Post: #1

I'm not sure if a thread like this has been done, but I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on things we've actually done this year to save money. A lot of it may be common sense stuff a lot of guys already know about or are doing, but maybe we will share ideas and clue guys into new ways to save some cash.

So this year I've saved money by:

Joining Costco buying stuff I need and will use over time in bulk, buying gas at their station and saving about an average of 25 cents per gallon over local stations, also buy purchasing a gift card they sell to my favorite local Mexican restaurant that I eat at every week ($100 gift card for only $70, a nice savings).

I use a lot of coupons, I don't have any shame, today I used a $1 off coupon for a bottle of Runa tea that was already on sale for $1.19, so it basically only cost me $0.19 cents. I use all kind of coupons for restaurants, grocery stores, etc. that save me money.

I prepay any time I can get a deal, I'm a movie nerd and there is still an independent video store in my town, if I prepay 10 movies, I get 10% off... Any time I can do something similar to this I will, I do it at the dry cleaners and other spots.

I use punchcards to get free sandwiches, burritos, burgers, movies, etc. Pretty basic, but if you frequent places enough, there's no reason why not to. I savor my free $4.50 blended mochas that much more.

I added my girlfriend at the time to my gym membership under a couples pass, that saved me $10 a month off what I usually would pay.

I quit buying so many supplements, and now only buy them when they are on sale.

I scour the discount and clearance racks at the supermarket and other stores for great deals on stuff, I pretty much only buy personal care products now when they are on sale for 50% off.

Finally, my last tip that I can remember is that I hit up free samples hard, there is a bin at my favorite local natural foods store, where I've scored about a year's worth of free moisturizer over the course of a few months, plus a grip of vitamins and supplements. If it's free I'll take it.

Post: #2

I generally just save 10% of the money I get on anything. Even if it' only something like $10 or $20 dollars i put some money to the side. I also have money aside for investing

I agree with using coupons and not supplements. I wouldn't recommend supplements unless I am bulking up. But for me, I'm more focused on being cut and lean.

I generally get my food from the market and cook. This saves money instead of just ordering food all the time and is healthier.

Many websites dish out cash for freelance writing. Or perhaps you can take advantage of amazon and sell something

Post: #3

Pay everything with my credit card, pay it off in full, use the points or trade them online.

Buy in bulk

Buy only what I need, ask myself "how does this help me improve? Do I really need it?"

TJ Maxx for clothing

Use Slickdeals, it gives you alerts for many items. Reduces the need for TJMXX, Banana Republic/A&F sometimes 50-65% off.

Asking myself how will the purchase benefit me really helps....I've noticed that most stuff is unnecessary and rather for vanity/limited use.

Post: #4

I sign up for and use a free membership card at any business where you can accumulate points and get savings or discounts. My pet store just started one, you get 1 point per dollar spent, at 500 points you get $5 bucks off. It sounds like you got to spend a lot of money to save a little, but if you shop at the same place a lot you accumulate points really fast, at the pet shop they do a "triple point Wednesday" deal, I go on Wednesday when I need to stock up on pet stuff and I've already gotten 5 bucks off in the first 3 months and will have another one soon. I also shop at Ace Hardware a lot and they do a similar deal, plus often send you $5 off coupons for your birthday and other random holidays, same with BevMo which will send out $10 off coupons for purchases over $50 occasionally.

Post: #5

Forgot a major one, I'm saving about $40 a month by switching to Verizon, I exceeded my old AT&T text plan just about every month and my bill would be just over $100 on average. I got a much better deal with Verizon with unlimited text, with limited data (which I barely use anyway) and it comes out to $62 a month. On top of that sweet savings I got a new iphone for $1 (with an activation fee and 2 year contract ofcourse).

The point of this thread is a penny saved is a penny earned. I spend so much money and have such high expenses that I'll save a little money anywhere I can, and when you are saving in a variety of ways, it adds up quick over the course of a full year.

Post: #6

Whenever I get work done on my car, brakes, tires, etc., I ask if I can get a discount if I pay with cash. Usually I do get something, sometimes small, sometimes up to 10-15%. Any service industry will usually give you a break as well if you pay with cash.

Post: #7

I cut directTV and only watch a jailbroken Apple TV if I feel the need to watch something.

I buy giftcards at a discount for the places I shop at the most, I use the site giftcardgranny to find the best deal on any given store.

also when shopping online, for damn near everything, I always use a portal to direct me to the site and get cash back. this quester I'm getting a rebate check for $154 from ebates.

I finally got rid of Onstar in my truck that I've kept for way too long, rely on the garmin and phone to get me to where I need to go. definitely should have done that way sooner.

