Post: #51

If Walmart has a gas station, they have a discount if you have a Walmart credit card. You can still get this discount if you load money onto a Walmart Gift Card and use it at the gas station. Here it was a ten cent/gallon discount.

Post: #52

I don't have an income problem.

I am like a Western government…I have an expenditure problem.

Stopping sitting in my car with the engine on for hours each day working has saved me £100s per month in fuel.

I've been doing it for ten years and never ever realised how dumb it was.

Post: #53

This is something I have been doing recently. I have started to look for restaurant deals on Groupon. Surprisingly Groupon has a lot of restaurant deals, this is especially true for big cities. This does a couple of things:

You can try new restaurants for discount prices which you otherwise probably wouldn't.
The coupons are great for taking out friends/girls to different restaurants for less money.

They have deals for low-end places and high-end places. In the last month I tried two new places, took a friend to one and a girl to another and both restaurants turned out to be good options. The key is to read the fine print before you buy, I only buy the coupons which are not too restrictive. Leave the coupons with too many restrictions (no weekends, no dinner times and all that crap).

Post: #54

PATIENCE is something every money-minded man needs to have.

Businesses profit off of your "need" to have it now. For example, iPhone chargers at Beat Buy are a hundred times more expensive than on the Internet. Why? Because you can't wait for the charger to come in the mail. They know this, trust me.

I want to share an example...I've lived in this apartment for two months without a dining room table. I couldn't fathom blowing money on something to eat off, especially when I have a fully functional desk and patio table.

The best option I could find was a $150 tiny P.O.S. from Ikea, and I was inches from buying it, until I got a call from a guy on Craigslist looking to sell some things. I ended up scooping a dining set EXACTLY like I want - four chairs and a circle table for $110. Dude said it was "brand new." Looking it up, this set retails $300.



PATIENCE...money will come if you are smart and like a slow to pounce, lion in the brush.

Post: #55

^^^
Amen. The key for me was to stop thinking about money and instead think about cash flow. It's actually very rare to have a true one time expense. I now price everything in $/day or $/month. Delaying purchases lowers your $/month significantly. Even if you end up paying full freight for items it will lower your cash out flow by increasing your time scale.

Post: #56

(09-17-2014 08:50 PM)redbeard Wrote:  PATIENCE is something every money-minded man needs to have.

Businesses profit off of your "need" to have it now. For example, iPhone chargers at Beat Buy are a hundred times more expensive than on the Internet. Why? Because you can't wait for the charger to come in the mail. They know this, trust me.

I want to share an example...I've lived in this apartment for two months without a dining room table. I couldn't fathom blowing money on something to eat off, especially when I have a fully functional desk and patio table.

The best option I could find was a $150 tiny P.O.S. from Ikea, and I was inches from buying it, until I got a call from a guy on Craigslist looking to sell some things. I ended up scooping a dining set EXACTLY like I want - four chairs and a circle table for $110. Dude said it was "brand new." Looking it up, this set retails $300.



PATIENCE...money will come if you are smart and like a slow to pounce, lion in the brush.

Exactly, I do this all the time. Urgency drives up prices. Planning and patience can save money, but you can also waste time trying to find the cheapest deal. I get a little carried away with researching some times.

Post: #57

@Ensam - the best way to do that is to use mint.com. Holy shit I can see how much I spend on everything. I've gotten to such an "equilibrium" that I am now setting goals of how much I want to spend in each category.

As for spending too much time researching prices...fuck it. Cash Rules Everything Around Me.

Post: #58

I bought my camper for $2k under book because I was willing to drive 3 hours to pick it up (then deal with the hassle of an out-of-state purchase).

Patience is very overlooked as a way to save money.

Post: #59

(09-18-2014 09:57 AM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  Patience is very overlooked as a way to save money.

This times X 100. I have seen my friends buy products when they need them without looking for sales and deals. Recently I had a friend who was looking for earphones and wanted to buy one particular pair for $150. I told him I had seen that pair on sale at Best Buy for half off a couple of months ago and he should wait until it goes on sale again. Of course he didn't want to and ended up buying them but to me that's a pure waste of money.

Post: #60

It reminds me of that marshmallow test. They gave little kids a marshmallow and told them if they waited 15 minutes before eating it, they would get another. Those who couldn't wait only got 1.

