Ways to Save Money- NWR

katiekessler123 · March 2015

Hi all..totally realize this is an old lady post, but I'm curious what you and your partner do to save money in day to day life?

These are the things we do that really impact our savings. My husband and I don't have cable, which saves a ton. I also use a flip phone (gasp!!), so my cell phone bill is literally $10 per month. We also do a lot of our grocery shopping at Aldi, which I really think cuts our grocery bills. We sparingly use our credit card (like once a month just to continue to build credit) and we pay it off immediately. We don't frequently eat out, cook at home, and pack our lunches. We only have one car and my husband bikes to work (perks of living in the city). Any tips for me in what you do in day to day life? I'm all about saving as much money as possible!

thisismynickname2 · March 2015

Wow, you're already really good at saving! Seriously, sounds like you're doing so much right.

Make coffee at home rather than buy from SBucks or Dunkins...

I am vigilant about energy-efficient light bulbs, keeping lights off in rooms I'm not using, using sink water sparingly, etc.

As far as fashion goes, I buy fewer, slightly more expensive quality classic-style clothes instead of cheap and trendy clothes. A $150 pair of classic leather boots will last far longer than several pairs of man-made-material boots. Well-made sweaters, good jeans, etc. I've had the same $100 sunglasses for 8 years.

southernbelle0915 · March 2015

We also don't have cable (Roku FTW!).

Really, our strategy is to just stick to buying things we actually need (or really, really want!) and when we do buy stuff, buying stuff that's quality and made to last. We try to pick stuff in classic styles that won't look dated in a few years - that way we aren't replacing things all the time.

There's "little stuff" like cooking at home, not going to Starbucks every day, and going on a walk together vs. going to the movies. But I think we save a lot more by simply being mindful of what we spend.

novella1186 · March 2015

FI still has a flip phone too! He loves it, and refuses to get a smart phone no matter how much people tease him about it.

We save money by not going out a lot and cooking at home instead. We try to be strategic about cooking dinner so that we can have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Sometimes we plan what to cook based on what's on sale at the grocery store, and we stock up on stuff like cans of tomato sauce, chicken broth, and pasta when it's on sale because it can sit in the pantry for a while without going bad.

Since we work at the same company, we drive to work together so that we can cut gas costs.

We're trying to save money for a down payment on a house (plus we have wedding expenses, of course) so we're trying to be careful about what we spend money on. It's those little day-to-day costs that get us, so we track everything now.

allispain · March 2015

katiekessler123 said:
Hi all..totally realize this is an old lady post, but I'm curious what you and your partner do to save money in day to day life?
These are the things we do that really impact our savings. My husband and I don't have cable, which saves a ton. I also use a flip phone (gasp!!), so my cell phone bill is literally $10 per month. We also do a lot of our grocery shopping at Aldi, which I really think cuts our grocery bills. We sparingly use our credit card (like once a month just to continue to build credit) and we pay it off immediately. We don't frequently eat out, cook at home, and pack our lunches. We only have one car and my husband bikes to work (perks of living in the city). Any tips for me in what you do in day to day life? I'm all about saving as much money as possible!

Hahaha you totally sound like me! I too still have a flip phone (though DH does have an iphone) - we also are a one-car family (I take the bus everywhere).

The biggest thing that helps us is that we input all our spending into a spreadsheet at the end of every month. I have categories for lots of things, so that we can track exactly where our money is going. Two of the columns are for "play money" - meaning that DH gets $X to spend on whatever each month (usually fancy beer) and I get the same amount to spend on whatever I want (usually books). That way neither of us has to always be accountable to the other person for the little things we want. Once we tally everything up (and by "we" I mean "I," since I'm the money person in our family), we then keep track of how much money we made vs. how much we spent for the month. Of the surplus, 80% goes to investments and retirement savings, and 20% goes to our savings account (for things like future vacations or big purchases).

