What have been your most successful cost-cutting/money-saving techniques so far?

[Modelworks]

Make a list of everything you pay during the month. Go down the list and decide if you what you listed is a want or a need. Most of the things we worry over are really wants disguised as needs.


For me:

DirecTV went bye bye - $84 a month ? no way
Groceries - don't buy anything not on sale unless I absolutely need it now. Why buy today what will be cheaper next week ? This has saved me huge amounts on food.

 

[OogyWaWa]

20lb bag of rice is $11 at walmart. big box of tilapia is $10. can feed you for weeks on end ^_^

 

[ModerateRepZero]

some more links

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2037507
help me become a cheapass

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/27/business/fi-frugal-fair27
LA frugal fair 2009
Savings.com
Goldstar.com
BargainBabe.com
BargainBabeLA.com

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cover-side13-2009dec13,0,7779208.column
Bloggers share their tips for frugal living

 

[shortylickens]

I cut out the hookers and blow a LONG freakin time ago. Not much left besides junk food and video games.
Finally got done with junk food. Didnt go organic since I still believe its overpriced crap, but eating green vegetables is still a much better deal than most processed shit.
For video games I decided to only buy dirt cheap stuff on STEAM, and am still waiting for those handful of games I really need to have, like Starcraft 2 and Deus Ex 3. But those will take forever to come out, so its not an issue.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Eating in for sure. Not going to bars. Grocery shopping for sales and w/ coupons.

Also, haggling with your 'net/TV provider (or threatening to leave) in order to keep an introductory rate.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Also, saving the change from all the cash transactions makes for a fun little surprise.

You know what builds some little savings is those "keep-the-change" options some banks have. You don't really "feel" the impact on your checking, but you'll be surprised when you have a few hundred extra $$$ in your savings in a few months.

 

[zinfamous]

living with a former communist.

Seriously, over the previous 4 years, you wouldn't IMAGINE the amount of money that we've (mostly she) have managed to squirrel away.

 

[amdhunter]

Gave up on ever finding a girlfriend to spend money on.

 

[K1052]

I cut back the eating out a LOT. Down to about once a week now, if that sometimes.

The cable package is going to be the next to go since I only watch about 3 channels and I'm sick of Comcast's bullshit.

 

[senseamp]

I turned fridge off after I realized it was on for months with just a bottle of mustard sitting in it. Now I only turn it on if I put stuff in there.

 

[JEDI]

i made a post about that a couple of years ago. i had $500 worth of charges in a month. None of the items were over $15 :Q

i stopped looking at DealExtreme.

b4 that, i quit magic:the gathering. i was spending $1000/quarter when new expansion sets came out. then realized 3 yrs later that $4000/yr could get me more value, like rent a couple of hookers/month, and a little blow.

i knew this thread looked familiar.

 

[dainthomas]

Switching from fios to comcast. There's $40/mo.
Bought a cheaper car. There's $100/mo.
Have almost completely stopped eating out. Last time was at IHOP with a coupon.

I'd ditch the blackberry but it would take a while to make up for the outrageous termination fees with verizon.

 

[TallBill]

I got a job bouncing again at a bar. Not only do I make some spare change, but I save a ton by not going out on those nights.

 

[zinfamous]

I turned fridge off after I realized it was on for months with just a bottle of mustard sitting in it. Now I only turn it on if I put stuff in there.

lol.


...but doesn't it cost more in the end to keep turning it on and brining the temp to 4c or -10 from room temp than it does to maintain the temps over a longer time?

I honestly don't know...

 

[shortylickens]

Eating in for sure. Not going to bars. Grocery shopping for sales and w/ coupons.

Also, haggling with your 'net/TV provider (or threatening to leave) in order to keep an introductory rate.

That actually worked for us. Right around the time comcast wanted to jack our rates, Verizon put in FIOS.
I had them fight with each other and comcast came out the winner. Saved a lot of money there.

 

[dainthomas]

lol.


...but doesn't it cost more in the end to keep turning it on and brining the temp to 4c or -10 from room temp than it does to maintain the temps over a longer time?

I honestly don't know...

This is a fallacy. You wouldn't save money by keeping the AC on high all summer rather than timing it to crank up when you got home. Nor would you save money by keeping your heat up 24/7 all winter.

 

[senseamp]

lol.


...but doesn't it cost more in the end to keep turning it on and brining the temp to 4c or -10 from room temp than it does to maintain the temps over a longer time?

I honestly don't know...

Nope. I usually only put stuff in it on weekends, and even then not every weekend. So I could go for weeks without using it.

 

[zinfamous]

This is a fallacy. You wouldn't save money by keeping the AC on high all summer rather than timing it to crank up when you got home. Nor would you save money by keeping your heat up 24/7 all winter.

fair enough, but you don't need to keep AC on high to maintain a comfortable temp, esp if you have some decent tree coverage (if necessary).

also, maintaining temp wouldn't mean the AC was running constantly.

 

[Babbles]

We make our own laundry soap on the cheap, and it works pretty damn well. We are lucky that our apartment provides free WiFi and we elected not to get cable or satellite, so compared to our previous place we are saving $100+ by not paying for cable and internet. However we do get the cheap Netflix package.

We severely restricted how much we go out, and we do we do not spend as much money on beer . . .which sucks, but that's how life is.

I also learned that PBR really isn't all that bad of a beer.

 

[Babbles]

This is a fallacy. You wouldn't save money by keeping the AC on high all summer rather than timing it to crank up when you got home. Nor would you save money by keeping your heat up 24/7 all winter.

Your comparison is a fallacy. A refrigerator going from ambient room temperature back down to 2º (or whatever) is a large change in temperature and therefore will take a significant draw of power to change. Therefore it may be better to keep the refrigerator on at a reasonable temperature instead of essentially turn it off and on as needed. The variation in room temperature is not going to be large enough to take significant energy to heat up or cool down. When using a programmable thermostat it is not typical to completely turn off the heat or A/C but rather the temperatures are only slightly changed so as to improve the effective use of energy balanced by comfort of life.