Saving money!

[slobin3d]

What have you guys been doing to save money?

The wife and I Bleed money on food. Our grocery/fast food bill is stupid. We have decided to seriously cut back on eating out, from 3-4 times a week to 1. Also we have signed up with a website called e-mealz.com. You type in how many people your feeding, If your on a meal restriction like diabetes or a diet plan, and where you shop and it spits out a weeks worth of meals, a complete grocery list and recipes to cook all of them. It also tells you what Isles the items can be found in and aprox. how much they should cost. We bought 1 weeks worth of dinners ,normally around $200, for $79 but buying only what we really needed in the correct quantities and from whats on sale

[Harley]

I dropped the movie channels, got rid of my home phone, changed my cell phone plan (same carrier just more appropriate plan). Got a couple other bills payed off, feels damn good!

[slobin3d]

Originally Posted by Hurley0706

I dropped the movie channels, got rid of my home phone, changed my cell phone plan (same carrier just more appropriate plan). Got a couple other bills payed off, feels damn good!

We just swapped around our calling plan as well and cut the internet on the wifes Phone. Didn't even know we had it, never once used it. all and all we cut our phone bill $100 a month. just did that saturday

[62PYRO]

Originally Posted by Hurley0706

I dropped the movie channels, got rid of my home phone, changed my cell phone plan (same carrier just more appropriate plan). Got a couple other bills payed off, feels damn good!

And do non-builds.

[C*H*U*D]

I signed up with The Grocery Game some time ago......We regularly have savings like this:

[balln]

My boss just calls his phone, tv company, etc. and tells them he's switching companys and that he's not happy ( half the time he is pissed at his cell phone company) and they lower the charges down. Me personally i couldnt do that but me and my girlfriend try not to eat out as much its crazy how fast that adds up.

[Harley]

Originally Posted by 62PYRO

And do non-builds.

Hey those fancy graphics aren't cheap

[JasonInAugusta]

Things I'm doing:

No home phone, no cable, no sat. Have a 60-mile HD antenna for free TV and $34/month fiber internet line to the house that I use to watch everything the antenna doesn't get. Rarely go to a movie. Have $100/year unlimited Netflix account that we share with the in-laws that I stream movies on and put the MPEG-4 recorder to use.

Quit traveling to drive toy cars for bowling trophies.

Cell phone is the only thing the wife and I have used for communication since 2000 or so. No sense in paying for a 2nd phone line that you don't use when the cell is usually within reach.

Shop at places that always offer military discounts like Lowe's, Advance Auto.

Verizon offers a 15% military discount. Still paying $86 a month, though.

Use an app on the Droid to find cheapest gas near me.

Cross the border into Kentucky for big ticket purchases to save on sales tax. (TN has 9.5%, in Hopkinsville, KY military doesn't pay sales tax. Even if we did, the KY state sales tax is 7%)

Fluorescent bulbs. I initially wasn't a fan, but they've made better bulbs for the house that have a better color temperature like what an incandescent would have and they use less power.

Open windows this time of year. Weather is awesome right now. Other wise heat on 68 in the winter, AC on 74-76 in the summer.

Double up on payments for credit card and auto loans - always pay more than the amount due.

Stopped going to the gun range.

Use ShopSavvy on the Droid when I think about it.

Buy generic shit instead of name-brand stuff. It's the same crap, tastes just as good, but without the fancy label. Unless it's beer. Buy the good beer.

Or Natty Ice...if that's your thing.

Become a member of the Sears Craftsman Club and watch for tools to go on sale in the Club which will ALWAYS be cheaper than the in-store price...even if they're on sale in the store. On sale for $29? Probably in the Club for $19.

Another thing I did one time with Sears...

You know how they ALWAYS ask you if you'd like a Sears card? Apply for it at the register, get the discount, pay in cash, and call and cancel the card account before you leave the parking lot.

To tell you how well that's working for us:

I got laid off so no income for me. Didn't bother with drawing unemployment, either.

We're now on one income and making two house payments, doubled the amount of payment on the credit card, paying all the other crap that a normal household has, and I'm still getting to mess with the FJ and build it - but I'm funding that with money I get from selling RC stuff and the money I get from the RC stuff pays for shipping to the buyer as well as any tools I need for the 1:1 stuff. I decided to do that so there's no money from the bank account being used for the hobbies.

If we stay on track we should be out of debt in a year or so. Sooner if I didn't want to build the FJ.

I FREAKED when I got laid off. I had just bought the TJ and, a month after buying it, got laid off. If I had known that was going to happen I wouldn't have bought it. (in hindsight I'm glad I did, though )

So I freaked out, wife says not to worry - we'll be fine. I didn't think so - I've always worked - been paying taxes since I was 12. So, just like she said, we're fine and I'm now going back to college instead of work. Don't have much time left to use my military school benefits so I'm using them now to finish that EE degree.


Damn, that was long.

[MadForce]

Simple things, I changed all bulbs with energy efficient ones for a 20% instant reduction in the electricity bills.
I also slowly replace all households devices with A+ ones through recycling programs that subside new energy efficient devices.
I tutored myself and the family to:
turn off the lights, the tv, the PC screen blah blah when not around.
All in all this saved me a total of 42% of the electricity bill.

I buy food that I will actually eat and not throw away.

I do my daily transits for work for chores for fun with my 250cc scooter which makes 80mpg easily with a 90mph top speed.
I constantly upgrade the fuel maps through Spoon and my local Honda dealer. Right now the S2K gets 26mpg average and 17mpg in the track screaming up to 14K rpm.

