Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8029704 times)

merlin7676

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 214
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7300 on: October 27, 2016, 07:57:14 AM »
Bumped my 401K savings up another percentage point.

Asked for a promotion from my boss. She is on board but has to go through higher ups. And wouldn't go into effect until March. But I'm fairly confident it will go through.

choppingwood

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 531
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7301 on: October 27, 2016, 08:57:03 AM »
A coworker at my 5 hr a week job at the library brought me 20 lb of potatoes and 5 small spaghetti squash from her garden. I brought her fancy grade honey crisp apples from my trip to the city last week. (Honey crisp aren't available where we live.)

There are two grocery stores in my village. I shop at the one that is nearer and cheaper. The other store sometimes has great prices on sale items. I went over there to buy 3 litres of canola oil (4.98 Cdn) and black peppercorns.  They also had fish sticks, which my store doesn't carry.  These are great when I want a easy, light and cheap supper. (They are about half the cost of meat.)


Threshkin

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1088
  • Location: Colorado
    • My Journal
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7302 on: October 27, 2016, 10:25:09 AM »
Cut down another bottle gift bag to give a baby (well, first birthday) gift.

Yes, a full bottle is too much for a baby.  Better to give them a half bottle.

Toffeemama

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 651
  • Age: 2019
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7303 on: October 27, 2016, 12:59:57 PM »
We were invited to a Girl Scouts party tonight.  I was tasked with bringing a party dish to share.  Instead of buying a tray of something pre-made from the store, I'm making a bunch of little falafels. 

Jschange

  • Guest
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7304 on: October 27, 2016, 09:17:44 PM »
I dropped off 4 novels in the laundry room in the basement, and found a brand new, new to me paperback by an author I enjoy.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7305 on: October 27, 2016, 10:19:33 PM »
Saw an updated version of my mascara marked down by $11.

Apparently it was on sale because the redesigned wand was really unpopular.

I bought it. I can wash the wand from my existing tube when I'm done. They are interchangeable.

(The wand really is badly designed. It's barely a brush.)

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7306 on: October 28, 2016, 05:41:37 AM »
Stacked BOGO and coupons to get Halloween candy. Why is candy so freaking expensive? I still spend more than I wanted to, since we get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

I borrowed a Halloween costume for my toddler from a friend. You could make the argument that dressing up as a devil is not exactly a costume for a 16-month-old, but it was free. :-)

Bracken_Joy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8927
  • Location: Oregon
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7307 on: October 28, 2016, 10:14:14 AM »
Stacked BOGO and coupons to get Halloween candy. Why is candy so freaking expensive? I still spend more than I wanted to, since we get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

I borrowed a Halloween costume for my toddler from a friend. You could make the argument that dressing up as a devil is not exactly a costume for a 16-month-old, but it was free. :-)

Oh I don't know, I've known a few 16 month olds that this would be the *perfect* costume for.

Kitsune

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1853
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7308 on: October 28, 2016, 10:31:42 AM »
I have a huge super-nifty wall hanging that I needed framed to hang up.

Got 3 quotes: the cheapest was 240$.

Eff that, I said. Built a way to hang it out of a piece of pine, painted with leftover paint from another project. Spent 5$, will look perfectly fine. Sure, the poster won't be protected by glass, but it's hanging in an out-of-the-way spot in the house and will do fine.

aetherie

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 810
  • Age: 31
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7309 on: October 28, 2016, 10:54:28 AM »
Stacked BOGO and coupons to get Halloween candy. Why is candy so freaking expensive? I still spend more than I wanted to, since we get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

I borrowed a Halloween costume for my toddler from a friend. You could make the argument that dressing up as a devil is not exactly a costume for a 16-month-old, but it was free. :-)

Oh I don't know, I've known a few 16 month olds that this would be the *perfect* costume for.

