Little things you do to save money?

[disneyseniors]

I do the same periodically- I’ll hang stuff out in winter, sun still works! We also have a pellet stove in basement I can put racks around.

Hi: This may be off topic, but we are thinking about a pellet stove for next winter. Just wondering how you like it, if it saves you on heating bills, and anything you don't like about it. You can message me if you want. Thank you!

 

[bbak30]

I try to shop sales when I can, especially for meat.
I started buying toilet paper and paper towels on Amazon when on sale.
Starbucks only once a week.
Recently switched to powder laundry detergent.

 

[barkley]

Great job re-framing the process! It used to be call it hand-me-downs and nobody liked it.

in our house the only true hand me downs were from everyone else to me. when youngest was in his growing years there was a period of time when he would outgrow shoes in a heartbeat-he did this once quickly after we purchased a couple of pairs of new vans for him which happened to be my size -so SCORE!! (i wore those suckers for years). i also inherited some barely worn jeans and a few thermal shirts.

the t-shirt swap was born when oldest was moving out to college apartment. we went to empty the closet and dh realized that over time during high school ALLOT of his old concert t's had migrated (he knew a few had been borrowed now and then but NOT rehomed). the t-shirt swap always uncovers a few unreturned borrowed items (though never once one of my minion t's ).

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I order water w/meals unless drinks are included. (yes it would save more to not eat out in the first place)

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

We buy meat on sale and portion in freezer bags.

I toss leftover vegetables from dinners into a gallon size freezer bag. I use those vegetables for soups or pot pie.

If I chop an onion, but don’t need all of it, I freeze the rest of the chopped onion and use it in sauce or chili. I do the same with bell peppers. I cut off all parts of the pepper around the stem and dice and freeze.

Tomato paste. I usually only use a couple of tablespoons from the little can. I put the rest in a small container in the freezer. I know I can buy the squeeze tube tomato paste, but the little cans are much less expensive.

I clip digital coupons and use the Ibotta app.

 

[georgina]

Interesting reading all the responses. Some things we splurge on, others choose not to.

we rarely eat out, cook most food from scratch at home (except Costco soups!). Mostly because we are cheap, but also we prefer to make our own food. I do shop at Aldi, but also at my local farmer’s market which is more expensive but I want to support them. In winter I buy frozen blueberries and strawberries at Costco.

we don’t buy many clothes, I don’t wear makeup, color my hair, or do my nails, I get my hair trimmed maybe twice a year. Not things I do specifically to save money, but it is a lot of savings.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Someone did get busted doing this between CA and AZ, but I am not nearly as these volumes.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/27/recycling-fraud-scheme-california/70475539007/

I work in CT and live in MA, so I shop in both states. I don't keep track of where I bought each and every can and bottle.

Neither do I, and I often buy beer in NH since there's no tax, so my cans could come from any of 3 or 4 surrounding states.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

We've also seen significant savings since we shifted most of our grocery shopping to Costco and seal stuff up with the food saver bags. We still go to WFM/TJ for specialty items and their dry aged steaks.

 

[Moliphino]

Neither do I, and I often buy beer in NH since there's no tax, so my cans could come from any of 3 or 4 surrounding states.

I just bought a bottle of orange juice (a big one, not single serving) in CT on Friday and there's a $0.10 deposit on those now. I didn't realize just how much they expanded their bottle bill last year.

 

[sheilafri]

We don’t go out to eat very often. Mainly when traveling. Don’t get coffee out. Make a pot in the morning, maybe an espresso in the afternoon and we’re good. I recycle my cans and bottles for the deposit, although since switching to a Soda Stream we don’t have many of those, either. The pandemic broke me of my movie-going habit. Now it’s streaming at home and homemade popcorn. Oh, and we cut the cable cord several years ago. Big savings there as I churn my streaming services.

Unfortunately, all my savings are once again going into WDW trips. Only savings there are the cheapest APs and CS meals only. I’m currently agonizing over renewing the APs or taking a break and buying new. We never go in the summer so it might make sense to wait, but there will always be unused months so might be best to get them at the renewal rate.

 

[Darcy03231]

I do all those things too, but I never considered them money saving measures. Clearly they are, but I would buy coffee and lunch and books if I felt doing so would be better/nicer/more enjoyable than what I'm doing now. Interesting to think about why we do what we do though. The other things I mentioned up-thread are things I know would be higher quality/better experiences if I spent more, and I make the conscious decisions.

I work with a woman who eats lunch out every day. She's spending between $10-20 (and sometimes more) a day depending on where she orders from. She sometimes orders breakfast too. Even on the low side if she orders every day for approximately 45 weeks a year (taking into consideration vacations, holidays, sick, etc.) that's anywhere from about $2500 to $3500 a year, and it's most likely more as she tends to order full meals from the more expensive places. There's no way I spend that taking leftovers or a sandwich, chips, fruit. etc. Same with coffee. I get my coffee pods for about 27-33 cents each (BJ's) and I use a flavored creamer and no sugar. Say 60 cents for a cup of coffee. She gets fancy coffee at Starbucks at least twice a day (on her way in and she runs over at break). I have no idea what fancy coffee at Starbucks runs, but it's definitely more than 60 cents a cup.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I purchased a side of beef and a whole hog much cheaper than buying meat at the store
The local farmers market also has meat pkgs deals if you don’t want a side good prices on them too
No coffee out unless on vacation and limited at that
Rarely eat out can make a better meal at home
I have a well stocked bar and plenty of wine I like so drink at home that way I get my drink the way I want it !!
I shop Costco a lot and use my freezers to split things up
Wash in cold water for clothes when I can off hours full loads always
Run dishwasher only when full
The only thing I’m bad about is I’m always cold so my thermostat is 70 to 72 always and yes I have multiple sweatshirts on and yes I’m wearing a sweater and yes I’m still cold and yes I have socks and shoes on !! And yes I’ve been checked by my dr and nothings wrong but I’m still always cold