Money Saving Tips

If you use credit cards properly, there won't be any interest at all. Charge only what you can afford to pay off in full each month. Do NOT carry a balance month to month to month to month. Only in rare cases of some form of emergency, such as an accident or storm damage should you charge more than you can pay off.

Take a serious look at your home owners and auto insurance.

Many home owners insurance plans have an automatic escalation built in to increase the coverage value each year. This was supposed to cover increases in house value and the costs of rebuilding after a loss.

But many of these have gone way beyond where they should be. Check the insured value. It should be for the replacement value of the house.. the cost to rebuild it if there was a total loss, NOT the resale value of the house. The resale value includes the value of the lot. The lot won't be lost, so there's no reason to insure it.

With car insurance, take a look at your collision and comprehensive coverage. While you need to cover a new car, a car with a loan or a leased car, there's no reason to pay collision on a 10 year old car. For instance my daughter has a 1999 car with a value of $3500. I had her cancel the annual $500 collision / comprehensive. It's just not worth $500 a year to insure $3500.

I buy all our clothing (me, husband, 3 daughters) off the clearance racks. I very rarely pay full price for anything. Sometimes I buy ahead 2-3 years for the girls. Especially staple clothing like jeans, t-shirts and underwear. The good brands (Gymboree, etc.) I resell on eBay when we are done with them. Even at places like TJMaxx, Ross and Marshalls I look in the clearance section first. 90% of the time I find what I need.

Cassie,

I loved all your posts except I think if I buy two ply toilet paper and split it into two..I'd just use twice as much toilet paper!

DianeStJames wrote:Cassie,

I loved all your posts except I think if I buy two ply toilet paper and split it into two..I'd just use twice as much toilet paper!

Yeah, I'm not for that one either. These are posts in an eBay tips forum. Just thought I would pass them along. :Spin:

Brown-bag your lunches.

Read the grocery store ads that come in the mail each week. Plan your meals around what's on sale & in-season. You can get great deals on "loss leaders" especially in the meat and produce departments.

Shop with a list. If it isn't on the list, think twice about buying it.

Buy an egg timer and keep it in the bathroom. Cut down your shower length over time.

Give yourself a cash allowance each week for incidentals. Whatever your crime (coffee, fast food, etc.) when your cash is gone, it's GONE.

Quit watching commercials. They convince us we need/want more stuff.

Buy bread at the Bakery thrift store for 1/3 what it costs elsewhere and always have a loaf or two extra in my freezer.

Pay all my bills online to limit stamps.

I don't make a lot of long distance calls and don't have a cellphone with free long distance. AT&T charges a monthly fee for a money saving plan ($3.95 to get 5 cent a minute calls), but the fee gets charged whether you make any calls or not and if you do make even ONE LD call, they tack on extra fees & taxes on. So I have a re-chargeable pre-paid calling card that costs 5 cents a minute with no added taxes or fees for the occasional long distance calls I make. Before I started using the calling card I made just one 8 minute call one month and with the added fees and taxes my long distance charge for the month was over $11.00. With the card, the same call would have been just 40 cents.

We used to buy 2% milk. Now we buy whole milk and water it down.

We look online for coupon codes for anything we want to buy and usually find a discount of some sort if we dig hard enough, or wait.

One thing I have found that cuts my grocery bill down is buying the frozen meat. If the meat hasnt sold by the expiration date (2-days after cutting), they mark it down 50-75% off and freeze it.

Freecycle: www.freecycle.org
Join a local freecycle group - it's free. You can fill a need - donate your unwanted items to someone who needs them. (I once gave away an old, but working vacuum cleaner - too bulky to resell, didn't need 2, and the woman who needed it came to pick it up within an hour of my response - she needed it to prepare for a wedding celebration).
And you can ask for things you need.

Local rules vary, but my group requires that you advise the giver if you plan to resell the item. I don't use it for merchandise, but have several members that regularly give me bubble wrap, peanuts, and shipping boxes. Keeps them out of the landfill, and I pick them up on my way to run errands or shop.

AARP - if you are 49 or older, you can join for $12.50
per year. Discounts on everything! I have my homeowners and auto insurance through them - top notch coverage with the Hartford for about half what my exclusive "good driver" policy used to cost me - it's like getting my homeowners policy free. Their magazine is full of important information & money saving tips.

Addition to the AARP post above. My mother joined for the discounts and what not. She discovered that her car insurance would shave off more if she took their "senior driving course". i think she said 10 or 15 percent!

When the grocery store is doing buy one get one sales, use 2 coupons (one for each item).

Do NOT waste money on plastic trash bags.

Use the grocery bags that you get when you shop,
or just toss it into your garbage can.

Join Costco or Sam's club and take a friend. Split the doubles of everything between you. If you have prescriptions to be filled, Costco is the cheapest place in town. By the way, to use their pharmacies, you DO NOT have to be a member. So long as you are just getting a prescription filled, they will allow you in. That is everywhere because it is a Federal law.

Just tell the employee at the door that you are going to the pharmacy. One prescription I fille is $7.82 at Costco and at the local CVS, the exact same prescription is $55.37. The pills dispensed are even from the same maker.

Either get paper bags to use for trash bags or better yet, do what we do and use canvas tote bags for our shopping.

Change you car's oil yourself. Its not difficult, it takes less time than driving somewhere and waiting while someone else does it. And it keeps you in better touch with your car's health.

