Looking for new ideas to save

[Adventure1]

Regarding Costco memberships, when my MIL asked us what we wanted for X-mas, we told her to just give us that.
I find it is MUCH cheaper on organic veggies. We also bought a huge bag of rice and cook that almost every day. It's a great filler for so many dishes. Also, their free-range, organic eggs, milk, meats are all much less there than at the local grocery store. I do agree it's easy to get sucked into buying something that is a large item and then you don't eat it so it's wasted. We did that with a bag of Quinoa last year we tried and didn't like so now it's about to become bird seed

 

[dpswift]

Our BJs membership expired in Oct and I have saved a bundle by not going there. A few years ago they decided to get people to up their membership to prime by telling them how much they had spent and how many points they would have got. This had the opposite effect on me. It encouraged me to cut back.

Now I shop for sales on the items that I used to buy there. With summer coming up we may rejoin for the meat deals, however there is a Costco opening up a little further away that I might try insted.

 

[crisi]

I line dry year round in my basement and do it in the opposite order than what was above - I throw the dry laundry into the dryer for a few minutes with a damp rag to fluff.

Shop secondhand stores - I got a great London Fog trenchcoat for my daughter for $6.

If you are prone to expensive haircuts - get a good haircut twice a year by someone who leaves "good lines to follow" - then find a Cost Cutters or similar place (or a cheaper stylist) for the in betweens. As long as their are lines to follow, any competent stylist should be able to trim - but you might want the high end stylist for the original cut (plus the whole herbal tea, neck massage, waiting room with a fountain relaxation experience).

Same with manicures - I can keep my nails looking nice if I have them done once a month (natural nails) and do a self manicure each week. But I have learned I need the professional to do it once a month (or I keep my nails short and don't care). And haircolor - if your hair does fine with a box of drugstore color, why spend a lot of money for a salon color.

I once read we spend more on beauty products in our country than on education. Whether its true or not, it changed how I buy beauty products - I'm much less likely to pick up hair paste or lipstick on a lark.

 

[Bayoumama]

We totally do the make a list at the grocery store and stick to it thing !!! We make a list of meals for the week and rarely do we stray. I am lucky that my DH hunts so we have meat for the whole year.
One thing I did not see mentioned is one week I buy a whole chicken and bake it one night for a meal (baked chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie) and then we debone the chicken and use the leftover for another meal (jambalaya or fajitas ....spelling??). That way we may spend $7 or $8 on a good organic chicken but it is used for 2 meals. We do have the room to raise our own chickens but I'm not sure I have the time and after feeding I think it may still be cost effective to buy an organic one every now and then.
Also the garden will help you out. Be sure to plant local veggies so you aren't spending so much $$$ on fertilizers and supplements to ammend the soil for something that is not native to your area.

 

[Bayoumama]

Shop secondhand stores - I got a great London Fog trenchcoat for my daughter for $6.

Don't you just LOVE those finds !!!!

 

[Angeejoe]

This is the first place to begin looking when you want to cut back spending. It's amazing how much we spend without thinking.

Other areas:

• Switch your cable/internet provider. Cut back on the number of set-top boxes and premium services.
• Review your insurance coverage and eliminate any duplicate coverage or unneeded costs. Consider switching providers if you can get a better rate from another company.
• Unplug any electrical devices that may be sapping energy when they are not in use.
• Don't renew newspaper or magazine subscriptions.
• Check your memberships to services like Costco, AAA and your health insurance for discounts you may be eligible for. Check your employee benefits to see what they also offer (gym membership? healthy lifestyle discounts on health insurance? discounted movie tickets, gift cards or corporate travel codes?)

Good luck!

I have to say I really need to check into cable costs & Internet costs, we have a bundle now for cable/Internet/home phone. There's only 1 cable system in our area unless we went with a Dish provider which I'm not really interested in. At one time we had the cable separate & had AT&T from home phone & Internet, but it was cheaper with the cable bundle. We don't have any premium channels, we had hbo at one time, but got rid of it about 3 yrs ago just because we weren't watching it much. Maybe there's other things I can get rid Of on my current plan that we don't watch?

