jwann
<font color=FF00CC>Have a ~*~*~ Pixie Dust ~*~*~ k
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2003
- Messages
- 1,049
Thanks for everyone's replies about saving the little monies that add up to paying for a cruise!
Here are the tips that were submitted:
-DO NOT GO OUT, not at all, not once..
-drinking water with our meals and just tucking away the money we would have spent on soda/tea, etc.
-really think through each purchase ( i had several items in my buggy that I ordinarily would have thought nothing about purchasing--instead, I put them back on the shelf, and put the money I almost spent aside.)
-turning off the ceiling fans in a room when you are not using it can save you $5 a month per fan. Or turning off your computer when you are not using it can save you $10 a month.
-Coupon shopping...
-transferred all my CC balances to a card offering interest free for the next year, to help save some of the interest
-got rid of my cell phone,
-started making the kids pack lunches,
-try to space out our haircuts
-book a Category 11 cabin
-I buy all of our clothes/kids clothes on sale (or on eBay) and resell on eBay when we are done with the items.
-cut way back in gifts to other people... a $15 gift is often as nice as a $50 gift if you put time and creative effort into it.
-We don't call long distance... except to Grandma. We use 10-10-987 which is CHEAP!!!
-no longer rent movies, video games, etc... there are plenty of movies on tv
-we keep the Heat set at 75 and in the Summer, we keep the AC at 80
-get a 5 gallon water jug and put all of your spare change into it EVERY NIGHT when you empty your pockets (or make a point of emptying your wallet of spare change).
-used to be a 3 or 4 cans a day Coke drinker, but now I drink mostly water with a lemon wedge.
-The entire Christmas budget, except for gifts for our nonnuclear family members, is going to the cruise, and then some. We decided that the children rarely remember from year to year what they receive for presents, and a Disney cruise would be a memory they will have forever!
-Re-financed our house. Rates are still pretty low. We got 5% this summer.
-Generic soda. After a day or two, I didn't even notice the difference.
-Make a pizza from scratch rather than order out. This is a lot easier than you think, and it's kind of fun.
-Make lunch rather than eat out. A loaf of bread, a bag of chips, and some cold cuts for a week's worth of lunches will cost about the same as a single fast-food lunch.
-Plan a menu each week and only go shopping once. If you have to stop at the store to pick something up every day or so, you'll inevitably also buy things that you wouldn't have, and you don't need.
-Got rid of both our cell phones and now have just one, with a pay-as-you-go plan, no monthly fees.
-Rent movies rather than go to a theatre, and use a cheaper local rental store rather than the big chains. The selection isn't as good, but you'll get to see the new releases eventually.
-Never pay for anything with change. For example, you buy something for $2.50, you give them a 5, and get 2 ones and 2 quarters as change. Then you go to another store and buy something for, say, $10.35. Instead of giving them the two quarters in your pocket, pay with bills. At the end of the day, dump all of your change into a can or a bank. You'll be surprised how quickly this adds up.
-Cancelled magazine subscriptions. You can read almost all of these online.
-Speaking of online, stick with dial-up for your ISP, it's slower, but much cheaper.
-Walk or ride a bike, when feasible.
-If you're a reader, find a used book store or a thrift store. You can usually get paperbacks for under a dollar, as opposed to $7 at a bookstore.
-If you have student loans, consolidate them! You can probably save a couple hundred dollars a month right here.
-For books and videos, try the public library
-regularly search the clearance shelves at Target for toys that will make good birthday presents for both my boys and for b'day parties they go to. I order lots of books from the Scholastic flyers that come home from school for the same reason. We can still give a nice gift, but it cost $5 instead of $10-15.
-COUPONS COUPONS and more COUPONS (I am an expert bargain shopper, too)
-Wash our own cars
-Bathe our dogs ourselves instead of through a groomer
-Calling cards instead of expensive toll and long distance charges (Sam's Club rechargable phone cards are 3 cents a minute)
-We are conservative with our groceries and do not buy junk food like ice cream, soda, cookies, etc. That saves a little bit at a time on our grocery bill. We budget ourselves to $300/month (there are only 2 of us and 2 dogs). Before I started conserving I would spend up to almost $500 a month.
-Use our Disney Visa to accumulate for onboard credit.
-ABSOLUTELY no Starbucks, no lattes, no mochas, etc
-We buy clothes at the end of the season at big discounts.
-do market research surveys they pay about $60 - $100 per time.
-every gift giving occasion, where the kids get $$, we put those $$ aside for the cruise instead. As well as our b'days and anniversary.
-im due for a raise, and a promotion at work in the next week or 2. whatever my rasie is will be automatically transfered to savings every week.
-do my gift shopping in January & February at the 75-90% sales
-mystery shopping
-Clean out your closets and garage and have a yard sale
-save your pop cans and take them to the recycle station where they pay you so much a pound for the cans
-Cut back from premium cable to "standard", +$50/month
-For our last two cruises we have delivered newspapers for about 6 to 8 months before our cruise. We get up about 4 a.m the same time that some people get up to excercise.