I assumed she meant putting a devil costume on a 16 month old is equivalent to not putting any costume on them :P

Bracken_Joy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8927
  • Location: Oregon
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7310 on: October 28, 2016, 11:32:18 AM »
Stacked BOGO and coupons to get Halloween candy. Why is candy so freaking expensive? I still spend more than I wanted to, since we get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

I borrowed a Halloween costume for my toddler from a friend. You could make the argument that dressing up as a devil is not exactly a costume for a 16-month-old, but it was free. :-)

Oh I don't know, I've known a few 16 month olds that this would be the *perfect* costume for.

I assumed she meant putting a devil costume on a 16 month old is equivalent to not putting any costume on them :P

OH! I re-read it and you are exactly right. Ha, teaches me for posting before the coffee kicks in =P

...glad we all know the same 16 month olds ;)

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7311 on: October 28, 2016, 04:54:39 PM »
Stacked BOGO and coupons to get Halloween candy. Why is candy so freaking expensive? I still spend more than I wanted to, since we get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

I borrowed a Halloween costume for my toddler from a friend. You could make the argument that dressing up as a devil is not exactly a costume for a 16-month-old, but it was free. :-)

Oh I don't know, I've known a few 16 month olds that this would be the *perfect* costume for.

I assumed she meant putting a devil costume on a 16 month old is equivalent to not putting any costume on them :P

OH! I re-read it and you are exactly right. Ha, teaches me for posting before the coffee kicks in =P

...glad we all know the same 16 month olds ;)

i don't think I've met one yet who it wouldn't be perfect for, haha.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7312 on: October 28, 2016, 08:17:55 PM »
Ended up with two bottles of pizza sauce from a function.

I just portioned it out into mini tubs and froze it.

Had to run an errand this morning and it was tempting to stop for lunch on the way home. Instead, lunch was homemade steak sandwiches.

Bracken_Joy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8927
  • Location: Oregon
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7313 on: October 28, 2016, 08:20:31 PM »
Decided to walk to the store instead of drive. Beautiful day. 2.6 miles each way, and I was able to stick to calm residential back roads. Didn't end up finding pants that worked, so $0 spent. Even found a little park I didn't know was there!

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7314 on: October 28, 2016, 08:48:33 PM »
Snagged a free worm farm from my local Buy Nothing group!! I've been wanting a worm farm for about a year now and this way I only have to buy the worms.

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7315 on: October 28, 2016, 08:57:23 PM »
Quote
AND if you've got yogurt, you can strain it to make a yogurt spread called labneh, which is AMAZING when mixed with fresh herbs, and looks like it should be way more complicated/expensive than it is. With holiday potluck a coming up, I figured I'd throw that in there. :)

Thanks for the reminder.  I strained it and made labneh tonight.  Now to make some crackers to go with it.  Yum!

Today I worked from home rather than driving to the office. 

Picked up a quarter while walking the dog.

Canning 10 jars of beans right now

Enlisted my horse trainer for another 15 days instead of paying up front for a full month.  Will decide later if I need to keep him on  longer.

dandypandys

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 545
  • Age: 47
  • Location: USA
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7316 on: October 29, 2016, 05:40:51 AM »
Spent 5 hrs at the Subaru dealer getting my 11 yr old subby an oil change and a leaky sun roof looked at.
Had a gander at the sales room, even had the guy drive round a very brand new looking 2011 subby with only 50k on it!

Decided to keep mine after all, and put painters tape on the sun roof.
Savings- 700 for sun roof install, 15,000 for newish lux outback.

I still lemoning a newer outback, but my one is fine- 100k on it and well looked after.  Maybe when i can afford a used 2012 I will buy in, they are the ones with the rear view camera.


TravelJunkyQC

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 466
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Québec City, Canada
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7317 on: October 30, 2016, 02:50:55 PM »
BF and I put plastic-film on the windows to help save a bit on heating costs this winter (condo... not allowed to change our own damn windows... they desperately need to be changed).
Usually saves us around 100$ for the season.

