"New to You" ways to save money.

[onlinemoniker]

Internet only--Verizon FIOS--$50 per month
Cell Phone--Wal-Mart--Straight Talk--$30 per month--stupid phone only

Make my own burritos and freeze--I eat these all the time. My recipe makes 18 burritos that are about 35% larger than Amy's frozen burritos and while the Amy's cost about $2.5 per, my homemade/home frozen cost about 60 cents each.

Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.

I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.

[Teacher Terry]

WE walked for about 30 years for exercise and then one day was just sick of it. We wanted to take aqua exercise classes but most gyms were expensive. Then we found Fitness Connection which is only $9.95/each a month so we joined. For that $ you can use everything they have to offer and take as many classes as you want.

[Packratona!]

In the past year I've returned to the cash system for discretionary purchases, and it definitely makes me more mindful of spending, particularly on food. When you have limited means of exchange on you in the supermarket, you simply make different choices. Like, "maybe I don't need the brand product," or "maybe I'll just drink water and lemon this week instead of buying soda" Also, cash spending makes you see more clearly the impact of small purchases on the whole, which cuts down those little impulse purchases.

Well, for me, using credit allows me to grab and stock up on great bargains as I see them. So I think in the long run I save more by using the credit cards, especially as I pay in full each month and also get % cash back in cc rewards. If I have a limited amount of cash with me and can't buy the stuff to stock while it is super cheap, I end up paying more money later when I have to purchase it at not such a great price. The key is, self discipline and thinking through before you shop, about what you don't want to stock up on, such as many processed foods that are harmful to the body. And then stick to the list. Unless you see a great bargain of something good that you need, then you should strike while the iron is hot.

[Packratona!]

Internet only--Verizon FIOS--$50 per month
Cell Phone--Wal-Mart--Straight Talk--$30 per month--stupid phone only

Make my own burritos and freeze--I eat these all the time. My recipe makes 18 burritos that are about 35% larger than Amy's frozen burritos and while the Amy's cost about $2.5 per, my homemade/home frozen cost about 60 cents each.

Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.

I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.

I make breakfast burritos and then freeze them. I use frozen ground turkey sausage I buy at Walmart. I first fry up a couple of peeled potatoes diced. Then I add the thawed out sausage and fry it up with a chopped onion, garlic, cummin, some chile powder, some spicy heat (hot sauce or fresh hot pepper). I scramble up a lot of eggs (at least a dozen and a half or so). Place tortillas on a pan and then fill with the egg, top with a SMALL AMOUNT of the meat mixture, grated cheese, then roll up. I like to put 2 or 3 each in a square of aluminum foil and then roll up, but it could be rolled up and put directly in a plastic freezer bag. Freeze, then when you want one for breakfast just take out of freezer and pop in microwave for one to two minutes. The cheese is the most expensive ingredient.

[frugal-one]

WE walked for about 30 years for exercise and then one day was just sick of it. We wanted to take aqua exercise classes but most gyms were expensive. Then we found Fitness Connection which is only $9.95/each a month so we joined. For that $ you can use everything they have to offer and take as many classes as you want.

Lucky you.... none where I live!

[SteveinMN]

- As magazine subscriptions expire, I've started reading the same magazines through the library.

- I've been buying more meat when it's on sale (turkeys at Thanksgiving; ham at Easter, etc.) and portioning and freezing it.

- I've consciously reduced software expenditures by using what I have for as much as I can. For example, I could buy software which would let me watermark the images I put up on the Web for customers. But I already have an application I like which will watermark and convert in batches. It may not be as simple or elegant, but it beats spending another $10-30 on "one-trick-pony" software. I also don't update paid software just because it's there.

[Lainey]

just a little thing, but I was not itemizing some charitable deductions on my income tax - mainly, all those small donations like "give $1 to heart disease" at the register at Walgreens, etc. I finally put a file folder on the countertop near the door, so when I come back into the house I just drop that receipt into the folder. It's amazing how those little donations add up by year-end.

[shadowmoss]

In line with looking for an affordable gym, I found our community rec center. It doesn't have a pool, but living in AZ my 55+ trailer court has one. I'm going to check out the machines and indoor track next week on my days off. It should be in bicycle distance once I actually start riding my bike. It is $2/visit for residents and $3/visit for non-residents with price breaks for buying in bulk, up to $212/year for residents. I'm probably going to start with a 10-pack and see how it goes.

[lmerullo]

Having no TV means a lot less exposure to advertising--I hardly see anything that I know I'm supposed to believe I can't live without and as a result I do not purchase much of anything that isn't part of my food budget.

I can't emphasize enough how not seeing TV ads has practically eliminated my desire to spend money.[/QUOTE]


^This. Not being exposed to ads helps immensely. In conjunction, not going into a store to just window shop helps me too...

[SteveinMN]

Lainey reminded me that both DW and I are now tracking mileage; her for work and me for charitable work. It's not a huge amount of money, but it works out to more than $300 a year for both of us.