Money-saving tips and strategies

So, I was thinking about ways to save money, and I got to wondering -- how do you folks streeeeetch that dollar? (Or franc. Or rupiah, or gil, whichever you prefer).

Here're some things that I've seen or learnt:-

* Some universities sell off their unwanted supplies and furniture to the general public for cheap. The university I went to had this place where if I wanted to, I could buy office furniture, old computer equipment, electronics, or even lab supplies for sometimes down to a tenth of their original price. Of course, these items are used, and in the case of electronics, often obsolete, but it's a way to grab stuff like chairs cheap.

* I scour newspapers for grocery discounts. Of course, the whole point of them offering you the discounts in the first place is to get you to buy other, non-discounted stuff, so basic rules apply -- don't go shopping while you're hungry, and make a shopping list and stick to it.

* Back to the university thing -- if your school has a livestock research facility, you can often get meat and eggs cheap from them. The one I worked at, for example, sold a pallet of 48 eggs for 2 USD. The caveat is that it's often meat from animals slaughtered for experiments that gets solds, so bear that in mind.

Your turn!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I do really poorly at stretching my dollar. I always run out of money long before my next amount of income is due to arrive. Some things I've tried are buying less food, leaving my debit card at home. Just never spending my money. But I guess it all just comes down to the fact that I simply don't make enough money. As much as I try to stretch my dollar, as long as I am making less money that I need to spend on things like rent and other bills. I'm always gonna be running short. I know it helps alot to not be afraid to rely on charity from others. If someone offers me dinner, I take it because that means its one less meal I have to cook out of my own supply. My suggestion to anyone is if your gonna go to university, make sure you get a job at the same time. It helps.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Keep a record of your expenses. You may be surprised how much you could cut out.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Learn to cook for yourself. You will save a LOT of money this way. For the price of one Bacon Egg N' Cheese biscuit + coffee, I bought a pack of organic pancake mix, a small carton of milk, and some eggs. Just one batch of pancakes lasted for nearly a week! And I'm not even a quarter of the way done with the mix!

I cook my own lunch and dinner too, and eat the leftovers on the following days.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Stop Sign

* Some universities sell off their unwanted supplies and furniture to the general public for cheap. The university I went to had this place where if I wanted to, I could buy office furniture, old computer equipment, electronics, or even lab supplies for sometimes down to a tenth of their original price. Of course, these items are used, and in the case of electronics, often obsolete, but it's a way to grab stuff like chairs cheap.

Damn, I wish I had thought of this when the college here tore down one of the dorms. They had some nice furniture in the rooms, and they probably sold what couldn't be used for replacements.

One thing I do to save money is to make a list before I shop--and stick to that list. Also, buying store-brand items can save you a LOT of money.

Like PiccoloNamek said, cooking for yourself is a great way of doing it, too. Rice a Roni makes these rice side dishes that are actually pretty good by themselves. And store brands can cost only 50 cents. How's that for inexpensive fare?

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It helps to know where all your money is going. Like Zerg said, keep good records of your income and your expenses.

I balance all of my accounts several times a week using accounting software that lets me see a quick summary of all of my month-to-date expenses broken down by category. I can also set budgets for the month, see how I'm meeting those budgets, and forecast my balances based on a moving average and scheduled transactions.

In short, I know a whole lot about my cash flow and it keeps me from running out.

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Originally Posted by ElectricSheep

I balance all of my accounts several times a week using accounting software that lets me see a quick summary of all of my month-to-date expenses broken down by category. I can also set budgets for the month, see how I'm meeting those budgets, and forecast my balances based on a moving average and scheduled transactions.

I'm just curious, which software do you use? I want to learn effective budgeting too, so I was thinking of using Excel to keep track of my expenses, but it sounds like the software you're using is more efficient.

FELIPE NO

I had just signed on to ask that very same question. I've tried various kinds of accounting software, but all of them sucked.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Dont buy snacks often. Just buy it once, and remember the taste, it will save your money a lot. I do it these days, and It disourages me to spend on stuff that not really necessary.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

As an extension of that- only buy food when you're really hungry and can't make food. Make it otherwise- you'll save money and be healthier.

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Whenever I'm compelled to buy a bottled soda from the machine for $1.25, I go and buy a 12-pack for 3 dollars instead.

Also when I eat fast food I usually bring a can of soda with me so I don't have to buy a drink.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Keep in mind that these are coming from a full-time student with no outside financial support. (As in, I've paid for everything since my plane ticket to the city where I go to university.)

I buy used clothes, and keep a lookout for clubs and whatnot at the university that are giving away t-shirts, and free dinners being had for various events, and never Ever buy my books at the bookstore. I've always gotten them from Amazon, half.com, or borrowed them from friends. Whenever I start to think I'd like to buy something, I figure out how many of hours at work it costs, and decide whether or not I'd be willing to work those hours again to have it. I don't buy snacks out of principle, unless it's really cheap and really tasty. Ramen costs 15 cents a packet, and can be supplemented with fresh veggies so you don't get that whole scurvy thing.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Oh, saving money is my forte.