K-ice

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 982
  • Location: Canada
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7318 on: October 31, 2016, 12:28:42 AM »
BF and I put plastic-film on the windows to help save a bit on heating costs this winter (condo... not allowed to change our own damn windows... they desperately need to be changed).
Usually saves us around 100$ for the season.

Why do Quebeckers call this "foil" when it is more like saran wrap?

TravelJunkyQC

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 466
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Québec City, Canada
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7319 on: October 31, 2016, 07:34:12 AM »
BF and I put plastic-film on the windows to help save a bit on heating costs this winter (condo... not allowed to change our own damn windows... they desperately need to be changed).
Usually saves us around 100$ for the season.

Why do Quebeckers call this "foil" when it is more like saran wrap?

To attempt to feel better about spending 36$ for two packages of saran wrap to cover 1970s windows that we aren't allowed to change because we live in a co-op?

Just a thought....

merlin7676

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 214
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7320 on: October 31, 2016, 02:37:42 PM »
Just came up to my 10 years at my company and I had a list of "gifts/rewards" I could choose from.   I was really eyeing the wine refrigerator. We have more wine than we can drink and I thought it would be nice to have even though I didn't need it. Was also eyeing the luggage as I do need a new suitcase as mine is 20 years old and finally starting to give up the ghost.
In the end I decided to get the 10 silver dollar coins. I see at the coin store here they are on sale for about $20 each so I can sell them for about $200 minus whatever they take in commission. Then I can use than extra money to invest in a few more shares of my index fund.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2016, 08:16:51 AM by merlin7676 »

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7321 on: October 31, 2016, 02:40:00 PM »
Emailed the company that makes my hairspray as I suspect that there was nothing but propellant in the last can I bought. They asked my preferred supermarket chain and are sending me a voucher as compensation.

Made $7 for two minutes' work.

Metric Mouse

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5278
  • FU @ 22. F.I.R.E before 23
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7322 on: October 31, 2016, 08:24:35 PM »
Made some of my partner's favorite appatizers at home.  $16 worth of food from the swanky downtown eatery for about eighty cents.  And the atmosphere was at least as enjoyable.

drp

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7323 on: October 31, 2016, 08:55:43 PM »
5pm rolled around with no dinner plans. Kids are at the grandparent's house...so eating out was really tempting! Instead I sucked it up and made a super easy dish using gnocchi (it's a first) I bought a few days ago at dollar tree. Went out and picked some fresh greens (free from my dad) to toss in the mix.

Then...I really wanted junk food (okay, so I clearly have food issues today) and it's Halloween - and what's Halloween with no chocolate? So instead of spending I made some yummy and ridiculously unhealthy no bake cookies with stuff I had on hand.

These two things easily saved me $30! (And I'm fairly certain that eating garden fresh swiss chard cancels out all the empty calories of those cookies....)

eeho

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 120
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Adelaide, Australia
    • Check out my MMM journal - Stubblefaced-aussie-girl-with-a-five-year-deadline-for-fire!
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7324 on: October 31, 2016, 09:24:21 PM »
Today I cancelled my premium Spotify subscription.

I had signed on to premium when they had a 3 months for 99c deal but forgot to cancel it before they slugged me the $11.99 monthly fee last month! I set a reminder in my phone to cancel today (the day before the next month goes on my account), so I'm back to standard (free!) service and will put up with the ads :)

Lunasol

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
  • Location: US
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7325 on: November 01, 2016, 09:34:44 AM »
Today I cancelled my premium Spotify subscription.

I had signed on to premium when they had a 3 months for 99c deal but forgot to cancel it before they slugged me the $11.99 monthly fee last month! I set a reminder in my phone to cancel today (the day before the next month goes on my account), so I'm back to standard (free!) service and will put up with the ads :)

good for you! I don't have premium either, but I once had a friend mockingly say "I don't mind paying the $11.99 fee", I thought to myself, "well I'm glad you don't but I do!" lol... his words made another friend feel too cheap so she started paying it too!

