How do you save money on everyday expenses?

[ceecee]

Oooh steam mops. Ok, YMMV depending on your surfaces but, a steam mop is one of the greatest things ever. You reuse the mop pads (toss them in the wash with a little bleach) and no chemicals. Just water. Mine is getting use with my son and his GF so I'm bought them one of their own.

Amazon.com - Shark 2 in 1 Steam Pocket Mop -

This model comes with a detachable hand held steamer w/attachments. Think about..

Gross sliding door tracts
Crud in the corners of your dishwasher doors
Shower doors
Any little crevice stuff falls in
Windows, glass, counter tops ...

And the price is great. I also have a Shark vacuum. I've had it for 2 years and not killed it. That's a record for me.

 

[prplchknz]

Magic erasers for cheap: Amazon.com - 10/50/100/200Pcs/lot ERASER CLEANER MAGIC MELAMINE SPONGE CLEANING 10x6x2CM - Multipurpose Cleaners That's literally all they are.

There's been some cool options like Apple TV, sling TV, etc. for cable channels without cable prices too.

my mom did get a fire stick it's 30 dollars and then you use your subscription to the streaming stuff it's great if you already have prime any ways. she told me last night she likes it because when she pauses it pictures of different places pop up on the screen and you can move it from tv to tv realy easily. and honestly the picture from it is better than my PS3 (both go into the hdmi port). she got rid of cable and went to that and does not regret it we have netflix and prime and most everything we watch is between those two things.

 

[ceecee]

my mom did get a fire stick it's 30 dollars and then you use your subscription to the streaming stuff it's great if you already have prime any ways. she told me last night she likes it because when she pauses it pictures of different places pop up on the screen and you can move it from tv to tv realy easily. and honestly the picture from it is better than my PS3 (both go into the hdmi port). she got rid of cable and went to that and does not regret it we have netflix and prime and most everything we watch is between those two things.

We could never get rid of cable because...sports. I wish this wasn't the case because we could save a lot but...no.

Prime is another money saving idea, depending on your shopping habits - free two day shipping on most things. Prime Pantry is an option people who have Prime should look at. I hate buying pop/soda at the store. It takes up too much room in your cart, it's bulky to store and heavy. Problem solved with Prime Pantry. They deliver it right to my door and the cost is competitive to what I'd spend at the store. I get all kinds of non perishables this way, they also have coupons.

Jet is an Amazon competitor. I think it's a $50 annual membership. I've been looking at it and if it's less I'll sign up.

https://jet.com/shop

 

[Forever]

...

Inferior Se.

 

[prplchknz]

We could never get rid of cable because...sports. I wish this wasn't the case because we could save a lot but...no.

Prime is another money saving idea, depending on your shopping habits - free two day shipping on most things. Prime Pantry is an option people who have Prime should look at. I hate buying pop/soda at the store. It takes up too much room in your cart, it's bulky to store and heavy. Problem solved with Prime Pantry. They deliver it right to my door and the cost is competitive to what I'd spend at the store. I get all kinds of non perishables this way, they also have coupons.

Jet is an Amazon competitor. I think it's a $50 annual membership. I've been looking at it and if it's less I'll sign up.

https://jet.com/shop

she wants to get an external antenna for local news. but i guess if you watch a game not on one of the local channels you need cable.

 

[kyuuei]

Thanks everybody!!


Whoa, that's amazing. Buying these soon!

(Hopefully the good reviews are more accurate than the bad ones.)

Amazon.com: 60pcs Magic Cleaning Sponge Pad Stain Remover Stubborn Eraser Car Wash Cleaner: Home & Kitchen

Yeah depending on which ones you select, the magic erasers are made with a higher quality standard, but overall for the price being paid these guys are still far cheaper and get the job done.. Also, I found that usually I had to cut the ME's down to size because whatever I was cleaning I didn't want the residue going on to a different surface. This one for cheaper gives more cleaning options.

Oooh steam mops. Ok, YMMV depending on your surfaces but, a steam mop is one of the greatest things ever. You reuse the mop pads (toss them in the wash with a little bleach) and no chemicals. Just water. Mine is getting use with my son and his GF so I'm bought them one of their own.

Steam mops are the best. 6 people and 5 dogs in our old house... We'd sweep the floors, vacuum, then mop, and then steam mop and that was the only way to get the whole house smelling fresh and clean.. then we only needed to steam mop the common areas every day between those deep cleans. And I'm fairly sure you can find them in thrift stores occasionally. I always see Sharks at goodwill.

We could never get rid of cable because...sports. I wish this wasn't the case because we could save a lot but...no.

Prime is another money saving idea, depending on your shopping habits - free two day shipping on most things. Prime Pantry is an option people who have Prime should look at. I hate buying pop/soda at the store. It takes up too much room in your cart, it's bulky to store and heavy. Problem solved with Prime Pantry. They deliver it right to my door and the cost is competitive to what I'd spend at the store. I get all kinds of non perishables this way, they also have coupons.

Jet is an Amazon competitor. I think it's a $50 annual membership. I've been looking at it and if it's less I'll sign up.

https://jet.com/shop

I hadn't heard of this! I have a student email so I use Prime via that way and I split it with my boyfriend.. So $50 a year with student prime, split in half means $25 a year for amazon prime access. Can't beat it.

I saw ESPN was hosted on both Apple TV and on Sling TV, but I don't know how those accesses actually work and how they are. Apple's new TV service has the one feature that will scare the heck out of cable companies - Business Insider

We decided that going to the occasional sports bar for non-local sports watching, and/or a friend's house, isn't so bad.. but this might be an option for my parents in the future if this works the way I think it does.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Money just doesn't seem real to me, just some sort of imaginary concept. Makes it easy to overspend, maybe some awareness would be a good thing. I mean it isn't as if I am rolliing in it.

