cost savings tips !

[HALEY]

I thought this would be a good thread to start here.
Since gas prices are so high, and prices of groceries are going up as well, what is everyone doing to save some money?

Here's are couple of things im doing in my house.

Sticking to a grocery list.
stop getting the newspaper ( no one reads it anyways)
upgraded to digital cable, so i can watch free movies, saves from going out to watch one.
Stopped Micah's book club ( too many books)
Buying in bulk when i can at Sam's club.
Buying cleaning supplies at General dollar..
We only go out once a month for dinner. (that one hurts but we save so much money)
Washing clothes when i have a full load.
cooking out on the grill, saves on my gas bill.
Mikes getting a company truck in July, so Thank God i'm selling my old car.. saves on gas, insurance and wear and tear ... the car is a 1994 chev. good car, but the last time i got it inspected it cost me 800.00..
anyone else got some tips.....

[Marilyn]

1. Use flourescent light bulbs for your most used light fixtures. The ones you seldom use, don't matter.
2. Turn off the computers, TV's, and other electrical devices when not in use. TV's and other items actually consume some electricity when not in use. Using a power strip with an on/off switch will allow you to shut these devices off completely.
3. Drive the speed limit, and reduce braking when stopping by slowing down earlier at intersections.
4. Buy a good quality water filter for your kitchen sink cold water and stop buying bottled water. Much of our bottled water is filtered municipal water anyway. Filter yourself and save money.
5. Buy a box of white lint free rags from the paint store and use these for cleaning instead of paper towels. Wash with your whites and reuse.

This is a start. Will try to come up with more.

[HALEY]

Thanks Marilyn, those were good ones, i'm always buying paper towels, have to get some rags.. and i just got a water filter a couple months ago
thanks for the tips.

[judy]

I've spent so much money the past few days!

But, what I have been doing is that I just stopped all of the impulse spending and I haven't bought any clothes for a while. In other words, nothing unnecessary.
That works for me.

I also have been buying fresh veggies and steaming them. They're delicious and much cheaper than the frozen. Food is just so expensive lately. I only buy what I really need for my WW diet.

[Janet]

Those were all great ideas. I don't spend much anyway. Gotta have it to spend it...LOL. Our Farmers Market started up last weekend and the fresh fruits and veggies are cheaper there than in the stores. Although I love the frozen steam packages of veggies...it's time I stop and steam my own fresh ones too.

I've already tried saving in other ways a long time ago, but really not noticing a whole lot of savings.

[HALEY]

Mike also put one new storm door up, hopefully if its not raining this weekend he'll get the other one up, i'm going to see if it makes a difference on my a/c and gas bill.
Last year we also put up all energy light bulbs, i didn't see to much of a difference in my electric. But cutting down on washing clothes, im going to check it next month.
I couldn't believe prices of groceries, when i went yesterday, i shop wal mart for all my baby stuff and then i go to giant eagle for my meats, wal mart meat is just terrible, i got the pop special that giant eagle was advertising for our lunches, i started packing a lunch again for work, sometimes i eat lunch sometimes i don't..
so i'll save some money there too..
i got Micah off of all baby food, so i'm saving tons of money there, next step is to start the potty training.. oh boy !!!!

[Chandra Amaya]

my biggest tip is ...when you go shopping, be it for cleaning supplies and household goods, groceries, stuff for kids, clothes...whatever. Leave the debit, credit cards and checkbook at home! Take out your spending limit at the ATM or just save it out of your check and only take that with you. That way you CANNOT go over your budget because you can't pay for it.
Our biggest cost is gas... we have to drive to a different city and back sevral times a day. I take my son to school (same city), come home... wake up my hubby and the baby they drop me off and come home (a city away) they drive home. He picks my son up from school, comes home, picks me up as he goes in (we work in the same place but opposite shifts.). I drive home. I have to get all the kids up and go pick him up then drive back home. This is a normal day without any trips to stores, any bills or errands to run... We spend wayyy too much on gas. We need a second car but that is not in our budget for some time. We have no one to share rides with. I hope gas stops going up soon, but i have heard it will be $5 a gallon by summer. It already takes about $82 to fill up.

