[LexInVA]

I don't really go out much - which doesn't bother me at all since I now have a dog who keeps me close to home-, I often cook my food, I shop carefully to look for sales and such, and I do a lot of stuff for myself that most people pay someone else to do like plumbing and electrical work. So what do you do to save money?

[AirForceWife]

I hide my credit card from myself!!

[Superminion]

^ I do that too. DH and I have a budget for 'extras' that we pay for only in cash. If I'm going to the mall (or tack shop) my credit/debit card stays in the truck so I'm not tempted to swipe. If my 'extras' money is gone, that's it. If we have a big luxury we want, we pool our extras money and then buy it when we have enough.

Any excess at the end of the month, coins, extra cash, gifts, etc. goes into savings.

We also do a lot of stuff for ourselves. I don't have a gym membership anymore, I run outside or workout to DVD's. I make a lot of DD's food instead of buying jars. I work off my lessons. Shop around for supplements. My clothes and DD's come from thrift stores, usually. We don't have cable, just Netflix and Hulu. Little stuff like that really adds up quickly!

[GaitedGloryRider]

I bought a new car. Seriously, it worked! I went from spending nearly $100/week in fuel on the old gas-guzzler to $35 every ten days. With my payments only $200/month I'm saving enough to not only make my car payment, cover the $25/month increase in my insurance but also cover my cable/internet bill!

That's not even considering all the money I was dumping into the old guzzler keeping it running and road-safe.

I've had to get used to driving a tiny little car (I've always been a truck/van girl) but for what I'm saving, totally worth it!

[shiningwizard255]

Any time I get coin change I throw it into a jar (I have a separate jar for only pennies because they can be a pain). After awhile your change can really add up.

I saved a ton of money by switching to Geico. For real, haha. I went from paying well over $100 to around $70 for the same insurance. I had a minor fender-bender (my first, blah) this summer that I was at fault for, and Geico was super easy and friendly to deal with and no rate increase.

I get the bulk of my groceries from places like Aldi's. I coupon when I can for everything else.

[AllisonWunderlund]

Any excess at the end of the month, coins, extra cash, gifts, etc. goes into savings.

What is this "excess" you speak of? LOL

DH and I have to be really disciplined about setting aside X% of our paychecks. It was tough at first, but now a habit. We just know when we get paid that whatever-predetermined-amount is off limits for spending.

[Bluey]

I don't really go out much - which doesn't bother me at all since I now have a dog who keeps me close to home-, I often cook my food, I shop carefully to look for sales and such, and I do a lot of stuff for myself that most people pay someone else to do like plumbing and electrical work. So what do you do to save money?

Don't spend it.
That is the best way to save.

Spend, say, a month being aware of every penny you spend, keep an accurate expense log.
Think before you spend and after that, re-examine where that money went and how it fits in what it returned to you in goods or services and what of those were worth it to you.
Then adjust your spending to what you learned.
I would say, you will quickly start saving when applying that.

Remember that, in today's economy, that doesn't encourage saving, you will not save much.
Interest in any savings is minimal, investing that money to try to grow it is risky, inflation will diminish your saving's value greatly.
Saving today is not what it used to be.

[FitToBeTied]

If your job has a 401(k) I would hope you are taking advantage of that.

We do a lot of things around the farm on our own instead of hiring someone. I'm good with electrical, plumbing and basic carpentry. We pick up our hay with our own flatbed and then don't have to pay the fees associated with transport and handling.

The big saver is having a car that gets good gas mileage. That way the truck is parked most of the time.

[ClassyRide]

A combination of what others have said here...

I pull a certain amount of "fun" money from my pay, and that's all I allow myself to spend all month.

I also have a certain amount I stick into Savings, and that is off limits. I treat it just like I'm paying a bill - it goes to Savings and that's that.

I also do the change jar thing.

And I'm very lucky that Fiance is a pretty handy guy. Our washing machine broke. He was able to fix it himself. Our oven broke. He was able to fix it himself. So, we just paid for the necessary parts and that was that. He put his own blood and sweat into fixing them, and got paid with a hearty meal and backrub for his efforts.

[Renn/aissance]

Anytime I want to buy something, I translate the amount into how many hours of work it is to earn the money for it. If the sushi is not worth an hour of my time, I do not buy the sushi.

[Superminion]

What is this "excess" you speak of? LOL

Since we pay for everything in cash, there are sometimes extra coins and $1 bills floating around (I'm horrible about keeping things in a wallet and often throw my change in the bottom of my purse). Those go into savings. We have our bills set up to (mostly) come directly out of our savings account. Any extra money in the account at the end of the month (since heat, electric, etc. bills fluctuate) goes into savings. I give the occasional lesson, and have one horse that I am working for her owner. That money (which we consider 'excess' since we can't count on it as steady income) goes into savings.

[OneGrayPony]

I found this great budgeting system called YNAB (You Need A Budget). It's WAYYY different than other budgeting systems and it really seems to work for those of us with a difficult to manage budget

And no, I don't work for them!

