Little things you do to save money?

[Spinneret]

Only buying 1 pack of bird food rather than 2

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Returning the cans for a nickel instead of just recycling them. It's a hassle but it does add up.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Shutting off everything I can 2p to 9p when the electricity rates spike.
NEVER buying bags at the grocery store/Target.

 

[BrianL]

Staying at the All-Star Resorts!

 

[bababear_50]

Buying non perishable items in bulk when on sale.

Doing Laundry on the weekends and after 7pm when it's cheaper.

Flyer shopping before actual shopping,, I am loyal to the Grocery store that has the best prices.

Paying my DVC dues through out the year when our Canadian dollar is somewhat stable.
Utilizing rewards program by buying Disney Gift Cards to do this when the option is available.

 

[Moliphino]

Returning the cans for a nickel instead of just recycling them. It's a hassle but it does add up.

Bring them to CT now and get a dime...

 

[amcnj]

Bring them to CT now and get a dime...

Be careful. A similar idea didn’t turn out well for Kramer and Newman!

 

[Moliphino]

Be careful. A similar idea didn’t turn out well for Kramer and Newman!

Someone did get busted doing this between CA and AZ, but I am not nearly as these volumes.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/27/recycling-fraud-scheme-california/70475539007/

I work in CT and live in MA, so I shop in both states. I don't keep track of where I bought each and every can and bottle.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

We buy a lot of our meat and chicken in family packs, then split into smaller meal size bags and freeze.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Look at the grocery ad and buy meat when it is on sale.

Very rarely get coffee out…. Make it at home.

The boys like to wear Adidas and Under Armour. I only buy it at the outlet and/or on sale, and both offer a really good teacher discount.

 

[tvguy]

Returning the cans for a nickel instead of just recycling them. It's a hassle but it does add up.

We take them to the recycling center where they pay by weight and it works out to a smidge more than the redemption value per can. Usually take a couple of 90 gallon trash bags in at a time.

 

[leahgoogle]

Look at the grocery ad and buy meat when it is on sale.

Very rarely get coffee out…. Make it at home.

The boys like to wear Adidas and Under Armour. I only buy it at the outlet and/or on sale, and both offer a really good teacher discount.

I definitely shop the sales for steak. Grass-fed ground beef is cheaper at Aldi. Our kids wear name brand stuff too and we either shop the outlet or Ross, Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

 

[barkley]

Buying non perishable items in bulk when on sale.

i'm a sucker for a good case sale

We buy a lot of our meat and chicken in family packs, then split into smaller meal size bags and freeze.

Look at the grocery ad and buy meat when it is on sale.

these and creating the cut of meat i want from the least expensive options-seems i can find boneless beef roasts on sale for much less than stew/soup meat and ground beef so i snag them and dh cuts them up or uses the kitchen aide meat grinder then we bag and freeze. pork roasts are much less per pound than bulk sausage so dh grinds it up and we season it before bagging it to freeze (just looked at the local ad-plain ground sausage is $2.99 per pound vs. pork shoulder at $1.89 and i end up with a much lower fat content).

 

[SandyinMonterey]

When grocery shopping, I shop the sales and BOGO's. Especially meats (only buy meat when it's on sale). Buy larger packs and freeze in individual portions. Always use the grocery stores APP and their digital coupons (paper coupons hard to come by). When making a meal like spaghetti, I'll make extra meatballs and make meatball parm subs as different dinner. We also take our aluminum to a recycle center. It's not much, but I'd rather have the money. I shop Costco for TP, bottled water. dish detergents, and some household cleaners. Wash our own cars. Clean our own house and do our own lawn (just about everyone in my neighborhood has a house keeping and lawn service).

 

[NYCgrrl]

Returning the cans for a nickel instead of just recycling them. It's a hassle but it does add up.

I’ll admit that I throw my deposit available items into the recycle container on my floor but there is a man who goes thru the entire building collecting them so I don’t feel bad about doing it.

A money saver I utilize is not using the dryer. Saves money, energy, and lengthens the life span of textiles.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I rarely ever buy a Starbucks coffee. The only time I treat myself to that is in an airport.
I save change ( harder to do the last few years because I use a rewards CC often)
I have one of those apps where you can scan items and receipts to earn GC's. Since I've had the app ( Shopkicks 10 yrs or so and I wouldn't recommend it as there are better ones out there), I've earned over $400 in FREE Gc's. It's fun to shop with a free GC.

 

[tony67]

I never buy coffee except when I am at Universal.
I did spend a lot of money on an expresso maker - but I have had it for 10 years making 4 or 5 espressos a day so I think I saved money overall and when it no longer works Ill invest in another.

