View Full Version : "New to You" ways to save money.
Packratona!
2-19-14, 8:09pm
I have noticed that even though I have learning about and practicing frugality for many years, I STILL discover new ways to save money every so often, which frankly amazes me. So I am interested in hearing from others with the same experience. What NEW ways have you discovered to save you money, in the last year, that you did not realize and/or practice before? For me: buying gallons of milk on sale then freezing in glass jars. That makes sense for me as we don't drink that much milk and purchasing a gallon (the cheapest way to buy) and having it go sour before we drink it all is wasteful. Milk prices are projected to go up 60 cents a gallon soon, by the way.
frugal-one
2-19-14, 9:44pm
This may not be the "traditional" way to save money but.... I have been debating whether to get a gym membership. The cost to me is very prohibitive. I am not sure I would use it enough to be of value..... So I started thinking what I really would like to do. Based on what I have been reading, the best type of exercise is water. So.... I started pricing gyms and other places that offer classes. The BEST I have found so far is to contact the local high school that has a natatorium. If you are a senior (or close to it) the cost for a class if a resident is $1 and $2 if a non-resident. WOW... WOW... WOW... How can you beat that? So, I have started taking water exercise classes and the cost to me is $6 per week since I am not a resident (if I go 3x per week). If I was a resident the cost would be $3/week or $12/month. This is unbelievable and a great way to save money on something I really wanted to do anyway! There are also low cost evening classes for other folks that are not that expensive either. YLMV
I have noticed that even though I have learning about and practicing frugality for many years, I STILL discover new ways to save money every so often, which frankly amazes me. So I am interested in hearing from others with the same experience. What NEW ways have you discovered to save you money, in the last year, that you did not realize and/or practice before? For me: buying gallons of milk on sale then freezing in glass jars. That makes sense for me as we don't drink that much milk and purchasing a gallon (the cheapest way to buy) and having it go sour before we drink it all is wasteful. Milk prices are projected to go up 60 cents a gallon soon, by the way.
I hardly ever drink milk at home, but it seems like another creative way to use milk, would be to make your own cheese. It's pretty common in some German and Scandinavian countries to routinely make their own Quark. (Gotta love the name)
Super easy to make.http://germanfood.about.com/od/resources/r/Homemade_Quark.htmhttp://germanfood.about.com/od/preparedfoods/a/quark.htm
Great thread.;)
In the past year I've returned to the cash system for discretionary purchases, and it definitely makes me more mindful of spending, particularly on food. When you have limited means of exchange on you in the supermarket, you simply make different choices. Like, "maybe I don't need the brand product," or "maybe I'll just drink water and lemon this week instead of buying soda" Also, cash spending makes you see more clearly the impact of small purchases on the whole, which cuts down those little impulse purchases.
I discovered a website about a month ago that matches up Store Sales with links to online coupons
http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/store-deals
On the Navigation Bar at top, click through the link on left "Find my Store Match Ups"
Right now I am buying groceries for a family of 4 and we don't do the Costco/Sam's Club thing and I live in a very populated area with competitive grocery pricing, so when I can match up coupons with sales I can get things pretty cheaply.
I don't do many processed foods, but I still find good coupons on things we do use.
For example this past week there were $1 off coupons on 'Organic Girl Salad' and coupons on pistachios.
There is even a tab for Whole Foods.
It does take a little time & some minimal cost in ink/paper.... but I enjoy it...
One of my life long dreams has been to be on "Price is Right" (the lady that kept me as a small child watched it every day & I was hooked), so it satisfies some kind of obsessive nit-pick urge that I have in me.
This website makes it so much more doable, without this site the man hours involved isn't worth it to me.
Edit to add: If I find a slammin' deal on things that we may not use, but others might, I buy it for our area food pantry.
Packratona!
2-20-14, 11:24am
This may not be the "traditional" way to save money but.... I have been debating whether to get a gym membership. The cost to me is very prohibitive. I am not sure I would use it enough to be of value..... So I started thinking what I really would like to do. Based on what I have been reading, the best type of exercise is water. So.... I started pricing gyms and other places that offer classes. The BEST I have found so far is to contact the local high school that has a natatorium. If you are a senior (or close to it) the cost for a class if a resident is $1 and $2 if a non-resident. WOW... WOW... WOW... How can you beat that? So, I have started taking water exercise classes and the cost to me is $6 per week since I am not a resident (if I go 3x per week). If I was a resident the cost would be $3/week or $12/month. This is unbelievable and a great way to save money on something I really wanted to do anyway! There are also low cost evening classes for other folks that are not that expensive either. YLMV
Very good! Also check out local vocational public schools for very inexpensive hair cuts, car repair, etc.
Packratona!
2-20-14, 11:28am
I hardly ever drink milk at home, but it seems like another creative way to use milk, would be to make your own cheese. It's pretty common in some German and Scandinavian countries to routinely make their own Quark. (Gotta love the name)
Super easy to make.http://germanfood.about.com/od/resources/r/Homemade_Quark.htmhttp://germanfood.about.com/od/preparedfoods/a/quark.h
(http://germanfood.about.com/od/preparedfoods/a/quark.htm)
Great thread.;)
I make yogurt at home all the time; it saves quite a bit of money and is healthier than the store bought stuff.
