Ways to save

[sunshine]

The best ways I have found to save money is to:

1. Use coupons
2. Never buy on impulse
3. Wait for it to go on sale (it always does)
4. Buy used (never buy a new car)
5. Take care of what you have

I'd love to hear other ideas on saving money.

[Allsmiles]

1) I have started the Grocery Game, and it's a HUGE money saver!
2) Use cash for things you buy regularly (gasoline, groceries, blow money, entertainment)... It really does help you stay within budget! You can't spend what you don't have, right?
3) Look over your budget CONSTANTLY! I am obsessed. It's a daily thing for me. I am always finding ways to cut, switch around, or just plain be smart with our money.
4) Pack the lunches... Kid's lunches, your lunches for work, lunches for when you want to go out (picnics are fun). Eating out is OVERPRICED! Make it an occasion once a month (if it's budgeted) rather than a regular occurance.
5) Just because it's on sale doesn't mean you have to buy it now. That's a hard one for me... I love a BARGAIN! But, you will often have buyer's remorse if you see it later for a better price, of if you truly didn't need it NOW to begin with.
6) Cook from scratch. It really isn't that hard, and a bag of flour goes a long way compared to a box of brownie mix. You'd be amazed at what you can make... True restaurant quality, but healthier, at home!

[Jennifer Pedley]

I absolutely love the challenge of saving money at the grocery store....I always look at the other folks buying the same things as me and paying much much more....I feel so sorry for them!~ BTW...this is new for me...I am NOT frugal by nature (but I am competitive!).

I bought 100 coupons from ebay (technically, I guess I paid for the service of having them cut out - the coupons are free) for $2.50 , no baby stuff, no pets from a women in my area. (That is important so the coupons are for items carried in my region). I emailed her privately and asked if she wanted to do this for me every month and I would just pay her via pay pal.... She now sends me 100 every 1st of the month like clockwork - it is AWESOME and I save a ton.

I know I got lucky, she is very dependable....but it is definately worth a try to find someone! I don't have to buy the paper or spend the time clipping the coupons.

[eventualdave]

Use cash wherever possible! And on top of that, don't CARRY the cash around if you aren't planning on buying anything. If you have to go home to get it first, you have that much more time to cool off instead of stopping at Pizza Hut on the way home from work.

[katharina]

I'd have to agree with the people who said "use cash." I do that whenever I can. I (should I admit this?!) get naughty with not using coupons but in the past I was a virtual coupon queen. :-) When you do that, match your coupons with what's on sale that week to save even more.

When it comes to food, I cook from scratch and another good tip is to cut down on the amount of meat that a recipe calls for. If the recipe says "1 1/2 pounds of ground beef," I never put more than a pound in. Same goes for chicken... if it takes like 2 pounds of cut up chicken breast, I find that a pound goes a LONG way when cut into bite sized pieces.

[Princess2008]

Some great tips here that I will add to my list! I also use cash, I made the mistake of using things on card and overdrafts hence the repayments to my creditors, so now I just use cash and if its gone well theres not much I can do about it.

I always look for offers when shopping and try not to go shopping at the moment unless I really need too as this is when I am most tempted to spend what I havent got.

My budget is also my best reminder, I make sure to look at it regularly so I remind myself what I should be spending and how much!

[Marie]

I have to agree with using cash and looking over the budget constantly. I check mine out every weekday at least.

I also agree that taking my lunch to work is a great money saver. I don't spend the $ to buy lunch out and it even saves a little on gas.

I hardly ever shop for anything but groceries. Even there I've learned to make a list, and get ONLY what is on the list.

[katharina]

There were many years that I did the list thing but I found that it wasn't working for me. I often went to the store with my list and then saw something that looked better or cost less, so I didn't follow the list anyhow. It was a little scary going without a list for the first few times but I got used to it.

[R1986]

Good tips for sure. I try to wait for everything I want to be on sale unless I need it right away (which is luckily hardly ever the case). Buying used and never on impulse are also great tips to keep in mind as the little expenses add up over time for sure.

[Azrael]

I think that number 2 goes with me well. I usually wait at least 1 year just to buy the best parts for my computer. This is the only thing that I have tried. I think that I can add something. We can use the public transport instead of buying a used car; the latter always have some defects on them. It would be wise to invest the money on a new car instead.