I rarely buy Pizza out, its always terrible. I invested in an Ooni Pizza over. Its a lot more work, but I am ahead at this point and the pizza is far better.

Related to the pizza oven - I also bought a bread maker so I can make the dough. That turned into making bread and pretzels and many other things. I am well ahead on that investment as well. A nice loaf of bread can easily cost $5 at a supermarket - more if they call it Artisan

We also invested in a very well stocked bar so now instead of spending $15 on a Negroni I can make one at home for far less. Same for numerous other drinks. Yeah its nice to go out to a bar once and a while and interact, but overall its just not worth it price wise.

Same for food - we got tired of going out and spending $160 for dinner and being disappointed with it.
So most weekends I will get a recipe and make something. Indian, German, Mexican etc.. As long as you have a recipe and the ingredients you can get pretty close - and again it cost far less.

Most recently my wife was complaining about the cost of paper towels - they have gone way up.
She would get annoyed when I would use them to wipe down a counter or dry my hands when cooking so I went and bought 100 pack of microfiber towels for $30. We use those for most minor things like wiping down the counter after cooking. It remains to be seen if it will save me much.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I pay for everything Disney with gift cards bought with my Target Red Card. That's going to save me about $60 on DVC dues. On a typical trip that will save me over $200 (5-day par tickets for 5 plus whatever expenses we can charge to the Magic Band.

 

[firefly_ris]

- Re-use plastic grocery bags for waste baskets and other stuff. They don't have them in NY anymore so my mom saves a bunch of them and brings them to me when they visit.

- Work from home -- I don't buy lunches or coffee out, save on gas, save wear and tear on my truck

- I make coffee at home. Save Starbucks gift cards for road trips/vacations

- My kids sort and do bottle/can returns and keep the money from them

- Buy in bulk

- Buy larger cuts of meat and portion myself and freeze

- Do online pickup orders for groceries from Walmart -- cuts way down on "impulse grabs" in the store and I can see the total stacking up as I go.

- Rest of groceries come from Aldi. Save Wegmans for special, very occasional stuff (although a lot of their Wegmans brand stuff is very good and affordable too). Always remember to bring my own bags for both places -- if I forget I just take everything loose to the car and bag in the car.

- Again for groceries, keep watch on sales, BOGOs and coupons and meal plan around them.

- Reducing the amount of junk food in the house which is where the $$ gets away from me. Oreos are outrageously priced anymore for example. Plus we just don't need that stuff in the house all the time.

- Search for "______ coupon code" before purchasing anything online, just to check.

- Take advantage of local Buy Nothing groups and consignment shops for all sorts of things.

- Buy used, older solid furniture on Marketplace and restore. Recently restored a night stand and bookcase for my daughter's room, both solid maple and walnut. Got the night stand for $20 and the bookcase also for $20. Used some Sherwin Williams mineral paint I had on hand that was originally about $20 a quart, some poly and some peel-and-stick wallpaper I had on hand as well for the bookcase backing and to line the nightstand drawer with. Sanded, stained, and polyed the tops.

- Change my own oil though this is getting close to not worth it with oil prices. But at the moment math still works out. My truck takes nearly 9 quarts of oil. Hoping to do front brakes on my own next time, that one will be an enormous cost savings.

- Don't have cable TV and only subscribe to 1 streaming service.

- Buy gently used sporting equipment for the kids.

- Listen to my own curated music files on a USB stick in my vehicle; I don't subscribe to any pay services for music.

- Refurbished cell phones on Amazon. I don't pay more than $150 for a phone and keep the phone typically about 4 years.

- Oldest daughter got a cell phone -- bought a refurb and signed it up for Tello service for $9/month.

- Cook 'takeout' stuff at home. Cheaper and healthier. Buffalo has good pizza and wings but prices are getting crazy for some bread, sauce, cheese and parts of the chicken that restaurants used to throw out. Same goes for restaurants -- it is very expensive for a family of 5 to eat out anymore and after the bill comes, hardly seems worth it. It makes eating out on road trips and vacations seem more like a treat when we eat out less frequently at home too.

- Make my own wall art -- I do watercolor and photography as hobbies, so some of the better ones get framed and used for decor. Just buy some frames for them. They're no Picassos but affordable to do and adds some personal touch. Same goes for my kids art.

- Grow vegetables and can them for use throughout winter.

Things I would like to learn to help save money:

- Be better at sewing and make my own curtains, make better repairs on clothing, etc.
- Make my own bread
- More basic vehicle repair

 

[easyas123]

money saver I utilize is not using the dryer. Saves money, energy, and lengthens the life span of textiles.

I do the same periodically- I’ll hang stuff out in winter, sun still works! We also have a pellet stove in basement I can put racks around.