What are you doing to save/cut right now

[chpmnk1015]

Taken from another board.
With all the raising costs of everything
What, if anything, are you doing to save money right now?

For me...the usual but being more careful on groceries, not eating out often, really trying to meal plan and buy when sales are on and shopping the adds.
Using fetch, rakuten, and trying to do some of the survey sites I used to, trying to car pool for tournaments for my kids.
What I really wish is I could find a side job or a night job but haven't found anything schedule wise

[Gato]

We are trying to cut down on processed foods. Like I posted in another thread here, I realized we were spending almost $1K just on chips. It's ridiculous to spend more money for a year of snacks than we do for a year of car insurance or clothes for our kids. My H has a favorite fancy chip brand that used to cost $6 and we used to buy one bag a week. That ballooned to two bags a week that are now $7.39 each, plus another bag of Doritos for the kids. We also were spending way too much on individual yogurts. So I am trying to cut $1K of these expenditures this year.

We are super intentional about clothing. We have a certain number of pieces in our closet and only buy to replace worn-out things. Honestly, I love this strategy because it frees me from the constant consumer pressure in this area.

We have moved to using only one of our two cars 95% of the time. We used the one that takes biofuel (way cheaper than gas last year) spring through fall, and then switched to the one with the best gas mileage when we could no longer use biofuel this winter.

I am a SAHM, but am probably going to take some temp jobs in offices this summer and fall. This is both to fund some nice things we want to do this year, like a road trip I'm taking with my BFFs, but also to get some office experience after 15 years off. I have to get a real job by 2026 to help pay for my kids' college years, so I thought I'd start building toward that while unemployment is still low in my area.

[clairebear]

We drastically cut eating out. And when we do, we do fast casual so we don't have the added expense of tipping. We also hit places on their weekly specials, Moes Mondays at Moe's, Taco Tuesdays etc. I made my husband donate blood with me and we ended up with $60 to Outback Steakhouse- free date night! I also try to cut extras from the grocery store...soda, fancy chips, etc. I won't sacrifice fresh fruit though and eek that's expensive.

I shop at thrift stores for clothes. I've been doing more stuff around the home instead of hiring it out...pressure cleaning the driveway, cleaning the roof, fence repair from the hurricane, etc.

Travel has taken a hit too. I had some weekend trips planned for around the state that are just too expensive. Hotels have tripled in price from last year.

It's hard because my work is contract based and tied to the real estate market which is tanking right now in my area. My income is down 30% from last year. Thankfully H's work is dependable and pays all the bills. My job pays for savings/IRAs and travel/extras so that's taking a hit right now.

[sadlebred]

I'll admit that I eat out too much, but I'm sticking to fast casual places. Getting water instead of a drink, not adding extras to a salad/bowl that cost more money, etc. I am eating in more as well. I am hitting Aldi (or Lidl) about every other week to stock up on some essentials. It's a bit inconvenient to go to weekly. I shop Publix but try to buy a lot of BOGOs and sale items. I'm eating stuff out of the pantry and freezer. Other than a few things that need to be replaced, I'm trying to avoid impulse purchases.

I'm also trying to bring my side hustle back a bit. So far it's not going much of anywhere, but it may take some time.

[ellipses84]

I feel like we are so lucky with the timing of things, like paying off my SUV, nearly all student loans, having less childcare costs, etc… but all of that is going to inflation (mostly groceries). If it weren’t for that, we’d be struggling, and I still feel like we can’t get far ahead.

I received a small inheritance and we are trying to go on a big family trip that was supposed to happen in 2020 with the money, which the person who gave it to us would appreciate. Last year we took a bunch of small long weekend trips but those really add up, so we are trying not to do anything to save for the big trip. We are trying to only buy necessities this winter. We’ve cut down on fast food for the kids when we are in a rush and we already don’t eat at other restaurants much. I’m also purging / organizing the house and planning a big garage sale.

[heygrey]

I looked at what we were spending on both groceries and eating out. Upped our grocery amount some and cut our eating out budget entirely. Now we have to earn the money to eat out by meal planning well and saving grocery money. It won't last forever, but it's a fun challenge for a few months while we work toward some bigger financial goals this spring.