Other than that, we have a programable thermostat, so we set it to lower temp (winter) or higher temp (summer) when we're at work all day to save on heating/cooling costs. We always make our coffee at home - never buy it out (it's amazing how much your daily cup can cost you!). I try my best to use the local library for books instead of buying them - but I still purchase ones I love so much that I know I'll want to reread them a million times. We hardly ever go to the movies - we wait for things to come out on Netflix or HBO Go (we have our own Netflix account - we use DH's family's HBO one) or - at most - we might rent one off iTunes if we really can't wait (and we make our own popcorn).

onefootinthebayou · March 2015

Agree with @thisismynickname, you're already doing it right.

I'm terrible at this so I'm probably going to lurk this thread and just read the answers to get more ideas. We just moved in together from New Orleans to NYC so cost of living has gone up quite a bit. The first thing we will do is eat out WAY less.

One thing I actively do though is ANYTIME I get a bonus or commission check, the whole thing goes right into savings. No "special reward gift" or shopping spree (like I used to do when I was single). No exceptions. If it's a month when there's no commission or bonus, I'd try to put a certain dollar amount in savings the same day I got paid.

A tiny $ saver (and better for the environment) is that I have a Keurig and instead of K-cups I bought the tiny one-cup filter on Amazon.com that fits the Keurig.

I'm just starting this endeavor of saving as a couple so I'll check back here periodically and read the ideas and leave any if I think of them as I go.

Sound like you're already on the right track though.

climbingsingle · March 2015

It sounds like you already do a lot!

We try to cook all meals at home during the week. I also take lunches to work every day.

I keep our heat as low as possible.

We make coffee/tee at home.

I buy a lot of things with coupons.

We also rarely use our credit cards and have almost no debt.

blabla89 · March 2015

Anytime my phone or internet rate increases, I call and try to negotiate. I say, "I've been a loyal customer, and I love your service, but it has just gotten too expensive and (competitor) is offering a rate of $X." The customer service person will almost always offer to extend whatever promotional rate I've been getting before.

I use the Favado app on my phone to see what's on sale at all the different grocery stores and plan my shopping accordingly.

Also, I make my own laundry detergent. Sooo much cheaper than store-bought detergent, and I like knowing exactly what's in it.

novella1186 · March 2015

blabla89 said:
Anytime my phone or internet rate increases, I call and try to negotiate. I say, "I've been a loyal customer, and I love your service, but it has just gotten too expensive and (competitor) is offering a rate of $X." The customer service person will almost always offer to extend whatever promotional rate I've been getting before.

I use the Favado app on my phone to see what's on sale at all the different grocery stores and plan my shopping accordingly.

Also, I make my own laundry detergent. Sooo much cheaper than store-bought detergent, and I like knowing exactly what's in it.

Never heard of this app, but I'm about to download it!

labro · March 2015

We make our lunches every day, so that saves us at least $25 daily between the two of us since we aren't eating out constantly.

We just got a new, significantly more energy efficient heater and our heating bill plummeted by something like 40%, so the money we put in to the heater will be "saved" soon.

We don't have cable. We pay for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and we have a Chromecast. H also installed an antenna in our attic so we can pick up all the broadcast channels.

We commute together on the days I'm not teleworking.

All of our bulbs are energy efficient.

We live off of my H's income and use my income to put down extra money on our student loan debt.

We bought a house that was way cheaper than what our loan approval was for so we'd have a teeny mortgage payment every month (our mortgage is less than half of what we were paying in rent before).

kvruns · March 2015

blabla89 said:
Anytime my phone or internet rate increases, I call and try to negotiate. I say, "I've been a loyal customer, and I love your service, but it has just gotten too expensive and (competitor) is offering a rate of $X." The customer service person will almost always offer to extend whatever promotional rate I've been getting before.

I always did that with my stuff and finally convinced FI to call Uverse (its just in his name, I'm not on it) and get a lower rate. Thing its saving about $35 a month, wish he would have done sooner. Sometimes you have to try more than once to get it but I always get something

kvruns · March 2015

Sounds like you're doing it all already!

Only things I can think of that you didn't mention are using coupons - if I make an online order I always search for a code or going to stores I make sure I have a coupon if its a place that has it. I usually buy clothes on sales or TJ Maxx places.