We changed car & home insurance provider last year & saved a ton, almost 50%.

I get our local paper delivered to home, I use the coupons in the Sunday paper every wk. I had cancelled the subscription at one point & was just buying the Sunday paper at the carry out, but they had a black Friday special for $20 for 20 wks for daily delevery. Our Sunday paper is $2.75 itself & wkly paper is $1/day, so this was an awesome deal. So I got almost 5 months! This month was my renewal & I was going to just get the wkend delevery for 8wks- it was like $34, ugh. I called to renew since their website wasn't working & they gave me the $20 special again!

My employer is the largest employer in the area, so we do have some nice perks, I get our YMCA membership for half off, 18% off my cell phone bill, we have opportunities for free tickets & discounted tickets to local sporting events, but no movie tickets. We're normally matinee movie people so we save a ton that way unless we do a night out with friends to the movies.

 

[danygirl]

Use a coupon site to help match coupons to deals, and use coupons at the drugstore for health and beauty items. Build a stockpile of canned/boxed goods and health and beauty items. This is a huge cost saver. Your stockpile does not need to be huge.

We keep our house at65 all winter too. B

Make your own cleaners .

Before you shop for anything check online for coupon codes. We do our own car repairs and I get all the parts with coupon codes. DD made me so proud the other day- she found a coupon for her lifeguard training and saved $20! It all adds up.

Use less - experiment and see if less dishwasher soap or laundry detergent works for you

Think free- when making plans check for the free events. Last weekend national parks were free, so DH, DD and I spent an afternoon hiking.

Save money on perscriptions- check online for discounts and find the pharmacy that gives you the best deal. You can use Costco pharm even if you are not a member and you can get pet meds there too !

Check with your elect co to see if they offer free or discounted energy audits

I don't shop where they give gas points but my mom does and she doesn't use hers, so I use hers.

I learned this one today- mix cold cat food with some warm water if kitty doesn't like leftovers

If you drink coke use coke rewards to get free gift cards. And free magazines

The library is a great resource for free stuff

Tell DH to put his earphones in when eating lunch and pretend he can't hear the folks asking questions!!

When buying online use ebates or unpromise or another cash Back site. Unpromise and many credit cards offer cash back on dining for the times you do eat out!

Wash your own car, mow your own lawn, clean your own house, do your own pedi

 

[Angeejoe]

I have a tip.... DON'T buy in bulk at warehouse stores. I know, I'm a minority with this opinion, but from my own past,and from what I see friends doing, those store COST too much. I think people tend to buy too much and overstock..... I never saw any less spending years ago when I was a member... I just ended up getting BIG things there, then still hitting my local grocery for other items, then spending more than I would have with one good list,a meal plan,and a local store.(which doesn't charge to shop,BTW)
just my 2 cents.... I think a savings plan with a name for each thing you're saving for is a great idea,and keep track of your weekly spending.....
.......also, I recommend NOT buying a DVC resale until you have the savings acct. you want built up. DVC is a splurge,not an investment. It's great,if you want to do lots of disney trips over the next XXXX years, but it's not a 'money saver'.
I have nothing against DVC, but your savings acct. and real life should come first, then the DVC splurge, which is essentially prepaying a chunk of your planned vacations for the next 10-15 years. Not a savings,a prepaid vacation plan. (and only partially, do your homework before buying)
I think mindful spending is a great way to get the things you want!

We did not renew our Costco membership last year, but in laws still belong & will pick up something's for us if we need them. Though I really like Costco, it was more of a novelty to me. I'd go with the intention of getting paper towels & leave with items we sampled & all of the extra stuff in the middle-aka the stuff you really don't need !

We're just researching DVC at this point & our thoughts lean towards resale, but nothing's set in stone. So it doesn't hurt to save for it & if we decide not to get it we still have lots in savings! I'm better at saving with a goal in mind!

Do you own DVC? Anyone? What's your thoughts on it? Pluses/minuses?

I'm with ya! We still have memberships to Costco/Sams/BJ because other family members give us their 2nd card. Occasionally we'll buy stuff there. But most times I can get it cheaper with coupons at a grocery store or CVS.