Post: #8

Some of my savings moves this year:

- stopped using public transport and instead started walking everywhere (including 45 minutes to work and back every day). It goes without saying that I never had a car
- reduced coffee at caffes from every day to every other day at work and making my own at home
- eliminated my cellphone subscription and switched to pay as you go
- started using Skype, Viber and Whatsapp more for communication instead of the calls and texts from the cellphone
- cooked more from scratch and used less semi-products (ex. tomatoes bought in bulk vs. canned tomatoes)
- joined a supermarket loyalty program
- bought generic base foodstuffs, hygiene items and pet food in cases where ingredients were identical
- waited until discount days to go to movies
- waited until nightfall to turn on the boiler, washing machine and electrical heating or cooling

Some of the things I've always done, but which seem quite uncommon:

- paid for everything in cash, no revolving credit account/card or stuff like that
- didn't drive, used public transport
- exercised with my own body weight instead of paying to use machines
- could pack all the stuff I care about into two big suitcases, so I never needed an apartment bigger than a studio or a vehicle for transport
- used a laptop instead of a PC
- never used a dryer or a dishwasher

My income has gone up only slightly in the last year, but my savings rate is about 50% now. With some tweaks, I bet I could get it up to 70%.

Post: #9

Brought a coffee maker into work instead of buying Starbucks all the time.

Things I should start doing: bring lunch, find a way to lower my phone bill.

My expenses are already rather low, so not much room for further savings.

Post: #10

I cook a lot more now

I only go out to eat at ethnic restaurants or nicer establishments. No more chains and family dinners.

I save about 200 a month.

Post: #11

I've noticed my food bill got cheaper since I started shopping at Aldi. They still sell some of your unhealthy crap but there is a large selection of healthy items there including grassfed meat.

I purchase my meat in bulk from a local shop about 3 miles north of town. For $50 you end up with a huge box of meat in an assortment so you'll be creative with how to use all of it! (Roasts, ground beef, flat iron steaks)

Cable TV is expensive, and if you really want to watch that game head to a bar. Cox here is a minimum of $60 monthly for basic service with ESPN.

Post: #12

This thread is relevant to my interests.

I use a car for transportation to and from work and groceries and that's about it. I walk or take the bus everywhere, unsurprisingly my gas usually lasts about 2 weeks.
At the store i only buy it if it's on sale. I have a hard list of foods and personal products that i do not stray from. When the item comes on sale i'll buy a lot the tiem depending on when/if it expires.

My gf loves to "go out" to dinner at least once every 2 weeks. I tell she can go out with her friends because I'm not interested in paying a lot of money for shitty overly salted food. She knows my cooking is significantly better than the restaurants in the city.

A friend recently told me about Costco so i'll be checking that out to see if it is a good choice for me. I'd love being able to only go food shopping once every 2 weeks instead of the weekly non-sense I'm doing now.

I haven't had "cable" since 2005. I pay just under $100 per month for internet. Some say it's a bit much but i stream and download everything. I can find most if not all the shows i watch the day after they air. Plus i'm too busy to sit at home for 1hr to watch a show and it's commercials.

I'm unable to lower my mobile phone bill. However i use it for business and i get unlimited country wide calling and i use it so there's no point in taking that feature away.

I had a friend put me in touch with a local butcher who will cut up chicken and beef for me. It's a great deal the only issue is finding the space in my little ass freezer for it.

Post: #13

Is there a thread about making your own cleaning products? Because the market ones aren't cheap

Post: #14

I think the 800lb gorilla that hasn't been touched yet is alcohol costs. It's amazing to me how much people will complain about the cost of healthy food or organic, etc - and then they think nothing of blowing $100-200 on booze every weekend.

I speak from experience. I look in Mint.com in years past and see how much I used to blow on alcohol, it's insane. I've actually heard people say when discussing this topic "oh well that's the cost of my social life" and act like they wouldn't have fun otherwise - bullshit.

At the same time I'm not to the end of the spectrum that says "no alcohol" period as the only way to go. I enjoy a moderate buzz to unwind after working all week and get into the present moment. Total respect for the guys cutting completely.

Things I've been doing to cut down alcohol spend/consumption that I wish I had started earlier:

1) Don't drink so damn much. Order waters or even diet cokes. I know there's aspartame but I had a hard time staying on track with just water. Compared to the negative health effects of excess drinking it's a tradeoff I'm willing to take.
2) Eating healthy & exercising = lower tolerance, less drinks you need to get a decent buzz.
3) Having a strong drink at my place at the beginning of the night- and then "coasting" on that. For me (and I've timed/tested this beyond a shadow of a any doubt) alcohol takes 2-3 hours to work it's way through my system.
4) Having go-to excuses for people trying to get you to drink more, that will end the conversation quickly or change the subject. Personally I've found you gotta have it on hand because if you forget, it's too easy to say yes if you already have a buzz going. I usually say training for a jiu-jitsu tournament, have to cut weight, or have a hard practice in the morning, can't be hungover.
5) Flasks- If for whatever reason you really want to maintain a solid buzz for a long night or day drinking session, pack one of those plastic disposable flasks - they are a few bucks and slide easily into your pants pocket. If my initial drink wears off, get a coke or club soda and then mix the shots in the bathroom or wherever.
6) Kratom. Learned about this stuff from Chris/GLL- it's been a lot of fun so far and I definitely cut down on alcohol use since I started experimenting with it.

