Share your money-saving tips here!

brit072206

So I a a total tightwad. I get a high from saving money. Especially with the little boy on the way, I'm trying to get even smarter with our money. I thought it would be fun to share money-saving tips that are either baby related or not.

I'll start with my top 4 money savers:

1. I use couponmom.com and krazycouponlady.com. I just started this, but all it takes is a .50 cent a week subscription to the Sunday paper and we will be saving hundreds. It looks like toiletries, doggie snacks, and cleaning supplies will be pretty much free. 

2. We are library VIPs. We check out movies, DH checks out video games, and we check out books. I used to have a Border's spending habit, but no more. Plus, the free library enables us to . . .

3. not have a cable bill. We get our movies, books, etc. from the library or occasionally use Redbox. This saves us at least $700/year.

4. We have an eating-out budget. We budget $100/month for eating out. Every time we go through a drive through/pick up some Chipotle, etc. we have a post-it in the car where we enter in that spending. We get $100 for the month. It saves us a lot because we realized that it added up quickly when we weren't paying attention. $3 here and $4 there never felt like much until we realized we were doing it a lot.

 

Mrs.K23

1. we do bulk buying at Costco for papergoods (a costco supply of toilet paper will get us through about 10 months) plastic baggies, ground turkey and othe similar items that either can be frozen.  Costco is also great for buying movie tickets 1/2 off for nights out.

2.  we do not have a home phone line.

3. We set a strict pocket $ total for each of us for each week, so we aren't just buying a starbucks here or blowing money at the pharmacy without thinking about it.

4. we shop weekly specials at the grocery store and stock up on those items when they are on good sale. 

5. I bring my breakfast and lunch to work from home every day, except once a week.  That way I get a treat day but the rest of the days I am either eating left overs or just sotre bought items instead of restaruant items.

Trishes

I make a weekly meal plan every Sund off day and base my shopping list off of that. I try to re-use leftovers in the meals so that I can save on that.

We don't have a cable bill, either.

alynjohn

No cable for us either and it saves a ton!

DH and I try to carpool as much as possible. It saves us roughly $8/day if we drive together.

We bring our lunches to work except on occasion.

Only do full loads of laundry.

No land line- only cells and they aren't smart phones, just texting

tpandr08

I have told DH a hundred times we could save $120/month if we cut cable and just had netflix but he is addicted to his TV!!!!!

Even though last night he spent 45 mins flipping the channels because "Nothing was on"

smorzandoj

tpandr08:

I have told DH a hundred times we could save $120/month if we cut cable and just had netflix but he is addicted to his TV!!!!!

Even though last night he spent 45 mins flipping the channels because "Nothing was on"

Keep pressing the issue!  It took me about a year to convince DH but we have been a cable free family since December and he hasn't once complained.  We use Netflix and Hulu for everything and have a 30$ internet bill. 

lmjt

DH can not give up his cable, I've tried. He's a sports guy, and can't live without his nightly highlights and such. I quit arguing with him. I ended up pitting FiOS and Cablevision against each other until I got my bill cut in half. I was paying $140 for phone, cable and internet, and am now paying $68. Every time they try to raise my bill or charge me for something, I just call FiOS and tell them that the cable company offered me something better, and they give me whatever I tell them cable was offering.

bre86ann

1. We are cancelling our cleaning lady (she sucks anyway) saving us $45/week

2. We are buying a computer to hook up to our television and cancelling the cable and the home phone. Our cable bill is currently $240/month (internet is only $40 of that--we have to keep internet so saving $200/month). You can watch any tv show you want to over the internet now and DH and I never watch anything on regular TV anyway--always off the DVR)

3. We are getting rid of our blackberries (saving us $70/month)

(1-3 alone will save us $5580 a year)

4. We are starting to clip coupons

5. We're cooking at home pretty much all the time.

6. We shop the sales. I have a food saver so if we buy meat in bulk I protion it out when we get home and seal it and freeze it.