Look into Restaurants.com and see if they sell GC to places you eat. Don't overlook GC. I think Outback has the year round buy 100 get 20. And I use my Discover cash back to get GC for cloths, movies, & restaurants. It's a much better deal (get $50 using $40 cash back) than others.

I've never bought with restaurants.com, is this one you have to spend so much to actually use the gift card? I've seen some online & it will call itself a gift card but you have to spend so much over the number to use it, more like a glorified coupon. I will look into this website though, thank you for the advice!

I was thinking in the fall when all of the holiday gift card bonus start to buy a lot of restaurant gift card with bonuses that we frequent the most & use it for the following year. Anyone do this? Or have success with it? I've seen a couple of places have it right now for mom/dad day/graduations.

 

[crisi]

Do you own DVC? Anyone? What's your thoughts on it? Pluses/minuses?

If your goal is to save money, you are far better off staying offsite, or in values. Even moderates, by the time you account for the risks. DVC usually is a way to spend more money - but generally get more for your dollar. SOME people are disciplined enough to manage to save money - they stay in studios, they eat in, they go as often as they ever did. Most people find the lack of a room cost (well, except for dues that are psychologically out of sight, out of mind, and initial outlay, which is even more out of sight out of mind) to be liberating - in that now they feel like they can spend more. People who would never treat friends and relatives on cash suddenly buy more points to treat others.

 

[Angeejoe]

As far as savings at warehouse clubs. Like everywhere else you have to know prices. Too many go onto automatic and think everything is cheaper there.

I have gotten somethings cheaper at costco but in order to do that you have to compare prices.

I'm all about comparing prices & I really like it when stores put the price per ounce/lb/etc on the price tags on the shelves, it really helps. A perfect example is I love Oretaga Taco sauce & use it a lot between lots of taco/burrito dinners & snacks with melted cheese on chips. This wk at the store the small bottle was on sale, but not a great sale. For .69c more I could buy a bottle 2x as big plus I had a coupon. For me it was worth it because we go thru it fast. Now there some items I may not need a large amount nor would I use it by expiration date, so I'd buy the small bottle.

I have another suggestion about the lunch/breakfast with friends. Why not meet at the park if the weather is nice and everyone bring their own thing? You can pack your own and they can bring takeout or make their own also.
I do agree that it's a little unfair that your DH gets fun money and you are skipping lunch with your friends, but it's your thing so if you want to cut the costs and bag it then good for you!

I just never thought about it like that, it was almost like my own personal way to cut back, but I'm definitely rethinking this. My DH didnt know i was doing this, it was strickly all on me. I also love your idea to bring a lunch to the park!

Regarding Costco memberships, when my MIL asked us what we wanted for X-mas, we told her to just give us that.
I find it is MUCH cheaper on organic veggies. We also bought a huge bag of rice and cook that almost every day. It's a great filler for so many dishes. Also, their free-range, organic eggs, milk, meats are all much less there than at the local grocery store. I do agree it's easy to get sucked into buying something that is a large item and then you don't eat it so it's wasted. We did that with a bag of Quinoa last year we tried and didn't like so now it's about to become bird seed

That is nice gift for sure, but I have a feeling I'd spend more than I'd save just knowing I love all the goodies in the middle.

Our BJs membership expired in Oct and I have saved a bundle by not going there. A few years ago they decided to get people to up their membership to prime by telling them how much they had spent and how many points they would have got. This had the opposite effect on me. It encouraged me to cut back.

Now I shop for sales on the items that I used to buy there. With summer coming up we may rejoin for the meat deals, however there is a Costco opening up a little further away that I might try insted.

We got talked into something similar at Costcomto buy the more expensive card to get a % back in a check, we never came out ahead so they always gave us the price difference back.

 

[Angeejoe]

I line dry year round in my basement and do it in the opposite order than what was above - I throw the dry laundry into the dryer for a few minutes with a damp rag to fluff.

Shop secondhand stores - I got a great London Fog trenchcoat for my daughter for $6.

