With the economic crisis that's going on, I've decided to create a thread on ways to earn/save money in general. If you have any tips, feel free to share.  :)

-If you must have alcohol with your meal, try sticking to one drink.
-Try to bring your lunch to work.
-Stick to basic cable.
-Use a calling car for long distance calls.
-Buy a used car. A car that is 3 years old usually functions just as well as the floor model. Also skip the designer cars.
-Avoid parking expenses---take public transit to work.
-If your destination is relatively close by, walk.
-If it's a beautiful day out, ride the bike rather than use up the gas in your car.
-Collect bottles, especially glass, and take them to a bottle depot. Taking them there will also help prevent any glass from shattering.
-Collect coins in a jar. When the jar is full, take them to a bank for paper money or deposit. Pick up any loose coins you find on the sidewalk (who cares what others think) and any excessive amount of coin in your wallet.
-Take any clothes that you know you're never going to wear again to consignment. If they don't sell, they usually go to charity.
-Don't splurge on clothes. Buy your clothes and shoes from consignment shops, the Salvation Army, Value Village, or discount designer places such as Marshalls.
-Drink water from the tap.
-Sell popular/unique items on eBay.
-Shop through eBay's auctions, and type in "Free Shipping" because often, you can literally buy something on there for one penny!
-Sign up to carry out various gigs on Fiverr.
-Sell high in demand items such as furniture or electronics online classifieds.
-Likewise, try to buy some of your furniture online.
-Try to use cash rather than credit...

With the economic crisis that's going on, I've decided to create a thread on ways to earn/save money in general. If you have any tips, feel free to share.  :)


Mr. Money Moustache

Guy's blog has a silly name.  Guy is also smart and has a wicked sense of humor.  Probably the best personal finance blog I've ever read.

I've been saving my money at lunchtime at Pathmark by not buying their sub sandwiches and making my own sandwiches at home cause over there they charge close to $4.00.

I once in a while I go to the dollar store to buy some products.

and yesterday, One of my friend's friend wanted to go someplace expensive but we decided to go on the cheap and get lunch at Burger King at the dollar value menu.

With the economic crisis that's going on, I've decided to create a thread on ways to earn/save money in general. If you have any tips, feel free to share.  :)

-If you must have alcohol with your meal, try sticking to one drink.
-Try to bring your lunch to work.
-Stick to basic cable.
-Use a calling car for long distance calls.
-Buy a used car. A car that is 3 years old usually functions just as well as the floor model. Also skip the designer cars.
-Avoid parking expenses---take public transit to work.
-If your destination is relatively close by, walk.
-If it's a beautiful day out, ride the bike rather than use up the gas in your car.
-Collect bottles, especially glass, and take them to a bottle depot. Taking them there will also help prevent any glass from shattering.
-Collect coins in a jar. When the jar is full, take them to a bank for paper money or deposit. Pick up any loose coins you find on the sidewalk (who cares what others think) and any excessive amount of coin in your wallet.
-Take any clothes that you know you're never going to wear again to consignment. If they don't sell, they usually go to charity.
-Don't splurge on clothes. Buy your clothes and shoes from consignment shops, the Salvation Army, Value Village, or discount designer places such as Marshalls.
-Drink water from the tap.
-Sell popular/unique items on eBay.
-Shop through eBay's auctions, and type in "Free Shipping" because often, you can literally buy something on there for one penny!
-Sign up to carry out various gigs on Fiverr.
-Sell high in demand items such as furniture or electronics online classifieds.
-Likewise, try to buy some of your furniture online.
-Try to use cash rather than credit...


We do many of these things. Ways we save money: We don't drink, we don't smoke (we never did anyways), we don't have cable, we buy all our clothings/furniture 2nd hand, always bring our lunch to work, bought a used car, sell stuff on consignment, don't use the car everyday, walk when you can, don't make any long distance calls, don't have cell phones, buy items at the dollar store, don't go out for dinners/films, etc..

Your tips are very good, thanks.

We do many of these things. Ways we save money: We don't drink, we don't smoke (we never did anyways), we don't have cable, we buy all our clothings/furniture 2nd hand, always bring our lunch to work, bought a used car, sell stuff on consignment, don't use the car everyday, walk when you can, don't make any long distance calls, don't have cell phones, buy items at the dollar store, don't go out for dinners/films, etc..

Your tips are very good, thanks.