Setting thermostats just a smidge hotter/colder can help depending on how your house is (does it leak air, etc).

cupcait927 · March 2015

H and I really need to get better about saving money - we splurge a lot (mostly on eating out and I have a Target problem) and don't track any of our spending.

However, we also aren't huge shoppers (my wardrobe could seriously use an update), we both drive pre-owned cars and we bought a house well below what we were approved for. We could live on one income for at least 3 months if one of us were to lose our job. H is on his employer's cell phone plan so he only pays $20 a month. We hardly ever eat out for lunch - he'll go to his parents house and I bring leftovers. We could stand to reign it in a little but we have money in savings, we contribute to our retirement savings and all of our bills are paid on time every month.

ETA - we're also on the no cable bandwagon. We pay for Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV, plus we get the local channels. Anything that we don't get through that combination of services, H can find on the internet.

katiekessler123 · March 2015

Interesting ideas, everyone..thanks! I also make coffee at home, but that's more because I am a total addict and need it FIRST thing in the morning.

blabla89- how do you make your own detergent? Would you mind sharing your "recipe"?

We also bought a house for way lower than we were approved. Our mortgage, plus home insurance and taxes is less than $600 a month, which I realize is also partially because we live in a very affordable city. We got a low interest rate when we bought (3.5%), but if it every dropped lower, I'd def. try to refinance. That is something I would be very interested in doing, but who knows if the rates will every drop that low.

amelisha · March 2015

We also have only one car and neither of us uses it for work as we live and work in a downtown core. We only spend like $15/month on gas (except in ski season when we drive to the mountains most weekends, granted.) I walk or ride my bike everywhere I can except when I need to do a big grocery shop or visit friends in the suburbs.

I do shop at the least expensive grocery store in my area and buy Costco stuff whenever I can, but overall good food is a huge priority for us, so I don't do too much to save money in that area other than buying and freezing meat etc, when it's on sale, using my store loyalty card faithfully, and doing the first-in, first-out thing so we never waste food. But I buy what we like and insist on varied, high-quality, fresh food, so groceries are one of our biggest expenses. No regrets though.

We use our credit cards for pretty much everything for the points because they really do add up. I get free groceries all the time thanks to my card.

We have a roommate, which obviously saves us a huge amount of money every month. And we live in a building with all utilities included so our electricity, heat and water usage isn't a big concern, thankfully.

FI and I are both big sale shoppers and we also try to buy what we can online, as it's generally cheaper. But we're also into value, so we will always spend a little money on something better-made that will last forever rather than buying the cheapest everything. I'm past the point in my life where I want to keep replacing my $10 IKEA stuff constantly if I can buy something for $50 that's much sturdier, you know?

blabla89 · March 2015

@katiekessler123 here's the link: clicky

The only difference is that I double the amount of borax/washing soda/dawn for the same amount of water. I make it in big batches in a stock pot on the stove, let it cool for a while, and then pour it into the jugs.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

Yeah you already sound way more diligent than us! I was just happy we switched our phone data plan from 6GB/month down to 3 to save $25. :-p Long run, we're getting a 15 year mortgage instead of 30, which will save us like a gazillion dollars in interest.

Whenever we have big purchases to make (like materials at Home Depot to finish the basement) we buy gift cards in the corresponding amount at Kroger, buy them with a credit card to earn points (and pay it off the same month), and use our Kroger card to get fuel points and save on gas. Then H trades in the credit card points for gift cards to fun places, like for dinner or clothes.

JCbride2015 · March 2015

Great ideas in this thread, everyone. Lunch was a big problem for me when I first started this job, so for me saving on lunch means I buy pre-made lunches at the grocery store instead of buying out at work. It's more expensive than bringing leftovers but way cheaper than buying lunch in midtown. On days when I cook at home (rare during the week) I bring leftovers.

Professional clothes are an expense for me, especially in my first year when I don't already have a lot of appropriate stuff. I have a few classic high quality pieces, but when I want something trendier I stick to outlet shopping. I love J. Crew Factory and Ann Taylor Factory. The quality is good enough that it doesn't feel like I'll throw it away within a year, but cheap enough that I can still have some variety in my wardrobe.