Bracken_Joy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8927
  • Location: Oregon
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7326 on: November 01, 2016, 10:13:41 AM »
Deposited the refund check from the university for the differential between non-resident and resident tuition.  $8k+ -- Ka BAM!  That's 2-3 months worth of living expenses, thank you very much.  Eventually I will also request a distribution from DS's college fund to cover the other roughly $4k in tuition and expenses.  Going to wait until after the election/let the market stabilize a bit though. 

Also had a no-drive day yesterday.  On Sunday I filled up my car for the first time in over a month.  Got around $6.70 off using my Fred Meyer points.   Spending less than $25/month on gas now that I am trying not to drive as many days as possible.

Oh man, $8k is way more exciting. I think in your journal you wrote you were getting "$8" back, but seemed super excited so I thought you were being sardonic! Lol. $8k is WAY more exciting! Like... $7,992 more exciting!

K-ice

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 982
  • Location: Canada
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7327 on: November 01, 2016, 11:23:15 AM »
I used our local car-share the other day to get to work as I was out of bus tickets. It was actually 10 cents less than the cash fare. I expected it to be a bit more but took it for the convenience.

I take the bus one day per week because of a work meeting not actually at my work. The bus is easier. But I will consider the car share more often now.

That reminds me. I do need more tickets as the bus, with tickets, is usually cheaper.


Fomerly known as something

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1627
  • Location: CA
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7328 on: November 01, 2016, 04:19:48 PM »
Not today but yesterday or maybe Sunday technically.  Sunday morning I made a pot of curry pumpkin soup and didn't eat any of it.  I made it so I could have something quick and warm when I got home from a 14 hour day of work where I didn't eat a whole lot during the day.  Instead of swinging through Burger King or Little Caesars, I had a nice bowl of soup 2 minutes in the microwave. 

Added bonus the soup was much better for me than a fast food option.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7329 on: November 01, 2016, 04:26:40 PM »
This also falls under 'not today but'...

About a month ago I finally gave in and bought 'expensive' bobby pins.

It was $12 for a coil of 250 industry-grade pins.

Prior to this I was paying $3 for a packet of 50 pins that wouldn't hold my hair anyway, and I would ultimately lose the lot over the span of a couple of months.

The new ones are much stronger so I'm using half as many, and because they're still in my hair at the end of the day I haven't lost one of them.

(Next year I'll be posting in the decluttering thread, 'Why do I have 250 bobby pins when I only use five?')

TexasRunner

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 926
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Somewhere in Tejas
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7330 on: November 01, 2016, 05:50:47 PM »
This also falls under 'not today but'...
About a month ago I finally gave in and bought 'expensive' bobby pins.
It was $12 for a coil of 250 industry-grade pins.
Prior to this I was paying $3 for a packet of 50 pins that wouldn't hold my hair anyway, and I would ultimately lose the lot over the span of a couple of months.
The new ones are much stronger so I'm using half as many, and because they're still in my hair at the end of the day I haven't lost one of them.
(Next year I'll be posting in the decluttering thread, 'Why do I have 250 bobby pins when I only use five?')

This isn't the MMM forum unless you add some math to back it up!!!!

You were spending 3$ for 50 every 3~4 months (IE a loss rate of 50 per 100 days @ 0.06c each) and you now have spent 12$ for 250 every 250 years or so (IE a loss rate of 50 per 18250 days @ 0.048c).  The 12$ investment will yield 10.90$ of savings per year or 90.833% Annualized Return!  Nice Job!

Math:
 $12.00        $3.00         Cost per pack
250               0.2739       years each pack lasts
365              365              days per year
91250          99.9735      days the pack lasts

                            Resulting annualized savings 90.833% for 250 years!
Cost
 $0.05        $10.95        $10.90


Edit:  Yes, I'm kinda bored LOL

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7331 on: November 01, 2016, 06:00:10 PM »
I bought chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless breasts for tonight's dinner since they cost half as much and are healthier.

Combined all errands into one trip.

