Tell me something you do to save money

[IronWing]

Hookers then blow instead of hookers and blow. Once the hookers are gone, I don't really feel like blow any more. Saves a lot over time. Plus, I don't feel obligated to share with the hookers for even bigger savings.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Hookers then blow instead of hookers and blow. Once the hookers are gone, I don't really feel like blow any more. Saves a lot over time. Plus, I don't feel obligated to share with the hookers for even bigger savings.

That's a good point. It's like renting construction equipment, a piece of equipment that's not running is still costing you money so you want to time the rental so that they are always in use. It might be more cost effective to rent a trencher on one day to do all the trenching and then rent a backhoe for all the digging and not rent both for the same day only to end up needing them longer to finish the job.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I grew up not exactly poor, but definitely tight. From that I learned to cut costs where it makes sense for me. I use pretty much everything until it no longer works (and sometimes after repairing it several times). For myself I've only ever owned 1 brand new vehicle. In my life I've only owned maybe 4 different vehicles. I run them until they no longer run or makes sense to get rid of them. (I let the wife get the new ones). I enjoy not having vehicle payments.

My wife makes fun of me, but she doesn't pay the bills. She is under some sort of delusion she can spend every penny and still retire because 'social security'. I keep telling her, keep dreaming.

I plan to have the mortgage paid off this year (12 years early) so that's something.

Other things - I don't smoke, I don't drink but rarely. I don't do any sort of mind altering substances either. Those things all add up quickly.

That isn't to say I don't waste money in other areas. Food, electronics, motorcycles, musical gear.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Until 3 years ago my daily driver was a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible.

 

[Brainonska511]

Use the grocery circular to plan what to buy each week: I have a good idea how much certain things cost and what I need, so I only buy stuff when it's cheap.

Automatic payments to my 401k from my paycheck

Invest through Vanguard to avoid expensive funds that other firms have

Use the price rewind feature on my Citi card - have saved a few hundred over the last year and a half

Take advantage of my commuter benefits: tax-free purchasing of my monthly train ticket

Bring my own lunch to work and cook most of the time at home

 

[Kaido]

Tell me something you do to save money

So I will preface this by saying that I think you should put your money into things you want, rather than just being frugal for the sake of being frugal (unless being frugal IS what you want to do, or is otherwise dictated by your current financial circumstances - I was a poor college student once too!). For example, I like a lot of advice from the Mr. Money Mustache blog, but the part where I fork off into a different road is being frugal for the sake of being frugal instead of being frugal to support other things you really want to do. Like, he recommends riding a bike everywhere & cancelling your TV service. Which is fine, but if you're really into sports & are willing to pay a couple hundred a month for cable TV access, then more power to you! Anyway, some ideas to save money, off the top of my head:

1. Cook at home (enormous cost savings if you tend to eat out a lot).

2. Buy food & supplies in bulk (ex. Costco) & on sale (ex. chicken breasts are always 50% off every 2 weeks). I get like a year's worth of dishwasher pellets, laundry pellets, etc. (which is like, a dozen boxes each). Also awesome because I don't have to go shopping too often.

3. Switched house out to 100% LED lighting (over time).

4. Replaced all of the major appliances with modern, efficient models over time. Mostly not by choice though - in the past three years, my A/C broke, my furnace broke, and my water heater broke. The heater was like 30-ish years old & the new one is sooooooooo much cheaper to operate. I also got a new upright deep freezer a year or so ago and it only costs like $60 per YEAR to operate. Just under five bucks a month to keep things chilled at -20F.

5. Buy everything in cash (other than house/cars/college). Simple rule I learned back in like high school...if you don't have the cash to pay for it in full, don't buy it. I know a lot of people do more creative tricks like getting 0%-interest-for-12-month credit cards & stuff, but I've grown accustomed to it. You have to learn how ditch instant gratification, but you also never get stuck in the debt cycle by choice this way. I have an unholy amount of friends who are tens of thousands of dollars deep in debt for crap they bought for their house...furniture, televisions, etc. Screw that...buy some cheap crap if you really need something like a couch, until you can afford the good stuff in cash. When I first got married, I literally had a plastic fold-out card table as a dinner table for over a year. But I also paid cash for it & owned it 100% & never had to worry about paying it off, so that was really nice.

