Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020831 times)

Arbitrage

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12600 on: March 16, 2019, 08:30:17 PM »
Gradual change I'm working on that carries the greatest level of delicacy - very subtly encouraging DW to trim back her work lunches out.  She used to bring lunches or stop home for lunch almost all of the time, but as her job responsibilities/stress grew, she converted to eating out at work basically every day, often with a friend or two.  Since her pay was going up as well, and she seemed to be using it as a coping mechanism, I didn't object in any way.  Over the past year I've been trying to whittle away at this cost without overtly criticizing or even pointing it out directly.  More of a leading by example, but without any preachiness.

Some progress - she now seems to be eating at home 1-2 times per week, and actually considered occasionally eating at work (with her office door closed, as she needs some time to escape the incessant demands of her co-workers). 

Man, those lunches get expensive, and as I've sliced our food costs elsewhere, they're really starting to stick out like a sore thumb.

It's a luxury that she can get home during the workday! For days that she can't, is it an option that you box lunches for the two of you so that both of you can bring your own lunch?
Funny, I was just going to ask the same thing.

My lunch is pretty simple and not something to box up for her, unfortunately.  I work out/lift weights at the gym at work during my actual lunch period, and then my lunch is a post-workout protein shake, a granola bar or two, and some nuts at my desk.  Not a lunch I would foist upon her.  Not a bad idea, though, to explore whether she would be more inclined to try lunches at work if I would put forth the effort to box something up for her.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12601 on: March 17, 2019, 12:29:03 AM »
I've posted elsewhere that my department at work has been sold.

As part of this, my manager has resigned.

This week she asked if I would continue to work for her in a freelance capacity for a couple of hours a month (in a way that doesn't conflict with my ongoing role with the new company).

I would have done it for free (it's worth much more to me to maintain this professional relationship, in case I decide the new company isn't for me).

But she insisted on paying me and offered me $200 a month. Not a bad side hustle, for work I was doing anyway.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12602 on: March 17, 2019, 12:40:25 AM »
It’s finally getting warm and DD wanted ice cream from McDonalds. We went home and I blended a banana, a mango, and a cup of yogurt together, and made popsicles. Gave the leftovers to DD as “melted ice cream”. She loved it.

35andFI

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12603 on: March 18, 2019, 10:32:49 AM »
Went to NYC, took a self-guided walking tour, explored Central Park, and ate in Times Square all for $18 out of pocket.

A friend had to drive into the city for work so gas, tolls, and parking were reimbursed.
He invited me to tag along so all that I had to pay for was food.

Considered throwing a can of soup in my pocket (half joking) but felt that the experience of eating at a Times Square restaurant was worth $18 including tip.

Got a pulled pork sandwich with fries and a cup of water.

So much fun!

Poundwise

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12604 on: March 18, 2019, 02:41:55 PM »
My son earned some money raking yards and I matched his earnings so he could deposit them all in his Roth IRA. 

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12605 on: March 18, 2019, 04:12:36 PM »
I saw that fuel price in Melbourne was on it's way up again.  I filled the motorbike for $1.22 per litre, rather than the new pricing of $1.55 per litre.  I only put $16 in the bike, which will do me for a couple of weeks.  I figure it saved me about $4.20, just for being observant. 

Off the Wheel

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12606 on: March 18, 2019, 07:57:34 PM »
Yesterday/today: actually meal prepped for lunches. My husband and I have a new rule where he cooks all the dinners (he's an amazing cook), and I'm on breakfast (cereal + nuts + fruit + yogurt or mylk) and lunches. I've struggled on the lunches side, but yesterday I roasted two huge trays of root vegetables, made an Instant Pot batch of Mexican style black beans, and sauteed a bunch of onions and peppers.

Put them together with some feta, cilantro and salsa verde and it was a delicious lunch... that I'll eat all week!

nessness

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12607 on: March 18, 2019, 09:58:38 PM »
Waited until 8 p.m. to start the dishwasher (my utility company recently implemented higher rates from 5-8).

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12608 on: March 19, 2019, 01:45:12 AM »
I walked to work and will walk back in the afternoon. The part that goes through the forest was still with deep snow. One person walked before me with a longer pace length than I have. So it was a bit tiresome to walk that stretch.