Took my toddler for a walk in the woods behind our house instead of to the playground. Dirt! Sticks! Rocks! Little boy heaven, pretty much.

Scheduled an energy audit with our management company to try and figure out why our energy bills are so absurdly high.

Bracken_Joy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8927
  • Location: Oregon
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7332 on: November 01, 2016, 06:09:28 PM »
Edit:  Yes, I'm kinda bored LOL

Where can I download you as a pocket calculator? =P

PMG

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1609
  • Location: USA
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7333 on: November 01, 2016, 06:17:50 PM »
I ate before I came out to the day of the dead festival.  Now I am posting this to distract myself while my friends buy food truck tacos. 

Long. Term. Goals.

eeho

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 120
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Adelaide, Australia
    • Check out my MMM journal - Stubblefaced-aussie-girl-with-a-five-year-deadline-for-fire!
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7334 on: November 01, 2016, 08:30:34 PM »
Went grocery shopping today, and rather than buy 1lb. of deli ham for $5 (my lunch for a week or so), I bought a spiral sliced ham on sale.  7.5# @$1.49, total of 11.22. At home the ham was sliced off the bone, yielding 5.4 lbs of meat into the frig & freezer, for a cost of 2.10/ lb., and it's better meat than I usually have on a sandwich. The ham hock and all the fatty scraps are going in the Crockpot now with 2lbs of free(gift from aunt's garden) dried beans.  If this all works out, I'll do it again in a few months.

We do this all the time. When they go on sale for 99 cents a pound, we buy several and put them in the deep freeze. Also recently my husband got a "semi-boneless" ham, which was kind of similar except not sliced. So he had to slice it, but it ended up being even cheaper than the spiral sliced.

Today when I was at work, my husband texted me that the Velcro on our 4-year-old's sneakers was wearing out and she needed new sneakers. I told him I would replace the Velcro. Then after I got home and we determined that I didn't mind replacing the Velcro but I didn't feel like hiking out to the store to get any, we looked around and he found a roll of industrial-strength adhesive-backed Velcro that he'd used to repair the couch. I removed the old Velcro and stuck this stuff on. It was really easy because really only the loop side needed to be replaced, the hook side still seems okay. It is white instead of the gray of the sneakers, but will not be particularly noticeable. This should get us through the next few months until she outgrows the sneakers.

This may be a blast from the past, but I'm reading back through this extensive thread and found this gem. Great work Merrie!!

halftimer

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 203
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7335 on: November 01, 2016, 09:18:47 PM »
Bought some new almond/coconut milk to try since it was on sale for 1/2 the price of all other varieties. I did not like it, I think I want either one flavour or the other in future. So I used some to make coconut rice to go with some chicken thighs I bought and used the rest in a big pot of curry celery soup. Fantastic in both of those recipes, and no waste!  Also the celery in the soup and the veg in with the chicken were both from a big catered platter at work that I rescued after 2 days in the fridge with no one eating any.

marty998

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7372
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7336 on: November 02, 2016, 01:23:14 AM »
This also falls under 'not today but'...
About a month ago I finally gave in and bought 'expensive' bobby pins.
It was $12 for a coil of 250 industry-grade pins.
Prior to this I was paying $3 for a packet of 50 pins that wouldn't hold my hair anyway, and I would ultimately lose the lot over the span of a couple of months.
The new ones are much stronger so I'm using half as many, and because they're still in my hair at the end of the day I haven't lost one of them.
(Next year I'll be posting in the decluttering thread, 'Why do I have 250 bobby pins when I only use five?')

This isn't the MMM forum unless you add some math to back it up!!!!

You were spending 3$ for 50 every 3~4 months (IE a loss rate of 50 per 100 days @ 0.06c each) and you now have spent 12$ for 250 every 250 years or so (IE a loss rate of 50 per 18250 days @ 0.048c).  The 12$ investment will yield 10.90$ of savings per year or 90.833% Annualized Return!  Nice Job!

