The same thread is on CE&P, and I like seeing what everyone does. We...need some help, lol. Also, if you use apps/sites, please list which ones.
One thing that definitely helps me is meal planning, based on what's on sale at the grocery store. And I mostly do my shopping at Weis earn gas points. (Which I then always forget to use.)
The same thread is on CE&P, and I like seeing what everyone does. We...need some help, lol. Also, if you use apps/sites, please list which ones.
One thing that definitely helps me is meal planning, based on what's on sale at the grocery store. And I mostly do my shopping at Weis earn gas points. (Which I then always forget to use.)
I need help with this. I shop at random places depending on my mood and time so I end up wasting so much.
I think my problem is that I choose what I want based on what I'm craving. It doesn't work.
Pay yourself first!!! As soon as you are paid, money is transferred to your savings account or even have an automatic funds transfer set up so you won't even notice money from your paycheck is already in savings.
Not saving money, more like making money work for us. We pay everything on a credit card that gives cash back and use that money for spending money on vacations. Since we started we haven't had to dig into our bank account while on vacation. It's pure play money. Of course if we paid interest on the CC then it wouldn't be worth it so we pay the card in full monthly.
I have a Weis right up the street but I try to do most of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart because their prices are normally better. I also use the Wal-Mart Savings Catcher app and the iBotta app.
I have a Weis right up the street but I try to do most of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart because their prices are normally better. I also use the Wal-Mart Savings Catcher app and the iBotta app.
I'm the opposite: take a fixed amount of cash out of the bank each week. All purchases must come from there. So yes, I can spend it all but not a penny more. If I want to buy something off of my normal purchases (clothes, for example) then I need to have enough cash saved from last week's gas and grocery money to cover it. If I run out of money on Wednesday, then we had better have enough food to get through the next two dinners.
(This worked really well before kids in New York where I could walk an hour home if I'd already spent my subway money. Now I have to be responsible to these little ones too.)
I unsubscribed from most store emails because they made me shop for things I didn't need/want
I pack our lunches the night before instead of trying to grab stuff in the morning
If I realize we are starting to run out of toilet paper or paper towels and we don't need anything from Costco, I order from Amazon. Otherwise we go to Costco and end up with a bunch of other random crap we didn't need in the first place.
Related to the first item, I also keep a freezer inventory so I don't buy stuff we already have
DH and I started on Dave Ramsey's plan in September and I am completely sold on the "zero-based budget." You can look up more details on his website, but basically, at the end of each month, you make a budget for the next month and you budget all of your money down to 0. This doesn't mean that you *spend* your money down to 0, just that every dollar goes somewhere. And then you have to have the discipline to follow the budget. You create a new budget each month because each month is different - one month you go to a wedding, one month you have to buy an extra birthday gift, etc. - and it's about planning for it all ahead of time so that way at the end of the month, you're not left going, "Huh, where did all of our money go???" Budgeting this way has far and away saved us waaaaay more money than literally anything else we've ever tried.
We actual have an appt. scheduled between DH and I this evening on our Google calendar called The Financial Reckoning. So, I'll let you know tomorrow if we come up with any good saving ideas.
me too. sigh.
Unexpected costs bit us in the ass this month. Vet bill, cell phone charged us double due to an error on their part (thankfully we now have a credit).
Post by cabbagecabbage on Jun 18, 2015 13:50:54 GMT -5
Aside from what you do (and meal planning is so key for my savings) we: Paid off debt aggressively and early so our only debt is a mortgage and one car loan. Try to eat half our dinners vegetarian Pack lunch Ditched cable for just internet and Netflix Drive basic cars. We bought mine cash but had to finance his, so we went as cheap as we could and made a big down payment to lower the payment. Shop at Aldi a lot Buy used. I buy most kids clothes at consignment sales. I frequent buy/sell/trade groups in the affluent suburbs near me and get great clothes cheap. Never use babysitters. Very occasionally family watches her and in a pinch I will but we hang out at home mostly, which we like. Cheap dates when we do go out: lunch, drinks, dive bar, concert in the park, fun but cheap stuff. Splurge where it matters to me. A nice gym and good booze. I don't feel deprived. I've done a few consumer research focus groups that paid $50-200 for a couple hours. Worth signing up with a company if they are near you.
Nothing revolutionary but by actually doing it all, I want less. I don't watch commercials so I don't want much "stuff."
I unsubscribed from most store emails because they made me shop for things I didn't need/want
I pack our lunches the night before instead of trying to grab stuff in the morning
If I realize we are starting to run out of toilet paper or paper towels and we don't need anything from Costco, I order from Amazon. Otherwise we go to Costco and end up with a bunch of other random crap we didn't need in the first place.
Related to the first item, I also keep a freezer inventory so I don't buy stuff we already have
Oh, this is another good one that I've done, except replace Costco with Target. Even if I'm paying a little more buying from amazon, it's not much compared to what I would spend browsing through Target.
I unsubscribed from most store emails because they made me shop for things I didn't need/want
I pack our lunches the night before instead of trying to grab stuff in the morning
If I realize we are starting to run out of toilet paper or paper towels and we don't need anything from Costco, I order from Amazon. Otherwise we go to Costco and end up with a bunch of other random crap we didn't need in the first place.
Related to the first item, I also keep a freezer inventory so I don't buy stuff we already have
Oh, this is another good one that I've done, except replace Costco with Target. Even if I'm paying a little more buying from amazon, it's not much compared to what I would spend browsing through Target.
I'm going to try this.
Did I see this right that target is staring a mailing service similar to Amazon?
Post by Balki.Bartokomous on Jun 18, 2015 14:05:19 GMT -5
I don't grocery shop when I'm hungry OR when I'm particularly full bc then I buy the wrong stuff or not enough & end up buying crap later.
