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

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: Skoorb
ignore the noise about 0% intro rates on a new love seat or whatever else in the same vein.

If you have money and are going to buy anyway, I disagree about ignoring the 1 or 2 years intro 0% rates. Why not let your money earn interest at their expense for a few years, eh?

Like paying for everything with a credit card to get the 1.25 to 5% rewards (paying if off at the end of the month, of course).

It's all about the state of mind to me. It starts becoming very gray as to whether you truly were going to buy it or not, and it's not just me saying it, the statistics behind it are quite clear: people simply spend more when they are using credit, quite a bit more. And on things they may not otherwise buy. It is the financial equivalent of adultery

I use mine sometimes for a couple of days between pay checks (we normally budget quite closely and extra money right at insertion point hits savings, so we don't keep a ton in checking) but the most i've had it up to in many months is about $600. I generally pay it off every two weeks or less, i just fvcking hate them.

For the most part and most people, you are correct. As for credit cards, I use them to make money. Sure, I might spend a little more than I would if I only used cash, but it's made up for by the playing of the system. Not recommended for the general population though!

 

[JS80]

Make the more monies.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Bought a car that gets good gas mileage. I barely have enough regular clothes to last a week + 2 sets that are suitable for dress. I only buy new clothing to replace something that has worn out. I cook in bulk and eat something different every week. I eat out 2-3 times a year max. I bought a digital thermostat and programmed it to turn the A/C completely off during the times I am not home and at a comfortable temperature when I am. That last alone has saved me $30-$50 every month for the last 4 months over last year. I generally don't do many things that cost a lot of money. I don't go out or go on expensive trips. I read a lot of books, but I have a library card for that. I play a lot of computer games which, along with my computer, comprises 95% of my disposable income expenditure. I quit drinking and smoking. That alone saved me ~$3000 a year I figure.

It's not hard really. They way to live on a tight budget is to not want everything you see and be willing to wait and save for what you DO want.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Engineer
Get a program like Budget Calendar (shareware Link. - costs about $15 IIRC) and enter in all of your transactions with categories. You will be surprised how much you spend on crap and where it is. Much easier to cut that way and you can see a day by day spending chart for each month.

As for cutting, haven't cut much as I'm a damn tightwad anyway. Didn't buy computer components for about 8 months but bought a few things lately.

Pick up stuff on the way home instead of going out again to get it.

Never really eat out anyway but cut it even more.

Canceling features on TV service.

Dropping vehicle #1 to liability only (getting ready to do the same on vehicle #2). Both are near 7 years old and it's getting to the point that full coverage is a waste.

Buy only sale items at grocery store or store brands. Be careful with store brands as they sometimes will cost more than name brand, especially with good sales. Stock up when really good sales come along.

keep comprehensive. you get paid for vandals, hit&run, and tree branch falling on your car, etc

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: jteef
get yourself addicted to WoW. really.

$15 / month is hella cheap for 150-200 hours / month of entertainment.

sell mmorp gold for $$$

i was averaging $20/hr, and that was 5yrs ago!

Originally posted by: jteef

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: jteef
get yourself addicted to WoW. really.

$15 / month is hella cheap for 150-200 hours / month of entertainment.

Well, she's married, and has free entertainment at home.

last i checked, bc and/or condoms are >15 / month. especially for 150 hours of action. raw might work, but i'd argue you'd eventually end up with a kid or an abortion which completely negates any savings you were able to muster previously.

just use the other 2 holes? :Q

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
at 28:

not buying a house

renting with 2 other roommates

waiting until a crash to throw all my savings in stocks (less my 401k)

um.. you missed MArch 2009 when dow = 6000 points?!

i got lucky and threw all $5000 into Roth IRA that month
Emerging markets up 75% this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[edro]

I unsubscribed from NewEgg's mailing list.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: edro
I unsubscribed from NewEgg's mailing list.

:laugh:

I need to do that...and also remove FatWallet (more like make my wallet skinny) and SlickDeals. Not to mention the AT Hot Deals forum. Damn hot deals kill me, especially this time of year.

 

[hiromizu]

make more money and shop smart has worked for me so far but I did get bored with that lifestyle.

 

[Kirby]

Stop drinking beer everyday.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Leros
Severely limited my "want" purchases.

$15 here and $10 there adds up to a lot of money over the course of a year.

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.

 

[IGBT]

staying out of fast food joints and chain restaurants.

