I am naturally frugal by nature and often complain that there are NO new frugal tips and hints. These are not new or difficult ideas BUT they do work for me and are tried and true ways to save money!
Diana from Prospect, KY
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I am always looking for ways to save money and have compiled a list of the 10 best ways to save.
I don't like buying household items in grocery stores. The prices are outrageous! I'm sure most will agree! I am a household of just one, but strongly believe in saving as much money as I can. I have priced products online and in club stores and have found a great online company that beats all prices!
I have always been a thrifty person and actually find it fun to think of ways to recycle things and save money. I'm sure these may not be new ideas to some, but these are a few things that come to mind that will help you save money:
Everyone knows that you should change the batteries in your smoke detectors twice a year, at the Daylight Saving time change. It's also good to look for other changes to do as well, those that can "add change" to your bank account.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm looking for ways to help save money on a tight budget. My wife and I have two young boys and are in the process of buying a new car. We are looking for ways to save money. Can anyone suggest ways to cut costs around the house?
Well for one thing I would not be buying a new car. You could save by buying a program car. that is a car that has been leased from a dealer or shop car rental companies. I used to buy new but no more. I buy lease cars from dealers. The excise tax is higher on a new car and because cars depreciate as soon as they are driven off the lot one could find themselves paying more for a car than what it is worth.
We switched to Magicjack.com for our phone. It is through the computer. Free 30 day trail. We got 5 years of service for $90 - that saved us $5500 on our phone bill!
We are very happy with the service and connection.
Check out the answer I posted about saving money at the URL below. I've gotten letters from several ThriftyFun people who have enjoyed it & there are also some very helpful posts from others as well...
Balancing Bills On One Salary
www.thriftyfun.com/
* But, I'll tell you one thing. I'm 53 years old & have NEVER owned a "NEW" car. Mine have always been at least 8 years old, but they have ran well & lasted me for many years. You can get yourself a good little older Subaru, Honda or Toyota for under $3000 & if you have someone go with you that knows about cars, it'll last you for years with few repairs. I just LOVE my '91 Colt. I've had it for 6 years & it's been a real gem. I paid $1,500 for it & have only had to do minor repairs.
But if any of you have your heart set on buying a New car, then why not buy a car that's at least 3 years old, that way you won't have a car that's depreciated just by driving it off the dealers lot.
Get up early every Saturday & drive up & down the main drag of your town to check for garage sales (most start at 9 or 9:AM) You'd be amazed at what you might find. I once came across a garage sale in the home of a man who worked for a Breakfast Cereal Manufacturer where I bought many boxes of qulity breakfast cereal for only a quarter a box. These were not "past pull date" (always check for that). You can also find things that can be sold on e-bay & you can have a whole day of fun for under $20...(plus gas) I once came across a garage sale that was being put on by a boy scout troupe & we bought all kinds of camping equipment from them for under $20. Our family went camping close by for vacations instead of financing trips to Disneyland & the like.
You can save money by getting rid of your Cable internet & using dial-up (it works for me) This is usually sufficient unless you need a speedy internet for business.
Change your light bulbs to compact swirly florescent. This can save you lots in power over the year. & turn off your TV, computer & lights when they are not being used. Also, hang your clothes outside, it will save you quite a bit in the way of power bills. Also, take shorter showers & turn your hot water tank's temp down. In the winter throw a sweater or a comfy fleece jacket on you & the kids instead of always turning up the thermostat & turn the heat down or off at night & use warm blankets instead.
---> REMEMBER if you use Vonage or another internet Phone service, you won't be able to make phone calls when the power goes out... & If you plan on using your cell phone as your back up, be sure to have a back-up way to re-charge it... We had a 6 day power outage 2 years back & because many people had "bundled" their cable service with their phone & internet service many people were left without a way to contact the outside world... & unfortunately they'd taken out many of the pay phones people needed because of possible drug calls. The non-electric plug-in phones were sold out all over town. Plan ahead.
Here's a few ideas:
1. make your own cleaning products (safer for you & the enviroment)
2. use a cell phone plan where you purchase minutes (I bought the phone for $20.00 & $20.00 worth of minutes last me 3 months. Cost per month after the phone purchase is less then $7.00). I figure my other cell phone plan was almost $500.00 per year. This way I am paying about $84.00 per year.
3. Bundle high speed computer, cable, & telphone. All 3 can be as low as $99.00/monthly.
4. Have meat less meals 1 or more times a week.
5. Do only full loads of laundry/dishes. Hang clothes out.
6. Buy a few quality pices of clothing (pants, coats, skirts, whatever) in basic colors (black, navy, brown) & work from there. The quality will last longer.
