Cost cutting measures

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Alot of what I see with useless spending is people having boredom. I think everything goes back to create a space to live in that's enjoyable. We love traveling, but when we are home an ideal weekend is not leaving the house. Well I should say we leave the house to go for walks, runs or bike rides but don't just go do random stuff. We watch movies. We play a ton of board games. DH plays video games, I read. We enjoy cooking and would prefer that over going out to eat. So we aren't seeking out things to always go do and spend money on because we enjoy our home.

Another way to cut money is buy quality items. I'd eye up something expensive and just buy a cheaper version which wouldn't be as good or break and when it had to be replaced, I'd just buy the more expensive one so I wasted the money on the cheap one to begin with. Also with clothes, as an adult try to maintain the same weight. Buy quality clothes that hold up and you could have clothes for years and years. By doing this I have found that we actually buy very little as everything lasts for a long time. We're usually buying things like when a new board game comes out and we want to play it. Or, a vacation is coming up and we need something vacation specific.

For groceries I just shop Kroger. I'm sure I could find some items cheaper elsewhere but to me, my time has a value. I don't want to run around to random stores. I try to limit Costco to once a month, get random stuff that I need for the month and check out their monthly flyer to see if any staples are running out in the next few months and stock up.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[barkley]

I have a TV and cable, but it's basically free. The package I have is phone/cable/internet (I HAVE to keep phone/internet, for reasons I won't get into) and with the package it's actually cheaper to keep cable than to toss it. It's another issue with limited providers I think, like the cell phone I mentioned above.

i totaly get this. until we finaly were able to get starlink we only had one viable option for internet-through our landline phone company. the topography is such that cell phone based internet is just too unreliable and the local phone company has a lock on providing service so no competition elsewhere. so now we have starlink and adore it BUT out of fear of something happening with it we continue to pay for our old landline contracted internet as well b/c we've had neighbors who dropped it only to find that they needed to recconect and were told to get on a multi-year waiting list. cable? does not exist in my neck of the woods.

 

[Dakota731]

This story over the weekend blew my mind. People don’t want to be bothered with change and are too lazy to cash it in at the bank, so they just throw it away. First world problem, I guess. Personally, I save our coins for kids’ Easter egg hunts lol. But as a woman who was raised frugally, this kills me!
“A waste management company in Pennsylvania has collected about $10 million in coins that've been tossed away over the years.”

 

[barkley]

This story over the weekend blew my mind. People don’t want to be bothered with change and are too lazy to cash it in at the bank, so they just throw it away. First world problem, I guess. Personally, I save our coins for kids’ Easter egg hunts lol. But as a woman who was raised frugally, this kills me!
“A waste management company in Pennsylvania has collected about $10 million in coins that've been tossed away over the years.”

that's nuts! we did coinage in the kid's easter eggs as well we don't do cash as much anymore but i still have an old 5 gallon water cooler jug that we used to toss change in for our disney trips. any time the kids would find odd change around the house it ended up in the jug (had to hide parking meter quarters from them), there was the regular kid search of the cars for dropped coins when we cleaned them...there's probably about $30 or so sitting in it now. i can't imagine tossing out M-O-N-E-Y, but then i was the one who insisted we go through every pocket of clothing in mil's closet, shake every odd little container before bagging it up for goodwill and ended up finding close to $100 in change and $1 bills.

 

[Dakota731]

that's nuts! we did coinage in the kid's easter eggs as well we don't do cash as much anymore but i still have an old 5 gallon water cooler jug that we used to toss change in for our disney trips. any time the kids would find odd change around the house it ended up in the jug (had to hide parking meter quarters from them), there was the regular kid search of the cars for dropped coins when we cleaned them...there's probably about $30 or so sitting in it now. i can't imagine tossing out M-O-N-E-Y, but then i was the one who insisted we go through every pocket of clothing in mil's closet, shake every odd little container before bagging it up for goodwill and ended up finding close to $100 in change and $1 bills.

It’s become such a throwaway society! It’s kind of sad when our grandparents told us how they used to have nothing to eat but catsup sandwiches for dinner every night for weeks at a time. And then this generation puts money in the trash! If you have that much you don’t need, then donate it to someone who does!!
I get what you’re saying - my mother in law had $1000 hidden in a dress pocket and twenties taped inside her drawers when we cleaned out her house. That’s because she had so many years of hard living when she didn’t know where her next meal was coming from, so she squirreled away money for a rainy day.

 

[first*toright]

For people who like a "cash envelope" type budgeting system but use credit cards as a convenience, I recommend YNAB budgeting software - you assign all your money as it comes in and then spend from each category. My husband and I budgeted by taking out cash each week when we were first married, but over time our income gave us a lot more leeway, and the lifestyle creep set in. We were fine financially, I was wondering why we weren't saving more money. I started using YNAB to get a better handle on where our money was going and it was very eye opening. About six months later we hit a phase of having drastically reduced income and YNAB saved my bacon! I was immediately able to see what our "run rate" for necessities really was, and it have me huge peace of mind to know we could cover that. And I already had a list of nice-but-not-necessary spend that we could cut out immediately. It isn't free, but it has been soooo worth it.