I kept the fixed phone line with an absurdly cheap all inclusive program, internet, free calls everywhere, TV, cell calls etc

Instead of a savings account I have a closed one (however you call it there) for 2x interest compared to savings.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by balln

My boss just calls his phone, tv company, etc. and tells them he's switching companys and that he's not happy ( half the time he is pissed at his cell phone company) and they lower the charges down.

Anytime I have trouble with billing, service or customer service of any company the provides some utility to my home and even my credit cards, I just ask to speak with one of their supervisors and then ask them what they plan to do to keep me as their customer...because they are about to lose me.

You'd be surprised how hard a company will work to keep your business. They also stand at attention when you tell them that you are not happy with their service and that, since they have not lived up to their end of the contract and it is now null with NO cancellation fees, you'll be switching carriers.

[Sydwaiz]

I got me a sugarmomma!

[jsowens]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

You'd be surprised how hard a company will work to keep your business. They also stand at attention when you tell them that you are not happy with their service and that, since they have not lived up to their end of the contract and it is now null with NO cancellation fees, you'll be switching carriers.

Yep, I use to work for a TV company and they have specific training you go through on this topic. They bend over backwards if a customer is unhappy and have a specific team dedicated to helping upset customers out. The only folks who they wouldn't bend over backwards for were the ones who called in once a month to complain for the sake of complaining so they could get a lower bill.

[Dragon51]

Since I have been medically retired from the Air Force it has been tight.

Were staying in a one bedroom apartment yea it sucks.
Cut cable TV I have the internet for school.
We stopped eating out.
Doubled up on payments now my Jeep is payed off her car will be paid off by the summer.

I don't wheel my Jeep as much. We keep the windows open all the time till my wife is too hot then we turn on the A/C then turn it off at night

We no longer get professional pictures of the kids, when our fist was born we had pictures every month to the tune of 100+ On our second baby we just did not have the money too.

I always keep what ever lights off that are not needed.

It's nice to know I am not alone with tight times. I feel like were the only ones who are fighting just to stay above the water.

[jetboat]

Dropped every spare cent we had into paying our vehicles off and then chanell that same moneyb straight to savings (the interst you save alone can be thousands). Ditched home phone but we did get a magic jack. We pay the credit card off every month, another thing where interst saved is insane.

Coupons when ever we go out to eat and shop the sales for food.

The hardest, bought my last rc I can buy for a yr... only can buy items to get me running if I break, no hopups or new trucks.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

Unless it's beer. Buy the good beer.

When it comes to beer, I prefer to buy kegged beer. A 6-pack of good beer around here is just over $8......buy it by the keg and it's half that.....can't drink Natty (sorry EeePee). Brewing your own beer is even cheaper than keg beer.


A rather unknown membership for people who like to go out from time to time is joining the American Homebrewers Association. Membership is open to everyone....not just brewers. It's $38 a year, but the pub discounts range from 10-25% off food, drink and merchandise. That adds up fast. I just bought a keg from Lefthand Brewery, and got 10% off just for being a member.

Beer is one place I won't compromise

[dezfan]

I think this last shit storm the GOVERNMENT handed us woke a lot of people up.

When I got married 5 years away, my wife and I had 6-8 credit cards w/ balances on them all.

We have paid them all off w/ the exception of one and it will be paid off by June. Fawk the banks and their BS fees and charges. We still have a few credit cards (the BofA account that we still have a balance on and my wife's credit union card that she has has since she was 19.),but we rarely use them anymore. I use my debit card from our bank account and I have a PP debit card. They work just fine in place of a credit card.

We paid off a personal loan she took out to help her good for nothing brother, we paid that off, we closed out our Dell account, have one payment left on my quad(it will go up for sale soon), and we pay cash for items now instead of using the cards. That alone saves tons of cash.

No land line, basic cable, we occasional use Red Box to watch a movie, don't eat out as often, use coupons, and like JIA, I use my an app on my Blackberry(Poynt) to find the lowest gas prices, shop online and have things delivered to the store, mow my own grass, take our lunches w/ us when we're on the road for the day, etc....

All of the money we are saving that used to go toward paying bills and the credit cards gets divided up and used for different needs. Half goes into savings, the other half goes toward paying off our vehicles. Once we get one paid off, we'll take that money and do the same thing, half into savings and the rest toward paying off the next vehicle(we have 3). We should be debt free from everything in 2- 2 1/2 years minus our home.

Once we get all the vehicles paid for, we'll stat making double and triple payments on the house. As it is now, we pay $300.00 extra a month and that alone will end up saving us $1000.00s of dollars over the life of the loan.

[slobin3d]

We sold off both our cars when we moved to Helena, picked up a couple Paid For beaters. A 1996 Probe (wedding gift from Unimoger) and my wife drove a $1500 ranger for a couple years till we picked up a 98 Neon Sport 4dr with the hotrod motor For free

We've slowly been paying off credit cards to the tune of a bout 15k paid off, paid off the house last spring. We bought a nice older trailer home to live in while we reset out life style, its larger and cheaper then an Apt. and when were ready to get into a stick built house It will be worth enough for a solid down payment

We switched to CFL's slowly as the power company handed out the 1/2 coupons, dropped the spendy cable $200 for all the channels, internet, and home phone, for Dish which is right around $80 and verizon internet. My wife gets 15% through her work

If we keep our shoulder to the grindstone We will be 100% debt free in about 6-8 months, work willing.

Its not going to be easy for us though, were both Big food fans, and impulse shoppers BAD! We cut up all our CC's a while back, canceled them all, and I throw away every offer we get! out of the 6 that we had only 3 are left one of which only has around $300 left to pay the other is half paid off.

[rugerboy]

I parked my crawler.... huge saving!

[JeremyH]

Uglier hookers are cheaper....

[BLOODBANE]

Im about to lose a girlfriend. Does that count?