Bake bread.

Avoid trips in town.

Plant herbs in the landscaping. chives here, thyme there, garlic where bulbs work. Whatever might be tasty.

Plant a serious food garden.

Book sources - borrow first, library second, thrift shop third, used book store 4th, online 5th, new last.

Here's one I've been looking into. I've always been curious about the price we pay on dishwasher detergent. Yes, I know you can't squirt normal sink dishsoap in your dishwasher - it'll clean the dishes, but you'll get tons of foam leaking out around the door seal!

So I searched on google for "homemade dishwasher soap". I did get a couple 'recipes' which involve mixing borax and baking soda, but I like this idea better. (and it worked for us)

"Using the Correct Amount Saves Money

We find that even the brand-name dishwasher detergent is very inexpensive when you use the "correct" amount! You only need one or two tablespoons of detergent in your dishwasher! That's right, and 1 tablespoon is almost always enough. Your dishes will come clean without any of that chalky residue. The big box of Cascade (155 oz) that we purchase at Sam's Club for $5.99 lasts us for one year! No kidding and we run our dishwasher an average of once per day. Our dishwasher is a 1997 model. If you have hard water you may need to use the 2-tablespoon amount more often, but not always. Today's dishwashers are so efficient that they don't need those both chambers filled with detergent. Save money and have cleaner dishes by using less detergent!"

I ride my bike everywhere I go. If I hit the roads during rush-hour, I wind up going either at the same pace as the cars, or faster.

On one particularly bad day, I kept pace with a city Sheriff's car... after about the sixth time passing him (he got stopped at stop lights and stuck in traffic, which allowed me to keep passing him), I wondered if I should say "hi!" or something... Dunno what the rules are for cyclists repeatedly passing the same car... :D

It gets me my hour and a half of good physical activity a day. Does your commute do that? ;D

Take showers together with your spouse. Not only will your back be cleaner, but you will innevitably be closer than you have been in years.

Instead of using expensive teeth whiteners, rinse your mouth/gargle with hydrogen peroxide(less than 1.00 for a huge bottle) twice daily, brush your teeth with baking soda twice daily(less than 1.00 for a huge box) and use a cheaper toothpaste like Colgate Total(Can find at wal-mart for less than 2.00). That is what I do and I regularly get compliments about how white my teeth/smile is and it is a lot cheaper than crest white strips, rembrandt, etc.

Have a garage sale.

Rent a room in your house.

Stop eating sugary snacks, they are bad for you anyway.

Dont buy those expensive deep conditioning treatments for your hair. Mix 1/2 avocado, 1/2 banana, 1Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Mayo until smooth. Apply to hair generously, leave on 30 minutes, shampoo out as normal. Do this 2x/month

Don't buy expensive toothpastes, use aim gel or ultrabrite, they cost about 88cents at walmart and have the same fluoride as the others. Just don't use baking soda or tartar control pastes because these are highly abrasive and do more damage over the long term than they do good. Forget about mouthwash, waste of money, if you are brushing 3x a day - once after each meal (don't forget your tongue), then you don't need to freshen your breath. Also, electric spin brushes are a waste of money, just make sure you are brushing for 4 minutes and flossing 1x per day (yes, 18 years in the dental field) and my smile is perfect!

Speaking of bathrooms, dont turn on the lights and fan everytime you go in, leave the door open if nobody's home and use daylight, especially if you have a window. Also, turn the water off when you brush, only turn it on to rinse the sink afterwards.

Use vinegar, ammonia, or bleach as household cleaners, our Mom's did it, why do we need all these specialty cleaners on the market today? Don't buy antibacterial cleaners and soaps, most aren't effective and we are creating resistant bacteria as a result of their use...why are our kids so allergic to everything anymore?...wash your hands alot...think.

Use 1 cup vinegar in your laundry, removes mineral buildup and keeps clothing from fading. Also in your dishwasher

When you are about to use the last amount of anything in a bottle, turn the bottle upside down for awhile and use the last drop, works especially well with shampoos, conditioners, laundry detergent, etc....there is always at least 1/2 use leftover in the bottom.

Don't buy air fresheners, just put 1 Tsp bleach onto a folded paper towel and insert/hang from your airconditioner/furnace air intake vent...will destroy all odors even pet and smoke, and leave your house smelling like you just cleaned it...might even fool the husband and kids into thinking you beat yourself cleaning all day

Only buy things that you need on the list and try to refrain yourself from impulse buyings at the cash register. Ah, don't take your spouse or kids with you when you go shopping either.

You can also use mayonnaise, they even have hair mayonnaise made exclusively for the hair and usually it is a lot cheaper than other products and can be bought in bulk and works great.

If you must buy those sugary fruit juices, of course always buy 100% juice, but train yourself and family to water them down, 1/2 water 1/2 juice. I can't stand full strength juice anymore, and it's alot healthier.

This one may sound weird to some...If you purchase laxatives, fiber supplements, probiotic products like the new Activia yogurt....try instead purchasing some Kefir grains and making your own probiotic drink...You actually culture your own using milk, a mason or mayo jar, add a few Kefir grains, let sit on your kitchen counter 24 hours and wha-la, a complete food If anyone is interested in finding out more, send me your email and I'll explain the best I can, I think people even sell the grains here on ebay (not me) just do a search for kefir grains.