I make yogurt at home all the time; it saves quite a bit of money and is healthier than the store bought stuff.
Now that I have raw milk for sale right down the street, I'm getting ready to make my own. It's hard to find yogurt with full fat and minimal ingredients.
Now that I have raw milk for sale right down the street, I'm getting ready to make my own. It's hard to find yogurt with full fat and minimal ingredients.
Very true!
Two years ago, we started buying green coffee beans and roasting them ourselves in a big pan on our stovetop. From buying pre-ground, pre-roasted coffee at about $9 a week, we dropped our weekly coffee expenses (2 cups a day for DH and me) to about $2 a week.
Within the past year...hmm. Can't think of anything, other than beginning to use found objects as art supplies. For example, instead of buying canvases, I use pieces of shelving people leave next to their dumpsters when they have busted up a wardrobe. (This happens a lot in Israel, as closets in apartments are rarer than hens' teeth, so everyone uses enormous wardrobes. They are assembled on-site, so they have to be broken up in order to get them out of the apartment, around the corners, and down the stairs!)
Oh, I almost forgot: DH and I have begun cutting each other's hair, which has saved loads and LOADS of money! I've been doing my own trims on my own hair for a few years now, but DH finally got sick of paying someone to do his hair, when half the time he didn't like the results anyway. Now if he grouses at me for how his cut turns out, I just say, "well, you got what you paid for!" :laff:
onlinemoniker
2-20-14, 4:35pm
Internet only--Verizon FIOS--$50 per month
Cell Phone--Wal-Mart--Straight Talk--$30 per month--stupid phone only
Make my own burritos and freeze--I eat these all the time. My recipe makes 18 burritos that are about 35% larger than Amy's frozen burritos and while the Amy's cost about $2.5 per, my homemade/home frozen cost about 60 cents each.
Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.
I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.
Teacher Terry
2-20-14, 5:30pm
WE walked for about 30 years for exercise and then one day was just sick of it. We wanted to take aqua exercise classes but most gyms were expensive. Then we found Fitness Connection which is only $9.95/each a month so we joined. For that $ you can use everything they have to offer and take as many classes as you want.
Packratona!
2-20-14, 7:01pm
In the past year I've returned to the cash system for discretionary purchases, and it definitely makes me more mindful of spending, particularly on food. When you have limited means of exchange on you in the supermarket, you simply make different choices. Like, "maybe I don't need the brand product," or "maybe I'll just drink water and lemon this week instead of buying soda" Also, cash spending makes you see more clearly the impact of small purchases on the whole, which cuts down those little impulse purchases.
Well, for me, using credit allows me to grab and stock up on great bargains as I see them. So I think in the long run I save more by using the credit cards, especially as I pay in full each month and also get % cash back in cc rewards. If I have a limited amount of cash with me and can't buy the stuff to stock while it is super cheap, I end up paying more money later when I have to purchase it at not such a great price. The key is, self discipline and thinking through before you shop, about what you don't want to stock up on, such as many processed foods that are harmful to the body. And then stick to the list. Unless you see a great bargain of something good that you need, then you should strike while the iron is hot.
Packratona!
2-20-14, 7:11pm
Internet only--Verizon FIOS--$50 per month
Cell Phone--Wal-Mart--Straight Talk--$30 per month--stupid phone only
Make my own burritos and freeze--I eat these all the time. My recipe makes 18 burritos that are about 35% larger than Amy's frozen burritos and while the Amy's cost about $2.5 per, my homemade/home frozen cost about 60 cents each.
Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.
I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.
I make breakfast burritos and then freeze them. I use frozen ground turkey sausage I buy at Walmart. I first fry up a couple of peeled potatoes diced. Then I add the thawed out sausage and fry it up with a chopped onion, garlic, cummin, some chile powder, some spicy heat (hot sauce or fresh hot pepper). I scramble up a lot of eggs (at least a dozen and a half or so). Place tortillas on a pan and then fill with the egg, top with a SMALL AMOUNT of the meat mixture, grated cheese, then roll up. I like to put 2 or 3 each in a square of aluminum foil and then roll up, but it could be rolled up and put directly in a plastic freezer bag. Freeze, then when you want one for breakfast just take out of freezer and pop in microwave for one to two minutes. The cheese is the most expensive ingredient.
frugal-one
2-20-14, 8:30pm
WE walked for about 30 years for exercise and then one day was just sick of it. We wanted to take aqua exercise classes but most gyms were expensive. Then we found Fitness Connection which is only $9.95/each a month so we joined. For that $ you can use everything they have to offer and take as many classes as you want.
Lucky you.... none where I live!
- As magazine subscriptions expire, I've started reading the same magazines through the library.
- I've been buying more meat when it's on sale (turkeys at Thanksgiving; ham at Easter, etc.) and portioning and freezing it.
