How did you save money lately?

[captainjen]

I got the special offer in the mail for the free $200 Disney gift card if you apply for a Disney Visa and spend $500 in the first 3 months. There is no annual fee and I can share this offer with my family and friends and all they have to do is call the phone # that is attached to the special offer and give them my pin #. My Mom and Dad and 2 sisters are applying and giving me the $200 Disney Gift Card as a birthday present. Everyone wins..............I get hundreds of dollars to spend at Disney and my family gets me birthday presents without having to buy me anything and they also now have a great Charge card that has NO annual fee !!!

 

[tina.tina]

I youtubed how to layer hair and cut my own. Saved time and money.

I have cut DH's & DS's hair for years. In fact, DS9.5 has only had someone else cut his hair a couple of time his entire life. DD has long hair and only lets me trim it. Recently, I have been cutting my own hair, too! It started when my hair got really thin in December after a prolonged illness and I cut it all off to the same length all over my head (about 3 inches long). I got lots of compliments so I have kept going.

 

[hsmamato2]

I cut my poodle's fur last week- saved about 50.00- I brought my coupon to JCpenny today for $10 off of $10.... got a free necklace and earrings in the clearance section- gav my DH and sons a haircut each last weekend...saved about 60-70.00 for that....

 

[Kbee]

Today I made homemade liquid fabric softener, shower cleaner and window cleaner. I also have the stuff to make my own powdered dishwasher detergent.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

I started packing my breakfast and lunch for work, every day. I had gotten lazy about it the past few months (since about Xmas), but got back into the habit of setting it up the night before, and bringing in coffee and milk to replace the daily Starbucks stop. Even accounting for the cost of the food I am bringing in with me, I estimate I have saved about $100 over the past couple of weeks so far. And I've lost a few pounds, too.

 

[cleverclovers]

I cut my own hair. Try to shop only when sales, etc. but (hanging my head in shame) I blew it this week. I just became a Grandma and lost control when picking up a "few" things for the baby.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I cut my own hair. Try to shop only when sales, etc. but (hanging my head in shame) I blew it this week. I just became a Grandma and lost control when picking up a "few" things for the baby.

That doesn't count, you get a pass for becoming a Grandma. Congratulations !

 

[wishesuponastar]

Cleverclovers, congrats on becoming a Gram! Yes, you get a pass LOL

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

I realized our iPhones through Verizon were out of contract. Instead of upgrading to the 6 (which I really do not want), I contacted Verizon by chat and asked if we were eligible for a line discount on out of contract phones. Sure enough, they reduced our bill by $15 for each out of contract phone.

Good idea! We have Verizon and a few of our phones out of contract so I'm going to look into this. Thanks!

 

[Goofy'slady]

Well, I am making extra money in order to save, does that count?

While I do work full time this weekend I will start a little side opportunity that will make/save me about 300 bucks each month. I am cleaning the house of my ex bf's parents who are very good friends of mine as well as my neighbors across the street. I also will be cleaning the home of his elderly and widowed grandfather too. This will be a once a month thing. I plan on putting that money straight into my savings account.

 

[dalayney]

What helps me the most is trying to have 3 "no spend days " a week. Trying to work on having 4 a week but it's tough. I plan everything out the beginning of the week so that I get my groceries, gas, prescription, kids their $$ they need for school etc on the spend days.
The no spend days... nope.. no quick drive thru meals no matter how much begging. .. it has to be a dire emergency to spend even a dollar on those days. It has helped. It blows my mind how all that little frivolous spending can add up. This really helps along with everything else I do to cut costs in general.

 

[jjsmom]

This past week (past couple of months actually), I've been clearing out my mom's apt.; we had to move her to assisted living. Anyway, the work is long and hard and I get hungry. In the morning I've made a hearty and heavy breakfast sandwich with items in my fridge (usually egg, cheese, ham or turkey) and that usually carries me to mid afternoon when I'm totally worn out. Instead of cruising the drive thru, I wait (about a 15 min. drive) to get home to make myself something or eat leftovers. I figure a little bit of self control is saving about $5 per trip.

I just discovered a regional grocery chain (similar to Aldi) that sells off brand items. The generic dairy items are cheaper than Wal-Mart. Bring your own bags, but that's ok with me. A weeks worth of groceries for DH & I plus some extras, added to my pantry items, was $38.

After pollen season I will begin hanging my laundry (a couple of weeks). I've been air drying some items all winter on a drying rack.

 

[barkley]

This past week (past couple of months actually), I've been clearing out my mom's apt.; we had to move her to assisted living. Anyway, the work is long and hard and I get hungry. In the morning I've made a hearty and heavy breakfast sandwich with items in my fridge (usually egg, cheese, ham or turkey) and that usually carries me to mid afternoon when I'm totally worn out. Instead of cruising the drive thru, I wait (about a 15 min. drive) to get home to make myself something or eat leftovers. I figure a little bit of self control is saving about $5 per trip.

I just discovered a regional grocery chain (similar to Aldi) that sells off brand items. The generic dairy items are cheaper than Wal-Mart. Bring your own bags, but that's ok with me. A weeks worth of groceries for DH & I plus some extras, added to my pantry items, was $38.