They tracked the success of the kids decades later and the ones who could delay gratification were more successful. I think it ties strongly to emotional control, which is why I always respect the people who don't lose their shit quickly.

Post: #61

I'm about to cut direct TV. 90 bucks a month for stuff I don't watch. I love the NBA and get league pass, but hell, I'll just watch it on my ipad. I figure I'll miss about 10-12 games I'd want to watch, but the total savings would be around $1000.

Post: #62

(09-18-2014 02:41 PM)Drazen Wrote:  I'm about to cut direct TV. 90 bucks a month for stuff I don't watch. I love the NBA and get league pass, but hell, I'll just watch it on my ipad. I figure I'll miss about 10-12 games I'd want to watch, but the total savings would be around $1000.

Same here, Time Warner was supposed to be 80 bucks a month, then went to 110 with receivers, then to 135 with taxes and "fees".

Cut it off, got 5GB of mobile hotspot usage that comes with my phone for 80 a month (unlimited everything).

My sisters might miss Nick, but I sure as hell don't. Gotta love the savings.

Post: #63

I live on ~$15,000 a year so I feel like this type of topic is kind of my bitch.

- Cut out using my cellphone. I use skype or my girlfriends if I need to.
- Do not pay a dime for entertainment (no TV, no netflix, no nothing). I stream or torrent instead.
- Do not go out to bars or nightclubs regularly, only the occasional beer once in a while or at a friends house.
- Do not own a car or any kind of motor vehicle. I walk or take public transportation.
- Combination of eating at very cheap restaurants or cooking. Always cook breakfast/lunch. Occasionally go out for dinner because I am still a foodie at heart, never order dessert or drinks.
- Do not purchase any significant amount of cosmetic products (no cologne, no creams, no fancy products - just deodorant, bar soap, and shampoo).
- Do not purchase clothes regularly. I have a fairly modest but functional wardrobe and only replenish it incrementally when I need to.
- Never purchase jewellery.
- Only rent, do not purchase any housing.

Post: #64

I'm making more money right now than I ever had but don't want to allow my lifestyle to match my income and I'm not really ahead so I been really focusing on saving. Some things I've been doing are...

1. making coffee at home.
2. bringing lunch to work
3. buying smarter ie in bulk at costco and for some items like swiffer pads buying at dollar store. buying on amazon when it makes sense
4. paying down bills with higher interest, leaving bills with lower interest as id rather keep cash than pay off anything under 5%.
5. Limiting eating out.
6. Using gas buddy and other money saving apps.
7. Not really going to bars. Going to bars is easily $50 to $100 a night, huge waste in my mind.

Recently we have a store that opened up near me called forman mills. It's a discount store like marshalls or ross, it's actually a bit trashier but if you don't mind searching around there's some great finds. I just bought a few pairs of really nice work sorta kalkis/ dressy cargo pants for about 10 a pop. Also got a members only jacket for $20. if you have one in your area check it out some good deals on select items.

Post: #65

(09-18-2014 09:57 AM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  I bought my camper for $2k under book because I was willing to drive 3 hours to pick it up (then deal with the hassle of an out-of-state purchase).

Patience is very overlooked as a way to save money.

For savings on cars, boats, motorcycles you are super right hte market you are in really plays into price. I'm in Chicago where prices seem especially high. If I were to drive say an hour and a half to a bit more rural area in wisconsin or indiana you could easily save a few thousand off a comprable vehicle.

Post: #66

This one, I'm not really sure if it saves money as it is unorthodox, but it really saves me time and energy.

A few years ago I got tired of buying ziploc bags. It seemed really useless to be storing small amounts of food...eating it...and throwing the bag out.

Or wanting to bring a small snack to work and having to waste a bag.

So the hippie in me screamed out and one day, I bought 10 small rubbermaid plastic containers. I can't find them online, but it's the small ones that are 5" square, about 2" tall. I use these to store everything.



Two turkey burgers leftover to cook the next day? Container.

Leftover carrot slices to be put in tomorrow's salad? Container.

Nut mix brought to work? Container.

I've had these for two years and it's worked out great. Because I have ten of the same container...it doesn't matter if I mix up the lids.

Post: #67

As I've kicked my lifting/BJJ up into high gear, I need to eat more than ever just to maintain my weight, let alone make gains, and it's having an impact financially. Food is my biggest expense outside of rent.