Fi and I also don't have cable. We sold his car last year and we kept the car I've had since 2006, which is paid off, so we have no car payments. We rent out our apartment garage space for $150 per month and park our car on the street. It's a hassle to move it for street cleaning, but totally worth the savings on our rent.

And I guess our absolute biggest savings is that we live in Jersey instead of closer to my job in Manhattan. It's still wildly expensive compared to other areas of the country, but we're saving easily $1000/mo if we were to try to find a similar sized apartment in NYC. I take public transportation to work which costs approximately $70 per month. It's totally worth having an extra 15/20 minutes on my commute. We are also saving a ton of money by having a roommate (my sister) right now, but once we get married and she moves out we will probably live alone.

wandajune6 · March 2015

We drive older, crappier cars that DH keeps alive rather than anything newer and nicer. We have too many (4) but we always have at least an extra car because someone always needs one (their car died, a relative's in town, etc.). It's extra maintenance for DH but it's a low expense that helps everyone. We drive fuel-efficient vehicles as much as possible and I take public transportation whenever possible.

I coupon a lot. I slowed down lately due to family issues that have taken a lot of time but I keep people supplied. I can't get everything for super cheap but I supply products like shampoo, soap, laundry products, etc. for very cheap. This is also our way of helping relatives who need help without giving handouts. Plus, it feels pretty great when you know that you bought laundry detergent for 85% off of full price.

I also shop based on sales and stores. I go to Target (more couponing options) for prepackaged products but hit the local fresh markets for produce and meat. While I'm not taking advantage of different specials at each store, I'm going to where the products are cheaper overall. Plus, I come in with a list but adjust it based on sales.

I don't buy lunch at work unless there is a compelling reason (networking, etc.) DH works from home and avoids buying (most days) as well. We love to eat out but we try to save it for when it's a treat rather than just being lazy. I also keep lots of frozen homemade options around for nights like this (I always have a stash of frozen homemade meatballs, chili, leftover rice for fried rice, etc.).

I used to do the Kroger giftcard trick that lolo mentioned but no longer live in a Kroger market. However, we choose how we pay for things based on rewards. I also do online shopping with rewards programs.

I also compulsively shop healthcare. I'm fortunate to have access to great resources but I negotiate prices on all dental needs, comparison shop prescription prices, talk to doctors about choosing prescriptions in formulary, and have even negotiated prices for surgeries. It took about 3 hours of work but I saved $3800 on a surgery for DH, still using the surgeons and physicians we wanted.

tcnoble · March 2015

We don't have cable either. Hooray for the Roku and Netflix!

We don't use our dishwasher - there's only two of us so we really don't use enough dishes to warrant filling up a dishwasher. We hand wash, and only when there's enough dishes to run the water for it.

We alternate weekends between shopping at Sam's for paper products, meat, yogurt, etc. and then on the off weekends we get what we need at Von's. We try to plan out meals so we aren't going to the store during the week... it seems impossible to run in for "just a few things" without spending $50 or more.

I pack a lunch every day, and FI works at his parent's house so he eats there. We only allow ourselves to eat out once, MAYBE twice a week if it's a special occasion or celebration.

Our lightbulbs are also all energy efficient, and we don't run the AC or heat unless we reaaaaally need to.

We've only lived in our home for 4 months so it's been a process of figuring out how we can save.

katiekessler123 · March 2015

tcnoble- I 100% agree that it is really helpful to go to the store just once a week. I read an article about that maybe a year or so ago, and now we make a meal plan each week and do all of the shopping on Sat morning. We are at the point where we never need to go an extra day. It took some time to get that the meal planning down, though! I have to say though, I really like looking at recipes and figuring out what to make each week bc I really like to cook.

We actually don't have AC in our home. It's not even an option, or so I've been told, since our house is so old. It's a blessing in disguise bc I like the fresh air in the summer and it saves us money. Plus, I'm afraid if we had AC my husband would want to run it all the time and I like to open the windows in the summer.

Ways to Save Money- NWR

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