After pollen season I will begin hanging my laundry (a couple of weeks). I've been air drying some items all winter on a drying rack.

kind of o/t but-make sure when you are packing/tossing stuff to open up any framed photos-it's not uncommon for people to hide valuables inside them behind the photos. same w/old clothing-we found small amounts of cash (probably left in the pocket w/shopping) and partially used but still usable gift cards but I've known others who found jewelry. w/mil we took to opening all dvd cases and flipping through books-she was great for grabbing whatever was handy to use as a bookmark, and towards the end she got kind of absent minded and would put paperwork in odd places.

 

[AlohaNow]

With only six weeks left of school (yea!) I am making a big push to stop writing checks for my kids lunch accounts and sending them with a packed lunch instead. DH and I go back and forth about if it is cheaper for them to buy lunch or to pack a home lunch. Either way, you really don’t know how much of it they’re eating! So I’m sending the little one with a home lunch each day. I’m a bit more liberal with the middle schooler, as home lunch is no longer cool!

I’m also making a bigger push in listing my pile of ‘things I will someday list on eBay’ stuff. I’ve got to get a bit more money to cover scout camp for both boys this summer. The troop is very organized and I’ve been making monthly payments towards camp, but the pack is disorganized and just surprised us with the total cost for camp and annual dues all at once! I’ve also picked up some well paying mystery shops and audits in the past week, so that money should come in during the next month.

Loving hearing how everyone else is saving money! Keep it coming!

 

[jjsmom]

kind of o/t but-make sure when you are packing/tossing stuff to open up any framed photos-it's not uncommon for people to hide valuables inside them behind the photos. same w/old clothing-we found small amounts of cash (probably left in the pocket w/shopping) and partially used but still usable gift cards but I've known others who found jewelry. w/mil we took to opening all dvd cases and flipping through books-she was great for grabbing whatever was handy to use as a bookmark, and towards the end she got kind of absent minded and would put paperwork in odd places.

kind of o/t but-make sure when you are packing/tossing stuff to open up any framed photos-it's not uncommon for people to hide valuables inside them behind the photos. same w/old clothing-we found small amounts of cash (probably left in the pocket w/shopping) and partially used but still usable gift cards but I've known others who found jewelry. w/mil we took to opening all dvd cases and flipping through books-she was great for grabbing whatever was handy to use as a bookmark, and towards the end she got kind of absent minded and would put paperwork in odd places.

Absolutely! We've found loose change, crumpled $$ bills, gift cards, tons of clothes with tags still on them. We've opened every wallet or purse, bags, etc. Its been a tedious process!!

 

[jjsmom]

Anyone needing to replace appliances listen up! My SIL is a nurse in an assisted living facility that includes fully equipped apartments. When a resident moves out or passes, all of the appliances are completely replaced. Some are barely or not used at all!! The facility sells the appliances at 70-80% below retail. My SIL has replaced her frig, stove, and microwave at a fraction of the cost. We purchased a new dishwasher (still had paper work and detergent samples) for $125 plus pay someone to install.

If you have one of these facilities in your area, it's worth a phone call to inquire

 

[AlohaNow]

We bought our washer and dryer from a used appliance place when we moved to Colorado. They had many identical matching sets, as they were pulled en masse from ski resort condos when they did an overhaul. So you know they were maintained throughout that time. We saved a bundle!

 

[annsteere]

DH is out of town for a week. I made a major batch of apricot chicken in the crockpot the day he left. (He will eat it but I love it).

I ate it at least once a day.

Chicken breasts from the freezer were $7 for four double breasts. I have enjoyed six meals already.

Plus, no work and no dirty pans day after day.

 

[DisneyMom]

My washing machine agitator broke (the fins at the bottom broke right off!) and instead of calling a repairman, I googled it, ordered a $40 part online and fixed it myself - I was so proud of myself!!

Seems like I do a LOT of laundry and laundry detergent really adds up - I had seen a post about "homemade laundry detergent." Intrigued, I purchased the 3 ingredients, made a batch and I like it better than the commercial brands! Ends up costing less than $1 a GALLON and cleans really well!

Also trying to stay out of the stores as other posters have suggested - too easy to stop for one or two things and come out $50 later!

Planted a huge vegetable garden this week - did that last year when I was out of work and I still have some veggies frozen and canned that we're enjoying (have a small 5 cf freezer and got a food saver for Christmas (vacuum seals bags for freezing) that will be great for this year's harvest). Going strawberry picking this weekend and will make jam to enjoy this year and give as gifts.

Every little bit helps!

 

[havaneselover]

Signed my children up for Parks and Rec camp which my county offers for free. 24 hours of camp per week for 7 weeks keeps summer child care costs manageable.

Just got a $10 Target gift card from Shopkick and a $5 Target gift card from Chameleon.

Signed up for a red card to buy Disney gift cards on Target.com using Target gift cards bought at Kroger. Just received my first $100.

Opened a Disney Vacation Account. This should save me $60.

Transferred my Disney Cruise reservation to Costco to get 7% back (my regular TA gives 4-5%).