Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 5010627 times)

mountain mustache · « **Reply #12100 on:** October 02, 2018, 09:15:36 PM »

-showered at the pool, instead of home
- drank a free latte at work
- brought home free yellow squash from a co-workers garden
- returned two items I purchased from amazon in a "I feel sorry for myself" shopping moment

Imma · « **Reply #12101 on:** October 03, 2018, 12:41:27 AM »

-Had a free lunch at work yesterday
-Did not go food shopping and raided the cupboards instead
-Will do the same for all meals today. We're both not completely well and we don't want to go out on our day off.

MoolahLula · « **Reply #12102 on:** October 03, 2018, 05:10:04 PM »

Sold crap on Facebook for $20 and ate leftover lasagna I made about 10 days ago.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #12103 on:** October 03, 2018, 07:53:54 PM »

-Charged my electric car for free at work
-Ate free breakfast/lunch at work
-Made dinner out of various leftovers. Unfortunately, we've been able to make leftovers last until Thursdays most weeks, but with the kids (2 middle school aged boys) playing lots of sports, we are now running out most days on Wednesdays. Today I had to really cobble together options. One child will have leftover pasta & meatballs. One child will have meatballs with taquitos (freezer). My husband will have leftover soup & taquitos. I had the last hot dog, some hummus & will have a piece of fruit to round things out.

Imma · « **Reply #12104 on:** October 04, 2018, 04:05:04 AM »

We have both been feeling a bit ill over the last couple of days (nothing serious, just a bad cold) and that's always a great way to save money ;-) . We've not been anywhere, we haven't bought anything, except for a very quick trip to the grocery store for tissues, paracetamol and fruit. We've mostly eaten soup and bread over the last couple of days, and lots of of tea.

Freedomin5 · « **Reply #12105 on:** October 04, 2018, 04:34:00 AM »

Biked to and from work today. Saved $0.80 bus fare (round trip) or $14 taxi fare (round trip). But more importantly, saved ove an hour of my time since it’s faster to bike than to bus to work.

Linea_Norway · « **Reply #12106 on:** October 04, 2018, 04:34:28 AM »

I don't mention it anymore, because I do it every day. But I still eat my 2 or 3 slices of bread from home, instead of buying lunch at the cafeteria at work. I save 2/3 of the price of a bought lunch.

marcela · « **Reply #12107 on:** October 04, 2018, 07:25:05 AM »

- Got home late last night and had an 8pm appointment so was tempted to get a takeaway. Then remembered that it would take less time to make some ramen then I would spend in line for the takeaway. Today's lunch is covered by a work meeting.
- Dinner will be the ham I had pulled out for yesterday's dinner with whatever pantry staples I can pull together for this.
- Working on my grocery list since we have the gas card promotion again. Spend $50 and get a $10 gas card.
- If my insurance will let us get our flu shots at Publix too we'll have 2 $10 giftcards to put towards the buy as well. If not, we'll get them at Target and get the 2 $5 gift cards there.
- Sold a free to me blazer for $15
- Price matching the fall/halloween decorations I bought a few weeks ago since the store is having a big sale. Should get back about $35. Will continue to monitor prices until the end of my price match period so might get even more back. Actively resisting using the big sale to buy more cute stuff. Like cute printed flannels to make comfy lounge pants or the lovely fall fabrics for a table cloth that will actually fit our gargantuan table.

OtherJen · « **Reply #12108 on:** October 04, 2018, 07:50:58 AM »

Just packed up leftovers from last night for husband’s work lunch. He’s gotten much better about taking rather than buying lunch, and even if he forgets to bring something, he’s figured out that he can get a freshly baked pizza roll for a couple of dollars at the bakery across the street rather than spending three times as much at Wendy’s.

lemanfan · « **Reply #12109 on:** October 04, 2018, 08:16:20 AM »

Changed my watch strap myself, DIY style. The strap itself was however bought online.

Hula Hoop · « **Reply #12110 on:** October 04, 2018, 08:24:16 AM »

Quote from: Linda_Norway on October 04, 2018, 04:34:28 AM

I don't mention it anymore, because I do it every day. But I still eat my 2 or 3 slices of bread from home, instead of buying lunch at the cafeteria at work. I save 2/3 of the price of a bought lunch.

Do you just eat bread for lunch? Not sandwiches? That's pretty hardcore!

