Tell Us Your Tightwad Secrets!!

[mrsbornkuntry]

To save money I:

Buy season passes to places we frequent such as the zoo (with my big family these pay for themselves in two trips)

Find free entertainment such as parks, hiking, local events, etc.

Unsubscribing from emails from shopping websites has definitely curbed my spending

 

[*MickeyFan*]

My bank does the points rewards too. LOVE IT! We saved enuf to get $75 worth of BP gas cards for our trip down to Disney this Sept. I just wish they still had the tickets to WDW on the list for about 500,000 points(like I was ever gonna get enuf points for that anyway- but I can dream) OH..National City btw.

Thanks! I am going to check into that.

 

[dwaddict]

So much of what has already been said we do:
However we pay for almost everything in cash and save all of our change. This totals up to almost $20 sometimes $30 a week! When i buy fruit for the kids they get what is on sale for that week. It has saved us alot and gives them more variety! I will only buy sodas if they are on sale. I cook meals ahead of time, so if a day rolls around that I don't want to cook dinner instead of DH picking something up on the way home, I just throw it in the oven!!


Good luck to everyone with their budgets and savings. There are some great ideas on here!!!

 

[bettyann29]

I already do so much that others have listed.. I wash clothes in cold water, I hang dry clothes on the clothes line outside and use the dryer very little.. I have one day a week that we have something cold such as sandwiches or salad as cooking heats up the house.. we go to the library for books, dvds and cds.. also our city does movies in the park where you bring a blanket or chair and snacks and watch a movie in the park for free.. Cant wait for Curious George next weekend..

I also called our cable company a few months ago and talked about lower plans and they automatically lowered my bill for the next year.. I think it was like $25 a month less just for asking..

 

[bettyann29]

Best secret? Dont laugh please. CURBS!!! Its great to live in a small town. People toss all kinds of stuff and if your willing to spend a little time on it, you can get something great.

Nothing wrong with that.. I know when I have big items that I didnt sell in a garage sale or just am not having a garage sale at that point and I just want to get rid of something I stick it out at the curb and it is always picked up.. I have gotten rid of so much stuff and I would rather see someone come and get it.. as a matter of fact I just bought a new recliner and put the old one to the curb and it was gone in 1 hour.. nothing wrong with it, just wanted a new one..

 

[flagdaytwins]

Love all the tips!....EXCEPT for the drier sheets for cleaning pans!!! OH MY GOD, the chemicals in those sheets.....I have never used them for the drier let alone for something we eat off of. I say emphatically DON"T USE THEM AT ALL!! Save your money!!

Any fabric softener increases the chance of children's pajamas catching fire (no joke -- read the softener bottle).

 

[HelenePA]

Any fabric softener increases the chance of children's pajamas catching fire (no joke -- read the softener bottle).

lets just hope our kids are never that close to fire...


and here's another dryer tip i heard.. make sure you WASH your dryer lint... go take it out know.. ya know the place were the lint collects... go run it under water.. if water pools its blocked.. water can't get thru air can't get thru... will make your dyer run better

 

[Tosie]

Love all the tips!....EXCEPT for the drier sheets for cleaning pans!!! OH MY GOD, the chemicals in those sheets.....I have never used them for the drier let alone for something we eat off of. I say emphatically DON"T USE THEM AT ALL!! Save your money!!

I should have added that when I do that I put the pot/pan/whatever through the dishwasher afterwards.

However, I may rethink using them for this purpose. Maybe even after the dishwasher treatment it's not such a good idea, don't know.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I should have added that when I do that I put the pot/pan/whatever through the dishwasher afterwards.

However, I may rethink using them for this purpose. Maybe even after the dishwasher treatment it's not such a good idea, don't know.

My paternal Grandmother taught me an easy was to be off burn on stuff. Put the pot/pan on the stove with water and dishwashing soap. Bring it to a boil. Off it all comes. I impressed DH with this "trick" once!

 

[KristinU]

Don't mean to be a killjoy here, but the best way to save money is, don't go
to Disney World! Besides your mortgage and food, Disney may be your biggest expense. If your going w/out AC on 95+ days, and making your own hair detangler, this may be Gods way of saying, Disney isnt for you

Who says all tightwads HAVE to be frugal? Frugal living folks come from all walks of life and income levels and have varying reasons for their frugality. We personally prefer to spend only a week or two in pure gluttony, rather than 365 days a year...for us frugal living makes sense on so many levels (working toward green living, being a prudent member of the global family, saving $, etc.)

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Right now I have three kids in college

sending good vibes your way.....that's a lot to deal with just on it's own.

 

[pixidust princess]

All of these tips are great!!!! My dh and I live in a small town in central Illinois. Our cost of living is much lower than most peoples (except for the 20-50% electricity hike we received this year). We just turned our AC on, because it has hit 90 degrees and we are HOT! Both of us quit smoking (both for money and health), quit eating out for lunch, and are always looking for ways to cut our energy bill. We make a moderate income but had no idea where our money was going. Once we cut the "junk" out of our budget, we feel great and are saving for a trip to Dallas, TX and are planning a second trip to disney in 2009.

