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Ways to save money that you know.
- Thread starter Stanley Design
- Start date
Really? A case of name brand water where I work is like $4, and that's when it's not on sale. Works out to 16 cents per bottle, versus like a buck fifty for a coke. Besides you can recycle bottles to help the environment and get some of your money back
But yeah doing the refillable type bottle e.g. Nalgene with a water filter is even better.
Check your oil regularly. like once a week or every fill-up. When it drops suddenly (barring a leaking system) is when the additives are toast and it's time to change it.
Be sure and try "Young Hen" whole chickens. The meat is much, much better tasting and more moist.
They are about .91 cents/US per pound in the L.A. area right now depending on where you shop. I get a "2-pack" from a large grocery warehouse club for between $9-$10US. Many meals can be prepared for very low cost. Using whole chickens has reduced my overall food bill substantially.
I boil a couple of chickens on Sunday, strip the meat and fill a 13x9 glass pan with lid. IME, it keeps well for at least 5 days and feed 2 adults/1 child easily. YMMV.
Chicken tacos, sandwiches, salads, etc. are a snap to prepare saving time/money during the week. We have reduced the amount of beef we eat to almost none, so you can probably do with one whole chicken or a few pieces for the week, depending on your diet and how many family members you have.
Cutting a whole chicken is straight forward once you see it done: (Note: a sharp knife works best, having cooking scissors/shears helps too)
I cut the chicken before boiling or freezing because it's much easier to handle and you can choose to cook however much you like instead of cooking the whole thing.
When boiling unfrozen, cut whole chicken, be sure to check the chicken's "done-ness" after about a half an hour by removing a large piece and cutting a slit into to it. No pink should be visible. Check it again in 15 minutes. Don't let it boil much past it being done so it won't get dried out so easily.
If you boil frozen chicken, IME, the boiling times pretty much doubles.
There's a few different techniques. Here's a sample from youtube:
http://gizmodo.com/5272780/gadget-deals-of-the-day
I especially like getting free stuff from hobomodo
I especially like getting free stuff from hobomodo
ok, i'll try and keep it short. I know about being broke.
So last year my wife and I got really sick of trying to live paycheck to paycheck, not even, we were always broke before payday and scrounging for gas money.
so heres what we did
1. start keeping track of every penny you spend, this way you can see where you'remoney is going and cut out needless junk, $4/day at starbucks adds up fast.
2. start a budget
once you know where your money is going, allocate a certain amount for each thing every month, make every dollar have a home. Bills, food, clothing, fun, vacation ..just make sure you only use that amont for that particular thing. you can even do an envelope system with cash, make one for bills, one for food,e ct ect. once that envelope is empty you cant borrow out of another one.
3. grocery shopping and meal planning
make a grocery list and stick to that list, nothing extra. Impulse shopping eats up a lot of your money.
plan meals ahead and shop for those meals
start a pricebook so you can comparison shop (trust me it's worth the aggrivation)Invalid Link Removed
I check stores near me online, pull up thier sale papers and I hit a few depending on whats on sale, Store A has Ketchup 10/$10, I'll stock up, it lasts in storage and I'll use it up. Store B has Cereal buy 1 get 1 free. I swing there and stock up.
cook in bulk and freeze portions, easy to grab for lunch
Invalid Link Removed
do some financial planning
http://www.howisavemoney.net/finances/daveramsey/
and you may want to check out dave ramsey
the sad thing is I fell into the same deal most people fall into, when I turned 18 I went right out and got all kinds of credit cards bought a new motorcycle, new car and of course back then making $6/hr there was no way I could afford the payments. Funny thing, we were never taught anything about personal finanace when I was in high school, I mean nothing. Of course my parents were bad with the finances so i dint learn anything from them either.
So last year my wife and I got really sick of trying to live paycheck to paycheck, not even, we were always broke before payday and scrounging for gas money.
so heres what we did
1. start keeping track of every penny you spend, this way you can see where you'remoney is going and cut out needless junk, $4/day at starbucks adds up fast.
2. start a budget
once you know where your money is going, allocate a certain amount for each thing every month, make every dollar have a home. Bills, food, clothing, fun, vacation ..just make sure you only use that amont for that particular thing. you can even do an envelope system with cash, make one for bills, one for food,e ct ect. once that envelope is empty you cant borrow out of another one.
3. grocery shopping and meal planning
make a grocery list and stick to that list, nothing extra. Impulse shopping eats up a lot of your money.
plan meals ahead and shop for those meals
start a pricebook so you can comparison shop (trust me it's worth the aggrivation)Invalid Link Removed
I check stores near me online, pull up thier sale papers and I hit a few depending on whats on sale, Store A has Ketchup 10/$10, I'll stock up, it lasts in storage and I'll use it up. Store B has Cereal buy 1 get 1 free. I swing there and stock up.
cook in bulk and freeze portions, easy to grab for lunch
Invalid Link Removed
do some financial planning
http://www.howisavemoney.net/finances/daveramsey/
and you may want to check out dave ramsey
the sad thing is I fell into the same deal most people fall into, when I turned 18 I went right out and got all kinds of credit cards bought a new motorcycle, new car and of course back then making $6/hr there was no way I could afford the payments. Funny thing, we were never taught anything about personal finanace when I was in high school, I mean nothing. Of course my parents were bad with the finances so i dint learn anything from them either.
Go to happy hours and eat the hors d'ouvres, swing by Sam's or any grocery where they have free samples and sample away.
If you live in a hilly area, and drive a stick, put in the clutch (leave it in 4th or 5th, to match your speed) when you get to the top of a hill, drift it til your speed gets down to 50-55 (freeway, maybe you can get away with 45 on regular roads), overinflate your tires 10% (makes them harder, less rolling resistance), use 5W20 oil (uses less hp moving the oil that way). I get an extra 25 miles a tank that way, and I'm in table-flat Houston! Don't speed, keep it under 65mph.