Math:
 $12.00        $3.00         Cost per pack
250               0.2739       years each pack lasts
365              365              days per year
91250          99.9735      days the pack lasts

                            Resulting annualized savings 90.833% for 250 years!
Cost
 $0.05        $10.95        $10.90


Edit:  Yes, I'm kinda bored LOL

I am also bored. And a pedant.

You did arithmetic. If you did the math, this calculation would involve poisson or binomial probability distribution functions.

However I am also no longer smart enough to calculate these things.... so I feel a bit silly pointing this out :D

I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7337 on: November 02, 2016, 02:36:16 AM »
We got two drink tickets at a work event. I don't do alcohol, so I usually butter colleagues up by giving them away. This time you also needed them for soda. I'm pregnant so I can't have two in one day. Convinced the bartender to give me my second with the can closed and brought it home.

Not really savings, since I won't buy soda (the cost is insane!) But I'm really looking forward to my free treat this weekend!

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7338 on: November 02, 2016, 04:21:18 AM »
We got two drink tickets at a work event. I don't do alcohol, so I usually butter colleagues up by giving them away. This time you also needed them for soda. I'm pregnant so I can't have two in one day. Convinced the bartender to give me my second with the can closed and brought it home.

Not really savings, since I won't buy soda (the cost is insane!) But I'm really looking forward to my free treat this weekend!

I'd say getting something you like, but wouldn't buy yourself, for free definitely counts! Hope you are feeling well :-)

TexasRunner

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 926
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Somewhere in Tejas
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7339 on: November 02, 2016, 08:59:18 AM »
This also falls under 'not today but'...
About a month ago I finally gave in and bought 'expensive' bobby pins.
It was $12 for a coil of 250 industry-grade pins.
Prior to this I was paying $3 for a packet of 50 pins that wouldn't hold my hair anyway, and I would ultimately lose the lot over the span of a couple of months.
The new ones are much stronger so I'm using half as many, and because they're still in my hair at the end of the day I haven't lost one of them.
(Next year I'll be posting in the decluttering thread, 'Why do I have 250 bobby pins when I only use five?')

This isn't the MMM forum unless you add some math to back it up!!!!

You were spending 3$ for 50 every 3~4 months (IE a loss rate of 50 per 100 days @ 0.06c each) and you now have spent 12$ for 250 every 250 years or so (IE a loss rate of 50 per 18250 days @ 0.048c).  The 12$ investment will yield 10.90$ of savings per year or 90.833% Annualized Return!  Nice Job!

Math:
 $12.00        $3.00         Cost per pack
250               0.2739       years each pack lasts
365              365              days per year
91250          99.9735      days the pack lasts

                            Resulting annualized savings 90.833% for 250 years!
Cost
 $0.05        $10.95        $10.90


Edit:  Yes, I'm kinda bored LOL

I am also bored. And a pedant.
You did arithmetic. If you did the math, this calculation would involve poisson or binomial probability distribution functions.
However I am also no longer smart enough to calculate these things.... so I feel a bit silly pointing this out :D

Not necessarily.  I was operating under the assumptions of guaranteed rate of loss rather than probable future rate of loss (inaccurate, I know :p ).  In reality, I should have determined the probable future rate of loss including the age of mustachepungoeshere and factors like moving/life events.  Besides, with the rate of loss assumed, it would have to be Poisson as MPGH didn't specifically give the probability.

Lunasol

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
  • Location: US
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7340 on: November 02, 2016, 09:39:56 AM »
I ate before I came out to the day of the dead festival.  Now I am posting this to distract myself while my friends buy food truck tacos. 

Long. Term. Goals.