 

[puffff]

Originally posted by: fleabag

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: OCguy
Me and the SO decided that we would just make enough money that we would be able to afford our expensive lifestyle and still not be over-extended.

Heh. I agree. I've tried cutting back, but I really couldn't come up with that much in savings. Or the savings didn't justify the sacrifice I had to make. Better solution was to work my ass off and increase my income.

I'd look at the amount of money you spend on gas, food, and utilities and see why those expenses are what they are. Using the A/C and Heater less will save you a lot of money and not wasting electricity or using lots of gas for a simple commute could be saved if you change your ways and vehicle.

You don't NEED to keep the interior temperature at around 70F ALL YEAR ROUND, THEY'RE CALLED SEASONS FOR A REASON.

Say you find a way to cut $100-200 a month from your budget. Over the course of the year.. that's $1200-2400 in savings. For most of us, a 3% raise covers that. The economy seems to be getting better, I think its a better to strive for the raise than to pick at small cuts in your budget.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: fleabag

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: OCguy
Me and the SO decided that we would just make enough money that we would be able to afford our expensive lifestyle and still not be over-extended.

Heh. I agree. I've tried cutting back, but I really couldn't come up with that much in savings. Or the savings didn't justify the sacrifice I had to make. Better solution was to work my ass off and increase my income.

I'd look at the amount of money you spend on gas, food, and utilities and see why those expenses are what they are. Using the A/C and Heater less will save you a lot of money and not wasting electricity or using lots of gas for a simple commute could be saved if you change your ways and vehicle.

You don't NEED to keep the interior temperature at around 70F ALL YEAR ROUND, THEY'RE CALLED SEASONS FOR A REASON.

Say you find a way to cut $100-200 a month from your budget. Over the course of the year.. that's $1200-2400 in savings. For most of us, a 3% raise covers that. The economy seems to be getting better, I think its a better to strive for the raise than to pick at small cuts in your budget.

Damn you, that makes me want to call up and upgrade my internet to 20Mbps at the extra $10 per month. I don't need it...but I wannnnnnnnnnttttt it!

I also want a shiny new AMD Athlon II Quad and motherboard too!

 

[stinkynathan]

If you're into sandwiches for lunch. Instead of buying deli-sliced meat and cheese, buy bulk, alternator-sized blocks of either and cut them yourself. In WI, where I live, deli cheese is $6 a pound cut, or $3-4 a pound in blocks. Meat is also $6 a pound, but you can buy "loaves" (or whatever they're called) and cut them yourself for MUCH cheaper. We've also started making our own bread with a bread machine my mom gave us a while back. Beats spending $3.50 a loaf for the good, 12-grain stuff.

 

[DrPizza]

Drive your vehicles into the ground. Buy used vehicles instead of new. By used, I mean very used. You can often find 7 or 8 year old (or older) cars with a modest amount of mileage for their age, that have been well cared for, for $2k or less. We have 4 vehicles for 4 people; the total amount we've paid for 3 of them is $2600. Occasionally, we have to do a little work on one or another, but we're willing to learn about what needs to be done & do it ourselves. i.e. my son's radiator had gone bad. $50 & 1 hour to replace it. The 4th vehicle we bought 1 year old; it was a formerly leased vehicle. IIRC, it was under 12k for a Grand Caravan. The savings is two-fold, because if you don't have a loan on the vehicles, you can carry cheaper insurance. While you may balk at the price of repairs, as long as the engine and transmission are solid, most repairs are simple & cost you less than a month's car payment.

Plan ahead - don't make extra trips for trivial things. i.e. don't drive 20 miles just to pick up some insignificant item that you can live with for 24 hours until you drive by the place on your way home from work. The meals thing has already been mentioned numerous times. It's amazing how quickly a latte a day from Starbucks adds up. Especially if there's one for you, one for the hubby. After a full year of doing that, even if just on M-F, that's a significant chunk of change. (i.e. from my location, enough to fly to Florida and take a short cruise.)

If you have unused rooms in your house, don't heat them during the winter to the same temperature as the rooms you use regularly. i.e. close the air duct to the spare bedroom & keep the door closed.

Plant your own garden & learn how to freeze or can vegetables. I really doubt you're the hunting or fishing type, but there's a few really cheap meals if you go that route. We froze enough fish to have a fish fry every friday for about 9 months. . Just one trip out to the restaurant on Friday nights cost us $30-$40 for fish fries for 2, including tip. It was kind of a weekly thing. That's well over $1000 saved annually.

