What are your best money saving tips/stories?

United States
January 14, 2007 7:47am CST
I am an avid coupon clipper/user. I also try to keep the lights off in rooms we are not using. I try to keep the temp in the house comfortable but on a money saving setting. I save the most money at the grocery store though. What are your tips/stories?
5 people like this
10 responses
@toonatoons (3737)
• Philippines
14 Jan 07
i stay away from the malls! lol! when i go malling to destress myself, i don't bring a lot of cash with me, that way, i don't get tempted to buy things that i don't really need at that time. fortunately, i'm not an impulsive buyer. it takes me a long time to decide before handing in the goods to the cashier.
• United States
14 Jan 07
I come from a long line of impulse shoppers and really have to guard myself against it. I have that particular weakness and it is good that I am aware of it.
4 people like this
• United States
16 Jan 07
I stay away from all stores. Today is day15 of not being in any store except the gas station. All we have purchased is gas for the vehicles so far this month. Amazing what you can save by not going anywhere.
1 person likes this
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I do the exact same things as you but need to use coupons more often. I have two grocery store club cards that I use for saving money. I just replaced most of my light bulbs in my house with the energy efficient light bulbs. These save a lot of money on your electric bill. You can get these light bulbs at home improvement stores.
@craftwave (1338)
• United States
16 Jan 07
Put it in my purse. That may sound funny but it is true. I once found fifty dollars in my purse and forgot it was there. I'm always doing that. As for economically saving the best thing I have found is these heating panes that we installed in our house last year. Check out www.eheat.com they are made by a compnay called econo heat. And they have already paid for themselves in savings. they use less energy then it takes to run a computer. And you can install them yourself. check out the site. we tell everybody we know about these heating units. right now that is the only thing we are heating our house with because the furnace broke last year. I'm not sure if you could heat your house alone in the northern states but it sure would help cut the cost.
2 people like this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
16 Jan 07
Using Free Cycle is a great way to save money. I have received and given some really good stuff there. I even got a sewing machine on free cycle once.
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jan 07
You can do the same thing with a curling iron and it might be a bit easier to control. Also, you can use a curling iron to seal mylar balloons.
• United States
16 Jan 07
I was just reading tips on another site a few hours ago and this was interesting to me so I tried it and it really works. To seal any plastic bag, put a piece of tin foil around the top of the bag. Make sure all the air is out of the bag. Use a hot iron and press it where the in foil is. It will melt and seal the bag shut. Be careful not to touch the plastic on the hot iron or you will have a mess.
3 people like this
• United States
15 Jan 07
Like you, I use coupons, but I also avoid eating out a lot and spending a lot of time out shopping because I know I'll be more tempted to spend if I have the chance.
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jan 07
My best saving tip is this: DON"T BE BRAND LOYAL. You will save the most money at the grocery store if you dump brand loyalties. I have very few brand loyalties anymore and one of the ones I have is due to allergies(I can only use unscented Dove deoderant or I get a wicked rash). Use whatever brand you can get the best deal on. I haven't paid for toothpaste in years because I'll use whatever brand I can get for free with a coupon, usually Aquafresh.
2 people like this
• Australia
15 Jan 07
I believe in penny pinching, the cents saved today, are my dollars of tomorrow. I tend to go to the shops late on a Saturday afternoon when the meat & fresh products are marked down sometimes up to 50% or more. I have a deep freeze that I store my discounted meat & bread in.
• United States
19 Jan 07
I got this tip from an elderly couple that sold everything but a station wagon and moved to the area they wanted to retire in. I met them when they were selling garage sale finds at a swapmeet. Within 6 months their 'space' had grown 10 times over and they were having a thriving business which was half handmade beaded jewelry and half estate sale items. I stared in amazement. I found out they were now living on a houseboat and supporting themselves. I asked her for her tips on their success. I never forgot what she told me. "Stay out of stores." Few of us realize we almost never have to buy new things, nor shop all the time. And once in a store, most of us leave having bought way more things than we'd planned on, including things we didn't even realize we wanted or needed when we left the house. And to her advice I'd have to add, "Stay out of internet stores too". Ebay, Amazon and other online shopping will bleed you dry if you let it.
@dmillman (2273)
• United States
14 Jan 07
There are numerous ways to save! Go to http://thrifty.lifetips.com and look at the many ways to save. I used to be the guru for that site, so a lot of the tips are mine. It's very interesting and useful. Easier to direct you to the site than re-type all of the tips here. I hope this helps you a lot.
• United States
16 Jan 07
This is a pretty good site. Thanks for sharing.
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jan 07
Oh! there are so many. Actually I drive my kids nuts until they see how much we can save by doing little things. Like, wash full loads of clothes and use cold water (except for whites). Don't overload the dryer. Use the used dryer sheet to dust down into your dryer vent...helps save energy and may prevent a fire. Turn of lights and tv's when not in the room. Don't stand with the fridge/freezer door open. Takes a lot to cool it back down. Save left over vegetables and meat and freeze. Then put everything in pot and make stew or soup. Save the little ends of your soaps till you have a jar full. You can then put it in a pot with a little water heat to melt and pour into pringles can. When cool...peel off can and cut into bars. :) You can also just add water to the jar, stir till all melted and this makes liquid soap. Put a screensaver on your PC, helps to prolong your screen life. When not in use, put your PC to sleep, uses less energy sleeping. There are so amny little things that can stretch a dollar, which is very helpful these days.
1 person likes this