Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020763 times)

Schmidty

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11950 on: October 07, 2018, 04:23:15 AM »
Hit the flea market that was in town last night that was about to start closing everything up.  Got a pretty nice area rug for $40 that we were needing for one of the rooms in the soon-to-be house.  Everything I've been looking at similar online starts around $100 or more.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11951 on: October 07, 2018, 08:22:39 AM »
-Dodging the cost of a storage unit. We're preparing to sell our house. As part of this, we're having all the carpeting replaced. This plus wanting to stage nicely means we wanted to store our bookshelves and their contents during showings, but we will want them in our new place. No easy way to store them in the garage, so we were going to temporarily keep a storage unit while listed. Luckily, some relatives came through and we can keep these and our area rugs temporarily at their house. Saving a few hundred this way.

-Ending up being big savings. Realtor wanted us to pull out our garden beds and fix up our back lawn. We got a quote... drumroll please... for over $2k. UM, NO. After running through options that work with our limited time, we went and bought grass seed and we're just seeding around the beds. Raised beds can stay and lawn will (hopefully) end up lush and full, with the worn spots filled back in. $50 in grass seed (and weed and feed for the front lawn) and a morning of work will hopefully eliminate the need for $2k in work.

-Husband and I have been wanting to game together again. We used to do this a lot the first few years we were dating. Instead of both buying a new game we could play together, we went and started new characters on a game we already have accounts for/used to play.

Noodle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11952 on: October 07, 2018, 02:55:34 PM »
Church activity over lunchtime. They offer a sandwich lunch for those who care to partake, for $6--you can also bring your own lunch. I came up with a cheese and meat plate from various items I had around the house, and had a brown-bag lunch I liked better for no added cost!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11953 on: October 07, 2018, 03:21:19 PM »
-Husband and I got our flu shots at the CVS in target. Free through insurance, then a $5 target coupon apiece. Used part of it for fancy starbucks drinks to treat ourselves for getting the shots ;) then the rest for bread to make lunches for the work week.

-Went to Costco even though it's the weekend to get food for the work trip. Much cheaper for certain items (tortillas for breakfast burritos for one!), so it was worth fighting the crowds.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11954 on: October 08, 2018, 04:16:01 AM »
-Ending up being big savings. Realtor wanted us to pull out our garden beds and fix up our back lawn. We got a quote... drumroll please... for over $2k. UM, NO. After running through options that work with our limited time, we went and bought grass seed and we're just seeding around the beds. Raised beds can stay and lawn will (hopefully) end up lush and full, with the worn spots filled back in. $50 in grass seed (and weed and feed for the front lawn) and a morning of work will hopefully eliminate the need for $2k in work.


Grass seeds does indeed do a good job repairing your lawn and costs almost no time. And it is cheap.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11955 on: October 08, 2018, 07:58:18 AM »
-Ending up being big savings. Realtor wanted us to pull out our garden beds and fix up our back lawn. We got a quote... drumroll please... for over $2k. UM, NO. After running through options that work with our limited time, we went and bought grass seed and we're just seeding around the beds. Raised beds can stay and lawn will (hopefully) end up lush and full, with the worn spots filled back in. $50 in grass seed (and weed and feed for the front lawn) and a morning of work will hopefully eliminate the need for $2k in work.


Grass seeds does indeed do a good job repairing your lawn and costs almost no time. And it is cheap.

I think the issue was the company is very booked up and wouldn't be able to fit us in until last minute before we list, so they would need to sod and a bunch else. We frankly didn't have the time to deal with the yard, but we made time- will make my husband's work week much more difficult, since he couldn't work the weekend, but I'm sure he'll make it through. Now we just need to keep the dog off the lawn! Her puppy habit of ripping up grass was a major contributor to its demise, haha.


Savings this week: husband+co is doing a big work project. Instead of hotels, for the same price we rented a house through AirBnB nearby (Small family company, so this isn't particularly weird). I'm going up on meal duty. Will save them a lot of money (but especially time) to just have food available.

Bonus, this will give the grass a 5 day headstart to growing before we get back!


Savings yesterday: wanted fancy pizza after batch cooking all day for the trip. Compromised and opted for a costco pizza, which is much cheaper and gave leftovers. Still not as cheap as eating at home, but it was a good option for the day.