I view shopping as a war against companies who want to rob you of your money. I never buy anything without thinking long and hard about it and researching the best deal. I usually buy everything online. half.com, amazon.com, etc. Best deals ever, and I'd rather send my money to small businesses/people, not because of moral reasons but because it's cheap and we all know it.

When you go grocery shopping, stick to the sales. Usually sales are engineered for the non-healthy types [I'm a health nut also,] but learn to find the good stuff.

Scan everything and be alert. Never pass up a good deal. When I want something, I realize I want it and I don't buy it for months because I have already come to the conclusion that I don't really need anything. But when I come across a good deal for that thing I want, I jump on it.

School books I buy online. If I can sparknotes it or books.google/scholar.google search it, I don't bother purchasing.

I always wanted to keep a good record of my purchases with a program, but couldn't find one easy enough to use well... I'd appreciate advice on that, though.

I always end up spending a lot of my money on favors for friends and stuff, by lending them money, but I also make sure that it works positively towards my ends as well.

the price of cheapness is eternal vigilance, people.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well, most of the tips I'm aware of were already covered, but here's another thing about college books:

Sell them back ONLINE. Don't even BOTHER with your school's textbook buy-back deals; though it depends on the demand of the book, you usually only get a few dollars.

I usually sell mine at half.com. There is a commission fee (usually 15% or so?), and sometimes the shipping reimbursment is less than the actual cost, but you save money. You most likely won't make profit or even break even, but you technically only spend a few dollars per semester if you do sell them.

This is kinda bad, but if you have a friend with a meal plan, who's willing to let you bum a meal, try and sneak some back. I did this a lot last year, and it was very convinent and saves money too. Just be careful not to get caught!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I can't begin to tell you how much students get raped at the bookstore for their books. A 4 book set that was to be used across 2 semesters was nearly $300 at the college's bookstore, but Amazon sold it for half-price. I'm sure I could have even checked further (like Half.com as Acacia said) and streched my buck.

I would also agree with Piccolo about cooking for yourself. As someone who cooks for themselves and has worked in various restaurants over the years, I know the cost of food. Not to mention, working in a restaurant will put your food cost nearly to zero

Anyone hear that story about the family who bought everything in bulk and became millionaires? Crazy...

FELIPE NO

I go to craigslist. Alot of people give away old furniture they no longer need or dont want to carry around when they're moving for free.

Sometimes you can also get some nice electronics or computer equipment if you're fast. But that kind of stuff goes real quick in the free section.

You can also find some good discounts for all sorts of things in the selling/buying areas of craigslist. I like it alot more than ebay because it's all in my general area so it's simple to pick up and pay.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Spend less time saving money and more time making money.

Oh, and fatwallet.com

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Learn to cook for yourself. You will save a LOT of money this way. For the price of one Bacon Egg N' Cheese biscuit + coffee, I bought a pack of organic pancake mix, a small carton of milk, and some eggs. Just one batch of pancakes lasted for nearly a week! And I'm not even a quarter of the way done with the mix!

I cook my own lunch and dinner too, and eat the leftovers on the following days.

This is so true. Also, it's healthier to cook for yourself than it is to eat out.

I've talked about this before, but the thing that has helped my husband and me more than anything else we've done is paying for everything with cash. And I mean EVERYTHING (with the exception of power bills, phone bills, mortgage, etc., which we pay with checks). At first it was a little scary always carrying cash around, but after doing it for two years now I feel much more confident.

When you pay with cash, as opposed to a credit card or debit card, and you can actually see your little stash of money getting smaller with each purchase, trust me, you WILL spend less money than you do with plastic.

We have this whole sophisticated envelope system where, each payday, we stuff envelopes labeled "groceries," "gas," "haircuts," "clothing," etc. When we use all the money in the envelope, we don't spend any more in that category until the next pay period. Honestly, the first six months were the hardest, both psychologically and logistically, what with trying to figure out how much we really needed in each category.

Doing this, we have paid off ALL of our credit cards and a huge chunk of our other debts (way more than we would have paid off before going to this system). It's been really tough, but it's the best thing we ever did. Now, when I need to go to the dentist or whatever, I just go to the safe and pull out my little envelope labeled "dentist," which I have been putting money into every pay period for however many months, and off I go.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Stop Sign

I'm just curious, which software do you use? I want to learn effective budgeting too, so I was thinking of using Excel to keep track of my expenses, but it sounds like the software you're using is more efficient.

You can do it with a spreadsheet, but you need to take some time to carefully plan your layout and equations for it to work well for you. One column per expense category and income category, and every row is a date. Separate columns and cells for tracking category totals, and set up charts to show weekly figures of what you are spending month-to-date and year-to-date.

A relational database-based solution would be mcuh more flexible, since you could cut and slice the data any way you wanted to.

The software I use is Mac-Specific (iBank from IGG Software). It has functionality similar to Quicken.

