PDA

View Full Version : Practical Things That Actually Helped Me Spend Less



heydude
11-10-11, 3:09pm
Here is a list of some practical, and sometimes counter-intuitive, things that helped me to spend less over the years.

1. Close The Credit Card Accounts.
(Even though I paid them off in full each month, having the money come directly out of my checking account, helped me to actually spend less).

2. Stop Buying In Bulk Or In Advance of An Actual Need.
(No more stocking up on toothpaste because it is 1 cent less per ounce. I actually save a ton of money by keeping stocks extremely low. Sounds counter-intutitive, but it worked).

3. Pre-approving all non-essentials first with lists.
(If I've planned to buy a new toy for months and months on end, and I still want it, then I'll buy it. But most things fall off the list within a few weeks once I've tired of them).

4. Procrastinate all Purchases.
(I've researched things and hunted down things until I've found the perfect one. Then, I put it off just a little longer; and guess what? I've already found something new to try to hunt down....SO, I end up forgetting about the first thing).

5. Get a Bad Boss or a Bad Job.
(I like my job a lot now but for awhile it was HELL. That HELL helped me to bare bones my entire life frantically trying to pay off all debt. Having a bad boss is the best motivation to be financially secure. hehe).

sweetana3
11-10-11, 3:24pm
STAY OUT OF STORES or go in with a list and stick to the list (for grocery stores).

STOP checking out magazines. The advertisements and/or articles will give you all kinds of shopping ideas or make you unhappy with what you have. (exception Economist or some such)

THROW out the catalogs before they enter the house or right out of the mailbox.

STOP watching HGTV or any kind of decorating, home buying, etc. show on TV. Realize that any show conveys an artificial lifestyle.

STOP checking out Ebay or craigslist.

STUDY advertising and just how they create the atmosphere to "help" us spend money since "it will of course make us happy".

Stella
11-10-11, 4:13pm
Great thread!

Some of mine are:

1. Not considering buying anything on credit an option.

2. Not letting my kids watch TV with advertisements.

3. Repeating the words, "maybe for Christmas or your birthday" to the point that my kids will say it themselves when looking at something they like. :)

4. Homeschooling, thereby removing the "need" to own X, Y or Z ridiculous item to fit in.

5. Eating at home.

6. DO instead of BUY (I mentioned this in another thread. From a now defunct website I used to read)

7. Shop at home first (from the same defunct website)

8. Use it up, make do or do without.

9. Living in an area where the people around me are generally pretty frugal.

10. DIY

herbgeek
11-10-11, 4:23pm
In addition to those great suggestions already made:

I go through my stuff and put like stuff together once or twice a year. It makes me realize how much stuff I already have, so I don't buy more. Particularly useful in that I don't have that bit in my brain that resets once I replace something we are out of, and I wind up with 3+ replacements (over time).

pony mom
11-10-11, 11:27pm
I do tons of research on whatever I'll be needing. Buy once, buy right.

Staying out of stores, and, in my case, away from NYC. It's a much longer commute there from where I live now so I rarely go to see Broadway shows anymore. I'm even skipping Alan Rickman!!! My friend is going with other people and I'll be OK (he's on Masterpiece Classic this weekend anyway). ETA, I'm longing to see Harry Connick in On a Clear Day this season.

Staying clueless about electronics. ipods, fancy cellphones, navigators---it's all Greek to me. I don't have the urge to upgrade to something faster/fancier/loaded with features. I have a simple cellphone. And that's it.

I like simple food. When I have to eat out, I'm happy with a slice of pizza, grilled chicken sandwich, or an appetizer. I'd rather eat at home.

LOVE using stuff up, and sometimes never replacing.

Keeping track of every cent I spend. My checking account is shared by car, horse, insurance and regular monthly expenses. I know exactly how much is allotted to each and only go over that amount in an emergency. Cash is the same way.

Mighty Frugal
11-11-11, 3:53pm
My dh trolls the net for the best deal on anything we have to buy-including looking for coupon codes

I always bring my lunch to work-splurge once a month or so which is such a treat!

