Your best random frugality tips

[PenelopeJune]

I want to hear your best tips, everything from the smart and frugal (couponing) to the slightly wacky (not flushing the toilet after every use) to the things you use only in the most dire money emergencies (trimming the grass with scissors to save gas.)

Okay, just joking about that last one. But I need help! I need to trim more off our budget, and the best way is through variable bills like water and electricity, and the food budget and gasoline. So lay it on me!

[annethcz]

Mine is that, IME, it's not the little expenses (not flushing, reusing ziplock baggies, etc) that make a real difference in finances, it's the BIG things. Choosing to live in a smaller house, choosing not to upgrade to a better car, etc. Saving $100/month by going from a fancy cell phone to a prepaid phone is worth thousands of ziplock baggies, kwim?

[AFWife]

Turn off lights and electric items when not in use...some people say to even unplug them.

Only do laundry or use the dishwasher when you have a full load. Especially the dishwasher! It uses the same amount of water either way.

Turn off the a/c or heat and only turn it on when it becomes unbearable.

In the hot months try to avoid using the oven and make as much as you can stovetop. The oven heats up the house more than you might think! In the winter try to use it more often to avoid using central heat.

Light layers all the time (even in the house)...so you can be bundled up in lots of clothes when it's cool and take things off as it gets warmer.

If you don't have blinds or drapes GET SOME! It's the whole greenhouse thing...the sun comes in and warms things up and the heat can't escape. Good in the winter, bad in the summer.

[BetsyS]

Buy used! No matter what it is you need, first check out the free (freecycle, word of mouth, a mom with a big attic ), then check out the used (yard sale, craigslist, consignment) markets. Chances are you can find at least 50% of the things you need used, which saves a bundle.

Make due! If you need to buy something, first brainstorm if there is any way to get around it or to use something that you already have.

[Pariah]

My sister is proud to be cheap, and I've picked up some of her great habits. We had empty mustard and mayo containers that I was going to toss because they were empty. She cut the narrow top part of the mustard container off and put it in a ziplock bag, and we were able to get several more sandwiches worth of mustard out of the "empty" bottle I was going to throw away. Same with the mayo...I was going to toss it, but used a silicone spatula instead to get every last little bit out and ended up with a few extra tablespoons worth. I do this now for peanut butter, and pretty much everything...use it until the container is REALLY empty, like almost clean.

[choli]

Don't buy stuff youi can't afford. If you can't manage to save up for it, then you can't afford the credit card repayments.

[its_betty]

Set dollar amounts for spending. It's one thing to say "spend less on groceries." It's another to say "We have $100 for groceries to last until XX." Set a number that you think is reasonable, and use that for a few weeks. You can always adjust (up or down) if you need to later. (Any system that lets you keep track of spending will work so long as everyone who spends towards that budget uses it. We use cash, but sometimes use a credit card: if we do, we take cash from the "grocery" envelope and move it to a "put in bank to pay credit card bill" envelope.)

Check the refrigerator BEFORE you go to the store, so you will use leftovers and produce before anything goes bad. Plan meals but be flexible: if you have a lot of leftovers, skip the planned meal to use them up.

We've saved a ton by giving Dh and me an allowance. When Dh left his job, I suggested we each get only $15/week for random spending. He complained like crazy that it was too little. Now, a few months later, he has a bunch saved up from his allowance because he is much pickier about what he will spend money on. Give it time and people adapt.

[brittneyscott]

Join us in the no spend challenge. It really helps you to see where you are spending money. You'd be surprised how much the little things add up. I'm working on getting better at not wasting money and budgeting better. I have a long way to go but that thread helps a lot. I tend to not spend as much when I know I have to admit my bad spend to the other girls .

The envelopes to hold the money for variables helps to keep on track better too because it's easier to see how much money is really left.

Using what you have and buying used are always good at saving. My suv was "totaled" in a wreck a couple weeks ago. We kept it (insurance paid it off and sent us $1200 settlement). We used that money to fix it instead of buying another vehicle. I now have a good running vehicle for nothing out of pocket even if it does have a few dents and scratches.

[brittneyscott]

Oh depending on where you are... I changed my phone to a prepaid Straight Talk phone (bought at Walmart). $45 a month for unlimited talk, long distance, text, everything. I don't have great service at the house for calls but I make do and its saving me $100 or so a month.

