What is Your Money Saving Tip?

[PoliticalChic]

I thought we could use this thread since things have turned so badly in our economy.

Eating is a big deal in our house. I like trying new things. Ever since we had the kids, we stopped eating out as much (first because of the toddler tantrums, now because I hate the children's menu and the adult portions are too much for them). This turned out to be a big savings. Even in a chain restaurants, like Applebees, you can can't get away without spending $40.

I look over the supermarket circulars and buy up the sale items and find recipes for these ingredients. I also have a spare freezer which I use for meats on sale. Cooking at home is not only saves money, but can be healthier as well. I know time is an issue for most folks. A friend of mine gave me a crockpot 5 years ago and this has been a keeper. You can set it up the night before, add the meat in the morning and when you come home, you'll have your home smelling like Martha Stewart's kitchen.

Home maintenance and home repairs are huge bucks too. We do as much as we can like mowing the lawn, landscaping. There is repair information out there in the internet on almost every single appliance. We talk to our neighbors and we get advice on repairs on the house and the car.

I know there are more ideas out there. Let's keep them coming.

 

[PoliticalChic]

More tips:

We go to McDonald's and squeeze out their ketchup into our own containers that we surreptitiously bring with us.

We gave up our safe deposit box and keep our valuables in the mouth of an elderly lion at the zoo.

When kids spill salt on the table, I make the kids put them back in the shaker grain by grain through the little holes.

We decided not to get wall paper for the kids' rooms, instead we use old Bazooka bubble gum jokes. Very colorful. Plus the dirt slides right off it.

Instead of sending the kids away to summer camp, we rented part of George Obama's hut in Kenya.

 

[editec]

Eat at home.

Don't buy prepared foods like frozen pizza and so forth, because dollar for dollar you get less nutritition for your food investment. Add to that the fact that most of it is crap, and it really does make sense to learn to cook real food.

Learn to make and then learn to eat those leftovers.

Turn stuff off when you're not using it.

Don't drink soda.

Take a bagged lunch to work. My father swears he got to retire three years earlier because he brought his lunch to work instead of going out to eat every day.

Take care of those pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves, folks.



I just Vonage phone service, too.

That's saving me like $55 month in phone bills, folks.

$14.99 a month for 500 minutes a month.

 

[strollingbones]

i watch for the buy one get one free on the easy food....never pay full price for that junk...i have a freezer so i can stock up on really good buys...meatless meals or meals with little or no meat...desserts made from scratch...fresh fruits are the killer...apples here are 1.69 and up a lb...bananas dont keep long enough now...you can buy them green as grass and within hours they are brown...

we grew a large garden and have canned a lot of food...green beans, corn, pickled beets, leek and tater soup...we have a lot of taters...that will be the way of it next summer too....lots more gardens as food prices stay high..

the worst thing: i have become a walmart shopper for a lot of items...some of the savings amount to dollars per item..but you have to watch it...on some foods they are higher than grocery chains.

 

[Andrew2382]

Women and cheap booze

or is it

Booze and cheap women?

I always get them mixed up

 

[PoliticalChic]

i watch for the buy one get one free on the easy food....never pay full price for that junk...i have a freezer so i can stock up on really good buys...meatless meals or meals with little or no meat...desserts made from scratch...fresh fruits are the killer...apples here are 1.69 and up a lb...bananas dont keep long enough now...you can buy them green as grass and within hours they are brown...

we grew a large garden and have canned a lot of food...green beans, corn, pickled beets, leek and tater soup...we have a lot of taters...that will be the way of it next summer too....lots more gardens as food prices stay high..

the worst thing: i have become a walmart shopper for a lot of items...some of the savings amount to dollars per item..but you have to watch it...on some foods they are higher than grocery chains.

You must save tons on produce. The price of vegetables and apples have gone up quite a bit. Bananas used to be $29/lb last year. Now I can't pay less than $69/lb.

My mother is always prodding me to start a garden, but since I live in NY, I can only do it part of the year. The other thing is, I did it one year when I was pregnant. (Why that year I don't know.) I realized I wasn't too good with live things that didn't make noise when they were hungry.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Eat at home.

Don't buy prepared foods like frozen pizza and so forth, because dollar for dollar you get less nutritition for your food investment. Add to that the fact that most of it is crap, and it really does make sense to learn to cook real food.

Learn to make and then learn to eat those leftovers.

Turn stuff off when you're not using it.

Don't drink soda.

Take a bagged lunch to work. My father swears he got to retire three years earlier because he brought his lunch to work instead of going out to eat every day.

Take care of those pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves, folks.



I just Vonage phone service, too.

That's saving me like $55 month in phone bills, folks.

$14.99 a month for 500 minutes a month.

Thanks for sharing. Yes, those lunches in the city are the killer on the waller and on the heart. Your father is a wise man.

We gave up on our Wireless Verizon. We weren't using all the minutes and spending nearly $200 a month on cellular bills. We both got ourselves Tracfones and maybe we spend $400 total on both our cell phones costs. We don't like to chat on the cell phone so may not work for those who like to talk all the time on the run.

 

[Caligirl]

The garden is a definite cost saver, not just because you don't have to buy prodcue, but because you go to the store less period and so end up buying fewer impulse items. I can put a meal on the table with a couple of the sides from the garden, and this means that really only the main portion is the bulk of the cost....