-We walk our paper route and deliver about 120 to 125 papers every day. We get our exercise and get paid for it. We earn between $500 & $600 every four weeks.
-shop at the Wonder/hostess outlet store for milk and snacks.
-Pay yourself to use the washer/dryer at home. This is also a good way to save for new appliances. Basically you drop $.50 (or whatever amt you choose) into a jug whenever you run the washer or dryer.
- I also save the difference between my subtotal and after-coupon total. This can add up really quick!
-I've recently started using my Disney card for just about everything. I keep the money in my checking account, so that I can pay it off in full...but this way we've finally started earning some Reward Dollars.
-Make friends over on the "Rewards Programs" board. Everyday I do Memolink, CreationsRewards, Milesource, PCH points, Lucky Points, and Reward TV. The rewards?? Gift cards for Wal-Mart (great for the pre-cruise stop), restaurants, gas stations, etc.
-We ate a great meal at Bahama Breeze (with frothy drinks, which is a huge splurge for us) for under $8.00...the balance was taken care of with gift cards from different sites.
-Before buying something, ask yourself...is it worth _____and fill in the blank with whatever. For example, is it worth 6 hours of work, is it worth an excursion on vacation, is it worth... you get the idea. I'll pick up lots of stuff, then decide that I don't want it that bad.
-The Dollar Store...I LOVE the dollar store (especially the ones where everything really is one dollar).
-We have a membership at a local warehouse club.
-We take our IRS tax return every year and sock it into that savings account as well.
-Write down EVERYTHING that you spend in a week so you can see the bad spots in YOUR budget
-My Survey. Com
-I sell all my daughters old clothes and toys on Ebay
-I claim zero all year long on my paycheck OR Instead of giving Uncle Sam a interest free loan, why not adjust your withholding and put aside a lump sum of money through direct deposit into an account that bears interest and is not easily accessible.
-I started watching for 'free' events in our community. You would be surprised how much you can do with your family for free! Also, we have a Dollar Movie theater, and we do indulge in that from time to time.
-Get several rolls of pennies and everyday before you leave the house grab about 10 pennies. then when something is like $5.43 give them 3 pennies, never any silver. This way your saved coins are all silver and adds up more than with pennies.
-Use Tap water instead of buying bottled water.
-when the dishwasher has finished, instead of letting it go on the dry cycle, open it up and let the dished air dry.. saves on electricity.
-Homemade teacher and friend gifts - instead of purchasing
-have been fortunate to work for a company that gives bonuses (ha, that'll be ending soon, so I'll have to figure out something else). So my bonus money goes to cruising. However, I do empty out my wallet on Monday moring of any paper bills I have left. I keep it all in an evelope to use for tips or shore excursions.
Here are the tips that were submitted:
-DO NOT GO OUT, not at all, not once..
-drinking water with our meals and just tucking away the money we would have spent on soda/tea, etc.
-really think through each purchase ( i had several items in my buggy that I ordinarily would have thought nothing about purchasing--instead, I put them back on the shelf, and put the money I almost spent aside.)
-turning off the ceiling fans in a room when you are not using it can save you $5 a month per fan. Or turning off your computer when you are not using it can save you $10 a month.
-Coupon shopping...
-transferred all my CC balances to a card offering interest free for the next year, to help save some of the interest
-got rid of my cell phone,
-started making the kids pack lunches,
-try to space out our haircuts
-book a Category 11 cabin
-I buy all of our clothes/kids clothes on sale (or on eBay) and resell on eBay when we are done with the items.
-cut way back in gifts to other people... a $15 gift is often as nice as a $50 gift if you put time and creative effort into it.
-We don't call long distance... except to Grandma. We use 10-10-987 which is CHEAP!!!
-no longer rent movies, video games, etc... there are plenty of movies on tv
-we keep the Heat set at 75 and in the Summer, we keep the AC at 80
-get a 5 gallon water jug and put all of your spare change into it EVERY NIGHT when you empty your pockets (or make a point of emptying your wallet of spare change).
-used to be a 3 or 4 cans a day Coke drinker, but now I drink mostly water with a lemon wedge.
-The entire Christmas budget, except for gifts for our nonnuclear family members, is going to the cruise, and then some. We decided that the children rarely remember from year to year what they receive for presents, and a Disney cruise would be a memory they will have forever!
-Re-financed our house. Rates are still pretty low. We got 5% this summer.
-Generic soda. After a day or two, I didn't even notice the difference.
-Make a pizza from scratch rather than order out. This is a lot easier than you think, and it's kind of fun.
-Make lunch rather than eat out. A loaf of bread, a bag of chips, and some cold cuts for a week's worth of lunches will cost about the same as a single fast-food lunch.
-Plan a menu each week and only go shopping once. If you have to stop at the store to pick something up every day or so, you'll inevitably also buy things that you wouldn't have, and you don't need.
-Got rid of both our cell phones and now have just one, with a pay-as-you-go plan, no monthly fees.
-Rent movies rather than go to a theatre, and use a cheaper local rental store rather than the big chains. The selection isn't as good, but you'll get to see the new releases eventually.