Invite friends over for a game night, byob, you provide the snacks. Even if you're providing finger foods/chips, it's still cheaper than going out to a bar or club. (Especially if you make the finger foods yourself.)

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod


waiting until a crash to throw all my savings in stocks (less my 401k)

You could be waiting for a long time.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Drive your vehicles into the ground. Buy used vehicles instead of new. By used, I mean very used. You can often find 7 or 8 year old (or older) cars with a modest amount of mileage for their age, that have been well cared for, for $2k or less. We have 4 vehicles for 4 people; the total amount we've paid for 3 of them is $2600. Occasionally, we have to do a little work on one or another, but we're willing to learn about what needs to be done & do it ourselves. i.e. my son's radiator had gone bad. $50 & 1 hour to replace it. The 4th vehicle we bought 1 year old; it was a formerly leased vehicle. IIRC, it was under 12k for a Grand Caravan. The savings is two-fold, because if you don't have a loan on the vehicles, you can carry cheaper insurance. While you may balk at the price of repairs, as long as the engine and transmission are solid, most repairs are simple & cost you less than a month's car payment.

People talk about older cars nickle and diming them to death, but it takes a hell of a lot of nickles and dimes to equal the cost of a car. I'll go even further than you have and say it's better to drop a new motor/trans into an older car as long as it doesn't have bad rust or anything.

 

[jlee]

Finishing college...damned classes are expensive.

 

[WA261]

Thank God, I have/did not even noticed the economy sway. I do the same shit I have always done.

 

[iGas]

My technique is to get weekend/side jobs so that I don't have time to spend money.

Funny thing is that I went out and spend $7.5K in the last couple of weeks, because I had 2 consecutive weekends off.

PS. So far for the year of 2009 I have net an extra $13K for weekends work (and only to blow 1/2 of it in 2 weekends).

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Drive your vehicles into the ground. Buy used vehicles instead of new. By used, I mean very used. You can often find 7 or 8 year old (or older) cars with a modest amount of mileage for their age, that have been well cared for, for $2k or less. We have 4 vehicles for 4 people; the total amount we've paid for 3 of them is $2600. Occasionally, we have to do a little work on one or another, but we're willing to learn about what needs to be done & do it ourselves. i.e. my son's radiator had gone bad. $50 & 1 hour to replace it. The 4th vehicle we bought 1 year old; it was a formerly leased vehicle. IIRC, it was under 12k for a Grand Caravan. The savings is two-fold, because if you don't have a loan on the vehicles, you can carry cheaper insurance. While you may balk at the price of repairs, as long as the engine and transmission are solid, most repairs are simple & cost you less than a month's car payment.

People talk about older cars nickle and diming them to death, but it takes a hell of a lot of nickles and dimes to equal the cost of a car. I'll go even further than you have and say it's better to drop a new motor/trans into an older car as long as it doesn't have bad rust or anything.

That's very true as well, but then you really need to know what models of vehicles to get. Huge variation in price.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: iGas
My technique is to get weekend/side jobs so that I don't have time to spend money.

Funny thing is that I went out and spend $7.5K in the last couple of weeks, because I had 2 consecutive weekends off.

PS. So far for the year of 2009 I have net an extra $13K for weekends work (and only to blow 1/2 of it in 2 weekends).

I assume it was for something worthwhile. As long as it wasn't a coke binge or anything, you're still ahead of the game.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: WA261
Thank God, I have/did not even noticed the economy sway. I do the same shit I have always done.

Ditto, but I prefer to watch my nickels and dimes in some places, so I can feel much more free to blow them in other areas. i.e. my younger son started motocross racing this summer. We probably averaged over $200 per week in expenses related to racing. (Not including the cast - insurance covered that & the hospital wrote off the deductible since my wife works there. ) I think for most people, to just suddenly decide, "hey, we're going to blow a couple hundred dollars every week on this new hobby" would have some budget issues. Just a few minor changes in our budget, such as meals, and we covered most of the added expense without feeling it.

 

[WA261]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: WA261
Thank God, I have/did not even noticed the economy sway. I do the same shit I have always done.

(Not including the cast - insurance covered that & the hospital wrote off the deductible since my wife works there. ) .

Ouch! What did he do? I mean I know he wiped, but how?

 

[Jeff7181]

"These economic times" don't seem to have effected me at all. I'm better off now than I was 1 year ago... even 2 years ago.