I went to a day of the dead festival yesterday, we got a free cup of hot cocoa and a small pan de muerto each (mom, grandma and me)
Free breakfast! :)

dorothyc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 249
  • Age: 64
  • Location: Los Angeles
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7341 on: November 02, 2016, 10:51:25 AM »
We had a potluck lunch on Monday for Halloween and someone brought a veg platter that was still in the fridge yesterday. I took the baby carrots home, and with some other ingredients I had in the house I made Julia Child's cream of carrot soup from The Way to Cook. I also had some homemade yoghurt that didn't turn out very thick so I used it in a Mark Bittman quick bread recipe foe wholewheat yoghurt bread that I found the recipe online for to go with it. Had that for dinner last night, and I have leftovers for my work lunch today.

ohsnap

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7342 on: November 02, 2016, 11:12:20 AM »
I canceled 2 credit cards with annual fees coming up.  We've paid the fee for the last 2 years, because the benefit (a free night in a hotel) outweighed the annual fee.  But this year we had a hard time coming up with a use for the 2 free nights!  So really we were pre-paying for those nights - albeit at a lower than otherwise available cost - but had to come up with a way to use them before they expired.  Which cost us $$ on food, etc.

Anyway, it took just 5 minutes - the 2 cards are canceled and I was happy to cut them up.

nico demouse

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 54
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7343 on: November 02, 2016, 11:26:27 AM »
Found an interesting food share/co-op group. I've been a part of it for a couple of weeks now, and I think it's going to let us cut our grocery expenses by 1/3-1/2 without sacrificing quality. Huge win. It also hits some other community and environmental benefits that are compelling to me.

Huge classical music fan, which...as far as music tickets go aren't as expensive as lots of other kinds. But, I've been trying to seek out free, high quality events as much as possible. Luckily, My house is walking distance to the train line. Tonight I am going in to the city to hear a concert focused on my instrument from some world class musicians, FREE. Well, I guess I have the cost of my train ticket, but still.

Stopped at the pet store to get a free bag of speedy dog food with a coupon I got from following the dog foods Facebook page.

Ceridwen

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 237
  • Location: Canada
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7344 on: November 03, 2016, 10:18:06 AM »
Was just about to buy my son some new pyjamas when I remembered that the grandparents love getting practical gift suggestions for Christmas.  Sent off the email, emptied my online cart, and saved myself $30.  He can wear his too-short ones for a few more months :)

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7345 on: November 03, 2016, 09:16:20 PM »
Yesterday I bought the largest size dog worming chews from the pet shop and used their price match promise. Dropped price per dose from $9.50 to $2.38.

The product they sell is based on dog weight (very small, small, medium, large) - with the product doubling the active ingredients each size. However, the prices only increase slightly with each size - for a pack of 6 chews ($52, $57, $67, $76).

I got the large dog pack and cut each into four- providing the same dosage as the small dog pack (I checked their spec online and have assumed the distribution in each chew is uniform, and my dogs sit in the middle of the weight range for small anyway).

Filing this under Things That Would Never Have Occurred To Me.

I am in awe.

Dollar Slice

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9613
  • Age: 46
  • Location: New York City
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7346 on: November 03, 2016, 10:54:24 PM »
Went out to the Jazz Standard with some friends for a birthday party tonight. The waitress brought one bill for our whole table at the end of the night, and ended up screwing up by massively overcharging us not once, but twice! I saved our group $174 by catching the two errors. And I got a free slice of pie. :-)

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7347 on: November 04, 2016, 04:10:51 AM »
No spend day yesterday!

I also made a loaf of sourdough bread, cooked chicken leg quarters in the crockpot to make enough shredded chicken for several meals, used the bones and skin to make a pot of broth, and used the liquid released when cooking the chicken to make black beans in the crockpot overnight.


mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7348 on: November 04, 2016, 05:18:59 AM »
Cheap transit today by virtue of starting late (after working late yesterday) and Friday half-price fares.

Eating the contents of the fridge (well, not all the contents), and drinking some of my birthday stash of spirits (thanks to generous friends).

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7349 on: November 04, 2016, 06:18:00 AM »
I've seen my GP so often lately that she's started bulk billing me! I'd rather just be well, but I'll take the savings thanks.

Worked on my garden this evening, which should save me money via ''free'' fruit and veg. Watered the plants using buckets that collect from a dripping tap and the shower.