How do you save money questions?

[Eeyoreloverforever]

The state of the economy has me worried.

My grocery bill is through the roof!!! and everything is only getting more expensive.


I have never been good at not spending what I want so this is all new to me.

How do you feed your family well, with the food they like, good quality and still cut back?

How do you buy enough clothes for the season?

How do you cut back on electricity and water usage?

I don't really feel like I waste money except with frivilous spending and eating out, which I am definitely working on. But I do know that we spend more than some others and I am not sure how they do it!!

Dh, who makes the money and pays the bills, doesn't seem too worried about it, but I sure am!

 

[cudworth]

We try to only buy groceries that are on sale . To Save money on groceries the thing to do is plan your meals 1 week at a time . When the grocery flyer's come out for the week buy enough meat when it's on sale and freeze it. over time you will build up a freezer full. Now with what you have ,plan your meals out for the week this will keep you from running to the store and just buying regular price items. I grew up in a grocery store and worked in one for 20 years and the owners which were my parents loved the people who just shopped .

 

[snickerboo]

For groceries, always shop with a list. You can find all the major grocery chain stores' flyers online. I shop at whichever store has the most deals for our family that week or I'll go to two places if I have to. I never just pay whatever the store I'm at is asking. You also have to be flexible with groceries and you have to teach your family to be flexible, too. For example, you buy whatever cereal is on sale this week and you try to choose one you know they like but you can't buy Cheerios every single week no matter what the price is. There is always some kind of cereal on sale for 1.99 or 2.99, and usually some kind they'll eat. It's not worth paying $5 for the one they want most. I also buy meat when it's on sale. What I mean is, if chicken brests are 1.99/lb on sale, I get 4 packages and put them in the freezer. if you're not doing this now, it'll take you a little while to build up a reserve of different meats but it works well. Make a budget and stick to it! Take a calculator to the store or mentally add up what's in your cart. Before you check out, look at what you have and think, "do we really need every item in this cart?" Chances are you've got lots of things you can put back and not really miss or only miss a little. Finally, you can go to save.ca and get grocery coupons.

For everday spending, it's the little things that add up; a few things picked up at the dollar store here, a little treat there. It doesn't seem like much but, if you track your spending you'll be surprised.

Gas is costly so keep outings to a minimum. For weekend entertainment, ride bikes with the kids, walk to a park together, have family game night or family movie night. For family movie night, we've started digging out the old DVDs/tapes of movies the kids really liked but haven't watched in ages. They love it and, if you're like us, you've got tons of DVDs (and you just saved yourself 5-10 bucks at the video store).

Clothing: never buy any clothing item for the kids not on sale! That means it just came out. Almost every major clothing store puts their kids stuff on sale within weeks of it coming new into the store. Why pay $20 for something that will be $12.99 in two weeks? Also, Children's Place and a few others have fantastic "take and extra 20-30% off the sale price" sales every once in a while. There's usually great selection and great prices. Some people will not do this but, for saving money on kids clothes you cannot beat consignment shopping! Some of my children's cutest clothes were used items. I only buy name brand, in excellent condition, and must be a good price. Seriously, my friends were shocked to find I did this because they said my kids are so well-dressed. Now I buy my stuff used, too. LOL Today I'm wearing head-to-toe Tommy Hilfiger, all still very in style, paid $15 for the whole outfit. Do not fall into the ebay trap, though. You're not really saving most of the time on ebay due to the shipping costs. Kijiji and facebook groups do the same thing but you pick it up.

Just a few of my tips, hope they helped. I'm a stay-at-home mom. When I first started to stay home money was very tight so I had to economize. Now my husband makes almost double what he did then but I still do all these things, which helps put money into my 'Disney' acct.

 

[ferris198]

Hi, I am a penny pincher.
I watch the sales.
Every week when the flyers come out, we get what we need on sale.
For instance, at Christmas when ultility turkeys are on sale, we buy 2, one for Christmas, one for Easter.
Pork Tenderloin is one of my favourite sales, as you can sometimes get it for 1.99/pound, but you can do so much with it.
You can stuff, like a roast, or cut it into pieces to make shish kebobs.

This week No Frills has porks roasts on sale, and today I cut some up to make a couple of roasts, the other was used for chops.
Frozen veggies are as good as fresh, and usually much cheaper.
Ribs have been on sale recently so we have stocked up on them.
Just watch the flyers.
I am fortunate as my son only like frosted flakes, so when they are on sale I tend to stock up on them.
I also tend to buy no name products, such as the frozen toaster pancakes.

 

[c&m]

Our family of 4 (DH, me, DD12, DD9) spend only $100-$120 on groceries each week. We omit the junk food and processed foods. Everything is fresh and I cook from scratch. Time is limited (I work almost full time, run the kids around to their after-school activities), so the meals have to be simple but delicious. Tonight for dinner, we had grilled beef kebabs, Greek salad, and rice, and watermelon for dessert. I buy lean cuts of meat on sale, fresh veggies and fruit that are fairly inexpensive like apples, bananas, grapes, broccoli and lettuce. I don't bake much (baking supplies are expensive) and we don't buy chips unless we have a birthday party. It's not exactly all about deprivation for the kids -- if you don't buy it, they won't miss it; if you buy it, they'll eat it. Our kids are extremely healthy as a result.

We teach our children to turn off the lights when they leave a room. We also teach them to have 5-8 minute showers to cut back on the water.

We eat out once a week after a long week at the office, usually Friday or Saturday. We watch movies at the theatre about once every 2 months. We rent movies mostly.

We buy nothing unless it's on sale -- like clothes, appliances, furniture, etc. Before we buy anything, we always try to ask ourselves whether we really need it or is it a frivolous buy.

I bring my lunch to work instead of buying. My husband brings his own coffee to work instead of buying Starbucks a couple of times a day.

All our practices above add up to a hefty amount of savings.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

This may not be exactly about what you are asking about? You didn't mention debt but we're working on, paying off our credit cards and paying extra down on our mortgage.

If you've ever watched Oprah when she has $$ experts on, one is Jean Chatzky. She wrote a book called, Pay it Down! From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day, which I bought at Chapters for $4.99 (I usually don't buy books but I wanted to use this one for an extended period and make notes). Some good ideas in this book, some of which were already mentioned above by the other posters!

I am a big believer in Louise Hay and she has wonderful money affirmations
which help you to see money in new ways and always have plenty. For example, "Our income is constantly increasing" and "We pay our bills with love and we always have more than enough money".

We do also try to buy everything off season, on sale. We borrow movies, cds and books from the library.

Those are just a couple off the top of my head.
xoxoxoxoxo

 

[eeyoremum]

First, I live in a small town. The nearest walmart is about 20-30 minutes away. The nearest mall about 45-50 minutes. I save money by not "just running to the Walmart for a minute".

We do have a grocery in town and if you were independently weathly you could afford to shop there. I'm not so I shop elsewhere, again a 30 minute drive. I find if I shop only once every 6 - 8 weeks I save money. I will do a large shop of cans, boxes, meat and such and spend $400 or more at one time. I can then just buy fresh as needed (bread, milk, fruit, veggies). I am one of those type of shopper that will go to the grocery for bread and spend $100. So I avoid that as much as possible. Last month I did the run in to the grocery almost every week (or more) and spent $950 So I am back to my regular routine now.