- I've consciously reduced software expenditures by using what I have for as much as I can. For example, I could buy software which would let me watermark the images I put up on the Web for customers. But I already have an application I like which will watermark and convert in batches. It may not be as simple or elegant, but it beats spending another $10-30 on "one-trick-pony" software. I also don't update paid software just because it's there.
just a little thing, but I was not itemizing some charitable deductions on my income tax - mainly, all those small donations like "give $1 to heart disease" at the register at Walgreens, etc. I finally put a file folder on the countertop near the door, so when I come back into the house I just drop that receipt into the folder. It's amazing how those little donations add up by year-end.
shadowmoss
2-22-14, 7:25am
In line with looking for an affordable gym, I found our community rec center. It doesn't have a pool, but living in AZ my 55+ trailer court has one. I'm going to check out the machines and indoor track next week on my days off. It should be in bicycle distance once I actually start riding my bike. It is $2/visit for residents and $3/visit for non-residents with price breaks for buying in bulk, up to $212/year for residents. I'm probably going to start with a 10-pack and see how it goes.
Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.
I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.[/QUOTE]
^This. Not being exposed to ads helps immensely. In conjunction, not going into a store to just window shop helps me too...
SteveinMN
2-22-14, 11:51am
Lainey reminded me that both DW and I are now tracking mileage; her for work and me for charitable work. It's not a huge amount of money, but it works out to more than $300 a year for both of us.
Gardenarian
2-22-14, 4:07pm
Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.
I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.
I find this interesting - in another thread a number of people said that advertising had no effect on their buying.
I am skeptical about that; why would sellers pay so much for advertising if it didn't work?
Teacher Terry
2-22-14, 5:51pm
We DVR most our shows so just skip the commercials. If I do watch something live I get up during commercials and do other things. Not a lot of influence if you are not watching them. This is what most people I know do now that it is easy not to watch commercials. When I read the Sunday paper I put the ads in the recycle bin without looking because those ads make me want to buy things:|(.
I find this interesting - in another thread a number of people said that advertising had no effect on their buying.
I am skeptical about that; why would sellers pay so much for advertising if it didn't work?
It does work. There are different types of advertising however. Some advertising is simply for awareness. How can you buy something if you don't know it exists? But there are many very sophisticated techniques that form links between the product and the consumer's desires. So if you are going to buy soap, and one says, this soap gets you clean, and the other soap says (or just implies), you no longer have to fear being rejected due to bad odor, chances are people will either consciously or subconsciously take.. well, you guess.
Blackdog Lin
2-22-14, 8:37pm
My newest "duh" in the frugality front is simply saving and reusing glass jars, such as pickle and olive jars. They are so much more functional and thrifty and easy to use than my old food-storage practices of using plastic wrap and ziplocks. At least 75% of my leftovers are able to be stored in my collection of (free, basically) glass jars. After a year of saving them I now have a nice assortment of sizes, suitable for most anything.
onlinemoniker
2-22-14, 9:20pm
I find this interesting - in another thread a number of people said that advertising had no effect on their buying.
Oh phlueeze! There's advertising in the television shows! Product placement among other things. Just seeing characters living lives of extravagance, dressing expensively, eating out constantly, living in massive, well-appointed houses and driving luxury cars plants a seed in the viewer that they need to consume more.
I am sure some people are able to eliminate many of the ads on TV but I've lived with a TV and without. Of course I left the room, changed the channel or hit mute when the ads came on. The fact is, when I had TV and watched it regularly, I bought a lot more stuff than I do now and I wanted stuff I didn't buy. Now, it's not very often I want anything beyond what I've already got. Mostly because I either don't know of it's existence or have forgotten about it.
Packratona!
2-24-14, 3:33pm
My newest "duh" in the frugality front is simply saving and reusing glass jars, such as pickle and olive jars. They are so much more functional and thrifty and easy to use than my old food-storage practices of using plastic wrap and ziplocks. At least 75% of my leftovers are able to be stored in my collection of (free, basically) glass jars. After a year of saving them I now have a nice assortment of sizes, suitable for most anything.
Yeah I have started doing this a lot in the last year. When you freeze food in them they don't tend to break like regular mason jars do. So I use them to freeze milk.
ApatheticNoMore
2-24-14, 3:46pm
Yeah I have started doing this a lot in the last year. When you freeze food in them they don't tend to break like regular mason jars do. So I use them to freeze milk
Interesting. I usually freeze and refrigerate in glass (pyrex type containers, jars etc.). Ocassionally they crack. I didn't know one type of glass was better. But I'm almost inclined just to buy more specific glass storage products so I don't have to keep every jar that comes into my posession and can just recycle them because well it's getting crazy, cluttering up, not knowing what jars I want to keep or recycle etc..
Gardenarian
2-24-14, 4:02pm
We freeze a lot of lime juice (enormous lime in backyard) and we put the juice in ice cube trays, freeze, then put in jars and store them in the freezer. We have tried freezing directly in jars but have had them crack.
Medicare (just became eligible as DH no longer has job that had insurance). I can see to more health needs now.
Put out food we don't use for wild birds near dog park--stuff like unused rice I found out is acidic in terms of pH. According to the book I use, they all are except wild rice.
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