[mommin]

I went through my subscriptions and cut down or reduced some of them. We don’t need to, nor do we, watch Netflix on more than one tv, we don’t really use Peacock tv so I got rid of it completely, and I went through the Amazon subscribe & save and got rid most stuff.

We’re trying to be better about meal planning. I am usually pretty good about making a grocery list and figuring out meals for the week but I’m trying to think of ways to waste less food. I bought buttermilk this week for buttermilk waffles and will use the rest for biscuits on Sunday. That sort of thing.

Lastly, I went through the budget and the bank statement today to make sure everything was updated. The irregular expenses (back to school clothes, Costco membership, life insurance premiums) usually get me so I tried my best to make sure that I had all of them recorded. It’s hard on the budget when annual expense pops up that I didn’t expect.

[ssmjlm]

Cut back on eating out. Also doing take out instead of sit down.

Selling clothes we no longer wear or taking them to consignment and shopping with our credits. Although I’ve always done that for kids clothes.

[steamboat185]

We have cut out most “snack food” we don’t buy many chips, cookies, whatever. I make a lot of things from scratch. I used to make bread at home every few weeks, but now it’s weekly. It’s easy and saves us money. I’ve started using flax eggs in baking vs real eggs as I have flax meal and eggs are hard to find/ expensive. We eat way less meat. I’m vegetarian, but the rest of the family rarely eats meat now too. I also compare food prices-thanks to apps I can check the 4 closest grocery stores without leaving the house and order what is cheaper online for pickup instead of going in the store.

Edit our electricity use is tiered so we only run the dishwasher or do laundry during off peak hours. We also use the toaster oven whenever possible instead of the oven.

[VillainV]

Cut back on eating out (well, ordering in really).

Shop grocery sales, and do the vast majority of our grocery shopping via curbside pickup (avoids impulse buys).

Downloaded the loyalty apps for the gas stations we use the most (saves 3-10 cents per gallon).

Sold a lot of unused household items via BST page (also helps to decluttering).

We use our gas fireplace sometimes instead of our house furnace (only heats the room we’re in instead of the whole house). Use blankets and fuzzy socks.

[simpsongal]

I really wish we could share streaming accounts. We pay for and use all of ours. I feel like everyone I know shares several.

I don’t know if we’ll go skiing this year. We underestimated our tax liability so there’s a big bill coming and adjusted our withholding which feels like a double whammy

[Pom]

We've cut our usual travel to accommodate a portion of our expensive renovations.

We did travel only once last year (for Christmas with family) and we used our hotel points for the way there and back.  We drove and took the cat to avoid paying a sitter.  Plus, cat would rather be with us and is a good traveler.

Used US Bank Points for some Amazon gifts during the holidays.

More meatless meals.

Eating at home or doing inexpensive take out.

Set heat low and layer sweaters and socks.

Do laundry and run only full dishwasher at off peak energy times.

Pack Mr. P's lunch.  Healthier and less expensive.  We've also drastically cut amount we are eating due to mounjaro med.

Cut out casino trips and enjoy other hobbies...games at home, on-line games, reading, ice fishing, etc...

Do movie nights at home and use only one or two streaming services at a time.

Shop insurance, negotiate Sirius XM rate, cut anything unnecessary.

Husband wanted equipment for ice fishing so he traded stuff we had (small fishing boat since we have a pontoon now) for a snowmobile and tow sled. Traded an old bow and arrow set he doesn't use for winter fishing equipment.  This made me VERY happy since we don't need stuff we aren't using.

ETA: stopped giving cat expensive flea meds during winter when he is home alone/inside cat/no traveling. We did use meds when traveling. The shit was like $45 a dose!!!

[melmel48]

Jan 27, 2023 21:13:27 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

I'll admit that I eat out too much, but I'm sticking to fast casual places. Getting water instead of a drink, not adding extras to a salad/bowl that cost more money, etc. I am eating in more as well. I am hitting Aldi (or Lidl) about every other week to stock up on some essentials. It's a bit inconvenient to go to weekly. I shop Publix but try to buy a lot of BOGOs and sale items. I'm eating stuff out of the pantry and freezer. Other than a few things that need to be replaced, I'm trying to avoid impulse purchases.