Post: #15

True that, alcohol is so damn expensive!

Soju, luckily for me, is a drink I love and is cheap. I've saved tons of money switching from harder spirits to soju. Actually, I think I'd be dead broke without it!

Post: #16

Canceled cable... I don't watch much tv and when I do I watch netflix.

Joined retro fitness 20 bucks per month

Use credit cards for all purchases and I have paid for a flight in a long time

Stopped eating out for lunch. I brown bag it now

Post: #17

I signed up for RVF and cancelled my New York Times subscription

But on a serious note,

- Bought weights and an Olympic bar to work out at home instead of spending money on a gym membership

- Started brewing my own coffee and taking it with me

- Stopped going to nightclubs

- Got rid of cable TV. I now only use Netflix on my laptop

Post: #18

I am on the pay everything with your credit card bandwagon. Have been for a few years now. I pay for everything with my credit card, even my phone bill for example, always pay in full, never pay a cent in interest, and receive up to 1.5% cash back. Some people use them to accumulate air miles and that's good too. The trick is to use your credit card like cash or a debit card. Only buy if you know you can pay the bill in full and never pay any interest charges while getting cash back. I have earned anywhere from $50-$150 per year depending upon how much I spend.

Post: #19

(08-12-2014 02:27 PM)TheSlayer Wrote:  I am on the pay everything with your credit card bandwagon. Have been for a few years now. I pay for everything with my credit card, even my phone bill for example, always pay in full, never pay a cent in interest, and receive up to 1.5% cash back. Some people use them to accumulate air miles and that's good too. The trick is to use your credit card like cash or a debit card. Only buy if you know you can pay the bill in full and never pay any interest charges while getting cash back. I have earned anywhere from $50-$150 per year depending upon how much I spend.

Yup. Paying at the end of every week is good too so you won't the "Well, I have so much in cash and my bill isn't due until 20 days...." feeling. That way you know how much you're actually spending and your balance/limit is low.

One thing I do at times is overpay my card so I know everything is okay and it won't got over 30%, not that I ever run it up to the limit but it helps when travelling.

Post: #20

(08-12-2014 02:04 AM)KsockZ Wrote:  I buy giftcards at a discount for the places I shop at the most, I use the site giftcardgranny to find the best deal on any given store.

Good call on the gift cards. I have looked into selling useless ones I've been given in the past, but never really thought to buy them to use towards my own purchases for some stupid reason.

Not a bad idea to load some into the old wallet and save a few bucks down the road.

Post: #21

Sign gym contracts in November-December. I bought my gym membership to Golds this past December - $12 a month for a great gym, not locked in, cancel anytime. Even if I signed up now, it would be $40/month.

Sign apartment leases in slow markets- if you rent, sign leases in the slow times of the year. My current rent is a bitch because I looked in June. I remember when I looked at one apartment complex, they said that rent in June is $100-200 higher than if you rent the same place in the winter.

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.

When trying to save money it's always important to look at the long term into account. For instance with clothes - I used to buy cheaper stuff when I was broke. But a lot of cheap shit falls apart. I have some Banana Republic dress pants I've been wearing for 4 years now that still look great (got them altered of course). I wear deep v-neck undershirts with button downs- it was an outlay of cash but I've found that my dress shirts don't get sweated up so I can go longer without needing to dry clean them. Dry cleaning costs add up - I crunched some numbers and I figure that the undershirts paid for themselves in about a year.

At the moment I'm trying to get some good quality dress shoes that will last - I'd rather pay $300-500 for a pair of shoes that will last a decade, that I can resole etc, than spend $100 for something that will start falling apart in a year. Not only does it look better, but in the long run it's less expensive.

Post: #22

For cloths I tend to really hit the big mall stores(Macys, Lord and Taylor) year round probably every 2 weeks to increase my chances of getting decent items. You are usually best off going to stores when they are unloading items obviously. For instance hit the discount ranks hard all of February and March for winter cloths(if you wait too long many times they won't have anything that good so you need to have a trade off). Same thing for summer cloths, buy them in off season.

Post: #23

Moved slightly out of London to cut my rent from 680GBP incl bills > 350GBP incl bills.

Moved within walking distance to work so I don't have to pay 266GBP per month on National Rail for transport. Now pay maybe 100GBP per month instead going to London on weekends.

Put the bulk of my pay day money into my savings account as soon as I receive it and pay my rent same day so I have a limited amount to spend until next pay day.

I have three savings accounts : investment (largest %), holidays (smaller %), lifestyle (smallest %)

Post: #24

Some good ideas in this thread. I stopped taking a pre-workout and only drink coffee mixed with creatine before a workout. Saves me around $30 a month.

I also have been only eating two meals per day. This has been saving me money and time.

Post: #25

I love this thread!

there are lots of great books out there about saving money but here's a resource that I don't see bounced around much:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/


thanks to this website I've started walking to get small groceries. MMM estimates that between gas and maintenance, driving your car costs $0.50 a mile! I'm looking to buy a solid bike now but walking to the store has already saved me money.