The first thing I've done is sit down create a spreadsheet that lists out all the "staples" in my diet - price, calories per seriving, total calories per package, grams of fat, protein, carbs etc. I then compare several metrics - cost per 1000 calories (caloric CPM), cost per 20g protein for protein sources (to compare to average protein scoop). Of course I don't make all my food choices based on whatever costs less, but I think it's helpful to have at least some kind of means of comparison as you plan your diet and food budget.

The second thing I've done (partially as a result of the analysis from the spreadsheet) is started "cutting" more expensive food sources with cheaper ones. I'll give you two examples:

Example 1- 3:1 Rice-Quinoa Blend. I used to eat Quinoa all the time as a primary source of carbs. Eating brown rice gave me stomach/digestion problems. But now it's the SWPL food of choice, the price of Quinoa has increased significantly. It's about 3 times the cost of organic brown rice when looking at cost-per-calorie. Solution - I started mixing 3:1 Rice to Quinoa. I cook it all at the same time, in a rice cooker and it works out great. Result: Stomach problems gone, but much easier on wallet.

Example 2- Olive Oil mixes. Mike and Jay at D&P got me into using high end oils the past few months - Udos, MCT Oil, Flax (Jarrows is the cheapest organic brand I found). Some of these are pretty pricey - a jug of Udos is nearly $40. Trader Joes Organic Olive Oil is less than half to a third of the cost, looking at cost per calorie. Solution - I started mixing the olive oil with the higher-end oils when I make protein shakes and veggie smoothies. Olive oil tastes like shit but as long as I just use 1 tablespoon, it's too faint to detect. But doing this helps stretch my supply of higher end oils so they last longer.

For some guys on here this is crazy and you'll want to ditch organic/high quality food entirely and just focus on minimizing cost. Other guys here money is no object, you've already got several years of cash savings stacked up, the idea of trying to avoid dropping $40 Udo's oil every month is foreign as well. But for the rest of us in the middle of those two extremes, I think you will find the above helpful as you can consciously make the choice between quality and cost in your food buying, instead of merely guessing.

Post: #68

Costco has a huge jug of coconut oil for $15...great purchase

Post: #69

I'm such a penny pincher that I drive to my local recycling center (which is really close only 5 mins away), and cash in on my CRV (cash redemption value) recyclables. Not only do I feel eco groovy, but I make a little bit of money too. I have curbside recycle pick up that I use for everything else that's not CRV, basically here in california you're paying like 5-10 cents on your recycling containers, when you take them in to recycle you get that money back. All you need are a few plastic totes or trash cans to keep in your yard, fill them up about once a month and go in and get anywhere from $10-50 bucks depending on how much you have.

I don't collect that much, so usually only get about $10 a month, but it's not real hassle for me, just throw them in the bins on the back deck and drive them to the recycling center, it usually only takes me about 30-40 mins total to load up my car/truck drive over there, sort them, and drive home.

For guys living in really urban areas or far from recycling centers this may be too much of a hassle, but it can be a worth while little tip for some to save a bit of money, because when you save a little money in multiple different places, in different ways, it all comes together to add up over time.

Post: #70

I'll list a few things I do and then a few things I want to improve on. Goal is to have better stuff to add next year along with a big increase in income.

* Pre-purchase gym membership for 2 years.

* Costco - I do a lot of my grocery/household needs shopping here. If you get the executive membership it gives you 2% back on most purchases. I split it with my frugal-minded buddy (he's my free household card). When I signed up it was actually guaranteed that they'd cover the difference in price from a regular membership if the 2% check at the end of the year wasn't more than the difference. No downside. My frugal buddy spends quite a bit and we split the 2% check at the end of the year. I usually at least double if not triple the difference in membership price. I try to buy all my gas here. I had a roommate once who in all seriousness said he didn't want to split the bill from Costco because I was "spending so much" while he would instead go out to eat (not at mcdonalds mind you) then let his leftovers rot in the fridge. Blew my mind.

* I drive a cheap non-descript car. With the help of a friend I bought it under market value with a real low amount of miles on it. Maintenance compared to most cars is dirt cheap and I do what maintenance I can myself. When driving mostly streets I still can hit 30 MPG without spending five figures on a Prius. If someone gives it a door ding I'm not happy but it's not the end of the world. I'll probably sell this car eventually for more than I bought it for after adding a bunch of miles.