I'm also trying to bring my side hustle back a bit. So far it's not going much of anywhere, but it may take some time.

We just got our first Aldi this week! I haven't been yet though.

[Roc A Bee]

Stick to our Hello Fresh and not impulse go out to eat.

Lower the heat and put on more clothes/blankets

Probably won’t internationally travel this summer. The family vacation will be driving distance.
We canceled Amazon and Disney +. I’m pushing to cancel Netflix too but DH isn’t on board yet. We have YouTube TV, Hulu, and HBO.

[tacokick]

I’m trying to really plan for lunches when we are home. My husband normally buys the two days he goes into work for various scheduling reasons but when he’s here sometimes we just don’t have much because I’ve been trying to stretch some meals into two dinners instead of having leftovers for lunch which is what we typically did before. I don’t know why lunch is so difficult but it is. I will eat a can of soup or something but I don’t want to do that every day. We have a great deli near us but even buying the meat/cheese vs a prepared sandwich is $$$.


I already primarily shop at Aldi and sales elsewhere.

I cycle free trials of streaming services we don’t watch much on or wait until a show (or shows ) get near the end of the new episodes and then pay for just a month to catch up. I just write it on the calendar to keep track.

We still get Netflix DVD! It’s cheap because we have had it since 1999 and bundle it with streaming but they have so many things that aren’t streaming or use it to get TV shows instead of streaming them.

I try to see what makes sense to make at home vs buy. I might make crusty bread instead of buying a $7 fancy loaf but a place near us does rotating $11 deals every weeknight for spaghetti and meatballs/lasagna/ravioli etc that comes with garlic bread and salad and is enough for 2 meals so that’s cheaper (and easier) than making it myself.

We made 4 different flavors of ice cream (quarts) this weekend which was a lot cheaper than buying ice cream and the method we use is super simple.

Honestly, unlike a lot of people we haven’t gone back to “normal” and aren’t eating in restaurants, going to crowded indoor events or flying. We have saved so much money over the last almost 3 years by socializing at home, in less crowded places like museums, taking classes, visiting indoor gardens or outside in parks, the beach etc despite paying in cash for major home repairs, a car, expensive hobbies, and taking (drivable) vacations.

It’s amazing how much going out to eat and concerts and the incidentals involved in getting to these events and waiting for them to start/late night diners etc added up. Even getting fancy take out or splurging on food to make/eat at home doesn’t come close to what we used to spend.

We also basically stopped drinking when the pandemic started because we weren’t going out or seeing anyone and haven’t missed it when we started going out again.

I am trying to sell some things we don’t use. We got some games for various game nights and just didn’t enjoy them as much as we thought and they are the next to go! I also bought some items at estate sales that were in lots with items I didn’t want and have sold those unwanted items and made back when I spent and more.

[minzy]

Well nearly three years into the pandemic, I am still cutting my husband’s hair. That’s probably saved us $500/year. Does that count?

[chpmnk1015]

Jan 30, 2023 7:01:10 GMT -5 minzy said:

Well nearly three years into the pandemic, I am still cutting my husband’s hair. That’s probably saved us $500/year. Does that count?

Totally counts!

[aspentosh]

I feel like we're mainly keeping up with what we've done for years.

Trying to meal plan and shop at Lidl (this keeps our groceries to around $150 per 7-9 days for family of three) with minimal eating out.
H works from home so no worry about packing lunches or gas bills.
I/we don't do things like Starbucks or walking around Target or the mall so that saves unnecessary spending a lot.
I resell all of DD's outgrown clothes and that funds her new (to us) clothing and things like birthday presents, Christmas presents, etc.
H shaves his head and DD and I only get haircuts a couple times a year (she's growing hers out, I chopped 18" off last year to donate).

We've always washed on cold and hung to dry or dried on extra low. I'm not much of a drinker and H only has a couple drinks on the weekends. A lot of our family time is spent hiking, playing games, going on walks/bike rides, etc.

One thing we are NOT changing is travel. We are pivoting a little and not doing international this year, but after being shut down for so long, we are back to flying for vacations. And those I plan pretty far in advance so I get the best deals.

[simpsongal]

I'll add, we stopped buying organic milk. We drink several gallons per week, it's over $7/gallon now. DH added up it would save over $500/yr.

