What's your best money saving tip?

[RCT]

mine has to be using the bread machine instead of buying bread....I would love to hear anyone elses, I am racking my brain trying to cut my household expense, chopped at the Satalite bill today, and got the last credit card switched to a really low % rate for 9 months....thanks for sharing your best tip/tips

[Diane]

Originally posted by RCT
mine has to be using the bread machine instead of buying bread....I would love to hear anyone elses, I am racking my brain trying to cut my household expense, chopped at the Satalite bill today, and got the last credit card switched to a really low % rate for 9 months....thanks for sharing your best tip/tips


Hi Renee... I love my bread machine too but unfortunately when I bake a loaf or two around here it doesn't last long enough. My family loves home made bread!

As far as money saving tips... I don't know if I really have a lot to share. I do try to buy in bulk as much as I can. Cutting coupons also helps. Another thing I do is when I buy things like roast, ham or whatever... I buy enough so that I can make another meal or dish out of it. I freeze any leftovers and use it for another meal. Tonight I made a big pot of chili and will have enough to freeze for another meal. With the roast I might shred the leftovers and make barbeque beef sandwhiches or just plain roast beef sandwhiches or just freeze it in a bag for soup later. If I ever have any leftover vegetables I'll throw those in a freezer bag and after I have enough I'll throw them in a pot with my leftover roast and make some home made soup. I also LOVE split pea soup so I usually use my leftover ham for either that or for sandwhiches. I also make a lot of casserols and will usually make a lot of extra to freeze for another meal. When I see something on sale I buy a LOT of it and stock up so I won't have to pay the regular price for it later on when I need it. I also find that making a menu for the week and writing out a list helps me buy only what I NEED to buy and not everything else that LOOKS good. Also... if your dh is anything like mine... keep him home. I swear, I could save $20.00 a week if I didn't have him with me. LOL I had a website in my favorites somewhere also with moneysaving tips... If I find it I'll post it for you. They might have some good idea's... Good luck! I hope you find something that works. :)

[MK]

Now that I work outside the home, I never use my bread machine. Since I work in a bakery, especially, I don't bake either. (shame on me) My income is already pretty meager, so I'm already doing just about all I can to cut costs. I think the biggest thing that has helped my family since I took over the budgeting for dh is I literally write out the list of expenses, and how much everything is. I also prioritize. Believe it or not, groceries is kind of on the bottom, since I know that if I have to, I can "get by" with whatever I have left after all the other bills and the food I currently have stashed from the caselot sales. Then I divide the money into separate categories (even separate envelopes if need be), such as gas, phone, utilities, etc. Then, once it's gone, it's gone. That really cuts down on impulse buying and recreation beyond our limits. I also have dh on a "beer budget" as well, and it is directly in proportion to my overall budget allowance, and what I consider to be "reasonable". The neat part is, even though it's gotten pretty tight at times, especially when my hours get cut back at work, we have always been able to meet all of our needs. We've always had enough gas to get where we needed to go, our power has never been shut off, we've always had enough to eat. That's what counts.

[Diane]

http://www.bluesuitmom.com/money/family/grocerystore.html
http://ga.essortment.com/savingmoneyon_rkwb.htm
http://kitchentable.terrashare.com/groceryshopping.htm
http://www.ourfamilyplace.com/homebuyer/moneytips.html

Sorry I posted so many but I kept finding more and more and got carried away! I'm going to have to read up on these too and find more ways to save at the grocery store and everywhere else too. (I've got to stay away from those department stores... LOL) Oh yeah, just one more tip from me... If your family eats a lot of crackers or whatever... Wal Mart sells them REAL cheap... usually only about $1.00 a box. Sometimes you can also find some good deals at the dollar stores too, and not just on food but a LOT of things... I've seen a LOT of things there real cheap that I've seen at other stores for a lot more. I love going through these stores!

