What are 25 different ways you save money?

[Guest]

Shop alone! I find I buy junk to keep him quiet and other things I

wouldn’t normally buy. And if I go alone I can hit a few stores and

buy the lost leaders in the same amount then when I’m shopping with

kids.

Use the Library! I love looking at the nice magazines in the stores

but feel quilty spending the money (they are not cheap!) Borrowing

books, magazines and DVD’s makes me feel smart! ( I would never spend

$20 for a book that I’ll read once)

Thing ahead! If you celebrate Christmas then you know it comes at the

same time every year. I put money in a jar every pay period for

Christmas presents. And when I see super deals thru the year I buy

it! I did so well this year that I’m hardly going to touch my

Christmas pot since I shopped so well that I may use it for next

Christmas and start saving for a family trip!

Same goes for Summer vacation. I have a “Vacation Pot-Summer 2008”

already started with almost $100 in it! I’ve been selling junk around

the house and putting the cash in the pot. I already have it planned

for what day trips we will take and then it’s nice to grab a $20 for

a day at the beach, pack a lunch and use the $20 for gas and treats!

Then I don’t worry that I won’t have any money to do stuff.

I think the best way to save money is to plan ahead!

— In Budget101_@yahoogroups.com, Herlean wrote:

>

> (1) Always shop with a list. This means for groceries, clothes,

etc. No matter where you shop (warehouse club, regular retail

grocery chain, thrift store, etc.) This way, you leave home with

enough money to shop and your prepared list. You don’t distracted by

the “fluff” at the store designed to take you away from your list.

>

> (2) Shop with cash. Not your debit card. Not a credit card.

Hard, cold cash. When you have to actually count out $______ from

your wallet, you are well aware that you spent $_____ amount of

money. It is a proven fact that when you pay via other means, you

spend 20% or more than you would when using cash money.

>

> (3) Use what is in your pantry to make meals. Use a cookbook.

If you don’t know how, learn how to do it. Trial and error, like we

all did. It saves a lot of money over eating out. Start small with

PB&J and work your way up. Eating out for breakfast, lunch and

dinner, even if it a trip to McDonalds or Burger King instead of

sitting down at Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday, it still adds up.

>

> (4) Make a thermos of coffee, tea, hot chocolate when you head

out. Skip the Starbuck’s run.

>

> (5) Bake your own bread, muffins, etc. instead of going to

Starbucks for them. I made a dozen pumpkin muffins for $1.12 (mix

was on sale) at home. One slice of pumpkin bread at Starbucks is

$2.85.

>

> (6) Hang a clothes line in your laundry toom. It will help save

on laundry costs. Learn to iron. A good investment: A Rowenta

(brand name) iron glides easily over clothes. The cost saved on

using your dryer and pressing the items or steaming them with the

iron is worth it.

>

> (7) Combine trips. Save on gas.

>

> (8) Use public transportation and/or walk when possible – saves

on gas.

>

> (9) If you mail things often, packages and such, have the Post

Office come to you and pick them up. I think you have to include at

least one item Priority Mail, but check http://www.usps.com for details.

>

> (10) Put your food in airtight containers. Crackers, pretzels,

breakfast cereals, oatmeal, dog biscuits, cat treats, etc. will last

longer and you don’t need to replace them because they went “bad”.

>

> (11) Take a cooler of water with you in the car when you go out

to do errands. Pack a sack lunch too. If you are out and hungry,

you are less tempted to hit the drive thru if you have food packed

with you. Thermos makes a stainless steel food container that will

keep hot foods hot or cold foods cold for hours. It is wide-mouthed,

for soups, stews, hot dogs, whatever you want to put into it. Target

sells them for about $15. I recommend the stainless steel version

over the glass-lined. If the glass-lined one breaks, it is shot.

Stainless steel will last for years. I have had a couple of them for

more than 5 years each. $3 a year???? No brainer.

>

> (12) A lot of money is wasted on food. Look at your budget and

spending patterns. We spend a lot of it at the grocery store. We

don’t eat out very often (1-2 times every 3 months maybe). I used

the slow cooker (we have more than one); the pressure cooker (great

tool!!!).

>

> Herlean

>

> sandy miller wrote:

> I go to garage sales,yard sales,etc to buy

clothing,grapevine wreaths,things needed for our home and watch

freecycle for any needed furniture,etc.I bring the wreaths home,strip

everything off,wash them and let them dry.Then I go to clearance

sales for things needed to re-furbish the wreaths and then at

Christmas and birthdays I give them as gifts.I decorate a wreath for

every season for each family that I give them to.I also go to second-

hand clothing stores also to buy clothes for our family and can get

some very nice clothes for cheap-especially if I go when they have a

store-wide sack sale for one money.I also go to after Christmas sales

to buy as much as my Christmas gifts for the next Christmas as I can

possibly get.If I find a really neat and great working toy for my

granddaughters at the garage and yard sales that the girls do not

have,I buy it,bring it home and clean it very well(disinfect it too)

and re-furbish it to give to them for their birthdays and

> Christmas.I have stopped buying groceries at our Walmart

superstore and starting going to the mom and pop grocery store here

in town.Yes on some things they are higher than Walmart BUT they have

gas cards that hey have given out to their customers and when you go

to check out they will scan your card before they ring up your

groceries and depending on what you buy,you can end up saving

between .10-.50 per gallon of gas at the gas station they own as well.

> Sandy

>

> DGates wrote: Some of these we have always

done but we started to stop eating out but once a week instead of

several times a week.We spend under 20 to do this just so mom can get

out. I noticed last week that not only were we paying all our bills

on time or ahead but that we had money left for actually stocking up

at the grocery store on good deals. I now have a pantry full and

freezer full so that I don’t have to necessarily shop every week

besides the milk I need. I’m so happy and christmas will actually be

a joy this year without feeling overwelmed.

>

> Donna Winning and loving it.

>

>

>
.

> Be a better pen pal. Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail.

See how.

>

>

>

>

>
.

> Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your

homepage.

>

>

>
.

> Be a better pen pal. Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail.

See how.

>

[Author]

Posts