Every day ideas to help save money. Please share.

TheHobbyist

TheHobbyist

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Hello,

(I'd like to predicate this post with the note that I am not asking on a long-term basis. Also, this post is not intended to be an open dialogue on personal savings or investments. Thank you for sharing.)

I have always tried to live cheaply. Really have no need to have the newest car, finest clothing, fancy sunglasses, or otherwise.

I am interested in any of your tips for reducing your everyday expenses. Should you have other insight out of this context, please also share.

I'll start:

I will usually ask for extra plastic bags when I get groceries, etc., and use these for lunch bags or other.

I have a freezer and hunting small game or deer is both a treat and way to save a few extra bucks (bad pun I know... :rolleyes:).

I have a small garden but would like to add more as time allows.

I can any excess food, or fruits.

I cut coupons...does anyone do this anymore???

Thank you for sharing--

Respectfully--
 
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On a side note, I have a little joke. Was talking to my father-in-law and his advice was never to have a garden larger than your wife can maintain...

Still haven't told her that funny story...
 
Here are a few:
Using coupons is great and gets even better when you use coupons on things are on sale. My wife will come home with items that they paid her to leave the store with because of coupons combined with sales.
In our area you can get some really good deals when groceries are on sale and are out of stock. Some stores will give you one free if they are out of stock.
I bet 70% of the time my wife comes home from the grocery store with an error on the receipt. Another bonus at some stores, they will refund the cost of that item. The woman I married could write a book on grocery shopping.
If you have a, and who doesn't, cell phone do away with the land line.
Take you lunch at least 4 days a week. And buy your lunch meats and cheese at the deli, both are better for you and taste better and of course on sale.
Do you really need all those cable channels?
If it's not on sale don't buy it.
Don't be going out and buying a new car so you can pay personal property taxes as well as higher care insurance.
And the big one is don't get into reloading. It will cost you more. But it's darn fun.
They are mine of the top of my head and our way.
 
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I save change. A 35mm film can holds exactly $7.00 in quarters.

And I eat a lot of leftovers. And I don't go to movies in theaters. I rent or buy the DVD's. That's actually cheaper, especially if I get a DVD on sale or used.

I bought about 7-8 used Swiss Army knives used from a man who got some that were seized at airports and courthouses. I handpicked them and most were nearly new. I did have to polish some small scratches off some blades. I got several models, including one SwissChamp. That's so thick that I wonder how it got confiscated. Pretty hard to carry on the person. I got a new leather SOS Kit pouch for it and carried it in my car with my work gear, with my new SwissChamp in my off-duty briefcase.

And I got a great deal on coffee when the local Kroger closed out Taster's Choice. Got three containers for about half price. (They've since started stocking it again.)

I look in the mail for coupons getting me a haircut for $6.95.

I'm returning a box of HEB tea, trading it in on a box of Twining's Ceylon Orange Pekoe. Cheap tea was no bargain.

I don't have a gym membership. I just do rifle lifts at home and hike some. The rifle is a No. 4 Enfield .303. Weighs about 9.5 pounds.

And I look for new novels by favorite authors at Half Price Books. I need to get over there and try to score John Sandford's new "Prey" entry.
 
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Retire!!! I use a tank of fuel in my truck in about 2 months time now where I used to go through 2 tanks a week. I don't have a lot of extra money so anything I get, is something I really really want and save up for. No bought lunches, no fancy clothes and ties.
Larry
 
Couponers: The coupon only saves you money if it was something you'd buy even without it. Otherwise, it costs you whatever the price of the item is, less the coupon.

Double up on errands, reduce trips. Buy in bulk but only for nonperishables so that waste and spoilage doesn't end up costing your savings and then some.

Resole shoes rather than buying new (unless resoling costs more than the shoes did)

Make your own laundry detergent. it costs me about 6 or 7 cents for each load than 23 to 43 cent compared to commercial detergents, plus the detergent is gentler on the clothes and they resist fading pilling and thinning more than they would with store bought soap. So my clothes last longer. Not buying laundry soap has been a big saver with 5 of us in the house...a lot of laundry happening here.

Skimp on everything except toilet paper.
 