My young adult kid now uses it (after a fair amount of nagging from me!) and it has really helped her keep her finances on track too.

I was just running retirement scenarios - I can run reports with different categories and see what our run-rate looks like without kid expenses in the mix

 

[MICKIMINI]

Isn’t Amazon prime a membership?
I recommend Straight Talk for phones. It’s $49 a month for limited everything, talk text and data.
Also, I started shopping at Aldi and save at least 30% from my previous grocery store, and everything there has been high quality as well as more economical.

Aldi is great for dairy products like cheeses, chips and snacks, cereal and bread products. We only go there occasionally and buy what we can freeze and shelf stable pantry items. 30% seems about right!

 

[barkley]

my mother in law had $1000 hidden in a dress pocket and twenties taped inside her drawers when we cleaned out her house. That’s because she had so many years of hard living when she didn’t know where her next meal was coming from, so she squirreled away money for a rainy day.

inside photo frames is a popular spot for hidden stashes as well. before someone dumps out all those decades old framed school photos of the grandkids they would do well to pull the frame apart and see if anything is lurking beneath the photo.

 

[amalone1013]

Coins for Easter eggs is a great idea. I keep a piggy bank in the laundry room for very occasional change in DHs pockets but we mainly use credit cards for points. I have a relative who sometimes sends my daughter cards for Easter etc with a few dollars and she doesn't have a piggy back. We keep some cash for when we travel so I usually add it to that then move the equivalent into her savings account from ours.

Several years back we took a ton of change DHs grandma had saved and given us and we had to drive past 2 branches of our bank to get to one with a coin sorter, and even they tried to convince us to go somewhere else I can't imagine throwing it out

 

[DisneyTexan]

Several years back we took a ton of change DHs grandma had saved and given us and we had to drive past 2 branches of our bank to get to one with a coin sorter, and even they tried to convince us to go somewhere else

I find it easier to go to a CoinStar machine, and get the money turned into a gift card. You can also make a donation to several different charities.

https://coinstar.com/

 

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[amalone1013]

I find it easier to go to a CoinStar machine, and get the money turned into a gift card. You can also make a donation to several different charities.

https://coinstar.com/

They actually have one of the cornstar machines in the closest bank branch now. At the time we were really wanting the cash with no fee, and I think we went to the close branch and that's how we found out they didn't have their own anymore and told us to go to the other branch. So it was kind of an in the moment thing. I used a coinstar machine wayyyyy hack when but now we just never have change.

 

[tasha99]

We switched from T-mobile to Ting (and booted off all adult children). Our bill for 2 people is a little over $25/month for unlimited text/talk and 1 shared GB of data. We are home so much that it's not hard to surf the internet using wifi instead of data. We stay on top of our house internet. Xfinity will always try to raise the price after a year, and it's worth choosing a new plan to keep the cost down (currently around $35/month--but they'll try to quietly double that after our year is over.)

I DO buy bulk--even produce--and have never had trouble preserving what we buy rather than tossing it. If you stay on top of it, most foods can be prepped and frozen, cooked and frozen, or fermented if it looks like it might go bad before getting used up. The key is not waiting until it's already a second from being spoiled. That can be a huge mental load, though, so I get that it might not be a good strategy for everyone. We also freeze bread so it doesn't mold. Some bread is homemade, some is from the store, and some from bread outlets (either the Oroweat one locally, or the Dave's Killer Bread outlet if someone is going up to Portland.)

We still pay for streaming, but not more than one service at a time, and we aim for a free month here and there.

 

[MrsPete]

We tried Aldi (went in looking for Disney stuff because DW saw something on TikTok), and we just felt uncomfortable there. Felt like the food was cheap or leftover stuff Walmart didn't sell. And we haven't been back.

I wonder if you went in with a preconceived idea of it as "lesser". I have two Aldi's in my area, and neither fits your description.

For streaming I didn't want to cut cable until I can find a replacement for Hallmark (I know) lol
We found Frndly TV and I think it's $6.99 a month. They have a 7 day free trial.

Hallmark isn't my personal poison, but here's an idea: Can you view Hallmark movies on the internet? If so, can you pull them up on your phone and "cast" them to your TV? Even if it's for a fee, it might be worthwhile.

Alot of what I see with useless spending is people having boredom.

I know I used to use shopping as a hobby when I was younger. Wasn't a great idea.

We're usually buying things like when a new board game comes out and we want to play it.

Board games can be so expensive these days! Some are as much as $50-70. We love visiting a board game cafe near us -- it's $7/person, and you can stay as long as you want. We love to "try before we buy".

I get what you're saying about the credit score, but I do disagree on that one. I don't know how it is for the US, but here a bad credit score hurts you in all aspects of life.

Nope, you're missing the point.
Here's a story: Years ago when we last financed a car, the dealership ran our credit and said, "Wow, we don't see many of these. Your credit is literally perfect." We went away feeling pretty good. A couple years later we had our house paid off, and we could pay cash for cars -- we were in a better financial place -- and our credit score went down! Why? Because we no longer carried a mortgage -- credit scores didn't care a hoot about us having a totally paid-for house (or retirement funds growing and the kids' college funds looking good). That's when I realized the truth about credit scores: They're a measure of the variety of debt you carry and how well you repay that debt. NOT a matter of financial stability.
I'm not saying you should have a crappy credit score -- and if you're focused on financial stability, you won't. You could owe every penny of your paycheck before it's earned, have no significant money saved, yet have an excellent credit score! I'm saying don't let the number be your goal.