7. We make and can our own tomato sauce

8.I'm making an attempt at growing our own veggies

9. I'm breast feeding and cloth diapering. We'll also be making our own baby food.

10. I only drive my car to and from work. DH has company vehicle with company gas so whenever we go anywhere we don't pay for it. I put $20 in my car every 2 weeks. He puts $100 in his truck every 2 days.

bre86ann

smorzandoj:

tpandr08:

I have told DH a hundred times we could save $120/month if we cut cable and just had netflix but he is addicted to his TV!!!!!

Even though last night he spent 45 mins flipping the channels because "Nothing was on"

Keep pressing the issue!  It took me about a year to convince DH but we have been a cable free family since December and he hasn't once complained.  We use Netflix and Hulu for everything and have a 30$ internet bill. 

 

I've been trying to convince DH to do this since before he and I got married. I have told him repeatedly that there is no need for cable because you can watch anything on the internet and FINALLY after 3 years he thinks it's HIS genious idea lol. Which I'm fine with. We're so tired of the cable never working, the DVR never working and never finding anything we want to watch on TV.

JenWhite123

1.  For those who love to read use www.paperbackswap.com - I have saved a ton of money by swapping my used books with others

2.  Shop your insurance policies every year -  I used to sell insurance, and it's amazing how much auto and homeowner's rates can vary by company

3. Cut out your landline

4. Make a weekly menu around what's on sale at the grocery store.   I NEVER Pay full price for meat or anything else that I KNOW we will use.  Shop sales.

5. Call your cable company and see if lower rates are available -  I do this periodically and always end up saving $10-$25 per month

6. Reduce trips in the car - I used to drive 15 mins to the mall to pick up one thing.  With gas at $4.00 per gallon, I now combine errands and try to only make one errand trip a week.

veroMom

1.My husband and I just started this online "Financial Peace" seminar, which is teaching us lots.

2.Started Shopping using as much sales products using only a set amount of cash for our groceries.

3. We take out our spending cash at the beginning of the month never using our debit card.

4.We hope to save more by going to one car too. 

5.And We bring lunch to work.

alynjohn

veroMom:

1.My husband and I just started this online "Financial Peace" seminar, which is teaching us lots.

2.Started Shopping using as much sales products using only a set amount of cash for our groceries.

3. We take out our spending cash at the beginning of the month never using our debit card.

4.We hope to save more by going to one car too. 

5.And We bring lunch to work.

We did Financial Peace thru our church and LOVED it! I hope you guys get as much out of it as we have.

dawn3513

You ladies all have great ideas!

We don't have cable or a landline which saves us a ton. I grocery shop at Aldi's and spend about $40 a week for groceries, cleaning products, and toiletries. Aldi's is so cheap and I love their stuff. We also make our own laundry detergent which works really well and costs about $5 to make 5 gallons. 

jen102279

1. We don't have cable or internet at home, or a landline for that matter-- big time savings

2. I only buy food on sale unless DH or I really want something special from the grocery store.

2b. I also clip coupons  

3. We unplug "power-suckers" ie the tv, etc when we aren't using them... noticed big difference in electrical bill. Plus we switch all of our light bulbs to the energy efficient ones 

4. When possible, we put 10% of our paychecks into our savings acct.

5. We cook a lot and eat leftovers (now that I'm out of the first tri pukey-ness with leftovers...)

6. we are looking into buying a rain barrel to help us water the lawn and garden 

jen102279

dawn3513:

You ladies all have great ideas!

We don't have cable or a landline which saves us a ton. I grocery shop at Aldi's and spend about $40 a week for groceries, cleaning products, and toiletries. Aldi's is so cheap and I love their stuff. We also make our own laundry detergent which works really well and costs about $5 to make 5 gallons. 

would really love your laundry detergent recipe! 

veroMom

alynjohn:

veroMom:

1.My husband and I just started this online "Financial Peace" seminar, which is teaching us lots.

2.Started Shopping using as much sales products using only a set amount of cash for our groceries.