I do buy in bulk-Have never spent full price on toilet paper, toothpaste, canned goods, Lindt choco, etc.

Get 1% back on our credit card purchases-it's free money. And we pay it off in full each month

Make due with the clothes I have-or shop vintage shops

Don't have the need to replace my winter coat each year-have a great wool with fox trim 1970s coat we picked up for 70 bucks 5 years ago

Try to have free activities with the kids on weekends. Paid ones are planned in advance-no last minute visits to chuck E Cheese

Do not develop a need for fancy car or fancy home-that in itself has saved us thousands!

Fawn
11-11-11, 9:26pm
heydude-I have to agree w/ all of your strategies.

I have begun to let myself run out of all non-essential items (i.e. everything but coffee and toilet paper) before I go to the store. I find I can creatively create one more meal before the kids go hungry, or one more outfit before we need more clothes. It is a creative endevor.

And if we ran out of coffee and toilet paper, we would use tea and paper napkins.

Stocking up can lead to waste when there is: a power outage, mice, flood, larvae/bugs, theft, change in preferences, etc.

We really need far less than we desire.

Mrs-M
11-11-11, 10:31pm
Great thread, Heydude! Gosh oh gosh, where to start.

Cooking from scratch.
Shopping sales/discounts/bulk.
Eating at home.
Being handy behind my trust old sewing machine (alterations, etc).
Possessing a content (happy with what I have) nature about me.
Enjoying the benefits attached to being frugal and simple. i.e. Extra spending rewards in other areas as a result of living more plainly.
Marrying my husband who is a jack-of-all-trades!
Using cloth diapers when my kids were babies.
Buying second-hand/used when possible/practical.
Knowing how to make the most out of, and, get the most most mileage out of most everything.
Staying away from consumerism stupidity/frivolous spending.
Buying, using, relying upon only the things I truly need.

heydude
11-11-11, 11:51pm
Fawn, very very very true!

There are things that I have used FOR YEARS and never dreamed of changing and then all of a sudden, something comes up, and my habits change on the spur of the moment and here I'd have a stock pile., hahahahah

furthermore, when they were 1 cent cheaper, and I bought like 100 of them, I was always startled that my bill was like 200 bucks. I'd be like, 'but they were on sale' ! but then I had bought like 20 of them. hehahhahaha. AND...so my budget would be way out of wack for that month and I'd justify it by saying I'd saved so much. But guess what, I'd never make up for it in the other months like you'd think I would.

cdttmm
11-12-11, 7:56am
Everyone has such great ideas, so I will just reiterate a few.

1. Stay out of stores! I've gotten much, much better about after work just driving straight home. I'll get in the car and think, "Oh, I should just go and pick up this one thing. After all, I'm already out so I'm combining trips and that's smart." But I know that if I go in the store I will almost always end up buying more than just that ONE thing - this especially happens to me in the grocery store! So I've been training myself to just go home. There is more than enough food in our house, I'm certainly not going to go hungry, I just might have to eat something other than what I'm craving!

2. Go out to breakfast instead of lunch or dinner. I love to go out to eat and I love to go out to eat with my friends, but the expense - ugh! Fortunately, I am a morning person, so now I make plans once a month to meet a friend for breakfast. We get to see each other and catch up, but breakfast usually costs me under $6 rather than $12 for lunch or $20 for dinner.

3. Use a smaller amount. This came about because one of my dogs was gaining weight. She had put on about 4 pounds over the winter, which I assumed was just due to a decreased activity level while it was so cold outside. But she didn't seem to lose it in the spring the way I expected. Then it hit me...what if I fed her less! I had just been filling her bowl because that's what I did with all 3 dogs, even though only 1 ever ate the whole bowl full of food. So I started paying more attention and experimenting with the amounts I was feeding. Lo and behold, the one dog lost weight, the other two maintained their weight, and the bag of dog food lasted a few more days! So now I try to apply that same idea to other areas as well.