7. Try to find clothes that don't need to be dry cleaned.
8. Add liquified powdered milk to regular milk. Saves $ & calories.
9. Sell your paperbacks on Amazon.com or eBay (the stuff you sell, as I understand, is not taxble income because it is assumed you sell for less then you paid).
10.Stay out of the stores! Try to grocery shop infrequently.
11. Have a garden - even a pot of tomatoes helps.
12. Keep up your teeth.
13. No manicures/pedicures (saves me about $800.00 a year)
14. Get an easy care hair style.
15. Potluck supper parties.
16. Buy gifts all year when on sale.
17. Smaller gifts with more meaning (pictures, homemade stuff, a special book, etc.)
18. Flexible spending plans at work.
19. Heavier blankets = lower heating costs
20. Less a/c (thermal screens, draw the drapes when the sun is out, close the blinds, close off unused areas of the house when able, higher temperature setting, turn off whole house system or turn down & use window units (I saved a ton on this in Louisiana).
21. Use the crokpot or grill or microwave rather then heating up the house in the summer, the reverse in the winter.
22. Take care of the cars, the heating/cooling systems, etc. They will last longer & run better.
23. get rid of credit cards
24. shop the sales & buy in quantity when it's on sale.
25. eat more beans
That's all I can think of today.
I guess I would have taken the bulb out (I am not sure if that would be safe either), & called someone. It's terrible that new things don't work right anymore.
So many excellent ideas posted here! The first thing I thought when reading your question was the same as a couple of other posts here. DO NOT BUY A NEW CAR unless you truly have your heart set on it because the value drops 'drastically' just driving it off the lot :-( !
Shop around for a a couple to ten year old car (some makes and models are like new even if a decade old) and then have a mechanic thoroughly check out the one you really have your heart set on to make sure no problems before shaking hands on the deal. Also, you will pay 'premium' through a dealer so would be worth your while to shop news ads, keep an eye out for 'for sale signs' in car windows, etc, etc.
Also, if you could hold off a bit longer for a new(er) car, save up your money and pay cash (or at least as much cash as possible)! It's amazing how much finance fees, etc add to the cost of a vehicle.
Oh, and some makes and models of previously owned vehicles do have transferable warranties so be sure to check on that, too :-)
No one has mentioned clothes yet. If you know someone who is the same size as you and your family and gets rid of their clothes, ask them what they are doing with them. I get a lot of "free" clothes that way. I have not had to buy any clothing for years now.(except bras and panties). I was even given socks. I know quite a few people who give clothing away and I always tell them that I will get rid of the clothes for them but let them know that I will be going through them first. I have a complete new wardrobe from 2 years ago. As I get something "new" I get rid of something in my closet to make room for the "new" item. Hope this helps.
I know food is what most people think of scrimping on first, but that's not it. House and car are the two vultures in your finances. Assuming you don't get a divorce ever, that's too famous for being a disaster financially for both. As I'm sure you knew.
Two things we have done in our family:
Home made laundry soap. You can google this and find good recipes. I do laundry for our family of 6. A 5 gallon bucket of this soap lasts us for 6 weeks. It was very inexpensive to make, too.
Also, we cut back on the paper towel usage. I always have kitchen towels hanging up for drying hands, but we were going through lots of paper towels for napkins. So I got some $1/yard fabric at WalMart and cut out big squares (10"x10" or larger) with pinking shears. This eliminated the need to hem. I tried to make enough for a week's worth of meals before having to wash them.
One more thing: eat lots of beans, rice and potatoes. Have breakfast for dinner occasionally. Pancakes and eggs are cheap.
Make a budget! And try to sitck to it.
Avoid eating out, or buying from vending machines, if at all possible.
Check out videos at your local library instead of paying rental fees. See if there are children's programs available for your kids to participate in at your library.
Teach everyone to turn off the lights when they are leaving a room. If natural light is coming into the room, maybe no lights need to be turned on.
Check with your local electrical utility company and see about home inspections so that they can help you save energy costs.
If you can afford it, get a geothermal heat pump for your home.
White vinegar is cheap & great for uses in cleaning & laundry. It will works as a fabric softener, will not leave a smell, and is somewhat of a disinfectant.
If you use dryer sheets, get the cheapest ones, cut in half, then use only half a sheet per load.
Either drop or cut back on satellite or cable channels and play board games, read, play charades or do puzzles in lieu of tv watching.
Sell items on Ebay or Half.com, collect aluminum cans, and recycle; all put money in your pocket. Save all the change in your pocket/purse at the end of the day. It adds up.