* I borrow my neighbor's things. Power tools? Extra bikes? Random shit I don't need but that are very useful. My neighbors are cool, I loan them whatever they need or help them out, it's a great thing. I got this mentality reinforced when I wasa talking to one neighbor and he said, "why should everyone have a lawnmower, that's stupid...just share it." Neighbor is a wealthy doctor who can afford to buy ten lawnmowers.

* Craig's List - This can be utter shit or awesome depending on the time of year or the people you deal with. With little exception I've furnished my whole place through Craig's List. When I moved by the beach I couldn't really afford to go buy a bunch of household stuff so I researched on CL. I got some amazing deals on there.

* Internet - I have very fast internet, I set up a spare router to create another wireless network for my neighbors and split the cost with them. I can throttle their speed if I wanted but I haven't even needed to. Easy money. They are happy.

* A few years ago I negotiated my lease with my landlord which gives me unrestricted access to sublet my place. This lowered my monthly rent by 15%+ (as I listed a spare bedroom at a higher price than before) and gained me the garage AND 1 parking spot that I can stretch to two in a pinch. Right by the beach a parking spot is like liquid gold in the busy season and garage parking nets you a way, way cleaner/maintained car. I've even re-sold my parking spot for $30+/day during big events with very little time investment.

* I prefer to do things that are active/outdoors and luckily for me the area I live in has plenty of them that are cheap/free.

* I got on my friend's family cell phone plan and saved myself easily $40/month on that with the best carrier in my area. Don't have to worry about going over on data.

* G Manifesto said it, lock a place down. I recently signed up a new short term roommate. I took him to my local place where him and his girl both got upgraded to the very large size beer glass for free (you have to have a membership for it normally) and my bill had none of my drinks on it. Oh, and we got moved to a "closed" table because my buddy was there and we wanted to all sit together. I tipped well but still saved a bunch of money.

* I keep my home bar fairly well stocked with liquor as well as local beer growlers (33% cheaper on a specific day of the week so I'll go refill them that day). It's significantly cheaper for me to make friend's drinks along with my own than go out and buy all my own drinks. Often I'll make a couple drinks for my friends or pour them a couple beers and then when I go out to the bars they'll buy my drinks/food.

* I get paid a small amount in cash but since I've started putting it in a safe place (NOT having it in my wallet), I've been surprised how it's added up. I enjoy having the cash available as you never know what you can get a better price on with cash and nobody can take a cut of it.

Things I want to create habits of:
* I want to start biking to work during the warm weather. I want to look at jobs closer to where I live. Ultimately I want to work entirely from home/mobile.

* Food prepping - I have a slow cooker and I'd like to make some great food to have on time at all times. Also need to start taking lunches to work as I've been really bad at this lately and also have been letting food go bad with my traveling/eating out.

* Mint - I fell back on using this tool but it's a great tool if you use it. I found it enlightening.

* Credit card - I've rarely had credit cards during my life but I want to build my credit and take advantage of all cash back/rewards that I can.

* Cut out my cable entirely. Supplement with a home entertainment mini PC or apple tv or something. I'd like to share a netflix/hulu/whatever account with a friend. My buddy has a sling box account I bet he'd let me use too.

Post: #71

(10-06-2014 08:39 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  * Credit card - I've rarely had credit cards during my life but I want to build my credit and take advantage of all cash back/rewards that I can.

Which credit cards are most advantageous for cash back? The Double Cash Card from Citi seems to be excellent.

Post: #72

Look for no annual fee, no pesky charges they can hit you on, etc.

I highly suggest "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" for anyone trying to organize their money machine.

My favorite right now is....(no surprise) the Costco American Express card. No Annual Fee. All the perks of AmEx. Costco membership included. 1% back on everything and bonus points for others. This card had the ID chip on it as well as my picture. Definitely a keeper.

I'm no "point-chaser." I would rather have bank accounts I depend on that work behind the scenes for me. I see the cash back as a slowly building investment.

If you're looking to get points there is an extensive thread about that.

Post: #73

You have plug your leaks for sure. Here's my data sheet.

I link all my accounts to mint.com and calculate my average monthly expenses and make sure I don't get too far out of line. I take care to avoid the months where I travel internationally, knowing that I save for those.