Thanks for the compliment.  :)

-Don't drink much booze either---in fact sometimes just have H2O.
-Guess cigarettes have become expensive now ($20/pack?)---don't really know since I find smoking sucks.
-Yes, buying some of your furniture (except for maybe beds/couches) second hand is the way to go.
ADDITIONAL TIP: If you go on Kijiji or Used, looked under the "FREE" sections---you'll be surprised at what people give away!
-Also don't really need to buy too much furniture. ie, when you have a couch and a coffee table, is it really necessary to have two armchairs as well?
-Cell phone has become a necessity for most people, but I guess if you have a landline then perhaps use a PAYG plan.
-I've noticed that they have many brand names at the Dollar Tree.
-Speaking of brand names, generic isn't that bad when it comes to paper supplies or even some of the food items.
-And with paper supplies: use your paper towel instead of napkins, tp instead of having Kleenex in the bathroom...
-Try to eat out for dinner only once a week as a special treat. And nothing $$$--even McDonald's counts.

Use coupons.  But only use the ones for products you already buy.  If it is not a product you normally buy you won't be saving money by buying it just because you have a coupon.

Cut up the credit cards. 

A lot of people find paying cash helps them not to spend money they don't have.  On top that, you don't get nailed with interest fees. 

I don't have a credit card, but that's because my credit is shot to hell.  If I could have one, I would for emergencies only. 

I have a debit card, which I use more liberally than I used to.  However, when money gets REALLY tight, I find paying in hard cash makes me more conscientious. 

I guess I'm so used to not having money that a lot of the "tips" are necessities, or just second nature!
::)

Use coupons.  But only use the ones for products you already buy.  If it is not a product you normally buy you won't be saving money by buying it just because you have a coupon.


So true about coupons. I remember watching this show about a lady that thought she was being smart by buying everything with coupons including things she could live without....and she ended up in financial trouble because of this hobby.

I've noticed that they have many brand names at the Dollar Tree.

They have many things at the dollar store that you might like from food, clothes, household items and some knick knacks mostly for 99 cents and up.

Try to eat out for dinner only once a week as a special treat. And nothing $$$--even McDonald's counts.

Don't go anywhere too expensive, places like McDonalds,Burger King or perhaps even Dunkin Donuts.

With the economic crisis that's going on, I've decided to create a thread on ways to earn/save money in general. If you have any tips, feel free to share.  :)

-If you must have alcohol with your meal, try sticking to one drink.



Or just drink at home
Or try going during happy hour so you can get cheaper drinks & save money (or drink more for less  ;D )


-Try to bring your lunch to work.

Good advice. I try but I fail often  :-\\

-Stick to basic cable.

BLASPHEMY!!!  :P  :D


-Use a calling car for long distance calls.

I use Vonage. Basically for $35 a month I can call all over the US and some 30 or so countries for free
(If anyone is interested in signing up pm me as it will help me save money  ;) )

-Buy a used car. A car that is 3 years old usually functions just as well as the floor model. Also skip the designer cars.
-Avoid parking expenses---take public transit to work.

Both are really good advice but I loathe public transportation so I don't do the second one.

-If your destination is relatively close by, walk.
-If it's a beautiful day out, ride the bike rather than use up the gas in your car.
Also good advice and was doing this for a while but got lazy. Need to start doing it again.

-Collect bottles, especially glass, and take them to a bottle depot. Taking them there will also help prevent any glass from shattering.

I used to do this but I found the recycle took up valuable real estate in my apt/car. Ultimately I decided the $$ earned wasn't worth all the effort I was putting in to it.

Essentially it basically paid for the gas I used to drive there and maybe, on a good month, lunch.


-Collect coins in a jar. When the jar is full, take them to a bank for paper money or deposit. Pick up any loose coins you find on the sidewalk (who cares what others think) and any excessive amount of coin in your wallet.

More good advice. I do this.
FYI bank won't take unrolled coins so you need to roll them. Again I found I wasted precious time and got cramped fingers from all the rolling. Plus the smell and the filthy hands.

I now take my coins to coin star. If you want cash it'll cost you approx 8 cents on the dollar. Small price to pay for the convenience of it.  Of you opt to donate to charity I think they don't charge to count the coins.
Also-I think- there's an option to put the money on a gift card instead of getting cash....ie you can turn the coins into amazon dollars which means "free" shopping.


-Take any clothes that you know you're never going to wear again to consignment. If they don't sell, they usually go to charity.
-Don't splurge on clothes. Buy your clothes and shoes from consignment shops, the Salvation Army, Value Village, or discount designer places such as Marshalls.

