Comments on: Money saving tips – Share yours for a chance at $25

By: tiffanie

tiffanie — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:40:33 +0000

i’m currently going through a divorce, where my husband brought in the majority of our shared income. i work a part time minimum wage job…and i moved out on my own. i’ve had to find many ways to cut back and save money:

1) i use candles in the evening for some lighting throughout the apartment. no, it’s not enough to read by or anything, but it gives a nice ambience to whatever else i may be doing. i don’t leave lights on when i’m not in the room, and i don’t like turning lights on unless i’m reading or writing where i need to have light.

2) i make batch meals and freeze single serve portions since it’s just me now. this saves on groceries for the week as i’ve got quick lunches to go for work throughout the week.

3) i use a points credit card to accumulate points so that i can redeem them for gift cards to amazon. the card is used for all of my purchases and i pay it off in full each month. i usually get a $50 gift card every 2-4 months. this helps pay for incidentals that i may need.

4) i shop around for car insurance each year to save on my premiums! i saved $300 this time around. :)

By: crazyliblady

crazyliblady — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:55:14 +0000

1) Big Lots is my friend. Althought I cannot find everything here, I do find a lot of things at extremely reduced prices. I also get coupons from them emailed to me by being in the Buzz Club.

2) I take my lunch to work nearly every day. I usually take something like tuna fish, crackers, an orange, and trail mix. This is a much healthier alternative and saves me more than $20 per week. I also have an insulated travel mug at work that I use to make my own tea rather than buying high sugar and expensive colas.

3) I love shopping at Walgreens because they allow you to use store coupons, manufacturer coupons, and sales all on the same item. I have been able to save more than 50% this way. I watch the Walgreens ads every week and combine the sales and coupons to save lots of money. I also send in rebates when I can.

4) Do direct deposit to a savings account every payday. In just 3 short months, I have my emergency savings balance up to $597 by doing direct deposit every payday and putting other small extras in there from time to time.

5) Mrrebates.com saves me money if I shop online. Between rebates and instant coupons, I can usually save 5-10% just by logging in there first.

6) If I have to go on a trip for work, I work hard at setting aside the money ahead of time and not using the credit card. I also contact the Chamber of Commerce for the area. Sometimes they will send coupons or at least a street map. I find out less expensive ways of getting around the city, such as the local bus system. Taxis are too expensive. In June this year, I will be attending a conference in another state and will be sharing a hotel room with two other people. I also check to see if my AAA card will get me any discounts on anything. I also cash in my survey points for cash or restaurant gift cards.

7) I pay my credit card online rather than mailing the payment because it results in less interest paid. I can also schedule a payment several days in advance if I know a rebate, survey payment, or paycheck is about to clear the bank account.

By: JS

JS — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:14:43 +0000

We can cut our international flight cost by almost half by using airline points. If you don’t accumulate your own airline points, you can purchase the points from craigslist or ebay (pssstt.. this is against the airline policy). For ex, travel to southeast asia usually costs around $1000-1800. Usually you can buy 60k-80k points for under $900.

By: cristina

cristina — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:20:16 +0000

This best bargains are the most natural for me at least. When I read the Sunday papers, I clip coupons of things I use or want to try – then I keep them in an envelope in my bag by category, but no particular order & if I’m in Walgreen’s for a prescription, I’ve noticed that even Crest phases out certain types of toothpaste. When you have a $1.00 or $0.75 coupon & the toothpaste is down to a dollar as Colgate recently was – I stock up for pennies & in some cases nothing. Same for many other toiletries. Many coupons don’t specify the actual type just the brand – these are particularyly helpful. Food-wise I cook & take what I make to work. I also try & freeze an extra meal & thus have something always something available. If I eat Chinese food, I get the special & plan for another meal (or two). Think ahead and you’ll reap the benefit.

By: jolyn

jolyn — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:42:21 +0000

I admit I am borrowing this idea from my nephew, but it is just too clever not to share.

Young men, for prom — instead of renting your tux, work out a bartering deal with the rental shop. My nephew wore one of their tuxes to his high school for a whole day (“advertising”), and in exchange he is getting his tux for prom rent-free! Now that’s using your noggin, as my grandma would say.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:17:12 +0000

One of the best things about Google is that they offer some great free services: Voice or Video Chat / SMS Text Messages / 411

Here’s more info:
http://www.6bubbles.com/blog/2009/03/slick-ways-to-saving-money/

By: Slick Ways to Save Money @ 6Bubbles - Grad School, Money, Life

Slick Ways to Save Money @ 6Bubbles - Grad School, Money, Life — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:55:44 +0000

[...] through Gather Little by Little’s request for money saving tips, we thought of some ideas. Of course, there’s a lot of tips that everyone seems to know, so [...]

By: scott

scott — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:17:31 +0000

Always clean out your dryer lint trap after every use. It takes 1.5 times as long to dry a load of clothing in the dryer with a clogged
lint trap. Or better yet put them out on the clothes line to dry!

By: Bobbi

Bobbi — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:27:50 +0000

I think my favorite is the automatic ING savings account. I don’t even miss it.

By: dawn

dawn — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:33:47 +0000

One of my favorites, from my blog post on saving at the grocery store: Grow your own. Even a modestly-sized garden plot can yield a tremendous bounty of organic, homegrown vegetables. There are many varieties especially developed for container gardening, such as dwarf cherry tomatoes. If you’re a beginner, stick with the easiest-to-grow veggies, including tomatoes, string beans, squashes, zucchini, green peppers, snap peas and lettuce. Herbs like parsley, basil or chives are especially undemanding.

Here’s the full post: http://www.creditfyi.com/Credit-Library/tips-to-help-you-save-money-on-groceries.htm