If you're in an urban area in the US most of the time, T-Mobile is probably the way to go for cell service. If you don't travel internationally or make a lot of calls, go with their prepaid service plans with unlimited data.

Cable is pretty absurd and I should cancel it. Try to find someone to let you borrow their HBO account. If you have family with cable have them create a second email address under their account for your HBOGO usage. Netflix isn't that expensive and I'm guilty as charged.

Clothing is important but for most of us looking good has little to do with the cost of the clothes. We all probably just need to hit the gym and put down the cupcakes, cronuts and heavy wheat beers and IPAs. After that it is mostly about fit. You can buy cheaper clothes and take them to a tailor and out dress most people. Unbranded jeans are nice and levis even has some nice raw jeans. Uniqlo has some good basics for the price. If you aren't wearing sneakers, one place you can't really skimp is shoes.

Electronics can be a huge waste of money. TVs especially depreciate fast and a year from now better tech will be out and be cheaper. Do you best to delay your electronics purchases. When you know you need to upgrade, delay the gratification to some point in the future, never impulse buy. Never buy top of the line. Buy rarely but pick something up that is quality but not quality enough where the cost gets totally out of line. Nobody really pays attention to how nice your electronics setup is.

About cars... I don't have much to say about this as I've been car-less for almost 4 years and just spend too much on Uber but most people make really bad financial decisions around cars. Do everything you can to avoid long term financing. Also if you buy a slightly used car nobody will realize a year from now it's 3 years old instead of 1.

Credit cards - Don't run a balance but use them for everything. You need to have one or two great rewards cards that you use for every transaction. Don't pay for stuff with your debit card. Use a good rewards card and it's basically a 1-2% discount on life at the expense of poor people and people that can't manage their finances. Check out nerdwallet.com to research and if you really know how to live get one with no international fees.

Bank accounts - You need to be using online checking probably with a credit union. They will give you actually interest, up to around .7% now for checking. Interest will rise in the future. Depending upon how much you keep in your checking account in might only be $20 a year but over many years and compounding that is actually something. If you need better ATM access keep a retail bank account with some money in it just for the ATM withdrawals.

Investments - if you save you need to put your money to work for you. The best thing to invest in is yourself, through health, education, career advancement, and adventure and experience. That said, put something aside for the future in the markets, probably with a diversified low expense ratio strategy unless you want to gamble or following finance all the time.

Personally I'll pay for convenience at this point in life because time I can not spend doing chores is more time I can concentrate on my career and projects that will have more upside for me. I tend to use a lot of the apps for food delivery, transportation and occasionally take my laundry or at least shirts to get laundered. I also go to a nice gym because its the most convenient.

Right now most of my discretionary income goes to food, booze, Uber, gambling on dice with friends at shadey asian bars and travel. I don't really like buying things that much as your possessions own you as much as you own them.

Post: #74

No internet plan on phone, instead use Wifi

Only eat at home (or move to thailand with 1€ meals)

No nightgame, only daygame and online

Only cheap dates (ice cream, a beer in the park, drink at a dive bar)

Public transportation, no car

Go for free kindle stuff, pirate ebooks or hit the library instead of buying shitloads of books

Put all the coins in a jar at the end of the day.... saved up ~300€ that way

Buy protein powder in bulk

Find your biggest monthly expenses and cut them down. Mine are usually rent, food, books

Get cheap hobbies... I like to listen to podcasts (free), watch TV shows (download for free), work out (cheap) and play oldschool video games (can be had for 1-2 bucks on steam if theyre on sale)

Post: #75

(08-12-2014 03:15 PM)poledaddy Wrote:  Slow Cooking Stews/Chili & freezing in pyrex. Other threads on this- right now I cook all my meals for 2 weeks in advance, doing a big ass batch with two slow cookers going at once. It's a tad extreme but damn has it made life easy. I get the convenience of lean cuisine but with all fresh produce/meats. A lot of money gets wasted by getting hungry and splurging on fast food or take-out, or even more expensive shit at the grocery store. If you always have meals around it saves a ton -the #1 factor is being able to heat it up directly from frozen so you don't have to worry about throwing out stuff that goes bad, because that adds up too.

GREAT idea, and great way to save money and eat right.

Are you a somewhat avid weightlifter, and can you pls elaborate on some recipes if so?