A year ago we took the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class, and we are almost debt free - he said you can say that when the only debt you have is your mortgage, and we are almost there, yea!! So, I was watching TLC the other night and they had Extreme Cheapskates on, and it was so interesting. What are you doing / going to do / or have heard about doing to save money. I would love suggestions of how you cut back, thanks mamas !! :)
We do similar to Rachel D.
we NEVER use change at the store, we dump all change daily in a can and then when it is full, we roll coins and put the $ in daughter's savings account. Easy money... you never miss it.
We also live debt free. I shop smart, I don't go cheap, you get what you pay for.
Not sure how fun some of these are (it is fun to me because I make it a challenge/game)
- tear laundry sheets in half and only use half per drying load
- make your own laundry detergent - super easy and better for your skin
- grow your own food - we have chickens that give us eggs and meat, we also have a garden
- use vinegar to clean - cheaper than Clorox and better for you to inhale
- eat cheap healthy - breakfast for dinner at least one night a week (eggs are cheap and healthy!)
- shop at thrift stores or on ebay for the kids' clothing.
- cancel cable, play more family games instead
- turn off and unplug all appliances when not in the home. Turn the heat/air down when you are gone all day.
- don't drive a new vehicle (until you are a millionaire). New cars are such a depreciating asset.
- I also purchased the Financial Peace Jr for the kids - makes a huge difference when the ENTIRE family is on board!
I am the only one in our home who bothers to roll coins. Drives me nuts, but to me...it's free money. I rarely carry cash....I'm at home with my daycare all day....so occasionally, I have to send my son to school with coins & he hates it! Too bad...it all spends just the same!
I buy generic most of the time. I tear diaper wipes in 1/2. I always add water to my laundry detergent bottles....gaining another 2 loads.
My new thought would be each time we eat fast food, we have to put the same amount of $$ in a jar/envelope. (I know....it's been around for a while! Never tried it :) I'm hoping to break our bad habit of having my DH grab dinner on his way home.
Yesterday is a perfect example, I had dinner all planned...needed to start it at 5pm - so we could hit Scouts at 7pm. Nope....shut down the end of the daycare day with a puking child. When he finally left, I had to sanitize everything + remove all soft toys/bedding. It was 6:10 when I finally finished....& DH grabbed dinner for us. What a waste of $$! We could have had fried egg sandwiches for dinner....& still made it to Scouts.
This school semester, I will have all 4 of my daycare slots filled full time. I am planning on using the extra $$ for knocking out medical bills. I am planning on putting the extra directly into our savings, & then monthly tackle those bills. I want to have them cleared out by summer. Hope I can achieve my goals!
I clean out a closet by taking everything out! Every time I do this, I find things I forgot I had already purchased. This works for food shelves, clothes closets, garage and attic. Now this may be due to my advancing age, but it might work for others. :)
I use vinegar and baking soda for cleaning. Also, instead of fabric softener, use a splash of white vinegar . Pour it in when you pour in the detergent.It's better for your health too.
My New Years resolution is to try to only buy perishable things. Food,toiletries,etc. I am so tired of all the toys and junk and refuse to buy anymore regardless of sale. You can go to dinner. Also, you can buy a gift for someone but it has to be in the next week or two. Don't buy stuff to stockpile for gifts. half the time you don't even have anyone in mind. I heard about a family doing this for a whole year . My husband gives me until sunday=) It's worth a try. I already feel free walking into a store knowing I can't buy junk.Good luck=)
Hey that's great! Sounds like you guys are doing really well!
My favorite, and this is silly but it works (and teaches the kids a thing or two about the value of a dollar), but I get a big glass mason jar and toss spare change in there through out the year. Loose change mostly, but also any paper money I find in the laundry... we don't touch it until it's completely full, then stick it in savings. There was over $600 in there one time!! To us, that's like free money. Change is so easily lost and doesn't count for much with just a few coins, but saving it, WOW it adds up!!
Don't pay more for things you can't tell the difference in the taste, quality or use. EXAMPLE: Angus beef is much more expensive than herford beef. (Two different breeds of cattle.) If you can't taste the difference, don't pay the difference.
I don't buy bottled water. I use tap water that I pour into plastic bottles that I use over and over again.
I use ziplock bags over and over again. I buy the cheapest ziplock type bags, not the name brand.
I always check all the sales ads in my area for the best deals. I circle the best deals with a marker or pen so that when I drive by one of the stores that has a good deal I stop in and buy the items that were a real good deal. I seldom make a trip to the grocery store only. Its usually because I stop in on my way to or from some place else.
Walmart matches prices. Walmart had the new chocolate frosted flakes for $2.48 for an 18 ounce box. One of the stores wwwaaaayyyy across town had the chocolate frosted flakes for $1.99. I loaded up on the cereal at Walmart. Walmart matched the price and I saved myself from 20 miles of fuel and time.
DON'T SHOP SAM's or COSTCO for common, everyday grocery items. I know prices very well. I'm an extremely careful shopper. Sams and Costco are always more expensive on bananas, hamburger, chicken breasts, whole fryers, hamburger, roasts or steak, tomatoes, lettuce, etc that the grocerery stores in my area when those items are on sale.
Sam's is cheaper to join than Costco. When I had to buy food items for a church dinner, I checked the prices at several grocery stores. Of the 9 items I checked at Sam's and Costco, Sams was less expensive on 7 of 9 items. Costco was less expensive on 1 item and they were the same price on one item.
BTW, I spent $96 on groceries for September for my wife and I. My kids had sick children or were out of town on vacation. No one came over for Sunday dinner so I just had to buy for us.
Good luck to you and yours.
Check out www.frugalvillage.com - it's a great site with tons of frugal tips and frugalistas chatting.
It depends on what your priorities are. Changing cleaning products is a good one. Or using less. Most people use too much shampoo, for example.
Investing in things that you will use for YEARS is another. For example, a good set of cloth diapers can last you several children so the initial investment pays off.
I did buy a new car and at the time I crunched the numbers. Due to the interest rate on a used car, I was able to get a much better deal on the new car, had a warranty, etc. I chose carefully and have driven that same car for 10 years and it was paid off well before the end of the loan. So while on the surface things like "don't buy a new car" sound good, do the math before you cross it off. I bought the middle of the line of my car - one I could afford but had a few more bells than the lowest end. I don't buy a car with the idea that I'll sell it in a few years.
I love going to flea markets and thrift stores. I think they're fun. I buy books and CDs at the friends of the library sale because 1. they're inexpensive and often in great shape and 2. it supports a resource I love.
You could make your own grocery bags out of old clothes or fabric scraps. Locally they now charge you per bag if you don't bring your own. We've long had a set of our own bags, but if you want ones that are more fun, build your own set.
Things like growing your own garden we do, but we're not sure we really get supercheap veggies, with the heat around here and the water bill. DH does use rain barrels to water but sometimes there hasn't been enough rain to fill them. We also compost so we never use commercial fertilizer.
Even a simple thing like shopping off a list vs off the top of your head or using one of those scanners so you SEE your total and maybe don't buy that extra whatever or buy in bulk when it's a good deal (compare price per unit) can help without making you feel like you need to rinse and reuse ziplock baggies.
I use the waxed paper bag that the cake mix in the box is in to grease the pan. I buy cheap conditioner, but let it soak into my hair while I shower and rinse it out last. My hair feels just as good as when I use an expenisve brand and rinse immediately. I cook a lot from scratch - potatoes are cheaper to buy and peel and taste better than from the box. I freeze overipe bananas and when I have enough make banana pineapple cake.