Of course, it isn't going to matter what software you use if you are not diligant about keeping records. The more information you feed the software, the better it will serve you. Depending on how many transactions you make, you may need to go over your finances once or twice a week. Some banks allow you to download a transaction history in .QIF format which you could then automatically import, but the amount of information included tends to be minimal, and the formatting sucks.

[quote=Alice]When you pay with cash, as opposed to a credit card or debit card, and you can actually see your little stash of money getting smaller with each purchase, trust me, you WILL spend less money than you do with plastic.[quote]

I stick with my debit card as the deduction is immediate, and there is no fee through my bank. Before I even walk out the door, I make sure I know how much of my balance is available for me to spend. This includes deducting any pending debits (Checks, Charges) which have yet to impact my account. I don't factor pending deposits at all, since they are of no use until they actually clear.

Using my debit card also makes tracking expenses by category easier. My Bank (PNC) records the location of the purchase, so I don't have to worry if I lose a receipt; I can deduce what the category was based on where the purchase was made.

Originally Posted by Alice

We have this whole sophisticated envelope system where, each payday, we stuff envelopes labeled "groceries," "gas," "haircuts," "clothing," etc. When we use all the money in the envelope, we don't spend any more in that category until the next pay period. Honestly, the first six months were the hardest, both psychologically and logistically, what with trying to figure out how much we really needed in each category.

Estimating a budget/category can be difficult for things you aren't explicitly billed for. I'm still gathering data before I can cut an accurate estimate of my monthly expenses per category. For example, I was budgeting about $100 ($25 per week) on gas. Looking back the past three months, I'm spending closer to $54 ($27 every two week) on gas.

I know one girl who is estimating that once she gets a car she'll spend $400 a month on Gas. I told her that was way overblowing that number, but she won't listen. At most, she'll likely spend $120 a month on gas.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

If your young like me then nag your parents to buy you stuff, say you'll pay them back... And Don't! Thats what i do

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I don;t know if they have them in other countries, but generic store brands are fantastic money-savers. For instance, the local generic brand sells macaroni and cheese for 10¢ less than the name brands.

There's hardly a single brand-name piece of food in my entire apartment; I only buy it when they're out of the generic stuff. As a result, my average meal costs a whopping 50¢, meaning far more money for frivolous purchases.

I was speaking idiomatically.

They do in the UK, 8p for loads of stuff at a shop called 'Home Bargains'

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I don't know if they have them in other countries, but generic store brands are fantastic money-savers. For instance, the local generic brand sells macaroni and cheese for 10¢ less than the name brands.

This is a huge money saver that a lot of people miss when it comes to over-the-counter medications.

By Law, generic over-the-counter medications must have the same dosage of the same medication, and must have the same efficacy in the same time interval as their name-brand counterparts. The only difference is in the inactive ingredients used, otherwise the medications must be the same or it cannot be sold.

I've seen people insist on buying the expensive name-brand (Tylenol) instead of getting the generic Acetaminophen because even though they are both the exact same medication in the same dosage. Those extra dollars on the name-brands aren't going to better medicine, they are going to pay for the advertising campaigns that are all over TV and print. Hell, last year Astra-Zenica spent more money on marketing than they did on drug R&D and administrative overhead combined. That's why your name-brand Nexium costs $4 a pill.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by ElectricSheep

I stick with my debit card as the deduction is immediate, and there is no fee through my bank. Before I even walk out the door, I make sure I know how much of my balance is available for me to spend. This includes deducting any pending debits (Checks, Charges) which have yet to impact my account. I don't factor pending deposits at all, since they are of no use until they actually clear.

Using my debit card also makes tracking expenses by category easier. My Bank (PNC) records the location of the purchase, so I don't have to worry if I lose a receipt; I can deduce what the category was based on where the purchase was made.

That's all very true. I'm just saying that for some people, being able to literally watch your money pile getting smaller with every purchase helps them to spend less money.

Quote:

Estimating a budget/category can be difficult for things you aren't explicitly billed for. I'm still gathering data before I can cut an accurate estimate of my monthly expenses per category. For example, I was budgeting about $100 ($25 per week) on gas. Looking back the past three months, I'm spending closer to $54 ($27 every two week) on gas.

It's THE most difficult thing about setting a budget, in my opinion, which is why it took us almost half a year to get our envelopes right so that we weren't running out mid-pay period with some of them and having money left over in others. Once we got it figured out, though, it was smooth sailing.

Quote:

I know one girl who is estimating that once she gets a car she'll spend $400 a month on Gas. I told her that was way overblowing that number, but she won't listen. At most, she'll likely spend $120 a month on gas.

That depends on what kind of car she gets and how much she drives. We spend $550 a month on gas, and that's just my car. My husband has a company car and the gas is on them, so we don't even have to pay for that.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Thats ok then, Paying for one. But there is your car as well, and with the price of Gas going up often...Thats worse IMO.

How ya doing, buddy?