[honeybunmom]

If big box stores are a trap for you . . . and they used to be for me, find alternative sources for what you usually buy from there. I'm awaiting shipment of cloth "paper" towels right now. The three things I still go there for are paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent. We use cloth on the baby, and I've switched to mama cloth, but, I'm not ready to deal with anyone else's family cloth. So, we're sticking with toilet paper and I don't make my own detergent. However, the bigger the package I buy, the more bottled I buy at once, the longer it is before I'm back in there and likely to browse the clearance racks, the dollar area, etc. Plus, it keeps clutter out of my house . . . because I usually end up buying something from those areas.

Also, I've finally taken my kids' clothes to a local consignment shop. I got $50 for a single lot of used clothes spanning several sizes. Plus, I've made an additional $75.00 from actual consignment. We get a lot of clothes from my mom that my kids don't always end up wearing (onesies don't work for us over fitted cloth for my son and my daughter has become pretty picky). So, new with tags consigns very nicely. Especially when it's Ralph Lauren.

I also love, love, love co-ops for our wants and needs.

[PenelopeJune]

Thanks for the great tips!

Mine is that, IME, it's not the little expenses (not flushing, reusing ziplock baggies, etc) that make a real difference in finances, it's the BIG things. Choosing to live in a smaller house, choosing not to upgrade to a better car, etc. Saving $100/month by going from a fancy cell phone to a prepaid phone is worth thousands of ziplock baggies, kwim?

I totally agree, but I already do the big things, so needed more ideas. We have two paid off (old) cars, live in a 600 sq foot rental, have only one prepaid phone with minimum minutes, etc. My husband just lost his job and his new one pays half what the old one did, and I'm still in interviews for a job. (Well, I got one but it wont' start til August. So I need something until then.) So I need to cut even more small things for a time because for us right now, every single cent counts.

Here are some of mine:

- I cook dinner in the crockpot in the garage. This avoids heating up the house, and I get a decent meal at the end of the day. I also use the microwave whenever I can, for simple things like heating vegetables and stuff.

- Open the windows at night and shut them in the late morning. There is usually only about a 3 hour window when it's stuffy and hot in the house, and during that time we're usually outside anyway. This cuts down on how much a/c we have to run.

- We garden and scavenge for food. Yesterday my husband spent an hour at his grandma's picking cherries for her. In payment he got to bring home a bag full for us. Another friend gave us two bags of spinach from their garden. An aunt gives us fresh eggs and sometimes whole (butchered) chickens. And our garden will supply a lot over the summer.

- I line dry all our clothes. On rainy days, I just skip laundry. I do use the dryer in the winter, but it helps to heat the house so I consider it sort of a bonus.

[Tjej]

If you *really* need to cut costs - don't run the AC at all . AC is purely a luxury. One tip for keeping cool I remember from India is you moisten a bedsheet and wrap yourself in it (on an airy cot) for sleeping. Nice and cool. Or when I was in college I would just put an ice pack on my neck to cool for bedtime.

Don't go to the store. If you aren't there you can't spend money (well, and don't online shop... ).

Eat up the little things you have left - don't worry about having a proper "meal". Deli sandwiches with beans and carrot sticks and grapefruit are actually okay for dinner if that is what you have on hand. I've been surprised by how long I can actually scrape together relatively balanced meals with the random stuff we have stocked up around here.

Turn off the TV and computer - they take a lot of energy to run.

tjej

[Stayseeliz]

Don't eat out. That's a huge money sucker. I bought a $18 soft sided cooler and toss drinks, apples, carrots, cheese, etc in it with ice if we're going to be out for several hours.

The less you go to the store the less you'll spend. Check the stores for the best prices on items that don't go on sale frequently and stock up on those. Buy in bulk when items do go on sale and don't stop by the store for "one or two things" unless you HAVE to!

Cloth diaper.

Turn off lights.

Look for cheap entertainment. Netflix streaming offers tons of movies for $8 a month. Way cheaper than the movies or cable.

Just quit buying crap. lol That's a huge thing!!

[Norasmomma]

My biggest is spend money to keep money, like buy quality things. I am too poor to waste money on crap, like clothes. I used to be a clothes hound but have found that buying high quality items that are classic is so much better. Quality vs. quantity.

Make do with what you've got. I want new furniture, but instead got new really nice fleece king size brown blankets, cheaper than slipcovers and look just as good.