Good luck and happy reading! :)

SAVING MONEY AND GROCERY SHOPPING TIPS

There are several ways to cut costs when going grocery shopping. Groceries can cost you a fortune unless your trip is well planned. Here are moneysaving tips to save you money when you make that visit to the grocery store.

1. NEVER GO GROCERY SHOPPING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH -
Why should you eat at least a snack before you go grocery shopping? If you go to the store hungry, everything will look good and you will buy things you weren't planning on buying. Have you ever asked yourself "I wanted to go to the movies tonight but I spent more money than I intended to at the food store. Why did I do that?" Always eat before you enter that food store.

2. MAKE A LIST BEFORE YOU GO AND STICK TO IT -
Stores make a fortune from impulse buying. That's why they have displays. To tantalize your senses and make you act on your emotions. Make a list of the items you need before you go and stick to it. If you need a couple of snack items but don't know what to get, put on your list "3 treats". This limits the impulse buying saving you money.

3. USE GROCERY COUPONS -
Do clip those food coupons on items that you buy on a regular basis. Grocery coupons are the same as cash at the food store. Do not clip coupons for items you don't normally buy. This will result in a type of impulse buying. You will buy an item not because you needed it or wanted it, but because you had a coupon for it.

4. SHOP ALONE -
Taking the kids or your husband (or wife if the husband is shopping) is not a good idea. Kids will invariably want something that you were not planning on buying and you will buy it simply to get them to shut up. Husbands or wives will ask for something in addition as well.

5. CHECK THE SALES PAPER BEFORE YOU GO -
Every grocery store has a sale each week purely designed to bring in customers. Going from store to store to take advantage of sales is time consuming and gas wasting. Choose your favorite store and stick to it. Make your grocery list around the items that you normally use that are on sale. Buying sale items in bulk will save you money at a later date

6. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OFFERS OF COMPETITORS -
Many stores have the policy of matching a competitor store's prices. Sometimes they will even beat the price. If you are aware that a particular item is on sale at another store, cut the ad out and take it to you your store. Some stores will match or beat the price, others don't honor that policy.

7. DON'T TRUST THE SCANNERS -
Scanners at checkout counters make mistakes. Watch them like a hawk to make sure you are getting the correct price on the items that you have purchased. Check your sales receipt. Some stores will give you the item and give you back what it costs if the scanner makes a mistake.

8. THE NUMBER ONE RULE - USE THE UNIT INDEX PRICE WHEN SHOPPING.
If a box of detergent says "20%" more, it may actually cost more per ounce. Bigger packages are not necessarily cheaper packages. The unit price tells you how much each ounce, pound, etc. is for each product. Unit price labels are located on the shelf sticker below each product, with the unit price at the left. Also, make sure that you are comparing the same units located under the unit price (ounce to ounce, not ounce to pound).



[Edited by Diane P. on 02-27-2001 at 07:04 PM]

[MK]

I did just think of one more thing that I've been doing for long, I had forgotten it was a "money saving thing": For the last almost 6 years now, we have had a toll restrictor on our phone! If we need to make long distance calls we buy a $5 phone card. That usually lasts us a looooong time!

[RCT]

Thanks so much, I'll check out the links this afternoon....I too have cut the phone bill right down to the bare minimum....we have pay talk talk, through verizon, I put so much money into the smart touch account like I put $45.00 in October, and I still have money on it....this way I know what I have to spend on long distance, also I can call my daddy with my dh's cell phone, he gets free national minutes and daddy will call me back...LOL...coupons help sometimes, but I have the tendency to cut them for products I don't normally buy, which isn't good...shopping alone would be a plus, but thats really hard, usually one has to come with me....your ideas are great and thanks so much....

[TXmom]

You mentioned you still have your license to do manicures and pedicures. Is that something you could do out of your home for extra money?

[RCT]

to take the state boards again I could get my NY license, I am only Licensed in California....and I don't think I have the proper set up for home based nail/feet....oh and did I mention I am at the end of the village, so far that Pizza guy won't deliver here...LOL...Thanks for remembering though...dh and I are giving up the cell phone, and have decided to cut our satelite service in half, I don't see that getting rid of it would help since we had to buy the dish itself...so we should save about $60. for the cell, and $25 on the satelite extras.....