Good advice. Like public transportation I cannot wear used clothes...but that's just me.  ;)

-Drink water from the tap.

Never!

-Sell popular/unique items on eBay.
-Shop through eBay's auctions, and type in "Free Shipping" because often, you can literally buy something on there for one penny!

More good advice. And def about the free shipping. Nothing irks me more than someone who charges 50%-110% more than the item costs for shipping....I've seen it...it's ridiculous!

-Sign up to carry out various gigs on Fiverr.

No idea what this is.

-Sell high in demand items such as furniture or electronics online classifieds.
-Likewise, try to buy some of your furniture online.



Be careful the number assaults robberies via response to Craigslist ads is rising


-Try to use cash rather than credit...

My aunt puts X amount of dollars in an envelope each month. When the envelope is empty she is done spending until the next month.

I use my ATM card because I get $ put into my savings account. Granted its taken from my checking account but it helps. Essentially bofa rounds up my purchases and puts the change in my savings. When I'm being good the savings build quickly but sometimes I have to dip into the savings because I live check to check.

Use coupons.  But only use the ones for products you already buy.  If it is not a product you normally buy you won't be saving money by buying it just because you have a coupon.


Unless you're the crazy woman from extreme coupon who some how got ALOT of bags of kitty litter and diapers free.  She didn't have a baby or a cat. Fortunately she donated the stuff. And probably claimed full value of the items so she could deduct it off her taxes.

:D

They have many things at the dollar store that you might like from food, clothes, household items and some knick knacks mostly for 99 cents and up.

Don't go anywhere too expensive, places like McDonalds,Burger King or perhaps even Dunkin Donuts.


Dollar tree is a chain store. Everything is a dollar.
I hate those so called "dollar" stores that actually have stuff for more than a dollar.

I usually shop at the 99 cent only store (also a chain with  everything 99 cents)

I now take my coins to coin star. If you want cash it'll cost you approx 8 cents on the dollar. Small price to pay for the convenience of it.  Of you opt to donate to charity I think they don't charge to count the coins.


Some banks have their own version of Coinstar that don't cost if you are a customer.



Unless you're the crazy woman from extreme coupon who some how got ALOT of bags of kitty litter and diapers free.  She didn't have a baby or a cat. Fortunately she donated the stuff. And probably claimed full value of the items so she could deduct it off her taxes.

:D


That show drives me nuts.  They always end up with some gawdawful number of crap they don't need.  The ones that really annoy me are the ones who have so much stuff stashed from those shopping trips that there is no room in their house for anything.  I like the ones who donate most of it. 

Cut up the credit cards. 

A lot of people find paying cash helps them not to spend money they don't have.  On top that, you don't get nailed with interest fees. 

I don't have a credit card, but that's because my credit is shot to hell.  If I could have one, I would for emergencies only. 

I have a debit card, which I use more liberally than I used to.  However, when money gets REALLY tight, I find paying in hard cash makes me more conscientious. 

I guess I'm so used to not having money that a lot of the "tips" are necessities, or just second nature!
::)




I did learn that if you have credit cars you should use them...not to excess but just to show credit activity. 
Leif you keep your credit balance under 33% the credit limit you actually raise your credit score.
I'm still working my cards down but once I do I will charge approx $30-50 a month on each card and pay the minimum (or all but $5) so I have a constant balance on my card, a good payment history and low credit balance fooling the credit people into thinking I'm responsible with money.

I'm about 3 months away from making this my new reality.  :)

Some banks have their own version of Coinstar that don't cost if you are a customer.


That show drives me nuts.  They always end up with some gawdawful number of crap they don't need.  The ones that really annoy me are the ones who have so much stuff stashed from those shopping trips that there is no room in their house for anything.  I like the ones who donate most of it.



Ah. We don't have those (that I've seen) in Santa Barbara.


Yeah I like ones who donate too.
Also they spend soooo much time researching products and coupon hunting I think the cost savings is prohibitive because my time is worth way more than 75 cents.  Also the stores got smart so it's harder to beat the cash register. Best I ever did was something like 57% savings. It was nice but really not worth the effort it took to do so.

Oh. See if your store has an app. I shop at Von's and will check the app in the parking lot. Find the discounted items that coincide with my shopping list and save money for about 5 mins of effort.

Good advice. I try but I fail often 

How do you fail? All it takes are 2 slices of bread, meats and mustard. 

I now take my coins to coin star. If you want cash it'll cost you approx 8 cents on the dollar. Small price to pay for the convenience of it.  Of you opt to donate to charity I think they don't charge to count the coins.
Also-I think- there's an option to put the money on a gift card instead of getting cash....ie you can turn the coins into amazon dollars which means "free" shopping.

