Random Money Saving Tips

[StephMK]

These tips are great!

Once a year, I go through our bills and see if there are any ways to save. Sometimes it is shopping our insurance or looking for discounts. Amazon has a good student discount so our college daughter has that account.

This year I looked at our streaming and already canceled part of Sling. We can get ESPN cheaper and we don't watch enough of that tier to keep it.

 

[MrsPete]

The inclination to impulse buy goes way down when you realize that the impulse purchases mean extra months/years of paying your mortgage or that your Disney vacation is actually going to be a virtual vacation where you watch other folks go on rides and splash in the pools.

I can think of two events in my life that really pushed me towards STOPPING BUYING:

- When I became pregnant with my second child, I set to work cleaning out what had been a junk room. In the closet I found SO MANY bags of things I'd bought /never used: birthday decorations, things I'd intended to use for gifts, baby clothes that I'd never put on my first child because I lacked a system for keeping up with baby sizes. And this was before we were financially comfortable! It was a real wake-up call, and I was ashamed: I realized I was using shopping as a hobby -- not an unusual thing in America today, but also not a wise choice.

- About a year ago I cleaned out my overstuffed closet. I ditched everything that didn't fit, everything that I hadn't worn in a while, and everything that I couldn't wear because it needed a few stitches (but had never bothered to fix). Things that I couldn't wear because I lacked "pieces" of the outfit, I either gave away OR bought the pieces. I kept a handful of dressy-dresses for a wedding or a cruise, but I folded them neatly and put them in a basket on a high shelf. Immediately I SO LOVED my wardrobe -- I can see everything I have, and everything is something I like and feel good wearing. It was better than I expected. But the bigger benefit has come in the year since: I have REALLY THOUGHT about clothing purchases since then -- I think I will retain this "it has to earn a place in my closet" mindset. I don't want to go back to my old closet.

Once a year, I go through our bills and see if there are any ways to save.

We've developed the habit of combing through our financial choices every year at tax time. We're already thinking about money at that point, so it's a good time to give everything a look-see.

 

[boop0524]

I canceled our Prime membership and don’t miss it at all. Once we realized we’re really just paying for shipping, and I don’t trust Amazon’s choice of products that much anymore, it was a no brainer.

We stocked up on meat at Sam’s a few months ago and vacuum sealed individual portions. It’s just DH and I, so we use a lot less meat than what’s typically packaged. It makes grocery bills less not having to buy meat weekly and we can get more servings with less waste. Would love to find other ways to cut back on food costs. May try shopping more at Aldi.

I cut back our Sling subscription. There are so many streaming options out there, so seemed like some low hanging fruit. We share accounts with other extended family members to help spread access and cost savings.

 

[ClapYourHands]

That use to work. Now I go to Amazon, card is in the system. Target, card is in the system. Walmart, card is in the system. Best Buy, Chili's, Applebees, Firehouse Subs, Cabela's, Field and Stream, Barns n Noble.... We can do even more secure than freezing it in ice, cut it up into little bitty pieces, still the card is in all the stores' systems.

Take the card off after every purchase. Just because a card can be saved, that doesn't mean you need to keep it there.

We had this weird thing happening with Amazon where we'd randomly get things sent to us that we didn't order. And somehow they were being charged to our saved card. The first time it was a Jenga game, and we thought maybe a family member sent it until we saw the CC bill. We sort of shrugged it off as maybe one of the kids made an error. Then we had several really random purchases in quick succession like a split for a dog paw and knock-off air pods. The ear buds were expensive enough to kick us into gear and get customer service on the phone, but Amazon refused to tell us who placed the order or where it originated, citing privacy, even though it was our account and our credit card. So now we manually enter our CC for each order, and delete it immediately afterwards.

 

[mrodgers]

Take the card off after every purchase. Just because a card can be saved, that doesn't mean you need to keep it there.

We had this weird thing happening with Amazon where we'd randomly get things sent to us that we didn't order. And somehow they were being charged to our saved card. The first time it was a Jenga game, and we thought maybe a family member sent it until we saw the CC bill. We sort of shrugged it off as maybe one of the kids made an error. Then we had several really random purchases in quick succession like a split for a dog paw and knock-off air pods. The ear buds were expensive enough to kick us into gear and get customer service on the phone, but Amazon refused to tell us who placed the order or where it originated, citing privacy, even though it was our account and our credit card. So now we manually enter our CC for each order, and delete it immediately afterwards.

I'm not a spender. Spend 17 years of marriage in debt. I've been debt free for a year and a half now with a 2016 car, motorcycle, no mortgage, and I buy what I want but it's difficult for me to actually spend the money.

I first pay my daughter's Prime student membership, so the card is on there for that. Only hiccup was I was getting charged $6.xx and also $5.88 and I couldn't figure out what the $5.88 was. Turns out it was my ex who had ordered some Prime channel to watch a show and she didn't realize it was charging me.

 

[QueenIsabella]

You can get around the credit card thing by not registering, and buying something as a guest. My computer automatically fills in my name and address, but can't fill in my credit card info because it doesn't have my security code. I keep it that way on purpose. My initial thought was, I didn't want my kids getting on my computer and ordering stuff, but really, my kids wouldn't do that anyway. But, I don't want to make it too easy to make purchases.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Take the card off after every purchase. Just because a card can be saved, that doesn't mean you need to keep it there.