Poundwise

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12609 on: March 20, 2019, 11:55:12 AM »
A friend was decluttering and dropped off an unopened baby wash gift set to me... ordinarily I wouldn't have taken it, but I was able to turn around and give it as a present at a baby shower for a refugee mom-to-be.  I am also giving a cash gift (much more useful) but I felt obliged to present a wrapped gift, so I saved this way.

Threshkin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12610 on: March 20, 2019, 12:11:13 PM »
I walked to work and will walk back in the afternoon. The part that goes through the forest was still with deep snow. One person walked before me with a longer pace length than I have. So it was a bit tiresome to walk that stretch.

You didn't ski?

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12611 on: March 20, 2019, 12:25:33 PM »
Saved $22 in parking by taking transit to my doctor appointment.

HipGnosis

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12612 on: March 20, 2019, 06:10:18 PM »
I started to change the rear shocks on my car.  There's an occasional rattle.  The Ford dealer said it's the shock.  They quoted me $700 to change the shocks.   I declined their offer.  I used YouTube to confirm there's nothing special about my shocks or how they're replaced.
Today, I was just going to take the wheel off and spray the bolts with penetrating fluid.
But I couldn't get the wheel off.  I couldn't get any of the lug nuts off, because the lug nuts are swollen. They have a chrome 'cap' on them, and (according to the internet) the caps swell when water gets in them and then freezes.
Rather than take it to a mechanic, I ordered an 'emergency lug nut remover' socket and solid lug nuts online.  Yes, I bought enough lug nuts to replace them all.
I priced them at two auto part stores.  The socket was only $2 more, but the nuts are almost $20 more (and I'm not sure if they are solid).

OtherJen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12613 on: March 20, 2019, 08:09:27 PM »
Husband replaced a fuel sensor on his (18-year-old) car and borrowed the necessary tools from a friend.

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12614 on: March 20, 2019, 09:32:08 PM »
Over the last couple of weeks I have contacted the company that sold us our washing machine with a warranty claim.  It is making a horrible bearing whine on the spin cycle.  Only 7 months old.  We have now a technician coming out on Monday to look at it.  No cost so far, and I'm going to make sure it stays at no cost.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12615 on: March 21, 2019, 02:43:43 AM »
I heard that it is smart to repeat children's vaccine as an adult, if it is more than 10 ago you last had them. I am currently 45 and didn't have those for some decades. I needed a doctor to make the prescription. Instead of going to my own GP and paying there, I contacted a doctor on an app. My company's health insurance pays for a free consult. I also ordered a prescription for free on that app. Now I just need to pay for the medicine, as I would have had to do otherwise. But saving for the doctor's bill.

35andFI

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12616 on: March 21, 2019, 07:25:00 AM »
Needed a polo shirt and some black shoes for a new side-gig.

Soooo I rode my bike 2.5 miles each way to get the polo shirt then 9 miles each way to get the shoes.

The shoes are gym shoes so they can be used not only for this job but also as my main sneakers when my current ones wear out.

If I were to have driven, it would have been about 22 miles so I estimate that I saved ~$3.74 and had a great adventure doing it!

Raenia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12617 on: March 21, 2019, 08:28:18 AM »
Fell in love with an image of a tiled kitchen island on Apartment Therapy, it was using these gorgeous stark black and white spanish style tiles. Decided I wanted to recreate it in my kitchen.
Priced out the tile (in a similar, but cheaper style) at around $80. We've never tiled before so we would need to buy/rent a tile cutter, buy grout, spacers, thinset...etc somehow this became a $200 project. Plus the danger of it looking terrible since we've never tiled before.

Decided to be crafty. Convinced husband to let me stencil the tile look with the premise that if it looked bad, we could just paint over it and no one would be the wiser. Bought some stencil blanks, a hot tool and a foam roller. Total cost $21. One weekend later, it came out great. Husband is very impressed and I love how much money we saved on it.

Nice job!  Care to share a pic?

Raenia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12618 on: March 21, 2019, 08:39:08 AM »
That looks fantastic, very nice job!

rivendale

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12619 on: March 21, 2019, 09:03:55 AM »
Very nice job!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12620 on: March 21, 2019, 04:31:29 PM »
Put in a health insurance claim from last year.

Normally I would have claimed it on the spot but it was tied up with a car accident and the other driver's insurance.

Glad to have it sorted.

