Cost cutting measures

[Dakota731]

And you'd save $20 MORE dollars if you didn't have to buy a water bottle.

My point is, people keep buying the damned things and they already have one! I see displays everywhere like the one pictured above and wonder who's buying all of those, and why? No one needed all those 5-10 years ago.

And it’s getting to be so out of hand in schools. Where my daughter teaches, kids are made fun of if they don’t have expensive Stanley water bottles. Sad to think drinking water has become a status symbol for elementary kids.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I am paid monthly so in the week leading up to pay day I only allow myself to eat what is already in the fridge, freezer and cupboards and do not buy any extra food (with exception of milk). If it's not found in one of those places I do without it. It's a good way of clearing out your kitchen ready for a fresh shop on pay day.

My older daughter had a lesson on food waste in school and she had trouble understanding because we have no food waste at home. We use everything we buy. Throwing out something that went bad almost never happens. She was shocked to find out that others throw out food.

 

[Dakota731]

My older daughter had a lesson on food waste in school and she had trouble understanding because we have no food waste at home. We use everything we buy. Throwing out something that went bad almost never happens. She was shocked to find out that others throw out food.

And we aren’t talking small numbers here - according to recycle America - 325 pounds of waste per person per year and costs the average person more than $1,350 worth of food loss annually

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

And we aren’t talking small numbers here - according to recycle America - 325 pounds of waste per person per day and costs the average person more than $1,350 worth of food loss and waste each year

I feel like there is a decimal missing here There is no way 325 pounds of waste is generated per person per day, especially food waste.

 

[Dakota731]

I feel like there is a decimal missing here There is no way 325 pounds of waste is generated per person per day, especially food waste.

Sorry meant to say per year!

 

[Tink3815]

If you shop at Sams Club or Safeway online for groceries and have a Southwest Rapid Reward account, you can earn purchases by going through their web site to the store’s web site. They do this with over 1000 stores for other types of items. Most other airlines have the same program. You can pay with any credit card you want.

Also check your credit card perks for bonus points for certain items. My Southwest card gives me 3 times points on food, gas and dining until the end of the year. It adds up fast. You do need to be careful the store shows groceries and not shopping. The points add up fast. I pay the card off every 2 weeks online. Also, it is a good way to track your spending.

 

[Rimmit]

Discount gift cards. You've already mentioned a lot of the big ones. Eating out, coffee, etc.

Leverage points programs when you can. If you have Kroger, their 4x fuel points on gift cards can save a ton. Buy the gift cards, and for $250 in gift cards you get enough to get 1.00 off a gallon of gas up to 35 gallons. My wife and I empty the tanks and fill up at the same time to maximize the 35 gallons.

Prepaid phone services are great. I'm on visible, for $25 unlimited talk text and data. Cut any non essential monthly recurring expense. Don't do the monthly car wash program and do it yourself.

there are tons of ways to cut back if need be. CC points programs as discussed in multiple threads here are great ways to travel cheaply if you can restrain yourself from running a balance on a CC.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[Dakota731]

100% agree with it all I think we're on the same page and just wording it differently. I always like to say that being poor is expensive. Things like a bad credit score cost you more than if you have enough money to game the system and get a good credit score. The whole thing is horribly inconsistent too. For example, here paying rent on time every month doesn't help your score, but NOT paying on time can hurt it. Then they wonder why people can't get houses.

I listened to an 'expert' (can't remember her qualifications) talking about this one time. She said that this idea of constant dehydration is a myth, that the 8 glasses of water per day was a made up number from some study where they based it on the average amount of liquid an average person would need per day from all sources to survive. That they didn't take into account any variables like gender, age (like kids vs adults), outside temperature (100 degree day vs 50 degree day), etc, and said it wouldn't be the same for the same person from one day to the next. She said the idea became so ingrained in our society that even professionals (doctors) believe it, even though there's no actual scientific basis. She cited a bunch of sources, none of which I remember now, of course. The gist of the entire thing was: Drink when you get thirsty, and you'll be fine.

It's kind of like women think we shouldn't have any body hair because razor commercials brainwashed us.

There is a lot of “so called science” in our country like this nowadays. If the media repeats a story often enough then it becomes gospel whether science backs it up or not.
Our bodies are amazing machines that let us know when to eat or drink if we’d only take its cues instead of believing some pseudo science article rehashed by “journalists” over and over again. Now we are getting to the extreme with water toxicity where several people have died recently by drinking way more water than their bodies needed thus causing a sodium imbalance. I’d love to see a resurgence of common sense instead of believing everything we read or hear!