[charismaryllis]

i have discovered that i am apparently very strange (and personally responsible for the economic woes of the country) for not buying a new car every two years. i drive 'em til the wheels fall off.

i loathe and despise clothes shopping, so no new wardrobe every year. when i travel i don't stay at the ritz; but i've learned the hard way not to stay at the sleep inn's either (roaches!).

and fortunately i am immune to the joys of tack stores; i buy what i need and use it til it wears out.

definitely take advantage of any automatic paycheck deductions into savings or a 401k if you can; if you never really "see" the money, then you don't miss it.

[S1969]

Don't spend it.
That is the best way to save.

Spend, say, a month being aware of every penny you spend, keep an accurate expense log.

Agreed. When we were saving for our wedding (years ago), I logged every single thing into a financial program and had to categorize each expenditure. It was sort of scary to keep seeing "miscellaneous" because I couldn't put many things into any useful category like rent, groceries, clothing, gas...

Just like tracking calories, you might be surprised to see where your money goes. A funny combination story was when my sister started tracking calories and noticed that not only was she eating way too many calories in her Starbucks chai latte and pumpkin bread each morning, but that over the course of a month it was a huge amount of money.

Use your debit card whenever possible - "cash" disappears and it's hard to track where it went. Give up luxuries you can do yourself - manicure, pedicures, tanning, eating out at lunch, coffee breaks to Starbucks, house cleaners, gardeners, etc. Those little things eat up a ton of "cash" and not much to show for it.

Check out consignment shops in your area - we have some really nice ones around here that are well worth the trip.

Don't waste your groceries! Fresh fruit and veggies are great, but so are frozen ones. If you find you are throwing away stuff from "the rotter" (as I affectionately call my crisper drawer), cut back on your fresh produce until you figure out a better system. Wasted food is a huge expense.

Buy cheap wine. That's my current tip. Not only is it less expensive, but because it's not very good you won't drink as much.

[S1969]

Don't spend it.
That is the best way to save.

Spend, say, a month being aware of every penny you spend, keep an accurate expense log.

Agreed. When we were saving for our wedding (years ago), I logged every single thing into a financial program and had to categorize each expenditure. It was sort of scary to keep seeing "miscellaneous" because I couldn't put many things into any useful category like rent, groceries, clothing, gas...

Just like tracking calories, you might be surprised to see where your money goes. A funny combination story was when my sister started tracking calories and noticed that not only was she eating way too many calories in her Starbucks chai latte and pumpkin bread each morning, but that over the course of a month it was a huge amount of money.

Use your debit card whenever possible - "cash" disappears and it's hard to track where it went. Give up luxuries you can do yourself - manicure, pedicures, tanning, eating out at lunch, coffee breaks to Starbucks, house cleaners, gardeners, etc. Those little things eat up a ton of "cash" and not much to show for it.

Check out consignment shops in your area - we have some really nice ones around here that are well worth the trip.

Don't waste your groceries! Fresh fruit and veggies are great, but so are frozen ones. If you find you are throwing away stuff from "the rotter" (as I affectionately call my crisper drawer), cut back on your fresh produce until you figure out a better system. Wasted food is a huge expense.

Buy cheap wine. That's my current tip. Not only is it less expensive, but because it's not very good you won't drink as much.

[Bicoastal]

Lex and I are in the same area. I venture over to Shoppers once a month or so. Groceries there are cheaper than the three grocery stores I pass along the way.

Harris Teeter is really expensive. At Walmart you can buy shelf-stable goods and staple items for cheap.

Coupons.com can be used wisely. Only clip what you already buy.

I spend a good chunk of change on my dogs. I have learned I can make chewies and biscuits for a fraction of the store bought cost. I also price shop online and wait for sales to buy a large bag of food.

Sounds like I'm in a similar situation to Lex. I already live frugally (except for medical expenses). I hope to get to Ireland in March but I need another $1k. Not sure how many more pennies I can pinch so I'll be following this thread closely.

[LexInVA]

Shoppers also has the best grilled chicken! NOM NOM NOM!

[SmartAlex]

Coupons and comparison shopping. Rolling change. Returning deposit containers. Doing the work on rebates.

And I hoard cash. I shop on my credit card and pay bills online (no checks, envelopes or stamps). I have a set budget, and tracking it on the credit card and through the checking is very helpful. I can tell you where all of my money went for the past 5 years. Down to like the last $20.

So, when I get cash for whatever reason (rebates, rolled coins), I tuck it away. If I want to "splurge" I use my cash hoard, so if we're going antiquing or whatever, I take the largest bills I have. It's really hard to break up a hundred on some frivolous purchase so I am much less likely to. When I get a sizeable amount, it gets invested in an IRA.

[MunchingonHay]

I also toss all my change into a jar. I use only bills when I pay in cash (and I always pay in cash) and when the jar is full I go and 'cash' in the change and that is my fun money.


So while it's not saving per say, I am giving myself a little fun money for a rain day so I don't go crazy and blow my budget.

[Bogie]

My husband is very handy and can do much of our car and house maintenance.

I shop for most things at Costco.

I don't buy things just because I want them. Okay, I try not to buy things because I want them.

I sell things I don't want anymore on eBay.

I make a lot of gifts (food, crocheted or knitted things).

I buy expensive things like saddles, handbags, even some clothes, from consignment stores.

With my oldest going off to college this year we've really had to tighten our belts. Since our second will go to college in four years, we'll have 8 years to hone our cost cutting skills.

Also, I work more. I work absolutely as much as possible.