We had this weird thing happening with Amazon where we'd randomly get things sent to us that we didn't order. And somehow they were being charged to our saved card. The first time it was a Jenga game, and we thought maybe a family member sent it until we saw the CC bill. We sort of shrugged it off as maybe one of the kids made an error. Then we had several really random purchases in quick succession like a split for a dog paw and knock-off air pods. The ear buds were expensive enough to kick us into gear and get customer service on the phone, but Amazon refused to tell us who placed the order or where it originated, citing privacy, even though it was our account and our credit card. So now we manually enter our CC for each order, and delete it immediately afterwards.

Amazon & Kohls are the only websites where my card is stored but I never get random orders like you describe. If I had any unexpected charges on my cc, I'd be straightening it out with my bank.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Some ideas here that are good to do. What has worked for our family? A budget and sticking to it. Within this budget, we have items (like investments and savings) that are automatic, so they get "paid" every month, just like a bill. In the last 15 years this practice has allowed us to build a $1 million dollar retirement portfolio and our last remaining debt is our house which we will pay off in the next 3 years. Pay yourself first and stick to a budget. Those are 2 key principals that will help anyone who is trying to find financial freedom. I will add that we live in a moderate cost of living area and my wife and I combined make in the neighborhood of $140K a year.

 

[staceychev]

I called AT&T and they upgraded my plan to a better one (unlimited data), but it was still $50 a month less ($10/line) when I signed up for paperless billing and autopay from my checking. Verizon does something similar.

 

[RamblingMad]

Camelizer. I set a price target for an item I want on Amazon. When it hits my target, I receive an e-mail and decide if I really want to buy it. This keeps me from overspending and makes me only buy stuff I really want.

 

[busy mom]

I used to be guilty of month to month automatic renewals, one example is Cricut Access. I always said "I'll cancel next month", yet I continued to pay for a service that I was not using. Netflix was another one. Finally, I multiplied the monthly charge x 12, and it made the number large enough that I finally dropped everything and cancelled what I don't use or need.

It's a handful of little things like this that eventually add up to big savings.

 

[Pinkshoos]

I got rid of my Amazon account. That's saving a ton.

If I need things, I put together a list and shop at Target or our local dollar store. It's now cheaper. That used to not be the case. Also, I used to just see stuff on Amazon and buy it. Putting together a list, and then looking it over stops impulse purchases.

 

[staceychev]

I don't have a huge shopping problem (especially online - Amazon, etc), but I had a mindless spending problem coupled with a "total lack of transparency in my budget - what budget?" problem. About a year and a half ago, I signed up for a subscription for You Need a Budget (YNAB). It was the best financial decision I ever made. Despite being a paid subscription, it saves me more money in a month that its yearly cost. I can't even begin to describe the emotional freedom that comes from knowing where every dollar is going.

Anyway - money saving tip from using YNAB - as I started to actually do zero-based budgeting and each dollar became important, I'd see things that were on auto-payment that popped up, and when each popped up I'd ask myself if it was really something I wanted. For some, the answer was yes. For some, the answer was "Call them immediately, cancel and get refunded!"

 

[jimmymc]

Use direct deposits to make saving money automatic. It goes straight from my job to my saving account.

 

[Chickinvic]

1. I pack breakfast and lunch every day for work.

2. I leave things in the online shopping cart for a while to see if I really need it. I probably have 50 items in my Amazon "saved for later" section.

3. Do the math. I see or hear what some people spend on their lunches and quietly mulitply x5 days per week x52 weeks per year. Outrageous. We could fly to Paris for what people blow on lunches.

4. Bills that are not monthly get their own savings account. Ally lets me have multiple savings accounts and each have a nickname, all under one log in. Things like quarterly sewer, property taxes, homeowners insurance, car insurance, vacation, etc. I calculate what I need to put in those accounts either weekly or biweekly and then either transfer or direct deposit. (My employer is more flexible than dh's for having multiple accounts to direct deposit into.) When the bill comes, I just transfer from that bill's savings account to checking. Ally tallies up all the savings accounts and it looks like a lot but when you see it broken down and know that money is earmarked for a particular bill, it's far less tempting to just say "Ohhh, $7000. Let's do something fun with it!"

I'm very similar to you (except I'm not quite as good about bringing my lunch every day - I try to as often as I remember). I also do the nicknames on multiple savings accounts. I currently have one for car insurance/repairs, one for home maintenance/renos, one for emergency savings, one for my dog (vet bills, etc), one for clothing/shoes/hair cuts. I think that's all at the moment. At one time I had 11 of these different accounts with various names (vacation, etc).

 

[MomToOne]

1. I give myself a weekly allowance that needs to cover anything that I don't otherwise have a budget line item for - things like clothing (I know some people budget for that, I typically don't and just buy a piece here and there), random Target runs or online shopping, meals out, etc. Once it's gone, it's gone and any more purchases have to wait until the next week, or I have to "rob" money from other budget items, or I have to make a conscious decision to lower my expected savings for the month (another budget line item) to get it. It stops all sorts of purchase.

2. I only subscribe to Amazon Prime for months where I absolutely need it. (On the monthly plan, it's no problem to stop and start it a lot) Not having it all the time stops me from making all sorts of purchases - I don't want to pay the fee if I don't really need it or can just wait for other necessary purchases to hit the $25 for free shipping. I've found I typically only join 3-4 months per year.