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #12111 on:** October 04, 2018, 02:40:20 PM »

-Standard electric car + free lunch stuff
-Also figured out how to adjust my HSA contribution to hit the yearly max! It will be a huge paycheck adjustment for the last 5 checks of the year, but super pleased with myself for getting off of my butt & making it happen

Roadrunner53 · « **Reply #12112 on:** October 05, 2018, 05:42:45 AM »

I had 5 over ripe bananas and being lazy didn't feel like making banana bread. I peeled them and put them in a ziplock bag and mashed them up then froze them. I found this idea somewhere on the internet on using up ripe bananas. What you do is buy a box of spice cake mix, add in about 4-5 bananas, mix it up. Bake as a cake or muffins as the box instructs. Do not add anything else, no oil, no butter, no eggs. Just the two ingredients, bananas and cake mix!

It came out so moist! I topped it with cream cheese icing. Next time I am going to try a banana cake mix or a carrot cake mix! This is a no brainer! And I didn't toss out the bananas as I have done a thousand times!

Stachetastic · « **Reply #12113 on:** October 05, 2018, 06:19:21 AM »

Quote from: Roadrunner53 on October 05, 2018, 05:42:45 AM

I had 5 over ripe bananas and being lazy didn't feel like making banana bread. I peeled them and put them in a ziplock bag and mashed them up then froze them. I found this idea somewhere on the internet on using up ripe bananas. What you do is buy a box of spice cake mix, add in about 4-5 bananas, mix it up. Bake as a cake or muffins as the box instructs. Do not add anything else, no oil, no butter, no eggs. Just the two ingredients, bananas and cake mix!

It came out so moist! I topped it with cream cheese icing. Next time I am going to try a banana cake mix or a carrot cake mix! This is a no brainer! And I didn't toss out the bananas as I have done a thousand times!

I'm going to try this! I always end up with old bananas, and I typically make muffins with them, but I LOVE spice cake.

Unique User · « **Reply #12114 on:** October 05, 2018, 07:28:30 AM »

Sold our unused Wii and accessories for $160. The majority of the collection was a gift (console) or gathered from a Craigslist free ad (Wii Fit, several games and Rockband setup). Now on to declutter some more and list another item on Craigslist.

4alpacas · « **Reply #12115 on:** October 05, 2018, 03:39:31 PM »

I had a friend over for lunch instead of going out to eat. I also cooked WAY too much food, so I have food for dinner (and I sent dinner home with my friend).

10dollarsatatime · « **Reply #12116 on:** October 05, 2018, 09:07:22 PM »

Butchered a rabbit. All in, he actually cost me a fair amount of money, but I wasn't setup to keep a rabbit at the time I caught him. I decided I wanted to see if raising rabbits for meat was a thing I wanted to do eventually. So. I learned a new skill (thanks, youtube!) and tomorrow I'll see if I actually like the taste,

middo · « **Reply #12117 on:** October 05, 2018, 10:14:30 PM »

Bought a fridge, but got it second hand for a savings of over $500. No more long life milk, and we can keep stuff cold now!

SwissMiss · « **Reply #12118 on:** October 05, 2018, 11:43:51 PM »

Instead of buying new underpants, I am using up 3 of my husband's which are too small for him.
Obviously not the perfect fit, but they do the trick.
I do sometimes wonder what I will say if ever paramedics or hospital staff discover that I am wearing men's underpants.

Raenia · « **Reply #12119 on:** October 06, 2018, 05:24:32 AM »

Quote from: 10dollarsatatime on October 05, 2018, 09:07:22 PM

Butchered a rabbit. All in, he actually cost me a fair amount of money, but I wasn't setup to keep a rabbit at the time I caught him. I decided I wanted to see if raising rabbits for meat was a thing I wanted to do eventually. So. I learned a new skill (thanks, youtube!) and tomorrow I'll see if I actually like the taste,

Good for you! Do be aware though, that wild rabbit and raised rabbit don't necessarily taste the same. (I'm assuming from the comment about catching it that this is a wild bun.) I've never had wild myself, but I did raise rabbits for a while, and I've been informed by several people that wild is much more gamey than my rabbits were. Mine were basically weird shaped chicken, I could sub them into any chicken recipe with good results.