6. Buy good stuff instead of cheap crap (unless, like the card table situation, you have to fill a pressing need at the present time). When I first got into the tech world, I bought an awful lot of garbage that was awful to use & fell apart quickly. I have since learned the value of saving up for stuff that will last a long time, especially in the world of kitchen gadgets. My cast-iron pan will definitely out-live me!

7. I do bodyweight exercises at home. No recurring gym membership & no expensive weight sets taking up room at home.

8. No substance addiction habits - no smoking, no drinking, no drugs. One of my buddies chain smokes & I think he spends over $300 a month just in cigarettes. That's a car payment right there! I have several friends who blow $100+ on drinking every single weekend and then complain that they can't afford a car or an Xbox or whatever. Priorities.

9. Cut the cord. I use a cell phone instead of a landline. No cable TV. Just Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.


Other tricks:

1. I do incremental savings for a lot of things, like computers & vacations. For example, since around 2001 or so, I've set aside $20 a week for a replacement computer system every 2 years (I use Smartypig - auto-withdraws the money every week). 52 weeks a year x 2 years = 104 weeks x $20 a week = $2080 + interest. So rather than having to shell out a huge chunk of money every couple of years for a hot new setup, you magically have $2k to use without ever really missing it, at a $20-per-week withdrawal rate. Same for vacations & other stuff. It's nice because it's a completely hands-off approach...set & forget it. I like automating stuff like that because it's just one less thing you have to think about.

2. I typically lease my cars. This is not THE cheapest way to have a car, but it is one of the cheapest ways to have a new, reliable vehicle with modern safety ratings - provided you don't exceed the mileage limitations. Especially if you get just a basic commuter car, like a Honda Civic, for $199 a month (plus taxes), you can basically cruise around in a nice new reliable car for about fifty bucks a week. Doesn't leave you stranded, don't have to spend a lot of time in the shop, don't have to spend any money on repairs, don't have to put a down payment down, etc.

3. I have a lot of kitchen tools (large & small appliances). In particular, the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker), the Mellow (sous vide), a vacuum-sealer (for food), and a deep freezer. They were an up-front investment & have all pretty much paid for themselves over time. Cooking at home is easier, better-tasting, and more consistent using my kitchen toolset.

4. Generally, just staying on top of your finances, no matter how much money you are making. I have more than one friend who is pulling in $100k a year and are flat broke because they make stupid financial decisions. Lifestyle Creep is real. And it's easy to let things just kind of grow out of control if you're not paying attention to them. Plenty of celebrities, especially athletes (and lottery winners), have lost their wealth because they didn't stay on top of their finances. Pick the life you want and focus on funding that, and trim it down in other areas. Sure, I'd love to have cable TV, but I'm not home that much because I work a lot, and paying $175 a month for the big network package just doesn't seem worth it for me, personally. So pick your battles, based on your income. That applies even to millionaires. Having a million bucks is a LOT different than having ten million, than $100 million, than a billion. I know people who have several million & don't consider themselves rich, because you can't really live a lavish Hollywood-style life every single day on that kind of money because it will disappear eventually.

 

[ponyo]

Am debt free. Everything I own is free and clear so I don't pay interest. Probably saved at least hundred thousand dollars in interest payment.

Something small but I get satisfaction out of: 1) no Pay TV, no paid TV streaming service like Netflix, no home phone line, and Cricket $20/ month cellphone service. 2) wife cuts my hair so $0 for haircut 3) make my own coffee every morning.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I reuse floss.

Is that safe / sanitary?

 

[JSt0rm]

I live off of 66% of my base take home pay.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is that safe / sanitary?