If you are prone to expensive haircuts - get a good haircut twice a year by someone who leaves "good lines to follow" - then find a Cost Cutters or similar place (or a cheaper stylist) for the in betweens. As long as their are lines to follow, any competent stylist should be able to trim - but you might want the high end stylist for the original cut (plus the whole herbal tea, neck massage, waiting room with a fountain relaxation experience).

Same with manicures - I can keep my nails looking nice if I have them done once a month (natural nails) and do a self manicure each week. But I have learned I need the professional to do it once a month (or I keep my nails short and don't care). And haircolor - if your hair does fine with a box of drugstore color, why spend a lot of money for a salon color.

I once read we spend more on beauty products in our country than on education. Whether its true or not, it changed how I buy beauty products - I'm much less likely to pick up hair paste or lipstick on a lark.

I line dry in the house (no basement) Most of DH & some of my shirts as I found try looked nicer longer & prevented shrinkage, but I never thought about line drying everything. Between the 2 of us, we don't have too much laundry.

My BFF is beautician, she does my hair at her home & buys all of our hair care products in large professional bottles very cheap at cost. I'm very lucky to have her.

We totally do the make a list at the grocery store and stick to it thing !!! We make a list of meals for the week and rarely do we stray. I am lucky that my DH hunts so we have meat for the whole year.
One thing I did not see mentioned is one week I buy a whole chicken and bake it one night for a meal (baked chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie) and then we debone the chicken and use the leftover for another meal (jambalaya or fajitas ....spelling??). That way we may spend $7 or $8 on a good organic chicken but it is used for 2 meals. We do have the room to raise our own chickens but I'm not sure I have the time and after feeding I think it may still be cost effective to buy an organic one every now and then.
Also the garden will help you out. Be sure to plant local veggies so you aren't spending so much $$$ on fertilizers and supplements to ammend the soil for something that is not native to your area.

I was raised in a household with a mom with a very stick & organized list with coupons. My moms problem though was she never stocked up when stuff was on sale for stuff we'd go thru quickly. I really stock up. My problem was that for a while I got too busy & was not preparing myself before I went shopping. I'm back sticking with my organized list.

I had posted the other day that I cook chicken in the crockpot, use it for dinner & shred the rest & freeze in to servings to use for quick casseroles after work dinners.

I'm really looking to my garden again this year. What are you growing in your garden?

Don't you just LOVE those finds !!!!

A good deal always feels so good!

 

[Angeejoe]

Use a coupon site to help match coupons to deals, and use coupons at the drugstore for health and beauty items. Build a stockpile of canned/boxed goods and health and beauty items. This is a huge cost saver. Your stockpile does not need to be huge.

We keep our house at65 all winter too. B

Make your own cleaners .

Before you shop for anything check online for coupon codes. We do our own car repairs and I get all the parts with coupon codes. DD made me so proud the other day- she found a coupon for her lifeguard training and saved $20! It all adds up.

Use less - experiment and see if less dishwasher soap or laundry detergent works for you

Think free- when making plans check for the free events. Last weekend national parks were free, so DH, DD and I spent an afternoon hiking.

Save money on perscriptions- check online for discounts and find the pharmacy that gives you the best deal. You can use Costco pharm even if you are not a member and you can get pet meds there too !

Check with your elect co to see if they offer free or discounted energy audits

I don't shop where they give gas points but my mom does and she doesn't use hers, so I use hers.

I learned this one today- mix cold cat food with some warm water if kitty doesn't like leftovers

If you drink coke use coke rewards to get free gift cards. And free magazines

The library is a great resource for free stuff

Tell DH to put his earphones in when eating lunch and pretend he can't hear the folks asking questions!!

When buying online use ebates or unpromise or another cash Back site. Unpromise and many credit cards offer cash back on dining for the times you do eat out!

Wash your own car, mow your own lawn, clean your own house, do your own pedi

FIRST OF ALL I HAVE TO SAY I LOVE THE IDEA ABOUT DH WEARING HEADPHONES AT LUNCH!! Awesome idea! I told DH & he's going to try it!


I do shop occasionally at Walgreens & Rite Aid if there's great deals & always use coupons. I'm all about a small stockpile. My stockpile had been depleting due to poor planning, but I have it back! Each wk this month my purchases decreased at the store because I had stocked up on staples when on sale the wks prior.