For our family doing a big monthly shop with small shopping trip for perishables is totally awesome. We have shaved our food budget by stockpiling and living off of that until our next big shop. Challenge yourself to make dinner from what you have in house.

[AFWife]

I don't know if you or your DH work...but take advantage of coworkers getting rid of stuff! ALL of the furniture in our living and dining rooms came from DH's coworkers (Oh, and the Futon bunk bed in the spare bedroom) It's high quality stuff and we got it at a steal compared to the buying price.

[wholewheatchick]

I tend to use containers instead of baggies whenever possible, even for usualy "baggy" things like carrot sticks or sandiwches.

I make my own household cleaners, instead of buying them (except for soaps, inc. dishwasher and laundry). But glass cleaner, tile scrubber, and "all purpose" spray can all be made with vinegar, borax, baking soda, essential oil, and a Dr. Bronner's soap.

Cut way back on meat consumption. Beans and eggs, and even cheese, is way cheaper than meat.

Decide what you are going to buy prepackaged, and what you are going to make. This is individual for each family. I make bread, but buy yogurt. We never buy sweets/cookies, except ice cream if it is on a really good sale.

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by AFWife

I don't know if you or your DH work...but take advantage of coworkers getting rid of stuff! ALL of the furniture in our living and dining rooms came from DH's coworkers (Oh, and the Futon bunk bed in the spare bedroom) It's high quality stuff and we got it at a steal compared to the buying price.

Yes, this is us for our living room couch, 2 dressers, and nightstands. One of DH's coworkers was moving back to India and needed to get rid of a lot of furniture. We got a HIGH quality, solid wood upholstered sectional for a STEAL. I mean, I looked this couch up and it was thousands to buy new, and we got it for less than 1/4 of that. The dressers &nightstands are solid wood, no MDF. Everything is really high quality, and they needed to get it out of their home quickly. We were very thankful.

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by honeybunmom

If big box stores are a trap for you . . . and they used to be for me, find alternative sources for what you usually buy from there. I'm awaiting shipment of cloth "paper" towels right now. The three things I still go there for are paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent. We use cloth on the baby, and I've switched to mama cloth, but, I'm not ready to deal with anyone else's family cloth. So, we're sticking with toilet paper and I don't make my own detergent. However, the bigger the package I buy, the more bottled I buy at once, the longer it is before I'm back in there and likely to browse the clearance racks, the dollar area, etc. Plus, it keeps clutter out of my house . . . because I usually end up buying something from those areas.

Toilet paper and dishwashing detergent are the only things we go to the supermarket now. Really. I've been pondering ordering huge bulk boxes of both so we can stop completely. You've just inspired me to look into it properly.

[justmama]

familiarize yourself with what's around you and what you can utilize that's free. free activities for the children, free produce or herbs or such growing in your area, etc. Today while taking my children and my daycare girls on a walk on the bike path(free activity), we noticed the blackberries were becoming ripe so we ate our fill and brought some home for later. In our yard the mulberry bush is laden with fruit so we picked some for dessert tonight. The bush has been here since way before we moved in and no one ever tends or manages it, it's just a wild bush full of delicious berries. We plan on heading down the bike path again tomorrow for more blackberries. In the grocery store they would be too expensive for us to afford and full of pesticides likely and used tons of fossil fuels in getting to my grocery store. So taking my girls on a fun bike ride to pick wild berries is a perfect frugal, fun, environmentally friendly option!

[justmama]

Originally Posted by Tjej

If you *really* need to cut costs - don't run the AC at all . AC is purely a luxury. One tip for keeping cool I remember from India is you moisten a bedsheet and wrap yourself in it (on an airy cot) for sleeping. Nice and cool. Or when I was in college I would just put an ice pack on my neck to cool for bedtime.

we do this too. we don't have a/c at our house so we use window fans which do help quite a bit, surprisingly enough and cost-wise, they are quite efficient to run. And at bedtime on seriously GROSS muggy days, I give my girls a bean bag that I put in the freezer for an hour or two beforehand and they cool down with their bean bag while they try to fall asleep. We use them as quick icepacks or to cool down or just as a sensory thing when they are freaking out and starting to fight with each other. It's a great distraction and they toss them around and enjoy the cool feeling and usually the fight stops immediatley, especially when you yell, "think fast" and toss a bean bag at one or two of them. Our bean bags are literally made from a bulk bag of pinto beans and scraps of old clothing i repurposed.