This is why I love cash. Since it makes it much easier to keep tracking where you are ... and knowing where you are financially is the foundation of saving money.

 

[Frosty]

This is why I love cash. Since it makes it much easier to keep tracking where you are ... and knowing where you are financially is the foundation of saving money.

Actually, I pretty much use my debit card for everything. The pin on it protects it during the times I lose it and I have to wait to replace it, so I find I end up retaining more than if I were to risk keeping much cash on hand.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Just don't spend it. I saved over 40% of my after tax income last year.

 

[Dreamer]

I know everyone is referring to saving costs with regards to everyday items, but personally, my biggest issue always revolved around big purchases and toys that I never actually needed but just "had to have" impulse buys. If any of you out there face this issue, I've learned to just give myself a break from the internet since I love to shop around and read millions of reviews and it almost becomes a job in itself. Sounds logical right? In reality, I find this ends up just fuels the fire since I'm essentially just exposing myself to this toy nonstop in every perceivable perspective possible. So, what I do is I go a full 24 hours to pause and think about it, and ask myself what I'd actually get out of it, and if the upgrade over my existing model or addition to my collection of toys, would be worthwhile. (By toys I mean electronics, not sex objects)

Usually, some time within that 24 hour window, I either forget about the object completely and have already moved on to my next item of interest, or I find that I never actually needed it in the first place, and it was just a want. Thanks to this simple trick I've incorporated to my shopping, I still have an iPad2, three year old camera model (gasp!), and other stuff, but you know what, they still work plenty fine for my needs and I'm actually still happy to own my dated products.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Cook don't eat out. Don't buy needless shit. Bike instead of car. Shop at wholesale places like costco. The first thing you need to do though is make a budget and determine your fixed and discretionary expenses.

You should talk to a Financial Advisor. A good one will give you tips and help understanding that you may not be able to afford their services.

Get rid of cable, find a bank that doesn't have stupid fees.

 

[five sounds]

I just really try to like prioritize things in order of importance and am always looks for a deal when I need to make a purchase. I do try to not buy things I don't need and I'm usually pretty good about that. I just don't live very fancily and I like it that way.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

Don't buy coffee. Make it at home.

Don't eat out. Cook at home.

Don't go to bars. Drink at home.

No cable. Netflix.

Don't use credit cards. Pay cash.

I have a "trip jar" and a coin jar. All my empty change goes in the coin jar and goes into a savings accout.

My trip jar gets only bills. Maybe it is a dollar. Maybe five. I just put it in there whenever it strikes me to do so and don't miss it.
In 3 months I have $140. This goes toward a vacation fund once it reaches an amount that fits where I want to go.

I have a car with no A/C. But no payments either.
---

Things I spend money on because quality is important and generally the cost/level of quality is usually related.

Tools.
Bed/Bedding. (I spend 1/3rd of my life here. I think it is worth it)
Food (greens/protein is generally more expensive but I don't mind spending it here)
I don't skimp on running shoes or boots.

----

 

[ceecee]

Cook don't eat out. Don't buy needless shit. Bike instead of car. Shop at wholesale places like costco. The first thing you need to do though is make a budget and determine your fixed and discretionary expenses.

You should talk to a Financial Advisor. A good one will give you tips and help understanding that you may not be able to afford their services.

Get rid of cable, find a bank that doesn't have stupid fees.

This sounds so simple but people don't investigate this more and I don't know why.

 

[Kullervo]

Eat less, drink alcohol less (or not at all), don't eat out, cut back on meat
Take the bus instead of a taxi, walk instead of taking the bus
Don't heat your room in winter, just pile on more clothes and rugs

 

[Yama]

This sounds so simple but people don't investigate this more and I don't know why.

Agreed. I recommend more people look into credit unions--mine charges me nothing, ever, unless I overdraw (which I don't). As long as I have a minimum of $25 in my savings account at all times, which is really not hard.

 

[EJCC]

Bump!

I'm dedicating myself (and a lot of my salary) to paying off my student loans this year, which means paying 4x what I had been paying per month. So I'm VERY interested in hearing any and all money-saving tips folks have -- looking to counterbalance that so I can live comfortably and not be in a constant state of financial panic. Cheap recipes, ways to keep yourself from eating out, other ways to hack your brain and therefore hack your spending habits.

 

[Forever]

Make a priority list.

What do you need to spend on most?
What is it that you actually do or want?

I've been reading these and while yes obviously you'll save lots of money for doing so, if you're not that kind of a disciplined person already. Just make your priority list and hardly ever spend anything what's on the bottom of that list and make it a goal not to.

Don't take out your favorite spending thing if that's gonna make you miserable. You'll only just mess up.

If that means fast food, then ok. Just know that every day is a gift and the present is now. Just be smart and not buy small items you know that won't make you happy in the long run.

tl;dr you don't have to save and be absolutely minimal if you're happy where you're at and you're not in debt.

 

[Lark]

I've used a bunch of tricks on amazon to get the books I've amassed over time at the cheapest prices and now I've got something to occupy myself even if I were to lose my job and have to go to seed.

 

[Poki]

GF, she has this desire to spend as little as possible on things. I control finances while she does the shopping. We both watch our accounts. We rub off on each other as I don't care as much about money and she is a hawk about it. I teach her that you have to pick your battles and sometimes time is best spent elsewhere as opposed to trying to save an extra $5 a month. She teaches me to find deals. Prior I pretty much just bought whatever I wanted when I wanted it...without over extending myself. I just get more bang for the buck now.