We do all of our own household care, I've never had a mani or pedi (too many 20/20 specials), my DH is a former GM Master Tech so he does all of our car care, we cut our own grass, we clean our own home, but I've never made my own cleaners!

I work at a hospital & have good insurance & if we fill our rx's at our hospital we save 1/2 of our copay vs going to store rx. It's a great deal.

I don't drink much pop, I never buy it for myself at home, just a root beer at the movies! We did a diet a couple yrs ago & I felt like pop was wasted calories. I mainly drink water. DH does like Pepsi though, I wonder if they have a program?

I've never heard of unpromise, I use ebates a lot. Is it very similar?

If your goal is to save money, you are far better off staying offsite, or in values. Even moderates, by the time you account for the risks. DVC usually is a way to spend more money - but generally get more for your dollar. SOME people are disciplined enough to manage to save money - they stay in studios, they eat in, they go as often as they ever did. Most people find the lack of a room cost (well, except for dues that are psychologically out of sight, out of mind, and initial outlay, which is even more out of sight out of mind) to be liberating - in that now they feel like they can spend more. People who would never treat friends and relatives on cash suddenly buy more points to treat others.

Truthfully, I'm not looking to save while at Disney (but of course saving there would be great), I really want to save now to buy DVC. We prefer deluxes & we spend a lot when were there. This would be an investment as WDW is a preferred vacation destination. We like staying on property. We loved being immersed into the hotel themes & WDW life. What we've spent there in last 2 yrs would paid for a resale DVC.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I shop at Costco primarily for the dog food. I have two medium-big dogs (a yellow Lab and a border collie) and the Lab can't tolerate grain in his food. Costco's grain-free brand is less than one-third the cost I was paying for a similar brand of dog food at the pet store, and since my two dogs eat a lot it easily pays for my membership over the year. My family is vegan, and we eat a lot of fresh produce; I have found that the fruits and vegetables at Costco are high quality and a good price.

I use the "pantry method" for shopping that I learned about in the Tightwad Gazette many years ago. Her idea was that you watched for the natural sales cycles on foods (and other products) and stock up on them. For example, two things we eat a lot of are beans and peanut butter. Two weeks ago, beans were on sale for 88 cents a can. That's about the lowest we ever see them around here, so I bought a ton of them and stocked up my pantry. They will probably go on sale again in two to three months, so I try to get enough to last that long. Peanut butter was on sale this week, so once again I bought lots and filled the shelves. This way I avoid having to buy things at full price.

TP

 

[Angeejoe]

Anyone get any great deals this wk?

 

[crisi]

Truthfully, I'm not looking to save while at Disney (but of course saving there would be great), I really want to save now to buy DVC. We prefer deluxes & we spend a lot when were there. This would be an investment as WDW is a preferred vacation destination. We like staying on property. We loved being immersed into the hotel themes & WDW life. What we've spent there in last 2 yrs would paid for a resale DVC.

Then, rent some points to make sure you understand what you are getting. I like Deluxe resorts. I like having someone make my bed and I like having availability. I don't like that I gave up those things for DVC - but for us its worth it because it becomes a way to have the kids sleep in another room - note that certainly doesn't make DVC any CHEAPER than a Deluxe, but it makes our vacations more pleasant. Whether we will retain DVC is something sort of continually up in the air - right now we rent out our points because we aren't traveling to Disney as much. In a few years the kids will be in college - will we use DVC as a retirement home for a few weeks in January, or will we sell, or will we let my daughter use it - don't know.

DVC can work really well, but spend time haunting the DVC boards while you save to make sure you are the people it works well for.

 

[rnorwo1]

Then, rent some points to make sure you understand what you are getting. I like Deluxe resorts. I like having someone make my bed and I like having availability. I don't like that I gave up those things for DVC - but for us its worth it because it becomes a way to have the kids sleep in another room - note that certainly doesn't make DVC any CHEAPER than a Deluxe, but it makes our vacations more pleasant. Whether we will retain DVC is something sort of continually up in the air - right now we rent out our points because we aren't traveling to Disney as much. In a few years the kids will be in college - will we use DVC as a retirement home for a few weeks in January, or will we sell, or will we let my daughter use it - don't know.

