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XP: How to save money after the wedding

My mom emailed this to me and I thought I would share it with you...

1. Trade services instead of cash
     - If you're a hardcore yoga buff and a marketing expert, maybe you could offer to build a website for your favorite yoga instructor in exchange for training. This also goes for personal trainers, hair dressers, etc.

2. Brown-bag it.
     - Make your own lunch and bring it to work instead of spending $10 at the food court. Home-prepped food is more likely to be healthier too.

3. Unplug electronics when not in use.
     - Even plugged in but not being used such as chargers, they still suck electricity

4. Cut recurring fees.
     - Scan your monthly credit card statements for any monthly fees. A lot of us sign up for subscriptions we don't really use.

5. Avoid retail danger zones.
     - These are items at the ends of aisles in grocery stores, etc. They are usually items NOT on your list and are expensive

6. Send in rebates immediately

7. Think pre-income tax when spending.
     - Thinking of buying that $60 sweater while it's on sale? Depending on what tax bracket you're in, the true cost is really $75 to $110. That is what you actually must earn before taxes to spend $60. Is it really worth that much?

8. Calculate what your hourly time is worth.
     - Thinking of spending 3 hours at the mall? If you make $50,000 per year and work 40 hours a week, that means your hourly rate is $26. Spending 3 hours at the mall is equal to $78 in terms of your time and this is before you buy that $60 sweater.

9. Use coupons and shop with a list.
     - Sing onto an online coupon cutting service like couponmaster.com For about $10 you can get $50 worth of coupons for items you use regularly. You can save about $200 / month this way.

10. File taxes ASAP.
     - If you are owed a refund, don't spend it before you get the check. Use the check to pay off debt or put it into savings.

Re: XP: How to save money after the wedding

  • #5 makes me laugh.  My ex-h would buy ANYTHING if it was on the end of an aisle because it was a good deal, right?  Hey, this Velveeta is 24.00!  We should get 2 of them!  He was the worst sucker ever for that stuff.
  • edited January 2014
    I call bs on #9...i always buy things i don't need and otherwise wouldn't buy if i didn't have a coupon. Not to mention it counteracts #8, bc spend waaaaaaay more time at the grocery store.

    i don't care how much it a saves, I'm not packing my lunch. :~p

    Thanks for sharing :)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • I love to pack a lunch. FI and I both love to cook, so we basically have the choice of packing a gourmet meal or eating greasy fast food.

    Also fun fact... A TV, or at least the older models, suck more power when they are plugged in and turned off. So if you are lazy like me and don't want to plug / unplug the TV all the time, just leaving it on saves $.
  • If you don't want to have to physically unplug your tv, just put it on a surge protector. It should be anyways. then you just hit a switch to turn the power on and off from the wall. It's much easier that way.
    The hourly wage thing is great and all but I wouldn't count that for something like going to the mall if you're going for fun. I use that when figuring out the cost of doing some DIY project, for example, printing invitations at home. It would take me hours and I'd have to pay for ink. So really I don't think it's worth it.


  • I love to pack a lunch. FI and I both love to cook, so we basically have the choice of packing a gourmet meal or eating greasy fast food.  
    I get that…but there's something about microwaving stuff at work…meh.
    And I work downtown and typically eat at ethnic joints and get food I couldn't replicate at home :-9 My two favs are the Venezuelan and Peruvian places…sooooooo good! I'm not wasting it on McDs or other fast food ;)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • I call BS on #9 but for different reasons. First, you can get a hell of a lot of grocery-style coupons online for free (I can think of 5 services I use, 2 of which are local to my area). Second, if you have a coupon for an item that you wouldn't normally buy, you're not actually saving money. You have to stick to your list.
  • CaliMel11 said:
    If you don't want to have to physically unplug your tv, just put it on a surge protector. It should be anyways. then you just hit a switch to turn the power on and off from the wall. It's much easier that way.
    The hourly wage thing is great and all but I wouldn't count that for something like going to the mall if you're going for fun. I use that when figuring out the cost of doing some DIY project, for example, printing invitations at home. It would take me hours and I'd have to pay for ink. So really I don't think it's worth it.


    Yes, the hourly wage thing is useful if you are considering DIY vs. paying someone else to do it.  But it doesn't make sense to use it for every.single.thing otherwise how else are you supposed to have fun?
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
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    "I'm not a rude bitch.  I'm ten rude bitches in a large coat."

  • hlvonb said:

    8. Calculate what your hourly time is worth.

         - Thinking of spending 3 hours at the mall? If you make $50,000 per year and work 40 hours a week, that means your hourly rate is $26. Spending 3 hours at the mall is equal to $78 in terms of your time and this is before you buy that $60 sweater.

    I'm telling DH I'm paid too much to waste time on doing the dishes or flooding laundry! You think he'll agree and do it for me???
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • Photokitty, I asked FI for a maid on Facebook and my brother told me I wasn't supposed to ask for that until AFTER the wedding.  So you're good to go to ask for it!
  • I started packing FI's lunch a few years ago when we bought his pickup truck and didn't have enough to pay for the whole thing outright. We saved enough money to make extra-large payments on his loan (to pay it off faster) just from him bringing lunch instead of going to the cafeteria every day. And I don't pack him a skimpy lunch, either. (Big sandwich, water, OJ, soda, pudding pack, string cheese, cookies.)
    ~*~*~*~*~

  • Has anyone seen the show extreme cheapskates? Unplugging appliances got me there. Someone had their fridge and freezer on a timer.
  • I do #8 all the time. I'm glad to know I am not the only one.
  • Yea, coupons you have to be really wary and make sure you're not buying something you won't use just because you have a coupon.  I make sure that I only clip ones for products that I actually will use.  I keep them in an envelope in my purse and go through them each week and throw out the expired ones that I didn't end up using.  I make sure I don't go "Oh, this one is expiring soon, I have to get xyz!" if I don't actually need it.
     
    I certainly don't save $200 a month (I don't think, I need to actually keep track of it so I find out).  But I would guesstimate that I save about $20-$30 per month, which certainly helps and makes me feel good!

    I clip coupons from the newspaper, look for ones online, and use the ones that Fred Meyer sends me for being a rewards customer.  The nice thing about those, is that Fred Meyer tailors them to what you've bought, so you tend to get ones you actually will use.
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