Slow&Steady

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12621 on: March 22, 2019, 07:05:45 AM »
Met my carpool buddy's at a free charger and left the electric car there to charge all day.

I do this 5 days a week, every other week so it isn't a NEW thing I did TODAY to save money but it is a thing I did TODAY to save money!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12622 on: March 22, 2019, 10:03:32 AM »
I've been busy with work, so this is a recap of a few things:
-Arranged for a variety of carpools & trades, to cover a day when my nanny had a conflict. Saved ~$50
-Same as above, but for a day off of school for the kids. Traded with other parents, my husband & I each did creative scheduling for work,etc. Saved ~$150? over a day camp for the kids
-Found $20 on the ground at an industry event I attended.
-Even though I had late nights all week, no eating out, as I'd prepped meals during the weekend

daffodil2001

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12623 on: March 24, 2019, 08:06:18 PM »
I baked a cake for my husband’s birthday instead of buying one from the store. I originally told myself I didn’t have time to make one but when I decided I didn’t want to spend the money I magically found time for it.

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12624 on: March 24, 2019, 08:15:27 PM »
I baked a cake for my husband’s birthday instead of buying one from the store. I originally told myself I didn’t have time to make one but when I decided I didn’t want to spend the money I magically found time for it.

That's great.  I baked on for my wife's birthday a couple of weeks ago, as she specifically asked for it.  However, mine sunk terribly in the middle.  It looked terrible, but was fantastically like a brownie, and we filled it with ice cream.  A few dollars only for a fantastic treat.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12625 on: March 24, 2019, 08:18:42 PM »
-Used up food from the freezer for dinner.
-We are slowly making progress on our yard. We bought it from someone who had a weekly yard service, and a bunch of high maintenance plants. We are our own yard service, so it's taken some time to get it into shape, and we're definitely not there yet.
-Arranged a carpool to a soccer game that was an hour's drive each way yesterday.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12626 on: March 25, 2019, 03:33:01 AM »
I baked a cake for my husband’s birthday instead of buying one from the store. I originally told myself I didn’t have time to make one but when I decided I didn’t want to spend the money I magically found time for it.

That's great.  I baked on for my wife's birthday a couple of weeks ago, as she specifically asked for it.  However, mine sunk terribly in the middle.  It looked terrible, but was fantastically like a brownie, and we filled it with ice cream.  A few dollars only for a fantastic treat.

Do you remember to keep the oven door closed during the whole baking process?

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12627 on: March 25, 2019, 03:34:39 AM »
Walked to work today, in nice weather. Most of the snow on the roads is gone, so it walks easily. Now just the stretch through the forest is left with a thick pack of snow. This morning the snow was crusty and unproblematic to walk on.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12628 on: March 25, 2019, 04:21:38 AM »
Met my carpool buddy's at a free charger and left the electric car there to charge all day.

I do this 5 days a week, every other week so it isn't a NEW thing I did TODAY to save money but it is a thing I did TODAY to save money!
Wait! Don't your chargers have time limits? You leave your EV there all day so no one else can use it? 

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12629 on: March 25, 2019, 06:17:08 AM »
-Had a hospital appointment that took longer than expected, so they offered me free lunch.
-Was able to travel to and from hospital off-peak which means I saved 40% on the price of the train ticket
-Went bra shopping and they had a buy two, get the third for free - deal. I needed two basic bra's and got a nice one for free.

middo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12630 on: March 25, 2019, 01:29:48 PM »
I baked a cake for my husband’s birthday instead of buying one from the store. I originally told myself I didn’t have time to make one but when I decided I didn’t want to spend the money I magically found time for it.

That's great.  I baked on for my wife's birthday a couple of weeks ago, as she specifically asked for it.  However, mine sunk terribly in the middle.  It looked terrible, but was fantastically like a brownie, and we filled it with ice cream.  A few dollars only for a fantastic treat.

Do you remember to keep the oven door closed during the whole baking process?

Yes. Thanks for the tip, but the issue is the oven runs a bit hotter than the one  in our last house.  I forgot about it and saved ut before it burnt, but soggy middle.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12631 on: March 26, 2019, 01:37:13 PM »
I cooked up a bunch of veggies before they went bad. I cut them up, put olive oil, salt and pepper on them and roasted them in the oven. So often my veggies go bad but I am trying to stop cash in the trash. I roasted beets, onions, cabbage and carrots.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12632 on: March 26, 2019, 06:02:18 PM »
I finally ditched my well-worn work pants which have been worn at least twice a week for two years.