-Never pay for anything with change. For example, you buy something for $2.50, you give them a 5, and get 2 ones and 2 quarters as change. Then you go to another store and buy something for, say, $10.35. Instead of giving them the two quarters in your pocket, pay with bills. At the end of the day, dump all of your change into a can or a bank. You'll be surprised how quickly this adds up.
-Cancelled magazine subscriptions. You can read almost all of these online.
-Speaking of online, stick with dial-up for your ISP, it's slower, but much cheaper.
-Walk or ride a bike, when feasible.
-If you're a reader, find a used book store or a thrift store. You can usually get paperbacks for under a dollar, as opposed to $7 at a bookstore.
-If you have student loans, consolidate them! You can probably save a couple hundred dollars a month right here.
-For books and videos, try the public library
-regularly search the clearance shelves at Target for toys that will make good birthday presents for both my boys and for b'day parties they go to. I order lots of books from the Scholastic flyers that come home from school for the same reason. We can still give a nice gift, but it cost $5 instead of $10-15.
-COUPONS COUPONS and more COUPONS (I am an expert bargain shopper, too)
-Wash our own cars
-Bathe our dogs ourselves instead of through a groomer
-Calling cards instead of expensive toll and long distance charges (Sam's Club rechargable phone cards are 3 cents a minute)
-We are conservative with our groceries and do not buy junk food like ice cream, soda, cookies, etc. That saves a little bit at a time on our grocery bill. We budget ourselves to $300/month (there are only 2 of us and 2 dogs). Before I started conserving I would spend up to almost $500 a month.
-Use our Disney Visa to accumulate for onboard credit.
-ABSOLUTELY no Starbucks, no lattes, no mochas, etc
-We buy clothes at the end of the season at big discounts.
-do market research surveys they pay about $60 - $100 per time.
-every gift giving occasion, where the kids get $$, we put those $$ aside for the cruise instead. As well as our b'days and anniversary.
-im due for a raise, and a promotion at work in the next week or 2. whatever my rasie is will be automatically transfered to savings every week.
-do my gift shopping in January & February at the 75-90% sales
-mystery shopping
-Clean out your closets and garage and have a yard sale
-save your pop cans and take them to the recycle station where they pay you so much a pound for the cans
-Cut back from premium cable to "standard", +$50/month
-For our last two cruises we have delivered newspapers for about 6 to 8 months before our cruise. We get up about 4 a.m the same time that some people get up to excercise.
-We walk our paper route and deliver about 120 to 125 papers every day. We get our exercise and get paid for it. We earn between $500 & $600 every four weeks.
-shop at the Wonder/hostess outlet store for milk and snacks.
-Pay yourself to use the washer/dryer at home. This is also a good way to save for new appliances. Basically you drop $.50 (or whatever amt you choose) into a jug whenever you run the washer or dryer.
- I also save the difference between my subtotal and after-coupon total. This can add up really quick!
-I've recently started using my Disney card for just about everything. I keep the money in my checking account, so that I can pay it off in full...but this way we've finally started earning some Reward Dollars.
-Make friends over on the "Rewards Programs" board. Everyday I do Memolink, CreationsRewards, Milesource, PCH points, Lucky Points, and Reward TV. The rewards?? Gift cards for Wal-Mart (great for the pre-cruise stop), restaurants, gas stations, etc.
-We ate a great meal at Bahama Breeze (with frothy drinks, which is a huge splurge for us) for under $8.00...the balance was taken care of with gift cards from different sites.
-Before buying something, ask yourself...is it worth _____and fill in the blank with whatever. For example, is it worth 6 hours of work, is it worth an excursion on vacation, is it worth... you get the idea. I'll pick up lots of stuff, then decide that I don't want it that bad.
-The Dollar Store...I LOVE the dollar store (especially the ones where everything really is one dollar).
-We have a membership at a local warehouse club.
-We take our IRS tax return every year and sock it into that savings account as well.
-Write down EVERYTHING that you spend in a week so you can see the bad spots in YOUR budget
-My Survey. Com
-I sell all my daughters old clothes and toys on Ebay
-I claim zero all year long on my paycheck OR Instead of giving Uncle Sam a interest free loan, why not adjust your withholding and put aside a lump sum of money through direct deposit into an account that bears interest and is not easily accessible.
-I started watching for 'free' events in our community. You would be surprised how much you can do with your family for free! Also, we have a Dollar Movie theater, and we do indulge in that from time to time.
-Get several rolls of pennies and everyday before you leave the house grab about 10 pennies. then when something is like $5.43 give them 3 pennies, never any silver. This way your saved coins are all silver and adds up more than with pennies.
-Use Tap water instead of buying bottled water.
-when the dishwasher has finished, instead of letting it go on the dry cycle, open it up and let the dished air dry.. saves on electricity.
-Homemade teacher and friend gifts - instead of purchasing
-have been fortunate to work for a company that gives bonuses (ha, that'll be ending soon, so I'll have to figure out something else). So my bonus money goes to cruising. However, I do empty out my wallet on Monday moring of any paper bills I have left. I keep it all in an evelope to use for tips or shore excursions.