DVC can work really well, but spend time haunting the DVC boards while you save to make sure you are the people it works well for.

Very sound advice! We bought a small (100 points) re-sale contract about 6-7 years ago at SSR for $8k. That was before the new change limiting something I can't remember now (trading points, maybe?) for resales. We love the deluxe rooms also, and at the time of Purchase we knew we would be going to Disney every year or, at least, every other year. I crunched the numbers for over a year before deciding to do it, and I wish I had done it a few years earlier since I was paying cash for those rooms! We have already "recouped" our purchase price, and the last few stays cost only the $450ish in annual dues... Which is cheaper than one night in a 1 BR suite. Now, we only had two kids when we decided that 100 points were enough for about 10 nights in a studio each year. Now we have 3 kids, and we have to have at least a 1 BR, so we are having to bank and borrow to get 5-6 nights. Also, now that our youngest is 5 and FP plus is changing our experience/touring style, we are now more interested in seeing other parts of the world. We are not Going to sell it yet, we will occasionally take trips there, we've gone to Hilton Head and would like to use it to go to Hawaii... But I do see us selling it in the next 5-10 years, simply because it's best used for Disney. Even with the room savings (depending on the cost of your contract, you may not be saving as much but, rather, would just be pre-paying for future vacations), it is still a pricey vacation with the tickets, travel there, food, etc. There are way too many personal factors for anyone else to tell you whether it's worth it or not, so think about how often you will actually go, what size rooms you will need, now and in the future, and how much you think you are going to want to go in the future. Post questions on the DVC board during this time that you are saving, and crunch all the numbers for your situation.

I will also add that there is a psychological benefit (something similar to the DDP) that let's you feel better about going, and it helped us to slow down and enjoy our trips a bit more Bc we knew we would Be back soon. DDP is now so not-worth it for the 5 of us that I lost that feeling, lol, but I have a hard time shutting my budget brain off... So this was a good move for us in many ways. Just not sure how much longer we will keep it now. Good luck with your decision and savings!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Regarding Costco memberships, when my MIL asked us what we wanted for X-mas, we told her to just give us that.
I find it is MUCH cheaper on organic veggies. We also bought a huge bag of rice and cook that almost every day. It's a great filler for so many dishes. Also, their free-range, organic eggs, milk, meats are all much less there than at the local grocery store. I do agree it's easy to get sucked into buying something that is a large item and then you don't eat it so it's wasted. We did that with a bag of Quinoa last year we tried and didn't like so now it's about to become bird seed

Yes, organics are a better price than in other stores! I have no idea how there other food compares but between the organics, coffee, paper towels and toilet paper (both Kirkland brand) we save!

 

[brymolmom]

Didn't read all so sorry if repeat....

For your budget - Instead of 2x out to eat per week - Change that to a dollar limit. For example - if you usually spend $80 per meal out - Make this $160 per week for your dinners out together. Then, on those 'oops' weeks when something comes up like a relative's birthday dinner - this comes out of this budgeted amount. So, in the example where you took IL's out - that would use pretty much your whole allotment for the week - so that's it for eating out. That's how a budget works best - is to stick to it. And if you take 6 people out for a very special occassion and it's $200 for one night out - then you use your $160 in eating out PLUS the $40 in 'extras' money for that week (no other meals out or extras for that one week - or maybe subtract it out of the 'fun money' envelope if that works better for you).

Nice part about this is if you do a couple very inexpensive meals here and there - with coupons or gift cards for christmas or other - Then you take anything 'leftover' from the $160 after eating out your 2x and take that not-used money and put it in your SAVINGS for your DVC. This makes it more fun to do cheaply here and there - as you see you put an extra $100 into the DVC account.

 

[danygirl]

My DH is a former master tech too! Now he works on trains. If I could figure out how to sell his toolbox it would be a good thing; we could keep the tools we need in a smaller box

 

[cabenb]

Try discount finders. There are several free websites like Fast Discount Finder that will find you all discounts on the fly.

Most of the time they have selected real awesome discounts on their website as well.

Enjoy!