 

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I know my wife and I throw out a lot. In fact, we filled a half a trash bag on Wednesday with food that was either expired or nasty looking (mostly expired). Not only fridge, but pantry too. And we do that about once a quarter. Not sure how to alleviate that problem, other than to just not buy as much and make more trips to the store.

And we aren’t talking small numbers here - according to recycle America - 325 pounds of waste per person per year and costs the average person more than $1,350 worth of food loss annually

 

[DisneyHardin]

i could not fathom sending my kid to school with expensive clothing and sports shoes, having them turn around and not have them without checking their locker or the lost and found

I teach at an Elementary School and what I am always shocked by in our lost and found at the end of the year is the amount of glasses. How are so many kids losing their glasses and their parents don't even call the school to ask if they are in the lost and found. Our principal will put pictures of the glasses on our school FB page trying to find their owners, but most never get claimed.

 

[Dakota731]

I know my wife and I throw out a lot. In fact, we filled a half a trash bag on Wednesday with food that was either expired or nasty looking (mostly expired). Not only fridge, but pantry too. And we do that about once a quarter. Not sure how to alleviate that problem, other than to just not buy as much and make more trips to the store.

I have read that a lot of our food waste nowadays is from the code date issue. When I was young, there were no dates on food products so you smelled it or looked at it to see if it was bad. Now we throw so much perfectly good food away just because of an arbitrary date. For example, eggs are usually good three weeks after the date on the carton and yogurt is good two weeks after the date.

 

[barkley]

I have read that a lot of our food waste nowadays is from the code date issue. When I was young, there were no dates on food products so you smelled it or looked at it to see if it was bad. Now we throw so much perfectly good food away just because of an arbitrary date. For example, eggs are usually good three weeks after the date on the carton and yogurt is good two weeks after the date.

the usda website has great information on the various 'use by', 'best by', 'freeze by'....terminology and how long after those dates it's entirely safe to consume different foods. the only item that has a set in stone safety rule for tossing by the date printed by a manufacturer is infant formula.

 

[barkley]

anyone looking for back to school savings (or just needs some t-shirts)? i've never seen this in the stores but walmart's website has a variety of graphic t's in men's sizes-2 packs for as low as $10.98 per pack (2 different designs in each pack). i was skeptical but my son needed some t's so i did a quick search for a few areas of interest he has-they arrived yesterday and are nice quality at a fraction of the cost a single t would run run on even the best hot-topic sale! some disney themed choices there as well. do a search under 'mens graphic tee 2 pack'.

 

[Eastern]

I teach at an Elementary School and what I am always shocked by in our lost and found at the end of the year is the amount of glasses. How are so many kids losing their glasses and their parents don't even call the school to ask if they are in the lost and found. Our principal will put pictures of the glasses on our school FB page trying to find their owners, but most never get claimed.

I would be at the school going through the trash.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I would be at the school going through the trash.

It's crazy. We are a Title 1, low income school - our parents aren't the kind of people that can just run up to LensCrafters and get a new pair when they are lost, so I don't understand why they don't come looking. We generally have at least 10-15 pair of glasses in the office at the end of the school year that were never claimed.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I teach in a middle school that has about 150-200 kids and at the end of every year our Phy-Ed teach puts out all the clothes, shoes, jackets, etc....on tables that have been "lost" most of it from the gym. This year she had 4 long tables packed full of all the lost stuff, the janitors even wash any clothing before she sets it out. It is amazing all the stuff that kids don't claim or ask her about before this. Some kids end up claiming stuff, whether it is theirs or not, which by that time really it is fair game, and anything leftover she bags up and donates to charity shops. It is so mindboggling what they lose or forget about. As a kid if my sister or I had "lost" what some of these kids lose we would have been sent back to school to search high and low and if we didn't find it, the object might not have been replaced.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

A cost cutting measure I found out about after the fact… better to order tires online, especially from a store like Walmart that also installs, because that saves serious cash. Kicking myself for not doing more research, as tire inflation is insane!

 

[Greg Spinks]

Forgive the potentially amateur question, but for an adventurer from England - Can I save much money by getting cheaper gift cards for Disneyland Cali ? A lot of things seem very aimed towards $ and creditcard savings etc. Just trying to maximise the most savings I can.

Thanks!