[judy]

I feel for you Traci! But, it does sound like you and hubby are good to each other.

[DianaB]

When you go out to eat have your whole family order water to drink. Have small children share a meal and just ask for an extra plate. Adults can do this too if a meal is too large for one person. Take left-overs home and warm up for lunch the next day.

[AngieDoogles]

I buy off brands whenever possible. The savings really add up. A few things, like cereal, I just don't like the off brands so we go with name brand but use coupons.

Use your bags from the grocery store. I put larger trash items (like milk cartons and big boxes) in these and take them out immediately. I use a lot less trash bags this way.

Always ask for a student or senior discount if it applies. Some places give these types of discounts even if they don't advertise it on their menu or price lists.

Homemade cleaning solutions are usually very cheap.

Precook and freeze a few meals so when you're in a hurry you aren't tempted to eat out to save time.

For entertainment, try going to a park instead of a movie. You can take your furbabies and have a great time!

[Gina]

I like Judy am a shopper and I am curbing my spending , will not buy stuff that is unnecessary. Another good point like Traci mentioned I will try to use cash instead of credit cards. I am paying them off and will not add on to them as long as I can help it.

[judy]

I did go shopping today because I got a 30% off coupon from Kohl's. For a little less than $50, I bought 3 tops and 2 cutie pie baby boy outfits for a gift. I saved almost $20.00 with the 30% off.

The checker outer was on the phone and almost missed my coupon! OH NO, YOU DON'T!!!

Another way I save is to use my ATM card as a credit card for almost everything I buy. This slows me down, because the money comes right out of my checking account. No minimum payments here. I also realized that it's a waste of time for me to charge anything on a credit card. It all comes out of my checking account in the end anyway.

I do it as a credit card instead of a debit card because I'm enrolled in the Upromise program. It's a way to save money for the children to go to college.

[Lindsey]

I also stay away from brand name stuff... or sometimes I buy my groceries at super cheap wholesale places. They're brand names, but the same price as a no-name product in a grocery store. A couple months ago I got 5 bags full of groceries for $25!
I just cleaned my whole house last night using vinegar and water. Works just as well as cleaning products, but safer and cheaper!
Every night when I make supper I make sure I have enough left over so I can take it for lunch at work the next day. Even when everyone else in the office is going out for lunch, I'll sit there by myself because I can't really justify going out and spending money when I already have a perfectly good lunch already there!
Oh, and when meat is on sale I stock up and freeze it. I rarely ever buy fresh meat, I'm always thawing it from the freezer! I suppose it also helps that my dad is a hunter and is also friends with lots of people who raise animals, so my parents help out by keeping my freezer stocked with deer, elk, moose, and buffalo free of charge
I've been stingy with my money for about the past 6 months, but I'm very happy everytime I see my bank balance now!

[HALEY]

another thing i did was i cut up two credit cards the interest rates were crazy!! i only have 2 credit cards now, i have 4 of them to pay off, hopefully they will all be paid off by the end of next month, used my rebate check to pay them down...

[Gina]

Originally Posted by judy

I did go shopping today because I got a 30% off coupon from Kohl's. For a little less than $50, I bought 3 tops and 2 cutie pie baby boy outfits for a gift. I saved almost $20.00 with the 30% off.

The checker outer was on the phone and almost missed my coupon! OH NO, YOU DON'T!!!

Another way I save is to use my ATM card as a credit card for almost everything I buy. This slows me down, because the money comes right out of my checking account. No minimum payments here. I also realized that it's a waste of time for me to charge anything on a credit card. It all comes out of my checking account in the end anyway.

I do it as a credit card instead of a debit card because I'm enrolled in the Upromise program. It's a way to save money for the children to go to college.

Judy don't you just love Kohls I live in that store, get coupons all the times. I rarely get a 30% one though . I do to use my debit/credit card as a credit this way I don't spend much. The big ticket items I use my Discover....