3. We take out our spending cash at the beginning of the month never using our debit card.

4.We hope to save more by going to one car too. 

5.And We bring lunch to work.

We did Financial Peace thru our church and LOVED it! I hope you guys get as much out of it as we have.

 

My Sister and Mom did and it has worked wonders for them. They did have it at my church but Im such an online girl, I registered online. Yea we are soo determined to get down 0 dept and to be able to start fresh and teach our little one the right way to look at money.

dawn3513

jen102279:

dawn3513:

You ladies all have great ideas!

We don't have cable or a landline which saves us a ton. I grocery shop at Aldi's and spend about $40 a week for groceries, cleaning products, and toiletries. Aldi's is so cheap and I love their stuff. We also make our own laundry detergent which works really well and costs about $5 to make 5 gallons. 

would really love your laundry detergent recipe! 

 

It's so easy to make! I can find all the ingredients at my grocery store so its really convenient too.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap
• 1/2 cup Borax powder
• 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (if you cant find washing soda you can use oxyclean or generic oxyclean)

 

Grate 1/3 of the fels naptha and put it in a large saucepan with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil until the fels naptha is dissolved. After the fels naptha is disolved add the borax and washing soda. Let it boil for about 3-4 minutes or until everything is mostly dissolved. While that is boiling put 26 cups of hot water into a 5 gallon bucket. Next add the soap mixture to the water in the bucket and stir to combine everything.

Let the soap cool and set up for about 12-24 hours. The finished product jells up. It won't have a normal consistency. Part of it will be like jello and part will remain liquid. It's all the same thing and dissolves in the laundry tub. No need to try and break it up.

Each load of laundry takes 1/2 cup of detergent. I always double the recipe to make a full 5 gallons of laundry detergent each time, which lasts about 3 months at our house. 

If you have any questions feel free to ask! I've used the recipe for 3 years and I love it!

 

jen102279

dawn3513:

jen102279:

dawn3513:

You ladies all have great ideas!

We don't have cable or a landline which saves us a ton. I grocery shop at Aldi's and spend about $40 a week for groceries, cleaning products, and toiletries. Aldi's is so cheap and I love their stuff. We also make our own laundry detergent which works really well and costs about $5 to make 5 gallons. 

would really love your laundry detergent recipe! 

If you have any questions feel free to ask! I've used the recipe for 3 years and I love it!

 

Thanks Dawn!!  

veroMom

dawn3513:

jen102279:

dawn3513:

You ladies all have great ideas!

We don't have cable or a landline which saves us a ton. I grocery shop at Aldi's and spend about $40 a week for groceries, cleaning products, and toiletries. Aldi's is so cheap and I love their stuff. We also make our own laundry detergent which works really well and costs about $5 to make 5 gallons. 

would really love your laundry detergent recipe! 

It's so easy to make! I can find all the ingredients at my grocery store so its really convenient too.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap
• 1/2 cup Borax powder
• 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (if you cant find washing soda you can use oxyclean or generic oxyclean)

 

Grate 1/3 of the fels naptha and put it in a large saucepan with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil until the fels naptha is dissolved. After the fels naptha is disolved add the borax and washing soda. Let it boil for about 3-4 minutes or until everything is mostly dissolved. While that is boiling put 26 cups of hot water into a 5 gallon bucket. Next add the soap mixture to the water in the bucket and stir to combine everything.

Let the soap cool and set up for about 12-24 hours. The finished product jells up. It won't have a normal consistency. Part of it will be like jello and part will remain liquid. It's all the same thing and dissolves in the laundry tub. No need to try and break it up.

Each load of laundry takes 1/2 cup of detergent. I always double the recipe to make a full 5 gallons of laundry detergent each time, which lasts about 3 months at our house. 

If you have any questions feel free to ask! I've used the recipe for 3 years and I love it!

 

 

 Thanks for the share! I'd love to try this out. Does this work on HE appliances as well?