Lets share money saving tips

I will be stopping work on 8/31 and DH will be the sole provider. What are some things you do to save $$?

Basics:
Use coupons
Turn the lights off/AC down, etc
Buy generic
Buy in bulk

What else?
TIA!

Message edited 8/9/2007 12:34:35 PM.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Join store 'clubs' for incentives
Change credit card to one with rewards that = cash
Turn off water while brushing teeth
Switch to energy efficient appliances (the fridge is the biggest energy sucker-upper)

Re: Lets share money saving tips

I guess for us its going to be to stop eating out, buy in bulk, use coupons and hunt for sales, bargain shop for ourselves...

We're sacking away big time as well...once the baby is born time flies...we need our own house!

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Always make sure you shop at supermarkets that double those coupons- makes a huge difference!
We save so much but cutting coupons.

Also- Stop and shop takes the $10 off your order coupon from King Kullen- that King Kullen runs in their circular... that's a great money saving tip.

I also buy a lot of store brands on items like rice, canned and frozen veges- staples like that.

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Re: Lets share money saving tips

Shop at Costco / BJ's with a list. Dont just buy, only buy off the list.
Buy family size packages of meat and re-package into smaller portions once you get home.

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Bring lunch to work instead of buying

Re: Lets share money saving tips

All of the above and be aware of unnecessary driving to save money on gas.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Use your appliances in the off peak hours. So wash your laundry later in the day and that also goes for your dishwasher.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Energy saving light bulbs, they last a long time. Bringing lunch to work instead of buying , buy on sale.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

With coupons... do you only buy what yu have a coupon for, or is there a place to get coupons for the stuff you like?

I am very brand and product loyal particularly for food items.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

- use coupons
- shop for meat/chicken and paper goods at BJ's
- shop sales at the supermarkets, stock up on non perishables
- do my own nails - I only get a mani every few months now as opposed to every other week.
- cook 4-5x a week (HUGE savings right there!)
- I buy a lot of food at Target when I go there (bread, frozen stuff, eggs, etc) SO much cheaper than supermarkets!!!!!!!!!
- raise the thermometer during the day in the summer to save on the CAC
- buy some generic items (like spices)

Message edited 8/9/2007 1:52:35 PM.

Re:

Message edited 2/16/2011 3:30:03 PM.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Sock away any little bit of money that you can. If you have $20 leftover at the end of the week, transfer it to your savings account. We've been doing this whenever we can, and it really adds up over time.

We also do this with our coins. Put them in a large jar. In a year, we usually get about $400!

Also, make sure you're religiously returning bottles and cans to get the deposits back. That adds up, and it comes right off your grocery bill!

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Save your change...It adds up!

Coupons. (Like someone posted earlier

Stop & Shop takes competitor's..Use them)

Return cans...Yes, I do stand there and return soda bottles, cans and beer bottles..hey, if its gonna knock some $$ off my bill, why not.

Buy in bulk! Ive been buying paper towels in CVS believe it or not. They have been having some deals and I use a coupon on top of their deal.

If you eat out, sign up on the restaurant sites. Sometimes they send coupons as well.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

buying generic where i can really started to save us a lot! i never realized how much before.

also, using coupons- something i could never be bothered with before really helped also.

we save as much of our spare change as possible and take it to commerce once a month and that adds up.

we just DON'T carry credit cards with us-- we have one opened for emergencies but never use it and we don't carry it with us.

we log every single penny we spend- and evaluate the log at the end of each month to see where we can improve and where we can loosen up a bit.

that's about it-- or all i can think of at the moment.

i mean, we do the usual turn off the lights and conserve energy.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Message edited 11/10/2011 5:07:49 PM.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Brand loyal and money saving don't always go together.

I typically buy name brand ONLY when I have a coupon or if it's on sale for dirt cheap.

This site is good (and free, unlike the grocery game) and will tell you which stores have what items on sale and what you can get for free or super cheap with your coupons. You really have to be diligent though about getting papers every sunday (more than one) and clipping the coupons.

http://www.couponmom.com/

King Kullen doubles to 1.00, so your $1.00 coupon would be worth $2.00, but I don't shop there since their prices are so high. I would only shop there for their "loss leader" products and use a coupon making the item almost free.

Most other stores double to .99 (they used to double to 1.00). So if you have a .75 coupon, it would double to 1.50. It's wise to only use your coupons when the item is on sale.

www.thecouponclippers.com is a site where you can order coupons. People even sell them on ebay.

Cancel that fancy cable package and Tivo subscription and that will save you a TON (if you have that). My cable is included in my rent now, but when I paid for it on my own I had the $10.00 cable package.

The library is a great resource for renting movies (even new releases) for free so cancel that netflix subscription if you have one. Stop renting at blockbuster and rent from the dollar movie box at the grocery store if you don't want to go the library route.

Shop around for car insurance. Geico saved me a TON.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Buy only what you need at the grocery store.
Use coupons
Shop the circulars
Bulk buy if you can
Use a surge protector and shut it off at night. A lot of electronics still suck energy even if they are off. So either unplug when not in use or use these and shut it off.
Use a dimmer switch if poss.
Set the thermostat higher in the summer
make dinner
bring leftovers for lunch
Make errands in one trip if possible and at odd hours to avoid traffic=wear and tear=gas use
Call the cable co and see what they offer. Sometimes the packages are better than 3 different providers for cable/phone/internet.
Shop for deals. Avoid unnessary spending. Ask yourself "Do I REALLY need this?" or "Is it worth working my butt off for this?"
Use the library for books.
Bring back cans and bottles
Put your loose change in a jar. It really adds up.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

I agree with all the above, I save change and singles. If something is .98, I give a $5 and the change and singles go into a jar which then goes into my ING account.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

I buy my DH all dress pants & dress shirts that I can wash. No dry cleaning that way!! Thankfully he doesn't have to wear suits. (my bosses pay for mine, so that's a help for me since I wear a suit every day!)

We bring lunch from home 90% of the time.

I have trying to use more coupons.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

Really get to know prices.

Sometimes, Costco is NOT the cheapest way to go if you watch supermarket sales and have coupons. Cereal, for example, is a lot more expensive at Costco than my Stop & Shop.

Re: Lets share money saving tips

for eating out, use www.restaurant.com
You can spend $10.00 and get a $25.00 gift certificate and sometimes they have 3.00 deals too-

Re: Lets share money saving tips

The number one saving tip I have was already stated, but I will say it again...

Write down EVERYTHING you spend in a month then go and look at it and evaluate where your money is going.

Once you are aware of where you throw your money to, it's amazing how you realize how much gets wasted.