Reloading used to save money, not so sure now. Mobile 1 non detergent for gun oil if you want, old socks and t shirts for cleaning rags and patches. Buy used guns, and barter what you can. Buy food in bulk, shop farmers markets, dry your own food/fruit/jerky (turkey jerky when the birds are cheap!). Get a good dry storage rack for the fall, and buy storage squash for winter (delicatas and baby bear pumpkins hold well, the seeds are hulless so you can toast them for munchies). Don't get chickens though unless you can raise your own feed.....
 
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Razor blades.

For the past 30 years I have used Gillette Trac II blades. They have fallen out of favor and the cost now, when you can find them, is $16 for 10. Looking at the new "shaving systems" the blades are $3 to $5 each!

Bought a Parker safety razor on line and Wilkinson Sword German made blades that cost $1.75 for 10 at WalMart.

$1.60 each as opposed to $0.17 each. And I find that my shave is every bit as good as it used to be.
 
Don't marry a girl with a lead foot. I bought her a Ford Escort to save on gas. When I drive it I get on avg, 30 mpg. When Mary drives it we get 22 (YES TWENTY TWO mpg.). I just can't cure her of jack rabbit starts!:mad: But I still love her to pieces. :)
 
Pay yourself first (save), then live on what's left, no matter how much you THINK it hurts.

Get that extra two years out of that old car when you're young and then see how much better off you are later in life! Right out of college I was making decent money. All my friends bought that first new car immediately. I waited until I could pay cash by driving my beater. No car payments is really nice!

Learn to do your own maintenance (on everything) and then DO IT! If you don't know how to do something, make a friend who does. Hopefully that friend needs something YOU can do.

Buy quality items, not necessarily the most expensive.

If you don't need it, don't buy it! Buy last year's model. Most scratch and dent appliances can't be seen. However, they also aren't always the best value (see quality above).

Ask for discounts EVERYWHERE. The worst they can say is no. I buy seafood at the grocery store when they are taking down the display in the evening. Most of the product coming out is headed for the trash. Ask for 1/2 off. It's the same stuff the sucker an hour ago paid full price for. I buy the closeout meats in the Sam's cooler at 7AM, the business membership more than pays for itself.

I like BluJax's razor! I still shave out of a case of name brand multipack twin blades (100's of 8 packs for a ridiculous price when a store was closing) I bought 20+ years ago at a BigLot/OddLot chain in Ohio! My problem is I can't find handles for them anymore since they don't seem to mail out the freebies like they used to in an attempt to get me hooked!

Cook at home and use coupons for dining out.

OK, maybe when I retire (soon), it's time for a book,
 
Stop shaving. Use a bicycle instead of a car for errands. Only shoot 22lr. Shoot your dog. Cancel cable and watch with binoculars through your neighbor's window (ask him to put the closed captions on or open the window so that you can hear the TV). Ask for free samples wherever you shop, including the bank (tell them that you are so poor that you don't own anything except the gun in your pocket). Finally, consider going to jail for a short period so that you can get your dental and medical needs met for free.
 
Like Texas Star, I too save change. I've got a gallon sized glass jug(used to be a pickle jar)that every quarter I get goes in. I've been doing this for years, & its gotten to be almost an OCD for me, as I'm almost unable to spend a quarter! But when the jug is full, I don't have any problem spending that. Just make sure your bank or credit union has a coin counter they will run your coins through for free, or you'll end up losing money at one of the commercial machines. I've filled it several times & it comes out to about $830.00 dollars. You will get some odd looks shlepping it into your banking institution, but its worth it!:cool:
 
Only eat meat either from wild animals or those that you raise yourself.
Rabbits and cats are easy to raise in quantity.
The rest of your diet can come from various dumpsters - IF you're careful.

Loose the car and get a used bicycle - transportation AND exercise in one. Better yet - Walk everywhere.

Buy your clothes only from Goodwill or somewhere like it.

Aim small.

Learn to stitch up your own wounds (BIG savings) - Sometimes your dinner will not be cooperative :(

OR - You could try
The ultimate money saving plan:
Rob a bank - Free room & board for many years.
 
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