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11956 on: October 08, 2018, 08:27:26 AM »
Today for breakfast I had cereal that was kept in the box for a long time. I don't eat cereal that much but don't want it to go waste. Also, I added water along with milk (almost 50:50) instead of milk only.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11957 on: October 08, 2018, 11:45:20 AM »
Just prepared breakfast for tomorrow so I can get out of bed a little later. I didn't pack lunch because I'll be getting lunch at work. Had a free lunch at work last week, one tomorrow and probably one next week as well. All little bits help :)

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11958 on: October 08, 2018, 12:02:17 PM »
That's nice !!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11959 on: October 09, 2018, 07:31:33 AM »
Over the last couple of days:
-Got free tickets to a Tech Savvy parenting talk that I've been wanting to hear
-Sent my son with friends to an event at a theme park, and remembered that he could use his season pass for this. No out of pocket
-Renewed our library books to avoid fines
-Charged our electric car for free at work
-Swapped nanny days for when I'm out of town, which is great for my husband's work schedule, and also saves us money

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11960 on: October 09, 2018, 10:20:26 AM »
Found a coupon by doing a quick google that will save $50 from my car maintenance bill :)

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11961 on: October 09, 2018, 11:11:34 AM »
Because my husband keeps leaving the window unit air conditioner and TV/Fire Stick running when he falls asleep/goes to work I put smart plugs on both of them that lets me cut them off and on at certain times and cut them off from my phone if no one's home and I see they are running. 

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11962 on: October 09, 2018, 11:48:17 AM »
Bulk cooked lunches for the week.
Cut cable. We still have internet through the cable company.
Ended HBO subscription.  This is only a small thing because we will probably get HBO when Game of Thrones is back on.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11963 on: October 10, 2018, 01:40:11 AM »
I wanted to get a ticket to a benefit concert (money going to a charity I like, plus a band I love... win-win). The fee for the online sale was almost $9, so when I was in the neighborhood for something else, I walked to the box office and got the ticket with no fee.

Didn't buy meat at the grocery store because there were no good sales on inexpensive cuts. I'll have eggs and beans and cheese for a few days until something goes on sale. (And lots of vegetables!)

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11964 on: October 10, 2018, 02:02:50 AM »
Walked to work today and will walk back in the afternoon.

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11965 on: October 10, 2018, 08:16:08 AM »
Yesterday: after car was pronounced DOA by the mechanic, hiked 7 miles to work instead of renting a car.
Wow. This is badass. Awesome!!

Mrs.Piano

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11966 on: October 10, 2018, 09:12:36 AM »
Gave a friend a ride home when she had a sudden child issue. This meant that she did not have to pay for an Uber, so she paid for my breakfast.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11967 on: October 10, 2018, 11:13:37 AM »
-Usual electric car for commute + breakfast/lunch for free at work
-Talked my sister into an easy & stomach appropriate pre-race dinner this weekend, instead of going out
-Made leftovers for dinner

Hirondelle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11968 on: October 10, 2018, 12:12:44 PM »
Resisted getting a morning coffee at the supermarket ($1)

I've also been tracking my public transportation expenses for almost a year now and figured that a "weekend unlimited" train plan would be cheaper than buying seperate tickets each time. 3 weekend rides (one way) and I've earned the difference back - last weekend I literally already had to make 3 and for november I already have 2 planned as well. Thanks to tracking expenses it's easier to figure out if something is worth it or not!

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11969 on: October 10, 2018, 12:58:24 PM »
I have not done this but has anyone ordered party trays of food from a restaurant like lasagna, chicken marsala, stuffed fillet of sole, stuffed shells, eggplant parm. as examples and taken the trays home and broken them up to freeze them into individual portions? Let's say you tell the restaurant you want 3 different entrees to feed 10 people (30 total meals). Do you think there would be a cost savings to do this? I imagine you could tell them not to bake the stuff and that you would bake it yourself. That way it wouldn't be mushy. It would be a good way to get restaurant quality food at maybe a cheaper price.

Any thoughts?

Hirondelle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11970 on: October 10, 2018, 01:02:59 PM »
Honestly I think I/my friends can make above-restaurant quality food for a way cheaper price (unless you mean really fancypantsy restaurants with Michelin stars and such).

And what are you trying to save costs to? Compared to going to the restaurant? To cooking yourself? To hire a chef on-site? To call a catering place that delivers on the spot?

