What small things do you do to save money?

[MaryWallick]

I try not to eat outside food. That saves a lot of money.

[sv2007]

In computers, there's something called Amdahl's law which I've found works well in many life situations. It basically says that the biggest improvement probably can come from the area where the biggest time is spent; and if you generalize it to frugal living (which BTW, everybody has a different defintiion), that you'd want to first try to improve your most costly item, then work your way down.

Very small items like laundry would not make sense for an adult because it saves so little money.

I'd suggest looking at your credit card statement (or multi-month statements) and go down from the highest cost to the lowest. And ask questions on how to improve that on these discussion boards.

[ThinkingCapital]

Look at all of your monthly bills and see where you can make cuts. Can you cut $5/month off your phone bill by reducing some services or getting rid of some options? Have you talked to your bank about eliminating bank fees? Can you save money by getting online bills instead of paper bills? All of these small savings add up.

[97guns]

i just moved my rental insurance to another company and will be saving over $900 on the year, i had a feeling i was paying too much but didnt realize it would be a 33% savings + it has more and better coverage

[TexasHusker]

I take a piss in my backyard every chance I get, in order to save water. If I have a low water bill, I can then afford expanded cable with all the sports channels.

So...pissing in yard = more sports.

[FLA]

wash clothes that don't need hot water on cold

[Outdoorsygal]

1. Take my trash to work. Saves us about $30 a mo.
I have a Client at a low income apartment building so during my two 18 hr shifts per wk, after she's in bed, I run outside at 10:30pm and toss out my trash.

2. I ordered ONSTAR stickers from Ebay for $3 and placed them on the dash. Sure hope that helps to deter the thief who tried to steal my car during my shift in broad daylight.
I will cancel my Free 3 month trial of Onstar before the 3 months I just ordered

3. I rinse out one set of clothes (the days clothes) and hang in the shower at work at 10:30 when she's asleep. Saves water and most important, saves my time to add more work to the laundry pile. Get up at 6:30am, grab my clothes from bathroom (which are dry now) fold them, then wake her up.

4. I shower at work sometimes. Saves time to do it on my own time and a little $$

[Outdoorsygal]

1. My 25 yr old son added me FOR FREE onto his AMAZON PRIME so now I can stream more movies for free (Sick of primewire.ag) like back to back episodes of FULLER HOUSE

We have separate Amazon accounts totally- seperate residences (addresses) separate credit cards, etc...but they still let family be added on at no cost.



2. Just an FYI but we still pay his auto insurance. It's cheaper to leave him on our plan and say he lives with us than for him to get his own policy

[Outdoorsygal]

Just heard something I was unaware of to save money


You can "suspend" your car insurance. So if you work seasonally and don't use a car lets say for the summer, you can suspend your car insurance and not pay during those months.
A friend just told me she paid $1.50 a month to keep it suspended but saved $75 total.

[clatoden99]

Spending Less by carrying physical money instead of debt,credit card.

Avoiding out-of-network ATMs.

Bringing my lunch to work.

Taking public transportation as much as possible.

Don't going to the supermarket hungry — it may cause me to buy more.

Learning how to do my own common home repairs.

When i am eating out, drinking water only and avoiding sodas and other overpriced drinks.

Turning off lights and unplug electronics when not in use.

Using Trimmer to shave it saves some amount on my saloon bill.

Unsubscribing to daily deal because it persuade customers to purchase more products.

Using up my daily deals, gift cards, and credits before they expire.

Taking advantage of my employer's benefits and discounts.

Hope it Helps.

[Toniixo]

I'm not great at budgeting, currently because I have an unstable and irregular household income. But some of the ways in which I cut back include:

Meal planning...I then only purchase what I need to cook. I take advantage of the 'reduced times' at various supermarkets. I bulk cook meals (spag bol', cottage pie, chilli, curry, stew's, soups) and store in the freezer, so I reduce the amount of waste as well.

Instead of having home / pet / contents insurance, I have various savings tins in my home, each of which I periodically put £5 - £10, as and when I can afford to. I think I have around £2000 saved up for emergencies.

I pay all bills via DD, and have a separate bills account which all bill money goes into...so my gas/electric, rent, council tax, vehicle tax/insurance all comes out of there...

Every 6 months or so I check my utility, internet and mobile providers, to ensure I am getting the cheapest deal!

I use swagbucks, tesco clubcard and my boots card to save for larger events such as Christmas and birthdays.

I make do and mend. If a pair of jeans have a hole...I patch it! If my daughters leggings are too short, but still fit around the bum, I make them into shorts. I also buy clothing out of season, so its cheaper, and I always buy 'next size up'!

I insulate the back of my radiators with tin foil, so heat is reflected back into the room, rather then being absorbed by the walls.

I make sure I turn off all electricals before I sleep or go out. Nothing is ever left on standby.

I have loads of other bits I try and do, and I should imagine most have already been mentioned!

Good luck, and I hope some of this helps

[Outdoorsygal]

placed an add on Craigslist in the ridshare section.

I was paid $3.75 per 35 min ride to work. This is just mornings, I treasure my quiet time on the way home.

Very nice person, we have alot in common. This is ongoing

$4.25 x 2=$8.50 week x 52 weeks in a year=

$442 year or $36 a mo.