Selah
11-12-11, 9:39am
Sweetana3, I liked your comment about how "The Economist" doesn't inspire you to shop. Be careful, though...it might inspire you to enroll in an "International Excecutive MBA" program in Geneva, London or Paris, or go back to school and get an economics degree...neither of which is cheap! :)

herisf
11-12-11, 9:40am
I'm a voracious reader, so for me borrowing books from the library is key. Since I have a Nook, I also borrow e-books. And since my library is affiliated with the next county, and that library has affiliations with the urban area 2 hours away (which has 2 library systems), I have access to 4 library systems' e-books. This way I can get about 90% of all the books on my to-be-read list. The remainder I get in paper at my local library or through interlibrary loan. It's turned out to be a fabulous system.

As for the rest, I wait 6 months to be sure that I truly want something, and then if I still want it I go ahead and find it somewhere. Usually the wish disappears. One thing I probably will get in the next few days is an electric mattress pad. I used to have one, loved loved loved it, but it didn't fit my current mattress so I freecycled it. I hear it's going to be a COLD winter where I live again, so I'll probably indulge and get it. Right now it can take over an hour for my toes to warm up!

ctg492
11-12-11, 6:25pm
I only use a credit card for ordering off the net if it is something I can justify. The biggest way I could spend less is stop the debit card and use cash. I have not done this yet, I am the carrier of little cash. Someday I will try to live with out debit card.

RosieTR
11-12-11, 11:23pm
Being a good cook and doing meal planning really helps. Our food budget is not the lowest it can go, but I definitely save money when folks invite me out for lunch and I already have something yummy waiting in the fridge. I really prefer to eat stuff "out" that I wouldn't or couldn't cook at home, so it's not terribly tempting to go out for, say, cheap Chinese. I could (and often do) make way better stir fry.
Being busy helps me too. I just don't have time to dink around getting new clothes or whatever so I don't. The negative of this is when I really do need something but don't have time to bargain-shop. Also sometimes it'll make me penny-wise and pound-foolish: like not paying $25 for an oil change because I don't have time or something means I may pay thousands more for a new-to-me car sooner.
As far as stocking up, it depends on the item. Some things I know I will eat: frozen ground beef, chicken stock, dried tomatoes. Others I may eat just to save which means I would have been fine without them in the first place. Still working on this.

Anne Lee
11-13-11, 2:23pm
No snacking.
Homemade treats when at home (no store bought cookies, pie, etc)
Keep the same basic menu to use up ingredients.
Bring coffee from home or make it at work.
Take up cheap hobbies.

jp1
11-14-11, 9:28pm
Here's one that works for us. Live across the street from the grocery store. Seriously. Before we moved to our current place we used to go to Safeway once a month or so and buy everything we might need for the next month. Inevitably we'd get to the store, see something that wasn't on our list and say "I don't think we have that, we'd better get some." Then we'd get home and there would be 3 jars (or whatever) of "that" which we hadn't bought last time, but had bought six months ago and now it was long forgotten in the back of the pantry cabinet. Now we only go to the store if we're making something for dinner and we've checked and know we don't have the ingredient. And since the store is a 2 minute walk away we don't even consider buying other stuff that's not on the (short) list of things we're going for since we can always just go to the store again tomorrow if we really need/want something.

Spartana
11-16-11, 2:20pm
Use only cash for all purchases. Take only the amount of cash I plan to spend into the store with me (can't spend more if you don't have it on you). No cable TV or home internet (use free wi-fi at library - helps reduce my on-line time too). Never buy books, CDs or DVDs or go to movies (excepot some sci-fi for the special effects) - get everything for free at the library. Drive a used compact car (mine just died so now have a gas guzzler truck (small V-6) and it's killing me!!). Ride bike or walk more. Be a minimalist and hate clutter and "stuff" (this is probably the BEST stratigy since I never want to buy anything anyways). Low budget, longer term vacations/travel in the off season to places I can drive too. Tent camping rather then RV or motel. Eat at home. Vegan diet (but not organic). Free and very low cost hobbies (physical stuff for me like playing cheap sports like beach volleyball, running, biking, hiking, tennis rather than expensive sports golf, motorcycles, snow skiing, etc...). Live in the city close to everything so you don't have to drive much - if at all (want to do this eventually).