On top of being worn out, they fell down if I even thought about wearing them without a belt, as I've lost some weight.

I found the same pants on eBay last night, in a smaller size, for $38. So relieved to be able to avoid going shopping!

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12633 on: March 26, 2019, 06:33:12 PM »
* took the ELF on all my errands today so saved probably $2 or $3 in gasoline

* harvested chives from our herb bed for salmon cakes for dinner

* made an egg sandwich and coffee at home so stayed out of the drive-thru

Dianalou

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12634 on: March 29, 2019, 12:34:53 PM »
Packed my lunch and augmented with snack items my office provides. Bought cards at the dollar store for a co-worker who just lost her sister and a family member recently diagnosed with cancer. Really doing a good job of combining trips so I'm not back tracking around town and wasting gas. Oh and I have .50 off each gallon of my next fill up from saving grocery rewards I get from buying the snack foods for work! My tank is almost empty, so most bang for my buck.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12635 on: March 29, 2019, 04:06:20 PM »
My dog requires a lot of different medications. Some can be purchased at Chewy. My friend had a Rx coupon for Chewy she didn't have a use for and gave me the coupon code. It saved me $15! I also see people on ebay sell them. One of the prescriptions costs me $155 so I may be buying some of those coupons. I may only save $10 after buying it for $4 or $5 but it is still a great coupon! The coupon must be used for a Rx or a Rx combined with food but must include a Rx.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12636 on: March 30, 2019, 03:13:27 AM »
Was up early today and went grocery shopping right as the store opened. The last thing they do before closing the night before is put 35% off stickers on anything that will expire soon. I bought nearly all fresh things I needed at 35% off.


Threshkin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12637 on: March 30, 2019, 05:43:35 PM »
Was up early today and went grocery shopping right as the store opened. The last thing they do before closing the night before is put 35% off stickers on anything that will expire soon. I bought nearly all fresh things I needed at 35% off.

I watch for those deals.  Sometimes they are really good.  But you still have to comparison shop.  The last deal I saw was yogurt for 50% off.  It was still more expensive than other non-sale products of equivalent quality.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12638 on: March 30, 2019, 08:59:24 PM »
I remembered to use a $4 off $20 coupon I'd gotten from Rite Aid this week - I always forget them since I almost never spend that much at a drugstore and by the time I want to use them, they've expired. I needed some OTC medicine that I only buy once a year or so, but it cost $22 so I was able to use the coupon.

Arbitrage

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12639 on: March 30, 2019, 08:58:39 PM »
16 miles of bike errands.  10 of those miles actually saved us 20 miles of driving (rather than drive a second car to the dealer x2 for a recall repair, as my wife suggested, I volunteered to throw the bike in the back and do it myself).  $13 saved.

Returned an abandoned cart at Aldi for a free quarter.  Also helping to clean up my favorite grocery store. 

Was able to pounce on a great deal on my workout protein (which doubles as my lunch at work), thanks to a camelcamelcamel alert.  Probably saved me $30.

Stopped by the local cash-only gas station on the way home from the car dealer.  My wife will gas up at whatever's most convenient, so that's another $4 saved. 

Also, due to my diligence in tracking expenses, immediately identified a fraudulent charge on my credit card.  $1050 saved.  Okay, that one's not small, especially since the bastard must've discovered our login information and had changed our mailing address, probably in an attempt to get at my 401k (it wouldn't have worked). 

ForeverPoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12640 on: March 30, 2019, 09:11:32 PM »
Was up early today and went grocery shopping right as the store opened. The last thing they do before closing the night before is put 35% off stickers on anything that will expire soon. I bought nearly all fresh things I needed at 35% off.

I see you're in Europe. Don't think I've ever see that happen in the US, at least with the chains near me. Correct me if I am wrong? I'll try doing a night/early morning run to see if I see otherwise.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12641 on: March 31, 2019, 12:30:37 AM »
A close friend of mine just found out she is pregnant with her first child, so I put together a gift bag:
- a large stuffed animal (worth $60, free through work)
- a parenting book (worth $25, free through work)
- a jar of clay mask (worth $50, free through work)
- a onesie ($15)

I will buy her a proper gift down the track, but this was a good, affordable "congrats on getting pregnant" present.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12642 on: March 31, 2019, 02:01:18 PM »
On our 5 hour driving trip we managed to tank car fuel at the cheapest pump.

