a slice (per box) of american cheese in with the generic brand and it tastes like Kraft, try it!

Also try freecycle. org. I live in a smaller community where it's not as big, but I know of lots of people that live in more populated places that have gotten great stuff for free. It's really catching on I guess.

Jeni

[LuluLovesDisney]

subscribing for your good ideas! thanks! :flower:

[minnie1928]

I cut my dryer sheets in half and only use 1/2 of a dryer sheet per load of laundry.

I use my sheets several times. First time out of the box I use it alone, next time I pair it up with one that's only been used once, third time I use 3 used sheets. Get's me 3 uses out of each sheet! I also buy the store brand when it's on buy one get one free, then they're really dirt cheap :banana: !

[armywife]

Consignment stores! I used to sell old stuff on e-bay or at garage sales, now I sell them at consignment shops. Stuff that sells for .50 or $1.00 at a garage sale, you can get several dollars for from the consignment shop. Last year I made several hundreds of dollars from clothes, books, house nick-nacks, etc. I use the money for my christmas fund or vacation!!!!

I've also found brand name clothing there for cheap! There are certain brands I really like but can't justify spending the money on for a little T-shirt for example, but if I find it at the shop I will buy it for a few dollars! Makes me happy to save money for my vacation fund!

[EthansMom]

Bumping

[ARDisHog]

Yeah I'd like to get rid of our Cingular plan but, we have a contract for at least another year or so. I'd like to go to a Go phone (prepaid thru Cingular)
and try to save some money. We spend about $50 a month so that adds up to over $600 a year :earseek:

if anyone has any suggestions on a way we can do this before a year please feel free to PM me.

[crazymomof4]

:Pinkbounc BUMP :Pinkbounc