[darlene]

I try to always have some extra savings, and then shop off season for the kids clothes. It's amazing what good buys you can get right now on winter stuff! I got new winter boots for ds and dd for $9 each at Wal-Mart last week.
Groceries...our local stores have Warehouse Sales...best time to stock up.
We are having to really watch what we spend now. Dh is totally working on his new business....he has to drum up customers which means very sporadic income at best. I only work on call, so no fixed paycheck is getting a little unnerving!
I'll have to check out those sites that Diane listed.
:)

[angie r]

I love the site http://www.miserlymoms.com Miserly moms has a couple books out also. I have seen them in our church library.

[KarlaB]

One thing I try to do is buy gifts (birthdays, Christmas)ahead of time when I see good deals. I already have presents bought for my niece's birthday which is in August and I did the same for my other niece's birthday in Feb. I paid $25 for three gifts that would have been $65 full price.

[Lynda/WA]

Like KarlaB, I shop far in advance if at all possible. Not only can I get the gift at a great price but I also can get items that would be impossible to get near Christmas. My mom loves Christmas ornament legends. A little research on the net and I've found her a two volume set. Only available at a couple of stores so I know she'd never find it. Plus by spreading it out over the year I don't go in debt in December.
Other options are used and handmade gifts. Sometimes this doesn't (ie my in-laws!) but with others it's even better than a store bought gift and sooo much cheaper! My sister and I have gotten each other used and/or homemade gifts for years. She can do a latch hook in days that would take me years to do. I on the other hand can find used books galore. My kids have gotten plenty of used gifts under the tree and loved them. I've begun sewing my DD Barbie clothes. I plan on making clothes to give as gifts to her little friends as well.

Used is a great way to save on your own items too. DD has an entire wardrobe of name-brand great looking clothes that were verrrrry cheap. She receives so many compliments on her cute outfits. I just love saying were I got it! Since I do buy used I buy years in advance. I only get items that stay in style. That's easier to do here where the seasons tend to merge. The worst that will happen is I'll have to sell an item at a rummage sale that I bought at Goodwill. DD is fitting into Levi shorts that I bought 5 years ago when she was born. I paid .75 each for them brand new (90% clearance sale)

One thing to do is figure out a cost per use. If you think of purchases in terms of how much it will cost you to use it you may decide the purchase isn't worth it. My BIL/SIL go skiing twice a year. They bought expensive new equipment. I would have worked it out and said that hundreds of dollars per use isn't worth it. A better way would be to rent it. On the other hand my MIL/FIL are avid golfers. Since they play on average 5 times a week, any equipment they buy will be cheap on a cost per use basis. Even if they buy very expensive equipment. (and they do!). Before you buy that Christmas outfit - look at how many times you can wear it. Figure out cost per use and decide if that cost is worth it. Sometimes it will be but at least you won't regret the purchase later! When I had to buy a dress for my SILs wedding (I DON"T wear dresses), I bought one with a bolero style jacket. The jacket can be worn without the dress. Even though the dress itself was a one use item I got more for my money in the long run.

Figure out how much some items cost you over a year. Imagine you go to the movies once a month. 20$ for two adults, $20 for the babysitter, another $20 in snacks for you and for the kids/ babysitter. That's $60. In a year that's $720. Still worth it? How about swapping babysitting with another couple? Maybe sending the kids to bed and renting a movie? Figure out that cost. What's it for a year? Worth it now? Remember to add in all extra costs. For example, my BIL can never get a movie returned on time. They finally switched to a different rental store that costs a little more but lets you have the movie longer. In the long run it costs them less.

[RCT]

I spent 2 hours last night on those sites you posted...wow, the free samples stuff really hooked me....thanks again...it was really quite fun and I learned alot from the tips on money savings pages too...thank again...