10dollarsatatime · « **Reply #12120 on:** October 06, 2018, 08:28:52 AM »

Quote from: Raenia on October 06, 2018, 05:24:32 AM

Quote from: 10dollarsatatime on October 05, 2018, 09:07:22 PM
Butchered a rabbit. All in, he actually cost me a fair amount of money, but I wasn't setup to keep a rabbit at the time I caught him. I decided I wanted to see if raising rabbits for meat was a thing I wanted to do eventually. So. I learned a new skill (thanks, youtube!) and tomorrow I'll see if I actually like the taste,

Good for you! Do be aware though, that wild rabbit and raised rabbit don't necessarily taste the same. (I'm assuming from the comment about catching it that this is a wild bun.) I've never had wild myself, but I did raise rabbits for a while, and I've been informed by several people that wild is much more gamey than my rabbits were. Mine were basically weird shaped chicken, I could sub them into any chicken recipe with good results.

This one is domestic, I'm pretty sure. They are all over my neighborhood because, as I'm told, an elderly person died just before I moved to the area. They had a breeding pair of domestics and some dumbass just let them go instead of rehoming them. FLB (furry little bastard) and his siblings were born under my shed and decimating my garden this spring. The dogs got two of them. I caught the one. I think there's another out there now, as something is chewing up my hopi corn patch. I may finally spring for live capture traps this fall in hopes of keeping them out of the garden. And, hey! Food!

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #12121 on:** October 06, 2018, 11:35:37 AM »

Sold a pair of flip flops I got for free at work. Super small $5.91 of earning, but clutter out of my house & a little money in my pocket.

Schmidty · « **Reply #12122 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 · « **Reply #12123 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 · « **Reply #12124 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 · « **Reply #12125 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 · « **Reply #12126 on:** October 08, 2018, 04:16:01 AM »

Quote from: Bracken_Joy on October 07, 2018, 08:22:39 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 · « **Reply #12127 on:** October 08, 2018, 07:58:18 AM »

Quote from: Linda_Norway on October 08, 2018, 04:16:01 AM

Quote from: Bracken_Joy on October 07, 2018, 08:22:39 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.

marcela · « **Reply #12128 on:** October 08, 2018, 08:14:36 AM »

- Instead of buying loads of fabric to make a new tablecloth for our very large table, I inventoried our table linens which have been stashed in a cupboard while we used mostly placemats. Found 2 tableclothes which give a little bit of a drop (3-4inches) and one that gives a respectable 7 inch drop! Went ahead and laundered everything and have a big pile of ironing to do tonight while I watch TV. 2 tablecloths are off to the donation bin along with some blouses that I have accepted are just not flattering on me.
- Was successful in combining flu shots with a gas card promotion for $30 off my grocery bill.
- Brought my water bottle to work and will try to hold out against the caffeine draw of my soda.
- Work event tomorrow night with dinner included. Husband's going to this one too so we'll both get fed.
- Got a work trip next week where I'll be able to stay at my parents' house instead of a hotel. Visit time and getting to pocket a per diem. Will pack food and drinks for the next leg of my trip where I'll stay in a hotel.

FamilyGuy · « **Reply #12129 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 · « **Reply #12130 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 · « **Reply #12131 on:** October 08, 2018, 12:02:17 PM »

That's nice !!

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #12132 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 · « **Reply #12133 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 · « **Reply #12134 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 · « **Reply #12135 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 · « **Reply #12136 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 · « **Reply #12137 on:** October 10, 2018, 02:02:50 AM »

Walked to work today and will walk back in the afternoon.

marcela · « **Reply #12138 on:** October 10, 2018, 08:02:28 AM »

- Left last night's work event with 2 loaded takeout boxes. We have lunches for today and I'll freeze the rest to serve for another night.
- Got a ride from my boss into work today instead of calling an uber. I left my car at work and carpooled back with my husband after the work event.
- Have some work travel next week and will take tupperware for the leftovers. We were stuck at a 40 person minimum for our event and have less than half of that coming. Got the OK from the hotel to bring containers since the food's already been paid for. We just have to package it before the end of the event.
- Didn't drink soda yesterday, just kept refilling my water bottle.

FamilyGuy · « **Reply #12139 on:** October 10, 2018, 08:16:08 AM »

Quote from: jpo on November 20, 2013, 07:03:15 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 · « **Reply #12140 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 · « **Reply #12141 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 · « **Reply #12142 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 · « **Reply #12143 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 · « **Reply #12144 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 · « **Reply #12145 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 · « **Reply #12146 on:** October 10, 2018, 03:54:55 PM »

Quote from: Roadrunner53 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?

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 · « **Reply #12147 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 · « **Reply #12148 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 · « **Reply #12149 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.

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Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 5010627 times)