Another way we save money is by driving a car that gets 35-40 miles to the gallon. it is an older honda than dh drives to and from work. It is only a two seater, or we would drive it all of the time, instead of our jeep, which gets 19 miles to the gallon.

Thanks to everyone for the great ideas!!!

 

[Taximom]

Thanks for all the great ideas! Here is my frugal tip...I save all my plastic grocery bags...each day I hang one on my laundry room door, and put ALL the "paper trash"in it. It is amazing how much paper is thrown out every day. I buy my tall kitchen garbage bags from Sam's...only the "wet, food stuff" goes in there! I figure I am saving pennies everyday!

 

[TNKBELL]

Thanks for all the great ideas! Here is my frugal tip...I save all my plastic grocery bags...each day I hang one on my laundry room door, and put ALL the "paper trash"in it. It is amazing how much paper is thrown out every day. I buy my tall kitchen garbage bags from Sam's...only the "wet, food stuff" goes in there! I figure I am saving pennies everyday!

Great idea! We also use them to line our small trash bins in the bathrooms.

 

[fiveforall]

I feel like we enjoy our life (Disney trips and all) and we make smart financial decisions along the way so we can splurge from time to time. Here's what we do.

1. Free or matinee movies---never go at night. When birthdays occur, we tell family members to give our kids and us movie tickets.

2. Don't go grocery shopping until all the food is gone. We make it a game to see what we can come up with.

3. We buy cheapo 2.99 washing detergent for towels, socks, and such and use the more expensive stuff for other clothes.

4. We cut open bottles of shampoo, makeup, toothpaste, etc. when they begin to run low.

5. We buy bread and snacks from the day old bread store.

6. We go to the library, zoo on free admission days, or pool at DH's job.

7. I cut my son's hair and my daughters' bangs.

8. Keep clothes ironed. I discovered a while back that as long as everything is ironed we realize that we have plenty of clothes and don't need new stuff.

9. Give the kids an allowance. My kids do chores and earn $4.00 a week. That's their only spending money. So, if they just "have" to have McDonald's or want to go to the skating rink with a friend, then they can spend their own money. It keeps me from giving in to their whining and spending a ton of money on fast food or doling out cash whenever they beg.

 

[kimnscott]

just subscribing

all these tips are great.

 

[Plantlady]

Who says all tightwads HAVE to be frugal? Frugal living folks come from all walks of life and income levels and have varying reasons for their frugality. We personally prefer to spend only a week or two in pure gluttony, rather than 365 days a year...for us frugal living makes sense on so many levels (working toward green living, being a prudent member of the global family, saving $, etc.)

I agree. I aim towards being a tightwad more for the green living aspect.

Sure the money saving is wonderful, but I think we as a society are very dependent on so many things we don't need to be. So, I try to use less products, and have less of an impact on the earth.

My reward, Vacation, Disney included.

 

[Mellie2162]

We recently started cutting out all the "extra" spending from our budget. One place I spent a small fortune was the grocery store. I now have started buying almost all generic brands of everything I can. If it is on sale and cheaper than generic then I do get the brand name. Also I buy several of something I will need more through the week like bread and stick it in the freezer. If i have it on hand and don't have to run back to the store then I wont buy more to go along with whatever im picking up. Also planning out meals for the week and buying what you need. I try to plan according to the ingredients I already have at home. But im telling you just buying generic brand has nearly cut my bill in half. Now there are some things I just wont give in to but mostly all of our stuff is generic now.

 

[Plantlady]

We recently started cutting out all the "extra" spending from our budget. One place I spent a small fortune was the grocery store. I now have started buying almost all generic brands of everything I can. If it is on sale and cheaper than generic then I do get the brand name. Also I buy several of something I will need more through the week like bread and stick it in the freezer. If i have it on hand and don't have to run back to the store then I wont buy more to go along with whatever im picking up. Also planning out meals for the week and buying what you need. I try to plan according to the ingredients I already have at home. But im telling you just buying generic brand has nearly cut my bill in half. Now there are some things I just wont give in to but mostly all of our stuff is generic now.

Oh, I have such a funny generic story!

I grew up on generic. I feed my family generic. No problems here.

My DH grew up on NAME BRAND. His parents NEVER buy generic, anything.

So, for our upcoming vacation, I was writing down what flavor of soda everyone wanted in the cooler for picnic lunches. My kids kindly gave me the generic flavors, without blinking an eye. My DH told me "Coca Cola". I asked.. will generic cola work? NOOOOOO. He explained, there is only ONE Coca Cola, no generic. He also insisted that he needs Ruffles. No generic ripple chips.

He's been eating my generic food for 12 years now. I just had to laugh.

 

[mommiepoppins]

Thanks for all the great ideas! Here is my frugal tip...I save all my plastic grocery bags...each day I hang one on my laundry room door, and put ALL the "paper trash"in it. It is amazing how much paper is thrown out every day. I buy my tall kitchen garbage bags from Sam's...only the "wet, food stuff" goes in there! I figure I am saving pennies everyday!

I use them for cleaning the cat box 2x a day.