Buying non-processed food saves us money in the long run because we stay full longer & don't eat as much. I buy whatever cut of chicken/fish is on sale & try to get whatever veggies/fruits are in season.
We cut cable in favor of Netflix. Also, call up your cable company every 6 months & threaten to walk so they give you a discount. Same thing for credit cards. Call up & negotiate your rate.
Fun money is a line in our budget, and that amount was determined AFTER we figured out how much we want/need to save. It's nice bc I know that I have $x to spend & once I'm at that limit, I need to wait until the next month.
Buy slightly used cars. Drive to the next city to get a better deal if you have to. We finance ours when rates are low bc we can get more return on our money if we invest it in the meantime.
H gets paid once a month, I get paid twice a month, on the 15 and the 30. The first paycheck is the same day as H.
We put the paychecks in the checkbook register, and then take out every single bill we have that we pay every month.(house payment, student loans, cell phones, power etc.) Some of it isn't actually due until after my second check, but we take it out immediately. We also know roughly how much we need to leave for other expenses that fluctuate (such as groceries, gas). We usually add about $100 for spending. What ever is left in excess immediately goes into the savings account. My second paycheck is usually allotted for more groceries, gas and savings.
We also do not take money out of the savings unless it is for something major. (I.e we had a pipe burst, and had to hire a plumber, put in a new ceiling, etc.) If we can't afford it without taking money out of the savings, then we don't buy it. (Only exception - paying off a debt. We recently got out car loan down to about 2000. We paid it off. But now we have a couple extra hundred a month that we can put toward other loans and/or the savings account.)
Plus, we are both kind of tight. I like knowing we have a lot in savings should anything unexpected happen.
Thought of one more - it may not necessarily be a saving strategy, just more of a reallocation of dollars.
We don't file the daycare reimbursement each month for our pre-tax dollars. We save it until the end of the year, when we typically go on vacation. We are used to living without it, so we have our vacation money without having to dip into savings.
I second paying yourself first, driving basic cars a long time and not filing daycare FSA monthly and not charging anything you won't payoff at month-end.
I'm also not buying any NEW clothes this year (with some exceptions like underwear). Thrifting is allowed. I've found I still have way more clothes than I need.
I also believe pennies make dollars so I cut out small frivolous spending. For me, that is things like coffee on the go and overdue library book fines. Oh, I also never buy books new and am a regular library patron.
We have a base amount to be left in the checking account. The night before each pay day I check the account to see how much over the baseline we are and I gleefully throw it into savings. It makes me feel motivated to spend less so that I can toss a big number into savings again.
DH and I drive as little as possible, for a combination of environmental, financial and personal (exercise) reasons. We walk or bike as much as possible.
We also try to keep our utility costs low. Being conscious of the thermostat (lower the heat, skip AC or keep it a bit warmer), unplugging things and turning electric appliances/lights off when they aren't being used, not wasting water, all add up for us.
I clean mostly with vinegar and baking soda, and use reusable cloths instead of paper towels or disposable products.
Thought of one more - it may not necessarily be a saving strategy, just more of a reallocation of dollars.
We don't file the daycare reimbursement each month for our pre-tax dollars. We save it until the end of the year, when we typically go on vacation. We are used to living without it, so we have our vacation money without having to dip into savings.
We use ours for Christmas. We aren't allowed to do the full $5k, so our amount pretty much funds all the presents for friends and family.
Definitely meal planning and only grocery shopping once a week. When I don't meal plan, I stop at the store every couple days, I don't take advantage of sales or what's in the pantry/freezer, and I almost always add on a few impulse buys. The difference between months when I was on the ball and when I wasn't can easily be $200 - $300.
Another thing that has helped me a lot was to send all emails from retailers to a separate folder and have them bypass the inbox. That way I don't see them and suddenly need to shop. But when I'm going to to shop, I can still check for a sale or code.
I also have a spreadsheet that's currently set up through the end of the year that outlines where every dollar of income should go. It's all categorized in order of importance, i.e. mortgage, savings, other bills, groceries, household spending, fun money. It's not as strict as it sounds, it just helps me remember "oh yeah, most of this money is earmarked."
I have a savings account that $150 every check goes into direct deposit. this is a credit union about an hour away so I don't ever go there to take money out. I have been doing that for a few years so that's all money we never touch. our rainy day fund.
Other ways I do by making my own cleaning products. I go to the dollar store and get ammonia and I mix it with warm water. I clean the tubs the toilets the floors the windows with that. One $1 bottle will last me a few weeks.
I get a lot of stuff at the dollar store. Hair stuff for the kids (combs, hair elastics, stuff like that)
I also shop at market basket. It sucks yes. but you absolutely cannot beat the prices. And I go ONCE A WEEK this is key. because its those little stops here and there that add up.
I sell clothing and sporting equipment after my kids grow out of it on a local website on facebook. When I get money for that I put it in a jar. that is our "fun money".
I use the library for ALOT. We get movies there, take out books, take advantage of the free childrens workshops they have etc.
Post by pantsparty on Jun 18, 2015 15:39:30 GMT -5
1. Wildly overspend one month 2. "Cut yourself off" the next 2 months except for things you NEED like a pair of shoes that are ON SALE (basically free) or your Tarte lip gloss you JUST ran out of. 3. PROFIT
1. I count how much I'm spending on groceries as I put each item in the cart (rounding up to the nearest dollar). Whenever I hit my budget I either have to stop shopping or switch items out. This stops me from buying as much junk and the rounding up usually shaves off a dollar or two.
2. Buy fruits & veggies in season. Buy pet food and toilet paper in bulk.
3. Check with your utility companies to see if they offer any kind of rebates or special programs. I use ebates and a cashback credit card for purchases whenever possible.
4. If we're bored I check for free events/activities first.