Take your lunch to work. Go meatless one night a week. Use coupons if they are for items you normally buy, look for sales and double coupon days. Buy generic/store brands if the quality is the same, or nearly the same. Buy 2% or 1% milk rather than whole. If your children are over 2 years old, lower fat milk is okay for them.
Make a grocery list and stick to it! Eat before you go to the store so you won't be tempted to eat out or buy extra snacks, etc.
I'm trying to implement these ideas in my home.
Best wishes.
This is not a specific question, we are a one income family, we have 10 (yes ten) children, and I am a stay at home mom. I would love to hear any and all ideas, advice, etc. about things we can do to save money. I try to be thrifty, but with a houseful sometimes it is hard to research and find real ways that truly work. I would love suggestions about laundry and other cleaning products. All other suggestions are welcome also.
Thank you in advance.
By mommiof10 from LA
First off, welcome to thrifty fun. You've come to the right site to find many things on saving money,recycling almost anything,fabulous recipes,crafts etc. With your hectic household I hope you find the time to visit here often.You must have a lot to share with us.
I've been on here some six years,raised only 2 kids and have 5 grand kids.I'm still learning new things on here.
Keeper
With laundry, I wonder if you have a clothesline? You can save a lot of money using the dryer less. If you don't like the way some things feel after you hang them dry, you can "fluff" them in the dryer for a few minutes, and still save energy.
If you're not using a crock pot for cooking, it's time! You can cook the lean, less tender, less expensive cuts of meat easily, with minimal electricity and fuss. Recipes are all over the internet. In the warmer weather, small appliances (crock pot, toaster oven, electric griddle, etc.) can be taken outside, under cover if the weather looks like rain, and you can heat your house up less, saving on air conditioning.
Thermostat: 68 in the winter, 78 in the summer. In summer, you can supplement with fans, if necessary.
Here in PA, the pediatricians are starting to revolt against "juice". They would much rather see children drinking water throughout the day. While there are some nutrients in juice, it is basically just fruit-based sugar-water; so you don't have to feel badly limiting your children if they eat a balanced diet. And if they drink soda, you can limit that, too.
Look at the use of disposable products around your home, paper goods, and such. How can you cut back? Sometimes it is not worth it, but sometimes we (and our kids) get over-dependent on things--like paper towel, paper plates, etc. A small dishpan with clean, soapy water can be kept in the sink with a kitchen sponge in it for quick clean ups.
I think you will find lots of ideas on this bulletin board. It's a great springboard.
Also, if you can, try to record every cent you spend for a month. (You can employ one of your kids to help you do this.) Look at where the money is going and look at what is necessity vs. non-necessity. It might open your eyes. (And you cannot necessarily go by what others see as important.) At our home, we do not have cable TV, but we do have internet. We don't belong to a pool, but a friend with many children does--for her it is important, and ends up saving them money on other entertainments, etc. But only you can scrutinize your own spending!
Welcome to Thrifty Fun - you'll find gobs and gobs of great hints and ideas! You can also access, when you have some extra time!, past posts that have relevant information. When it comes time for gift giving, be sure to look at some fabulous and frugal hand-made treasures. Good luck and God Bless as you raise your wonderful family!
Thanks to all of you for your response. I hope yall are right and I find a lot of useful tips here. Yes I am in the process of putting up a clothes line, I have wanted one for years, I know it will definitely help. I will be visiting here every chanceI get, which is usually at 5am every morning before the children are up and moving, or after 9pm, which is after they are asleep. I look forward to many more tips to try. I would love a good recipe for liquid laundry detergent and fabric softener. Home made cleaning products would be nice too. It sems that we spend more on household cleaning products and personal care items than we do on food. I think ( and hope ) that simpler is better. Any ideas would be great.
I found this recipe at a local farm store for laundry detergent. I have used it a few times. 1/3 bar Fels Naptha laundry bar soap (grated)
1/2 c Borax laundry booster
1/2 c washing soda
2 gallon bucket
Grate 1/3 Fels Naptha bar soap and put in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until soap melts. Add washing soda and borax. Stir til dissolved. Pour 4 cups hot water into 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture. Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water and stir. Let stand for 24 hours and soap will semi gel. Use 1/2 cup to each load.
I added extra because I have a large family and large capacity washer. You can judge how much you want to use.
If you have time, coupons also help us with our growing family. You can find lots of them on the internet and in the Sunday paper maybe more often depending on where you live.
God bless you and your family!
Here are a few easy ideas to save a few pennies. Replace some of your paper towel usages with micro fiber towels. Great for cleaning up glass tables, the stainless steel sink and kitchen appliances (available at the dollar store).