I like Coinstar.

You can always have a garage sale.

FYI bank won't take unrolled coins so you need to roll them. Again I found I wasted precious time and got cramped fingers from all the rolling. Plus the smell and the filthy hands.

I now take my coins to coin star. If you want cash it'll cost you approx 8 cents on the dollar. Small price to pay for the convenience of it.  Of you opt to donate to charity I think they don't charge to count the coins.


Meet Outerwall, (OUTR), formerly known as Coinstar (CSTR).

http://i.imgur.com/dyYJwQd.png

And they'd say thank you! (the linked article even talks about how AMZN and CSTR make more money off each other than they would separately!)  Their stock is up 400% ($15 to $60) in ten years, and although it's had its ups and downs, that annualizes out to a 15% rate of return. 

I'm not snarking at you personally here.  I was too dumba freaking moron not to invest in CSTR when it was at $10, $20, $40, $60, and to have forgotten about the company until you mentioned them.  I didn't even know they'd changed their name and stock symbol.  But if you really want to save money?  Invest it in companies that base their business model on something like "we extract 8% from the 99%."  I think their Redbox thing was kinda silly when Netflix already existed.  I think some of their other experiments are even sillier.  And yet, that ten-year chart speaks for itself, and what it says is that when the 99% is willing to give up 8%, it's the 1% who benefit.  (Why don't we all make 15%/year?  Because for every company who makes 15%/year over 10 years, there are many that go to zero.  That's part of the game, and when you can afford to lose, you can afford to play.  That's actually part of the game that sucks, because everyone should be able to play, but I'll get to that in another post someday.)

Bill Gates can afford Coinstar.  If it takes you an hour to count $100 in coins, an 8% loss is $8/hour.  Anyone making $100K/year ($50/hour) should sort out the quarters and dimes once a year, spend an hour rolling them by hand and take them to the bank (getting a free $8/hour for sorting the valuable coins and feeling like Scrooge McDuck in the process), and taking the 8% loss on the nickels and pennies (unless you really like counting money, in which case, take a night off and count, count, count to the last penny!)

Someone making near-minimum wage, say, around, $20K/year should consider the $8/hour counting quarters and dimes as tax-free, boss-free work, and the time spent counting the nickels and pennies as a 10% raise (which I gladly did when I was a kid, because I just loved that Scrooge McDuck feeling.  I have to credit my parents, who were happy to eat a 100% loss on their spare change for the sake of keeping their fingers non-smelly while getting $inifnity/hour worth of joy by watching me count it with dollar signs in my eyes.  Maybe they did too good a job...)

How do you fail? All it takes are 2 slices of bread, meats and mustard. 



A) except for tuna it pb&j I don't like sandwiches
B) sometimes I don't have time to get my food ready in the am
C) sometimes I don't have any food to take for lunch
D) sometimes even tho I've managed to bring lunch I'm not at all interested in what I brought
E) sometimes the cops are going to eat at a restaurant I really love so I choose to eat there instead of the food I brought.

We keep our water heater on a singular breaker box to control when it is on and off to save money on the electricity bill.

Basically, you flip the breaker on thirty minutes to an hour before you want a shower and turn it off before you actually go inside the bathroom.

If multiple people are taking a shower that day, then the last person who takes a shower is responsible for turning the breaker off.

We try to take lesser showers
We try to keep the air conditioner on low and not too long
We try to keep less lights on.

We try to take lesser showers
We try to keep the air conditioner on low and not too long
We try to keep less lights on.


Lesser showers or shorter showers?

One suggests you bathe less often the other suggests you bathe quicker than you used to.

When it gets cold. Instead of turning the heat up... put on long sleeves instead of short, or put on a sweater.

When it gets cold. Instead of turning the heat up... put on long sleeves instead of short, or put on a sweater.


We do that too. We wear coats in the house sometimes. Lmao

I won't do coinstar.  No way.

I've been procrastinating on coin-rolling for years.  I think I'll go to the bank and get the rolls next week.  I also have to take a bottle run.  I drink mostly fizzy water (seltzer), so there's no sugary stuff for the ants to pillage.  However, that does allow me to let the bottles build up for months and months!
::)

Lesser showers or shorter showers?

One suggests you bathe less often the other suggests you bathe quicker than you used to.


I meant shorter showers.

I used to take baths long time ago so now I take showers.