I had to give up alcohol a few years ago - used to drink a glass of wine most nights, which could turn to two glasses easily, and this adds up. Giving that up saves a little bit.

We decided this year that for halloween we could list all of our old costumes through email with friends, and cycle them around - this saves money and the kids still get a 'new' costume. Halloween costume prices are extortionate.

 

[Shogun]

go kill some deer and donate one and use the other to stock a deep freeze. I've learned to set aside about 3 hours on sundays to batch cook all of my lunches for the upcoming week in order to avoid the price and caloric intake of tempting applebees. One of my favorite things to do is to put potatoes (cut in inch squares) and carrots and bell peppers and lots of brocolli into a pressure cooker using a red lager instead of water. hell fucking yea. Add that to baked chicken from one of those boneless, skinless bags of chicken breastesses and another side... not only is it cost controlled but it's fucking damn tasty too.


and drop your landline. Admit it, you don't need it.

 

[Andrew2382]

and drop your landline. Admit it, you don't need it.

except when you live in an area that could lose power (miami) due to wind damage and you don't have juice to power your cell when the battery dies.

 

[editec]

Women and cheap booze

or is it

Booze and cheap women?

I always get them mixed up

They go so well together, too.

 

[Andrew2382]

That they do

 

[xsited1]

I steal gas from SUVs with Obama/Biden bumper stickers. They shouldn't be driving those gas-guzzlers anyway.

 

[Angel Heart]

You must save tons on produce. The price of vegetables and apples have gone up quite a bit. Bananas used to be $29/lb last year. Now I can't pay less than $69/lb.

My mother is always prodding me to start a garden, but since I live in NY, I can only do it part of the year. The other thing is, I did it one year when I was pregnant. (Why that year I don't know.) I realized I wasn't too good with live things that didn't make noise when they were hungry.

Banana's here where at 49¢ a pound for the last 3-4 yrs. They are now at 59¢ a pound. It's partly where you live and the cost to get it to you. I'm in Portland Oregon.

 

[Angel Heart]

I'm involved in a food distribution program that runs in my county. For $20 a month and 4 hours of work for the program, I get $500+ in food. I have to share it with my adoptee. And adoptee is someone who's elderly or disabled.

How does it work... They take the money, from all of the members, and buy shipments of food that was over ordered by the grocery stores. We also take donations from companies. It works great. Granted the last year we went from having a distribution every other day to having one a week. I was getting $1500+ food a month. I was having to beg people to take the extra food. My neighbors would see me coming and not open their door. Now, I have enough for my family and adoptee.

 

[PoliticalChic]

go kill some deer and donate one and use the other to stock a deep freeze. I've learned to set aside about 3 hours on sundays to batch cook all of my lunches for the upcoming week in order to avoid the price and caloric intake of tempting applebees. One of my favorite things to do is to put potatoes (cut in inch squares) and carrots and bell peppers and lots of brocolli into a pressure cooker using a red lager instead of water. hell fucking yea. Add that to baked chicken from one of those boneless, skinless bags of chicken breastesses and another side... not only is it cost controlled but it's fucking damn tasty too.


and drop your landline. Admit it, you don't need it.

Good ideas. I'd have to look into who can process deer. There's not a whole lot of people going hunting for deer here in Brooklyn. The chicken dish does sound good and healthy.

But dropping the landline is a no no here in NYC. I couldn't call anyone on my cell during 9/11.

 

[editec]

Banana's here where at 49¢ a pound for the last 3-4 yrs. They are now at 59¢ a pound. It's partly where you live and the cost to get it to you. I'm in Portland Oregon.

Yeah, I heard that Portland Oregon's banana crop was very disappointing this year.

Maine's also not so good. We're paying .69 a pound.

 

[random3434]

I'm involved in a food distribution program that runs in my county. For $20 a month and 4 hours of work for the program, I get $500+ in food. I have to share it with my adoptee. And adoptee is someone who's elderly or disabled.

How does it work... They take the money, from all of the members, and buy shipments of food that was over ordered by the grocery stores. We also take donations from companies. It works great. Granted the last year we went from having a distribution every other day to having one a week. I was getting $1500+ food a month. I was having to beg people to take the extra food. My neighbors would see me coming and not open their door. Now, I have enough for my family and adoptee.

I swear Angel, you have/use/know about the coolest programs, be it for children or the elderly or even just your family! Think if something like that was available everywhere! How much better off a lot of us would be! I would love to have something like that where I live!


I'm buying everything I can that's generic at the store, {Name Brand X, Store Label Brand, etc...} I can't tell a difference from name brands. One thing I don't is my coffee and my daughter's vegetarian chicken nuggets!

I have brought my lunch to work for the last 12 years, it's not only a money saver, but healthier than eating out.

 

[glockmail]

1. myfax.com is $10/ month and lets me give up the second phone line that used to cost $55.
2. I'm going to phone.com to get rid of the 1st phone line. It will be the same number that I've had for years and port directly to my cell phone. $10/ month vs $80.
3. I called the cable company and told them to save me money. I now have a 2 year commitment and save $5/ month.

 

[GigiBowman]

It's hunting season so I told my dad "Do not come home without a deer this year". I absolutely love deer meat and 1 deer can give two families meat for the year.

Tonight I discovered that all these years I've been buying Chicken Breast to make dinners when Chicken Thighs (without skin) are half the price and actually taste better. Breast are dry and thighs are juicy