If you have central air, and like to sleep in a cool room, get a window unit, sensibly sized for your room. No sense running the central air and cooling the whole house just to sleep in a cool room. We did that, and our electricity bill is $50 less a month. We set our window unit on energy saver, it cycles on and off, our thermostat is set to 70-72.
Put every wall wart in your house on a power strip. When you leave, turn off the strip. Those little "vampire boxes" constantly suck energy, and it really adds up. Game consoles suck almost the same power when off as they do when running full-tilt!
Instead of a costly vacation, stay home for a week and put yourself at the mercy of your spouse's "honey-do" list. After a week of home improvements, yard work, and cleaning the house over and over, you'll have a new-found appreciation for the weak A/C at work, not to mention your boss's deadlines and expectations will look like a cakewalk compared to "she who must be obeyed".
Glad to see there are other Dave Ramsey fans around!
If you live in a hilly area, and drive a stick, put in the clutch (leave it in 4th or 5th, to match your speed) when you get to the top of a hill, drift it til your speed gets down to 50-55 (freeway, maybe you can get away with 45 on regular roads), overinflate your tires 10% (makes them harder, less rolling resistance), use 5W20 oil (uses less hp moving the oil that way). I get an extra 25 miles a tank that way, and I'm in table-flat Houston! Don't speed, keep it under 65mph.
If you have central air, and like to sleep in a cool room, get a window unit, sensibly sized for your room. No sense running the central air and cooling the whole house just to sleep in a cool room. We did that, and our electricity bill is $50 less a month. We set our window unit on energy saver, it cycles on and off, our thermostat is set to 70-72.
Put every wall wart in your house on a power strip. When you leave, turn off the strip. Those little "vampire boxes" constantly suck energy, and it really adds up. Game consoles suck almost the same power when off as they do when running full-tilt!
Instead of a costly vacation, stay home for a week and put yourself at the mercy of your spouse's "honey-do" list. After a week of home improvements, yard work, and cleaning the house over and over, you'll have a new-found appreciation for the weak A/C at work, not to mention your boss's deadlines and expectations will look like a cakewalk compared to "she who must be obeyed".
Glad to see there are other Dave Ramsey fans around!
Oh, another thing- instead of renting movies, check out your local library's DVD section. You might be surprised at the number of recent movies they have there. If you absolutely need to see the latest just-out releases, RedBox is a buck. Blockbuster is a recurring $17, NetFlix is a recurring $8-20. That cuts out some cost right there.
If you're going out to the movies infrequently, try checking out your local "Dollar Theater". Movies that are just off the first release, but usually just before they hit DVD, in a movie theater- just watch out for the snack prices. I slip some candy in my pockets and only buy a drink, maybe a popcorn if I'm in the mood for it.
Also, our library will let you check out paintings for up to three months. Hang them on the wall at home and have a constantly changing art collection! Decorating on a budget!
If you are in good with the neighbors, consider going to a meat market and going halvsies on a side of beef or better. Really lowers your meat costs, and it is usually far better quality than the supermarket's selection. Added benefit, you can sometimes store part of it in-store, using their electricity (usually if you buy a whole cow).
Grow your own vegetables, but make sure your seeds are "heritage", non-engineered. Monsanto likes to make it so that their seeds only work once, so you can't replant the next year using seeds from this year. You can get those "upside-down tomato planters" for cheap and hang them in the kitchen window (or any window, for that matter), it keeps them safe from squirrels (tree rats). If you can't grow an acre, use some planter boxes. Better tasting, non-genetically engineered food.
If you own your own home, there are tons of ways to save money...
If you're going out to the movies infrequently, try checking out your local "Dollar Theater". Movies that are just off the first release, but usually just before they hit DVD, in a movie theater- just watch out for the snack prices. I slip some candy in my pockets and only buy a drink, maybe a popcorn if I'm in the mood for it.
Also, our library will let you check out paintings for up to three months. Hang them on the wall at home and have a constantly changing art collection! Decorating on a budget!
If you are in good with the neighbors, consider going to a meat market and going halvsies on a side of beef or better. Really lowers your meat costs, and it is usually far better quality than the supermarket's selection. Added benefit, you can sometimes store part of it in-store, using their electricity (usually if you buy a whole cow).
Grow your own vegetables, but make sure your seeds are "heritage", non-engineered. Monsanto likes to make it so that their seeds only work once, so you can't replant the next year using seeds from this year. You can get those "upside-down tomato planters" for cheap and hang them in the kitchen window (or any window, for that matter), it keeps them safe from squirrels (tree rats). If you can't grow an acre, use some planter boxes. Better tasting, non-genetically engineered food.
If you own your own home, there are tons of ways to save money...
Ah yeh Basic reminded me, square foot garden.
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
nothing like fresh veggies, especially homegrown tomatoes. We have a pretty decent property in the country but I still grow everything this way, more efficient than the old row garden deal.
I'm kinda into the homesteader, green living thing. not a die hard tree hugger, just looking for better ways to live.
I have a messageboard if anyone is interested. it has a lot of good info on sustainable living, alternative fuel stuff like that http://backyardtechnology.com/technofarming/
i havent updated the site in forever but the info is there so feel free to check it out
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
nothing like fresh veggies, especially homegrown tomatoes. We have a pretty decent property in the country but I still grow everything this way, more efficient than the old row garden deal.
I'm kinda into the homesteader, green living thing. not a die hard tree hugger, just looking for better ways to live.
I have a messageboard if anyone is interested. it has a lot of good info on sustainable living, alternative fuel stuff like that http://backyardtechnology.com/technofarming/
i havent updated the site in forever but the info is there so feel free to check it out
