Money Matters
SmrBrd2012
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
creative ways to save money?
Does anyone have any good tricks to help save money? One that I "play" every once and awhile is to see how long H and I can go without doing any serious grocery shopping. I try to use up whatever ingredients I can find to make an edible meal. We're trying so hard to save for a good house down payment but it's so difficult!
Re: creative ways to save money?
This is pretty much the same for us. We do use a 1/3 of my salary and the rest goes in savings.
my read shelf:
We try to use cash for groceries, eating out, household item, etc. and pull out a set amount each paycheck. This way we don't overspend so much and can save more easily.
We also save all the $5 bills we get back in change as well as the coins. This goes into a container and we cash it in each Christmas. We combine this money with our credit card rewards points that we cash in and we can pay for almost all of our Christmas expenses. So far we have about $500 between $5s, coins, and reward points.
In my area the local newpaper and one of the news stations offer groupon-type discounts. I receive the info via email each day and buy these discounts to use for date night or eating out. I get a lot of $5 for $10 or $10 for $20 and they help keep costs down when I don't want to or don't have time to cook.
Poster is so right on with bolded!
Cutting cable and relying on networks' online streaming of shows and events works really well.
Try bundling your insurance products within one company - they typically give a discount for this.
When buying kids' clothing and toys - buy on consignment like at Once Upon a Child. You can get all kinds of stuff there, some of it still has tags on! For cheap! Just wash and wear!
If your kids are in diapers and use wipes, if you buy Huggies or Pampers you can cut the codes out of the packaging and redeem them online for toys and other household things. Helps for Christmas and birthdays.
Do meal planning. It helps you stay more organized when grocery shopping and therefore cuts out unnecessary, impulse grocery buys.
I 100% agree with eliminating cable! I did so 2 years ago and I honestly haven't missed it all that much (other than the Food Network and HGTV!).
I asked this particular question because I feel like I've already followed most of the "big" changes and was just wondering about little changes and small motivators. Our biggest problem is going out to eat but I've tried to limit it or use Groupons now.
We really like having cable so when our shows are on the off season(summer) we turn it off. This costs us nothing and we save a little.
I plan out meals and only buy groceries that are on our grocery list.
Bundling insurance can save you but be sure you are getting the best deal on your insurance. If you haven't in a while, call around and get quotes.
Sites like groupon are great if they have deals available in your area. You can usually save upwards of 50%.
It helps us a lot that we live in a more cost of living area. Dh has a long commute to work but we are able to have a nicer house for the less even with the gas money factored in.
I don't know how internet-savvy you are, but my guy and I torrent almost everything we watch. Dexter, Californication, movies (in full HD!), anime, whatever. We get everything either streaming from Hulu/Netflix (which we don't pay for, we share the netflix account with my dad's family and his friend's family, lol), or torrented.
I do however have to warn you if you decide to go down that route, because if you don't know what you're doing, there is a possibility to get in trouble and/or mess up your computer.
Personally, I believe in torrenting for trial purposes. It's a waste of money to buy a movie/show you might not like. I'd rather torrent, watch it, and if it's THAT good then I'll buy it. So far, the Batman movies and Dexter deserve my money. Californication too. c:
I'd like to do that sometimes--using up the food we have without grocery shopping (except for produce/dairy). We haven't done it, but I think we could make it several months if we tried.
Go shopping less. If you don't shop (online or in the store), you don't spend. If you do need to go shopping (grocery store or Walmart), go with a list and stick to it! I used to grocery shop and have a list of what I needed, but then wandered the store for what else I wanted. Wow, I spent a lot more than I do now--at least twice as much.
I agree with other PPs who said to leave below your means and live in a house that works for you. It doesn't have to be the perfect house or a huge house, but one that works for your needs. We shop at the consignment store all the time for my daughter (and for future children). I bought 2 bags full of clothes (probably 30 outfits, plus 6 pairs of shoes) for $60 recently and was sooo proud of myself. For kids especially, it's not worth it to buy new, IMO.
Finally.....be the cheap person. I'm ok being known as a "cheap person." I like being a person who uses coupons and can get clothes at the consignment store cheap, and finding a great deal on a dining room table. I feel proud to have saved so much money!
It seems silly, but it has really worked...I save all of my "D" Dollars. If you look at One Dollar bills they have a letter on if for the Federal Reserve it was printed at. My name starts with a "D" so whenever I get one that has a "D" on it I pull it out and save it. I sometimes use them for spending money on Vacation, or a special treat day for myself, or a long term savings for something small/fun.
It isn't really time consuming at all, and is kind of fun/frustrating at times. I'll go weeks without getting one then I'll get 4 at once. I have a friend who saves the "L"s and sometimes we'll trade if we have any on us.
I don't count them often, but last time I did I had a couple hundred for the year!
Volunteering - I love to kayak so I volunteer at my local park system and have gotten to know the staff well enough that they allow me to volunteer to help at their programs which allows me to do the trips for free. Also by volunteering for the park system I get a discount on programs that there is a fee for and I get free kayak use during the summer and free equipment rental for winter sports.
Our local orchestra & theater complexes looks for volunteers to be ushers at their performances, you have to work some, but get to hear some great concerts and see broadway shows for free
Saving money is hard but learning to live below your means is really quite nice once you get used to it.
Cutting out internet & cable can save $100's each month. As well as having only a basic cellphone plan.
Meal planning is the absolute best way to grocery shop. I used to spend $150 every 2 weeks on groceries and never have anything to eat. Now I spend about $80 and have enough food for about 10 meals. I have also learned to shop at a cheaper grocery store where the prices are half what they are at the fancier store. Also generic foods are just as good as the name brands for half the price!
If you don't have kids in your family whether of your own or nieces/nephews, tell your family that you will no longer be doing birthday presents. It may seem rude but really who needs a present into their 30's/40's. We've also stopped doing big Christmas parties with my family because we are all adults now and don't feel we need to spend money on each person so we just buy for the little kids and it is so much more fun. They love everything they get so there is no need to stress over what to buy.
Saving change really adds up! It makes you carry cash which makes you think more about what you are buying. Once a year we count our change jar to see where we are at and I think you would be surprised how quickly it all adds up.
Eating out seems to be hard for people to cut out of their lives and I don't quite understand why. Is it the easiness of not having to cook? Is the food really that great? Couldn't you plan your own eating out menu? Plan a nice dinner and then eat out - like outside on the patio or have a picnic or make a candlelit area in your home if romance is what you are going for.
If you are a pop drinker, return the cans to help cut down on your grocery bill. That is extra money just sitting there so why not take the 5 minutes needed to return them for some extra money.
Also, having a planned out monthly budget really helps to keep you on track and lets you know where you are spending too much. I having a yearly pocket calendar that I write in when all the bills are due, when they were paid and how much money I have left over after all the bills were paid. This way I know what I can put into savings and what stays in our checking account.