CheapScholar

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11971 on: October 10, 2018, 03:01:37 PM »
Perfume/cologne ads sprayed with the product surprisingly make great air fresheners for your car.  I folded one up and put it by my dashboard a few days ago and it’s actually quite effective.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11972 on: October 10, 2018, 03:54:55 PM »
I have not done this but has anyone ordered party trays of food from a restaurant like lasagna, chicken marsala, stuffed fillet of sole, stuffed shells, eggplant parm. as examples and taken the trays home and broken them up to freeze them into individual portions? Let's say you tell the restaurant you want 3 different entrees to feed 10 people (30 total meals). Do you think there would be a cost savings to do this? I imagine you could tell them not to bake the stuff and that you would bake it yourself. That way it wouldn't be mushy. It would be a good way to get restaurant quality food at maybe a cheaper price.

Any thoughts?

We don't typically eat restaurant style food very often (calories, portion size) & prefer to cook on our own. I'm sure it would be cheaper than eating out, but unless it's a type of cuisine you have a difficult time preparing on your own, I don't think the quality would be better

OtherJen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11973 on: October 10, 2018, 04:16:28 PM »
Paid for the next 6 months of auto insurance in full, which saved us about $100 over monthly payments.

Made beans and rice for dinner and saved a couple of slightly wilted veggies in the process.

Waited until the current round of Costco member discounts to stock up on laundry supplies.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11974 on: October 10, 2018, 04:40:56 PM »
My Hub and I make restaurant quality food too. My real point was to have some food prepared by a caterer or restaurant and then freeze it into portions. Kind of like cook for a day, eat for a month cooking. But this way you would buy this food already prepared and just have to portion it out and freeze it. Yes, you can probably save money by making it from scratch but not everyone has the time to do that. I have plenty of time but I have very little freezer space. I buy bargains and fill my freezer. Just an idea for people who work and have little time to prepare food.

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11975 on: October 10, 2018, 07:29:58 PM »
I ate yesterday's left over for dinner. I prepared it in large quantity yesterday, so today was no cooking day.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11976 on: October 11, 2018, 12:50:52 AM »
Received my annual raise, this time a bit higher than usual, because I had such a good score. As the normal time for getting a raise is in May and this came half a year late, I will receive bulk compensation for this new raise since May on my October salary on the 20th. Let's hope the stock market is still low by then, so that I can invest it in the dip.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11977 on: October 12, 2018, 04:55:47 AM »
My Hub and I make restaurant quality food too. My real point was to have some food prepared by a caterer or restaurant and then freeze it into portions. Kind of like cook for a day, eat for a month cooking. But this way you would buy this food already prepared and just have to portion it out and freeze it. Yes, you can probably save money by making it from scratch but not everyone has the time to do that. I have plenty of time but I have very little freezer space. I buy bargains and fill my freezer. Just an idea for people who work and have little time to prepare food.

I find it's easier to just make an extra, or three, when cook.  It doesn't take that much longer to assemble or clean.

mountain mustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11978 on: October 12, 2018, 08:08:36 AM »
got a free Blue Apron box from a co-worker, which means 4 free dinners for me. And I'm spending the weekend dog sitting, so I'm making side income, and using someone else's house for 3 days! Win Win.

OtherJen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11979 on: October 12, 2018, 08:25:44 AM »
As I type, the frame of a Costco rotisserie chicken ($4.99) is in the Instant Pot with vegetables, herbs, and water and should yield about 2 quarts of very inexpensive homemade stock. This plus a $1.19 bag of dried split peas, a couple of potatoes and carrots, and about $1.50 worth of ham will give us about 8 servings of delicious split pea soup.

“Suntan” bell peppers were 5 for $1 at the local produce market (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them this cheap) so I stocked up and will slice and freeze them for later use.

Our 14-year-old dryer is acting up. Husband can fix it on his next day off (no replacement cost!) but in the meantime, we have enough drying rack and hanging space to dry one medium-sized load at a time overnight (reduced energy costs!). Spreading laundry over multiple days will also keep the 14-year-old washer happy.

Cool Friend

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11980 on: October 12, 2018, 10:14:46 AM »
Been catsitting for a friend who's given me free reign over his kitchen, so I've been eating mostly for free.

Also, didn't buy any beer this week.  This is a spendypants area of mine that needs improvement, so I consider that win.

10dollarsatatime

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11981 on: October 13, 2018, 09:17:15 AM »
I shaved the poodles.  I did pay, once, to have them groomed when I was overwhelmed about a year ago.  This is how I know that I save about $180 each time I do it myself.  Next week sometime, I'll get the whetstone, and I'll disassemble, clean, and sharpen the blades.  New blades cost $20-$30 a pop, so taking care of the ones I have saves me in the long run.