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12643 on: March 31, 2019, 02:25:47 PM »
We ran out of liquid soap to refill our two dispensers. Instead of buying another container of liquid soap, I used a bunch of soap scraps to make liquid soap.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12644 on: March 31, 2019, 03:47:07 PM »
Was up early today and went grocery shopping right as the store opened. The last thing they do before closing the night before is put 35% off stickers on anything that will expire soon. I bought nearly all fresh things I needed at 35% off.

I see you're in Europe. Don't think I've ever see that happen in the US, at least with the chains near me. Correct me if I am wrong? I'll try doing a night/early morning run to see if I see otherwise.

Of course I have no idea if this happens in the US but I've seen this in several European countries outside of my own (I try to rent self catered apartments when on a trip). It's a win-win situation: the customer is happy and maybe tempted to try something they haven't bought before, the stores are cutting their losses. It's how I usually shop for groceries. My favourite deals are the foods that are already on sale that week and also 35% off.

There are many items I only buy when they're 35% off like eggs, which are marked 35% off when they're 2 weeks before the expiry date. I only buy eggs for immediate consumption, but they are usually good for at least a week after the sell-by date.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12645 on: March 31, 2019, 05:17:12 PM »
I saved some coworkers money by sharing an abundance of Safeway coupons I had acquired while I was off work sick.  I hope they use them. 

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12646 on: March 31, 2019, 05:36:30 PM »
I started doing my taxes on TurboTax in February, when TopCashBack was offering great deals. Then some of the paperwork I needed didn't come in the mail until this month, so I decided I could max out my IRA. It's the first time I've gotten it over 50% funded, so thanks to this website/forum!! I pulled money from savings to do it, but it's funding my future. It also more than doubled my tax refund, so I'm on my way to maxing out next year with very little effort!

When I finished doing my taxes, it was almost $100! Including the tiny discount from my credit union and the tiny percentage back from TopCashBack. This is for the 1040 form and state taxes. I only paid $165 when I had a rental property and an actual accountant to do all the work for me!!. I didn't find out the total until I was completely done, one step before clicking 'FILE'. But I started searching the interwebs and found FreeTaxUsa, which is free for Federal and $14.95 for state. I googled a coupon code for a percentage off, and ended up paying $under 14! I had to do my taxes twice, but it took less than an hour the second time, working straight through. (The first time I logged in an entered info as the forms came in, so idk how long it took total.) FTU seems to be geared toward simple filers, whereas TT has a ton of deduction options that I don't need. I saved about $80 in that hour.

Now I'm off to fill up my gas tank on the last day of 5% rewards from Chase :) Then I'll ready my library book and do laundry with Aldi detergent. Simple frugal pleasures!

JanetJackson

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12647 on: April 01, 2019, 08:58:54 AM »
-Coffee from home all day every day.
-Lunch from home all day every day.
-Free rug for my future Air BnB roof/Office from Craigslist.  It's a very high quality rug- about 8 x 10, I'd guess.
-Line dried my clothes (always).
-I believe I'll be taking a few of my neighbors cabinets to do my "kitchen remodel".  They're currently in her garage and she was going to take them to the dump (they're basically brand new).
-Farm sat this weekend and got paid per usual, PLUS a dozen fresh farm eggs.

MountainGal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12648 on: April 01, 2019, 02:07:18 PM »
Spent Saturday in the big city:

Bought a Starbucks using a gift card on the way out of town.
Got my truck's oil changed and washed for "free".
Returned a grey pair of slacks that just didn't work for me.
Went to Sam's Club, signed up for a credit card which I'll use for emergencies only, for $45 off my order that day.
Bought Buy One Get One 50% off t-shirts.
Bought fuel using my value card and saved .20 off per gallon.
Hadn't eaten for 6+ hours, so stopped by the grocery store to buy a protein snack vs stopping for fast food.
Bought several needed office items at the Dollar Tree.  I'm really starting to like that place!
Used a coupon for free cookie dough at the take out pizza place

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #12649 on: April 01, 2019, 03:23:09 PM »
-Had a coupon for a free lunch that I used today
-Found a good deal for a day ticket for the train. Saved €6 compared to what I normally pay for that trip