I can't imagine it being good. The floss will act as a great environment for bacteria to grow then you're putting that back under your gums the next day. I personally would not want to do it.

On the other hand I guess it's a good way to boost the immune system.

 

[dullard]

Is that safe / sanitary?

No, I posted a link about that above. Here it is again: http://fox17.com/news/local/man-almost-dies-after-using-floss-picks

Floss can harbor bacteria and spread disease, even to yourself. If you want to be really frugal, skip the flossing as it isn't based on a true need in most cases. Or fork over the few dollars and realize that floss isn't your money drain.

 

[JSt0rm]

read madokas entire list for the joke

 

[JSt0rm]

No, I posted a link about that above.

Floss can harbor bacteria and spread disease, even to yourself. If you want to be really frugal, skip the flossing as it isn't based on a true need in most cases. Or fork over the few dollars and realize that floss isn't your money drain.

the fuck? You should always floss. Nasty shit will grow between your teeth.

 

[dullard]

the fuck? You should always floss. Nasty shit will grow between your teeth.

It is debatable.
https://apnews.com/f7e66079d9ba4b4985d7af350619a9e3/medical-benefits-dental-floss-unproven

 

[JSt0rm]

its not debatable. I can always tell some stank ass breathed mofo who doesnt floss.

 

[lxskllr]

I grew up not exactly poor, but definitely tight. From that I learned to cut costs where it makes sense for me.

I grew up solid middle class, but my parents were from the Depression. More so my father. Always had everything necessary, but my father was so tight he squeaked when he walked :^D He made up for the decent, but average pay he made with clever investments, and pretty much paid cash for everything, including the house. I wasn't much like him when I was young. It took awhile for the lessons to sink in, but they eventually did.

 

[brianmanahan]

I take a shower once a week.

that's messed up

 

[brianmanahan]

I only buy new cars.

Don't like the idea of someone else having farted in my seat.

That has happened well before your new car has ever left the factory.

i can't think of a job i'd enjoy more than being the car-farting factory worker

 

[Red Squirrel]

Need to do a burn in test on the seats to make sure they're good to go by the time they get to the customer. Plenty of customers who wasted the salesman's time by wanting to test drive but not buy will also have farted in it I'm sure.

 

[Svnla]

First rule - Income(s) minus Expenses = money saved. No one can escape that rule.

Look at each and every single expense that you have and I mean all of them. No exception. From the big ones such as housing, transportation to a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Then decide what you can do to reduce them or if you have to have them or not. For example, I don't have much time anymore so no pay tv/cable, no more subscriptions that I do not have time to enjoy and so on. Increase my deductible for cheaper insurance. Needs vs. Wants.

Increase income either by getting a better paying job or extra gigs on the side.

One more thing, I do not know why some of you are so afraid of credit cards. When they are used properly, credit cards can earn you money. I will have about $1,500 in cash back for March just from one cash back credit card, not counting points for my flights from eating out, paying for gas, groceries shopping.

 

[IronWing]

Toilet paper has two sides.

 

[madoka]

Toilet paper has two sides.

Son, that is wasteful.

My reusable toilet paper has two sides.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...rnative-trend-internet-reaction-a8253341.html

 

[lxskllr]

Son, that is wasteful.

My reusable toilet paper has two sides.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...rnative-trend-internet-reaction-a8253341.html

That's... Something.... Not sure what it really accomplishes other than making life a hassle. Paper products come from managed tree plots, so it isn't like owls are being evicted for toilet paper. Add in the water waste, and detergent for cleaning, it's probably anti environmental, or at least close to a draw, and that's figuring in the petrol it takes to harvest trees, and the manufacturing process.

 

[snoopy7548]

I sit down to pee. No splash onto the toilet seat or rim means I don't have to clean the toilet as often, which means I save money on cleaning supplies!

On a more serious note, I cook all of my meals.

 

[whm1974]

Cut out junk food and soda intake, as well as limiting how often you eat out.