When it gets cold. Instead of turning the heat up... put on long sleeves instead of short, or put on a sweater.


or long johns.

We do that too. We wear coats in the house sometimes. Lmao


or when the heat is off and it's freezing cold inside the home.  :o

E) sometimes the cops are going to eat at a restaurant I really love so I choose to eat there instead of the food I brought.


For this option, I would just have that packed "lunch" for dinner.

For this option, I would just have that packed "lunch" for dinner.


Mae my "packed" lunch is usually some type of frozen meal in a tray -  remember I don't like sandwiches but tuna & pb&j.  I never take pb&j to work and when I take tuna I take the can, the mayo and the relish with me so I can make it there. (See my time management issue in my list  ;D ) anyway the food will keep for another day.

Speaking of food, pack a lunch if you go out shopping.

Speaking of food, pack a lunch if you go out shopping.


And never grocery shop on an empty stomach  ;D

Lesser showers or shorter showers?

One suggests you bathe less often the other suggests you bathe quicker than you used to.
wondering if he follows the " if it's yellow let it mellow...  If it's brown flush it down". Mentality :-\\

Sorry anyone but  8-P

wondering if he follows the " if it's yellow let it mellow...  If it's brown flush it down". Mentality :-\\

Sorry anyone but  8-P


Yeah im not a fan of that philosophy either.

Tho based on his posts re the pathmark bathrooms I seriously doubt he does.  :D

Speaking of food, pack a lunch if you go out shopping.


2 pieces of bread, cold cuts, and mustard. simple!

And never grocery shop on an empty stomach  ;D


always eat a big meal.

Yeah im not a fan of that philosophy either.

Tho based on his posts re the pathmark bathrooms I seriously doubt he does.  :D


either way I'd flush it.

Shop for clothing/shoes at Winners/Marshall's/Ross/TJ's on the clearance racks. They have many upscale brands at significantly reduced prices.

Same thing with The Bay/Lord&Taylor's clearance---normally a little pricey, but they are desperate to get rid of their merchandise so they'll keep marking them down to ridiculously low prices.

or when the heat is off and it's freezing cold inside the home.  :o


We burn wood actually and have a stove outside. The heat is vented from the wood shed into the house through a large fan which we took from an old central unit. In the morning, however, before the wood is burning it can be very cold in here.

Shop for clothing/shoes at Winners/Marshall's/Ross/TJ's on the clearance racks. They have many upscale brands at significantly reduced prices.

Same thing with The Bay/Lord&Taylor's clearance---normally a little pricey, but they are desperate to get rid of their merchandise so they'll keep marking them down to ridiculously low prices.


I shop at some discount clothes stores to save money and buy shirts, pants, shoes and ties for myself.

Payless is a good place to buy sneakers and shoes.

The 99 cent store is another good place to buy some clothes.

We burn wood actually and have a stove outside. The heat is vented from the wood shed into the house through a large fan which we took from an old central unit. In the morning, however, before the wood is burning it can be very cold in here.


What's the temperature?

What's the temperature?


Well, it is hot and humid right now but welcome to Kentucky.

Kentucky has strange seasons.

We have almost summer, summer, still summer, will summer ever end, a week of fall, and then winter.

Our winters are mild compared to many places. While it does snow here, it is rare when we get more than an inch.

Today it is 75 degrees right now with 86 percent humidity. It is supposed to reach 95 degrees today. -.- Nasty weather!

Well, it is hot and humid right now but welcome to Kentucky.

Kentucky has strange seasons.

We have almost summer, summer, still summer, will summer ever end, a week of fall, and then winter.

Our winters are mild compared to many places. While it does snow here, it is rare when we get more than an inch.

Today it is 75 degrees right now with 86 percent humidity. It is supposed to reach 95 degrees today. -.- Nasty weather!


New York will be close to 90 tomorrow with hot and humid conditions and it's almost Fall weather soon.

Shop for clothing/shoes at Winners/Marshall's/Ross/TJ's on the clearance racks. They have many upscale brands at significantly reduced prices.

Same thing with The Bay/Lord&Taylor's clearance---normally a little pricey, but they are desperate to get rid of their merchandise so they'll keep marking them down to ridiculously low prices.


Also DD's if you have one its a store full of Ross clearance items that didn't sell (or something) I fm found all sorts of good bargains at the one in AZ. Fortunately there's one in Oxnard. It's 40 miles away but since I'm always going to la technically it's abt 3-5 miles out if my way...but worth the side trip usually.

keep the lights off and let some sunshine in through the windows.