101 Painless Saving Ideas

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

poundwise, I keep trying to catch up to tell you you are my neighbor. I live in Blairsville, Ga.!!

I don't think we are neighbors.



I live in NC, near Raleigh. I am from AL, near Birmingham.

[Ima saver]

Sorry, I thought you said you lived near Murphy!!

[getforfree]

Does anybody know if it is cheaper to run a dishwasher or to handwash the dishes, (assuming that I can use unlimited cold water and still pay the same).
Lets say is it cheaper to run the dishwasher than use 12 gallons of hot water to wash the same amount of dishes? I don't mind handwashing it as long as it will save me at least 5c a day.

[Ima saver]

I don'tnow. I do take off the drying cycle because that pulls a lot of power, I let them air dry for hours.

[poundwise]

We hand-wash the few things we use during the day and then we most often machine-wash after supper. We do not let the washer run the full time that it can (this is called 'water saver' on our unit) and then, like Ima stated, we do not run the 'dryer' but, rather, let the dishes air-dry on the racks.

[lynclarke]

When I first started out, my goal was to use this month's pay for next month's living. It took a while to get one entire month ahead- May be a year- but ever since then I have never had to worry about late fees, or if the check cleared on time etc. etc. We are paid into one account. The money sits there in an interest bearing account until the 25th of the month, when I transfer it to our living account. I know exactly how much money it takes to run the house. If we were to put the paycheck into the living account then that overtime money we had last week would just disappear. With two accounts, the overtime money builds up in an account no one sees. The checkbook reflects the living account only. Out of sight, out of mind. lynclarke

[story3girl]

How about, when buying online, use a rebate site to get additional money back? evreward.com compares different cash back sites and also aggregates coupon codes.

Student loans provide a discount if you sign up to have the payment auto-paid from your bank every month. Other companies may offer one time discounts for signing up for auto-pay - I know Verizon wireless did at one point. This also saves you postage and late fees.

Hmm, that's all I can think of right now for painless.

[Ima saver]

If you have to go to the mall, go for exercise, not to buy anything. I have not been to the mall in years!

[Thrifty Ray]

I have learned how to use Excel enough to make all of my forms like groceries, budget, to-do, etc. I do not buy premade calendars but make my own...and customize accordingly.

Banks will often give you a free pen at each visit for the asking.
They also might have free calendars. key chains, note pads, etc...just ask next time you're there!

Also, don't pass up free sample offers. I recently had accumulated enough to do my laudry, my shower and my doggie treats all free one day!

Also- visit your local bank and credit union websites...even if you aren't a customer or member. They often have promotions and contests with freebies (cookies, hot dogs, give aways, seminars) provided to the community just for name recognition and branding.

[Ima saver]

I get free doggie treats for my little Holly every time I go thru the drive in windows.

[cptacek]

Grill during the summer. You can cook your meat, vegetables, heat up bread and make desert all using the grill, so you don't heat up the kitchen AND you don't have pots and pans to wash. Make aluminum foil packets with the vegies inside so the vegies won't stick...

[debtfreeme]

if you are used to going to a laundry mat and then have a washer and dryer at home, continue to put the money you would normally spend into a "piggy bank" for repaoirs and such. It has worked for me for over 8 years.

if you choose to dry clothes outside, put the money you would spend in electricity in a bank. At the end of the month you willl be surprised how much you can save in a month.

[rusty@saving]

no way!!!! i am up late doing laundry tonight, i wish i would have read this earlier!!! thanks

[joesixpack]

Originally Posted by sakigt

Make enough dinner to use for lunch the next day
When dining out get a meal that heats up easily and only eat half (this is my new favorite...I havent bought anything for lunch in 2 weeks)

That one's a toughie for me. I hate leftovers!

[shelbylovesmelby]

I line dry everything (don't tell my dh he doesn't like his skibbies flying in the wind for the neighbors to see *LMAO*) in summer & as much as possible in winter.

I (and so do other relavitves for me also) frequent rummage sales for anything and everything. Though mainly looking for clothes for my kids. If I pay $1 or less I don't feel as bad if they end up stained, rather than paying full price especially for brand names & investing in a ton of spray and wash.

Don't go to the movies. Wait for the dvd to come out as you'll pay just as much and you get to watch it more than once.

[markio26]

i took 3 soft soap plastic containers (they have the dispenser)
that were cleaned and emptied, filled one with shampoo, one with conditioner, and one with body wash... ... now we are using less products in the shower... i placed them under the shower head on my shower rack holder...

[mstrohm]

Keep your car engine tuned and tires inflated correctly. Could save $200 or more in gas.

[getforfree]

I have a friend who gets movies by mail from blockbaster. After he finishes a movie, sometimes he lets me borrow it and then I would send it. I offered to pay him a few $$ but he said it doesn't cost him anything extra if I watch it. So I just showed him my free-after-rebate-and-free-samples pile and let him pick anything whenever they would need anything.

[kealina]

Originally Posted by poundwise

This thread has some very good suggestions. Thanks to all who have contributed thus far. Keep the ideas coming.

Here's one from me. The comment above about printing made me think:

(good) Always use draft or ink saver mode when printing unimportant items.

(better) Don't buy name brand ink jet refills; use 123injkets.com, or similar. {Even better, do that through Ebates, or similar}

(best) Use a laser printer instead. My printer's counter is about to flip 2500 on one toner cartridge. Inkjet cartridges typically are good for only 350-500.

we takes our cartridges to a nearby place that refills our cartridges/takes our cartridge in exchange so they charge less...

[Ima saver]

I don't print anything (don't know how)