And ditto haircuts -I've just always cut everyone's hair in the family, including my own. That's not really a change, but we won't go back to barbers or hairdressers any time soon.

ETA: I think we're stopping our lawn service - not cutting, we do that ourselves.  But they spread fertilizer, weed control, and whatnot.  We've cut it back here and there, but it's expensive and our lawn looks so so anyway.  I've expanded planting beds to get rid of lawn space and we hand pull things like violets.  

[Susie]

I had been doing my whole family's haircuts, but we actually just switched to H taking DS (3) to a barber.  He's deathly afraid of the sound the clippers make, and it was an awful stressful experience for everyone.    But I did trim DD's hair myself this weekend.

I've gotten more aggressive about making sure we don't throw away any produce.  Yesterday I made banana muffins with a couple bananas that went over the hill, and I pitted, quartered, and threw in the last of a bag of cherries that were drying out on the counter.  It's a very small thing, but the overall attention to using all of what we buy is helpful.

I'm also looking at supplies already on hand when I have the itch to do a project.  I have a lot of crafting supplies and home improvement supplies (paint, etc.) laying around, that can be used before I go buy anything.  We recently painted our entire kitchen, and I only bought a little more ceiling paint; I already had the trim and wall paint.

[simpsongal]

Susie, ditto re using up. I freeze old bananas for smoothies. Even though bananas are cheap, it's an extra meal in the hopper that keeps you from going out and dropping ~$20 on 3 smoothies. Plus, the kids enjoy making them, they're healthier, and it's demonstrating good life skills/financial sense. Use what you have, make good food at home.

[tacokick]

I also really try to shop seasonally, I miss tomatoes and berries but they aren’t great now anyway and so much more expensive. We always ate like this growing up and it is a real money saver. Right now we are heavy into citrus, squash and cabbage.

[shaynaatl]

We are saving money by avoiding vacations that involve flights. Airfare is crazy expensive and having to buy 4 tix adds up fast.

[Poppy]

Since COVID we have been ordering groceries online - this has helped me do a lot more couponing/price tracking and I've been stocking up on dry goods when they're cheaper. I'm also shopping two stores now to lower costs.

We have also kept up with home haircuts except for me (and I only go a couple times a year). Drive way less which means lower gas and maintenance costs.

We are DIYing some house projects. We use the library for both physical books and ebooks.

Areas we could improve are eating out and clothing.

[dexteroni]

I've tried to buy and use groceries more intentionally, and really try hard to achieve zero food waste. So in addition to my usual efforts like freezing spare amounts to use in recipes later, and trying to not let food expire, I'm also trying to not buy a lot in the first place without a planned use for it. And I'm trying harder to maximize usage, like freezing chicken bones and vegetable scraps for stock, and fruit for smoothies, which I should be doing anyway, but hadn't been.

The other thing I'm trying to do is cool it with the impulse buys while browsing at Target. Their price increases have helped me with that.

DH's job changing to permanently remote during Covid helped us a lot in terms of gas usage and lunches out, so that's an area where we saved without even trying. And we would have probably replaced his car by now, but now it gets driven like twice a month instead of ~40x per month, so we've been able to keep it longer.

[dexteroni]

Jan 31, 2023 15:12:27 GMT -5 Poppy said:

We are DIYing some house projects. 

Oh yeah, house stuff. We have a few non-essential larger house projects that we'd like to do that are beyond our DIY skills, and just aren't doing them right now. We'll work them in eventually, one by one, but in a past world we've have done them all by now.

[boiler717]

We are really focused on using what we have. Going through our pantry/freezer stash. Meal plans to keep grocery spending down. Not buying household stuff before checking the stash. No new clothes, toys, etc.
We are also cancelling most of our streaming service and only signing up when we watch them. I can’t remember the last time I used our Hulu!
Still doing vacations but only using points. We will bring cheap snacks and breakfast foods to keep the dining out down.

[jobae1234]

More meal planning.

Having a separation anxiety puppy has really cut down our dining out, but our doggy day care bill makes that a wash.

We have cut alcohol consumption.

We’re doing more DIY around the house.

We’ve paused on our many home projects, for now. It’s an old house and it was a fixer upper, so the list is basically endless.