Gather Little by Little

Photo by: .Bala

Each Monday here on Gather Little by Little I write about topics and techniques for saving money. This article is part of that ongoing series called Monday Saving Monday.

Last week I decided to change things up a bit and instead of me sharing a money savings tip, I asked readers of Gather Little by Little to share theirs, and did they ever! Some blogged theirs and many others added comments, overall I received 41 tips for saving money. A sincere thanks to everyone that responded!

Here’s everyone tips pulled together into one big tips post!

• Emily shared the following: “Well, this isn’t a very healthy tip, but one thing way I like to save money when I go out to eat is to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I fill-up on the chips and salsa and then order a $2 quesadilla for my meal. (even when I spend more money on a meal, inevitably I’m already close to full anyway from all the chips!) I rarely spend more than just a few dollars if I get a drink plus tip. Like I said, it’s not very healthy to eat mostly chips and salsa for dinner, but it sure it GOOD! I’m also not afraid to eat dinner before I go out and then enjoy the chips and salsa as a “dessert.” So when my friends all get together, I’m the first to suggest Mexican!“
• The Personal Financier shared a post about Saving money by keeping your finances organized.
• Daniel shared 10 tips for saving a few dollars:
  1. Eat less prepared foods and make things from scratch. This is easier if one stays home while another works, but can be applied by everyone. For example, you can get 10 times the breakfasts out of oatmeal than you can out of cereals. Better for you, too. Frozen dinners vs. home made are similarly more costly.
  2. When you work, bring your lunch rather than eat out. You save $5 to $10 a day by doing this, which adds up to $35 a week, and $1,750 a year.
  3. Pay all of your bills on time and never overdraw your account. Those late fees and overdraft fees add up in a hurry.
  4. Shop for kid’s clothes both at thrift stores and garage sales. You can get amazingly high quality things barely worn for 5-10% of retail. This is especially true for little kids, who grow so fast used clothes are almost always barely worn.
  5. Entertainment discounts – Use coupons or an entertainment book to cut your overall entertainment bill in half without any sacrifice at all. This also encourages you to try different restaurants and entertainment options.
  6. Get DVDs at the library, not the video store. You can generally request titles and pick them up for your movie night. You can’t really beat free entertainment. As a bonus, you don’t feel guilty if you end up not watching all of a movie you don’t like. After all you didn’t pay for it, did you?
  7. Go to movie theaters which allow you to bring in snacks from outside. Just ask, a lot of them do now.
  8. Make coffee at home, don’t get it at Starbucks or even McDonalds. It’s pennies a cup versus dollars.
  9. Learn to like water.
  10. Eat less meat and cheese and more veggies.
• INDEBTNESS shared a post he had written about what to do with junk mail. While not directly related to money savings, it sure can reduce temptation in your life, which can certainly save money!
• Megan from Sermons in Stones shared a few tips via some articles from her blog: I See Big Money in Your Future!, Think before you buy, and “The power of impulse saving”.
• Keith from Spend on Life said: “Buy everything with cash. I love my debit card. It makes it easy to go about my business but I used to carry no cash, only my card. By switching to buying everything with cash, I am able to budget myself much easier. I know I have a certain amount in my wallet to last for a certain period of time and I can see it going down as I spend it.”
• Bob from ChristianPF.com shared this tip: “I think one of the things that has saved me the most money is being a do-it-yourselfer… There are so many things from building a headboard, to growing a garden, to doing your own car maintenance that can save you a ton of money. I also find that even as a beginner I can often do a better job than some people who I would pay to do the job.”
• Matt from freesand.com gave this tip on heating and cooling: “Save money on heat and AC by only heating/cooling the room you’re in with a window AC unit or space heater. It much cheaper to only heat/cool one room vs. your whole house. Window ACs are hard to move around so just put it in the room you spend the most time in during the warm months. My wife and I put one in our bedroom for those nights when it’s so hot you can’t get to sleep. For the winter we wear more clothes and sit under blankets, they’re much cheaper than heating the whole house (especially ours which leaks like a sieve).”
• Tonni from The Geezers on Talbot shares The truth about juice
• Kelli from money.co.uk gave us 3 easy money saving tips:
  1. I use my debit card more often
  2. Keep 20% of my salary away and forget about it. This has helped me a lot during emergencies.
  3. I prefer cooking at home rather than going to restaurants
• Trent Hamm from The Simple Dollar gave this great suggestion: “If you’re about to have a kid – especially if you’re going to have more than one – ask for some high-quality cloth diapers as baby shower gifts – we use bumGenius. A high quality cloth diaper is as easy to use as a disposable and reduces the cost per diaper use from about 20 cents to about half a cent. Since you’ll change a few thousand diapers on each child, that’s a whole lot of savings. Plus, the bumGenius diapers are high-quality enough that they have some online resell value after you’re done with kids.”
• Vincci from Pink Ponders shared a post about 10 tips she follows.
• Ms Money Savvy linked to 5 posts she wrote on various money saving topics: Six Ways to Save on Healthcare, Fabulous Yet Frugal Travel, Why Pay More if You Don’t Have to?, Just Ask!, and Five Ways to Save on Car Insurance
• Nicole from Breaking Even wrote a few posts during Earth week that she contributed: Your Complete Guide To Composting and Five Ways To Cut Down On Energy Use. She also said “I try to have whole commerce-free days where I don’t buy anything. I’ll be posting on that this weekend.”
• Foxie from Dreaming of Ferrari’s tells us to Focus On ‘Can,’ Not ‘Should’. Her post focuses more about the mentality of saving rather than specific tips. Good stuff!

Did you miss out on sharing your tip or tips last week? No problem, just add a comment below or write an article on your blog. I’ll be more than glad to continue adding your tips.