Today, I'm harvesting everything from the garden that won't take a hard freeze; mostly squash, beans, rutabagas, and cabbages.  I'll also save a few of the red carrot seed heads for planting next year.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11982 on: October 13, 2018, 09:59:04 AM »
We had leftovers for dinner today.
We went grocery shopping and bought eggs at 35% off, because the best before date is "only" two weeks from now.
 

Mrs.Piano

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11983 on: October 14, 2018, 09:37:19 AM »
Asked for a discount at a concert and got two tickets for $20 together instead of $70.  Also gave fabric scraps and leftover foam to a friend, and got a large container of soup and the loan of some needed tools. 

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11984 on: October 14, 2018, 09:54:35 AM »
Prepping the house for sale savings:
-Had BIL over to help remove the canopy from our truck, then went and did a dump run, then went and got bark. Redid a bunch of areas that really needed it and re-laid pavers as stepping stones. Don't want to imagine how much this would have cost to hire out.
-Got out and did work before our yard bin is picked up. It's only picked up every two weeks- so filling it now probably is avoiding a yard waste trip. ~$8 minimum and a drive (and taking the damn canopy off and on again, lol) saved.
-Moving all our own furniture in advance of flooring being replaced.
-Looked up the how to and bought new ring to re-install our toilets after the flooring is done. Flooring company will take them out, but isn't allowed to put them back in.
-While it certainly isn't mustachian to hire someone to paint for us, doing it ourselves wasn't an option on our timeline. Still, connected with an old neighbor who will give us a 'friends and family' rate and take a small job (just one room). Plus, he's going to just use leftover paint he already has to touch up baseboards, so that saves us buying additional paint.
-In spite of periodic STRONG desires to do so, I haven't hired a dog sitter for the goddamn puppy that gets into everything and makes every task a million times harder ;) Just trying to be patient and judicious with enrichment toys and crate time.
-Batch cooking today, so whatever happens with flooring nonsense, it'll be quick + easy to avoid eating out/eating convenience foods.

Rural

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11985 on: October 14, 2018, 10:30:27 AM »
Fixed overflowing washing machine. The thing is at least 20 years old, and every 8-9 years we have to clean out the air pressure hose that activates the water shutoff valve. This time we also bleached it since the blockage seemed to be biological (yuck).

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11986 on: October 14, 2018, 04:48:32 PM »
We tried an Aldi ground coffee today, which tastes very similar to our usual coffee.  We are both particular about our vice of choice, and if we are going to save by making it ourselves, it still has to be good.  This one is good, and at $3 a bag, down from our usual $9 a bag, we are going back for a lot more bags.  Fill the freezer!

mountain mustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11987 on: October 14, 2018, 05:37:34 PM »
We tried an Aldi ground coffee today, which tastes very similar to our usual coffee.  We are both particular about our vice of choice, and if we are going to save by making it ourselves, it still has to be good.  This one is good, and at $3 a bag, down from our usual $9 a bag, we are going back for a lot more bags.  Fill the freezer!

Coffee is something I have not optimized yet. I don't ever get coffee out, but I pay $13 a pound for coffee beans that are roasted a mile away from me, and that lasts about 2 weeks. So I spend $26 a month on coffee beans. It's not really that much, and I so enjoy my morning coffee...I've tried to buy cheaper beans at the grocery store, and they taste so bad compared to the ridiculous $13 beans. I can't decide if I should get used to the cheaper beans, or not stress so much about a $26 a month expense...

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11988 on: October 14, 2018, 05:49:23 PM »
We tried an Aldi ground coffee today, which tastes very similar to our usual coffee.  We are both particular about our vice of choice, and if we are going to save by making it ourselves, it still has to be good.  This one is good, and at $3 a bag, down from our usual $9 a bag, we are going back for a lot more bags.  Fill the freezer!

Coffee is something I have not optimized yet. I don't ever get coffee out, but I pay $13 a pound for coffee beans that are roasted a mile away from me, and that lasts about 2 weeks. So I spend $26 a month on coffee beans. It's not really that much, and I so enjoy my morning coffee...I've tried to buy cheaper beans at the grocery store, and they taste so bad compared to the ridiculous $13 beans. I can't decide if I should get used to the cheaper beans, or not stress so much about a $26 a month expense...