I get what you’re saying - my mother in law had $1000 hidden in a dress pocket and twenties taped inside her drawers when we cleaned out her house. That’s because she had so many years of hard living when she didn’t know where her next meal was coming from, so she squirreled away money for a rainy day.

I do that too, but mine's in an old wallet tucked between my folded sweaters. Occasionally we need cash over a weekend or a holiday, or we need some cash and don't want to run to the bank. It used to be more necessary when the kids were small and frequently needed $5-10 for this or that.

We switched from T-mobile to Ting

Wow, that's a good price. I'm going to look into it.

Another topic: We get chicken broth for free. How? We buy rotisserie chickens often -- good value! The first day I tear all the meat off the bones and put the skin /bones (and water and maybe onion skins or other handy veg) into the InstaPot. An hour or so later it's chicken broth. We freeze it in 2-cup packages. Very little effort.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

For streaming I didn't want to cut cable until I can find a replacement for Hallmark (I know) lol
We found Frndly TV and I think it's $6.99 a month. They have a 7 day free trial.

Doesn’t Peacock have Hallmark movies? Their ad tier has deals every so often. I got an annual plan for $19.99.

 

[hsmamato2]

The only thing really the wife does is gets her nails and toes done. But that's just about 1x a month.

And as far as cell phones, I recently upgraded from a slider phone to an Iphone. I typically just use it to make/receive phones, but I don't take on many. Maybe just 3-4 a day. And I text about 15 messages a day. Don't get online or anything. And I have the cheapest package offered by Verizon at $115/month.

So we're in the cheapest possible package on cell phones and YT and most other streaming and no memberships (gym, etc).

I know I'm late to this thread but this caught my eye.... you're using your cellphone that LITTLE and paying that much monthly? I don't understand.... there are so many prepaid companies out there (I use mint mobile) where I pay $240 per year for 15gb data and unlimited talk/text. You're overpaying for cell service. And 1x per month for nails...add that up x12 and see if that number is ok with your budget

 

[hsmamato2]

Also jumping back in to say I LOVE Aldi! I go there regularly for just about anything, and I go to Costo twice a month for some fresh produce items I can only get there,but I dislike the giant store experience. I LOVE the small store size of Aldi,it really prevents excess buying of unneeded items (for me) I'm the exact opposite of a pp here..... They have high quality fruit and veg,and high quality gf items. (we're a whole food/plant based family,no meats or dairy)
I consider Walmart my "last ditch stop" if I need a couple of small things. I dislike the produce,and the aisles and aisles of junk food just annoy me. I also make my own DIY general housecleaning spray so I never buy stuff like that.When I do go to WM it's usually to buy some barkeepers friend powder,that's about it.
There are always ways to cut costs in a household, but you have to want to do it. BTW Pluto tv is a free streaming app for Roku,they have a hallmark channel on there....

 

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[MrsPete]

I haven't missed anything, I understand perfectly well what you're saying. I'm saying I disagree.

That's exactly what your credit score is: You ability to make regular payments on your debt. I'm not saying wrack up your credit cards and pay interest, but I am saying that here (again, it might be different in the US) you need to USE your credit. I've had good luck with putting my regular purchases on my card that I'd be buying anyway, and then paying them before they start accumulating interest. With "free" cards (no annual payment) it works quite well to keep the credit score up. If you let your credit score lapse here, you'll pay a considerably higher interest rate if you ever NEED to borrow (mortgage, car, whatever) so it's important to keep that up. A low credit score can also prevent you from being able to rent an apartment now, or get certain jobs (things like finance, department of defense, etc).

The important thing is to not let it get away from you so that you wind up paying interest to service actual debt. Though admittedly that's getting tougher these days. I know a lot of people who have had to start relying on their cards to get by every month, and when that happens things can spiral quickly.

Anyway, you do you, it might be different there.

My big point is, Don't let the tail wag the dog. Don't let your credit score become the be-all, end-all. It's much more important to save money and work towards not needing to borrow. That's just math.

You're saying a credit score makes it possible to rent or get a better interest rate on a purchase. Here's an example about how cash beats credit: When my daughter needed to rent a college apartment, she needed me to co-sign. Because I had savings, I was able to pay a year's worth of rent up front. This allowed me to skip the credit check (saved about $60) and I negotiated a lower monthly cost. Plus no pesky monthly payments. And because the apartment was in her name, it built credit for her.

That's also a factor of my stage of life -- I've been working and earning long enough that I am financially secure, and I don't anticipate needing to borrow again.

I do agree that it's smart to "use your credit" -- exactly as you said, use no annual payment cards for your everyday needs: groceries, gas, etc. If you're paying no interest and collecting rewards points, it's a big win. I save my points and use them for restaurant gift cards, which I give to my parents and in-laws at Christmas.