I have found my most sustainable option to be to cut the good beans with the cheap ones. I've worked up to 50/50, but I started with my $16/lb beans 75% and costco coffee 25%. Might be worth a try =) I find the costco house roast to be inoffensive, if a little flat- perfect for blending with a good but higher acid fancy coffee.

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11989 on: October 14, 2018, 06:01:39 PM »
Roommate at a PDC course left behind two new-in-box flashlights and a set of sheets. The flashlights are now stored in our earthquake kit and I’m washing the sheets to add to our linen closet.

Biked to errands three times today, rather than driving.

Bought LED ceiling light fixtures and some hardware for 40 percent off at the OSH Hardware closeout sale.

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11990 on: October 14, 2018, 08:38:39 PM »
I said no to a friend who called me to ice cream parlor. I like ice cream but don't want to spend $6 for a serving.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11991 on: October 15, 2018, 05:15:02 AM »
We tried an Aldi ground coffee today, which tastes very similar to our usual coffee.  We are both particular about our vice of choice, and if we are going to save by making it ourselves, it still has to be good.  This one is good, and at $3 a bag, down from our usual $9 a bag, we are going back for a lot more bags.  Fill the freezer!

I'm a huge fan of the Aldi coffee.  Especially at the price.  Unfortunately, the nearest Aldi to me is a 45 minute drive so I don't make it as often as I'd like.

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11992 on: October 15, 2018, 12:46:21 PM »
We had a nice rain so turned off the irrigation for the maximum eight days.

Made coffee at home in a French press and added the grounds to the sheet mulch under our grapevine.

Rubic

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11993 on: October 15, 2018, 02:35:08 PM »
Comcast billed me $50 for next month, Internet-only service.  Called to cancel, so they dropped it back to $30.  (Was $20, but that was the teaser rate.)

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11994 on: October 15, 2018, 03:17:08 PM »
We have had our ac off for two days too!

Eating leftover meatloaf that we had in July. I had it frozen and vac packed it and looks great. Also, having frozen rice that was left over from a couple of weeks ago. Easy peasy dinner with some frozen veggies.

My freezer and dishwasher broke and I bought new ones. When I got my electric bill it says the bill went down 17% from last month! The freezer was old but dishwasher was probably 7 years old. Freezer probably 25 years old. Hard to believe my electric bill went down that much because we have run our bedroom ac since May and living room ac up till about a week and a half ago. I'll take it!

Unfortunately, we have gone directly from ac to heat! Weather in New England is unpredictable!

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11995 on: October 15, 2018, 06:42:46 PM »
I've been chasing cheaper house insurance.  Country Australia, hobby farm.  Many companies won't cover a hobby farm. 

I have had quotes that started around $2300, and down to $1800.  All of them boast a low excess, even though I have asked for the highest one possible.

Today, success.  WFI (Wesfarmers) has offered me a $10,000 excess for $855, and farm liability (in case our animals stray and hurt someone or cause an accident for $242.  All up, $1097, which is over a thousand less than any other that includes farm liability.

It is worth shopping around.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11996 on: October 15, 2018, 07:44:16 PM »
 Approx. 7 years ago I called Allstate who was our insurance company for probably 30 years. I asked if they could lower our insurance. We had one pick up truck, one  Honda CRV and a two wheel utility trailer. We also had house insurance and an umbrella policy. Our rates thru Allstate went up and up. I contacted our agent to see if he could reduce our rates. He called back and said no. I called AARP and got the same, maybe better insurance and it cost me about $900 less per year. Check it out!

FamilyGuy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11997 on: October 15, 2018, 09:05:00 PM »
Yesterday's leftover for dinner.
Didn't use Fan as the weather was already optimal for me.


Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11998 on: October 16, 2018, 12:23:00 AM »
Walked to work and will walk back later today.

Cooked a dinner from cheap ingredients yesterday. I didn't really enjoy the taste of swede, even though I mixed it with carrots to make it sweeter.

Michael in ABQ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #11999 on: October 16, 2018, 06:02:48 AM »
Our toddler broke the glass on our patio door. The builder was nice enough to make it a non-standard size (off by about an inch) so instead of being $250 it was over $450. I asked if they would offer a discount if I paid in cash and they knocked $30 off the price. I'm trying to reach $3k in spend for a $500 CC bonus but the cash discount was much better than the CC rebate ($1k spend a month will be easy with normal expenses).