Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020939 times)

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13000 on: June 19, 2019, 02:42:42 AM »
DH who takes the train to work today with a 1 day ticket, goes off the train one station earlier and walks/runs the rest, to save 2,5$ on the ticket.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13001 on: June 19, 2019, 04:23:18 AM »
A couple of years ago a family member had an American exchange student who bought some yoghurts, didn't like them and asked to go back to the supermaket to return them.

My relative was perplexed.

"You can't return them if you've eaten one."
"The label says to return it if I'm not satisfied."
"... but they don't actually mean it!"
IMO, I think if the yoghurt was so bad that the American Ex student wanted to test the waters on the return policy, the family member should have let them.

Part of the exchange program is seeing through the eyes of how other societies view things.  Then again being told no was also part of the exchange program explaining lines that were not to be crossed to the student.  Being a college student is filled with lots of trial and error.

My relative did drive the exchange student back to the supermarket for her to exchange it; she just pointed out that this was a difference between Australia and the US.

slappy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13002 on: June 19, 2019, 07:31:50 AM »
Not sure I understand the concept of returning yogurt because you don't like it. Wouldn't it make more sense to just buy one and see if you like it? I wouldn't think return policies apply to food you didn't like, except in the case of Costco.

Years ago when I was a server, a pregnant woman ordered a meal that she didn't eat. She told me "I didn't eat this because I don't feel well, and I don't expect to pay for it." It didn't really make sense to me. If it was me, I would have taken it home for some other time, not expect to return it just because I decided not to eat it. I mean, to be fair, she didn't even take one bite of it, but then why even order it? Or at least be a little nicer about it. "Like, hey I'm pregnant, I ordered this food and then started feeling crappy. Could you please remove it from my bill."

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13003 on: June 19, 2019, 09:40:18 AM »
That would be completely onacceptable imo. You bought something that was especially made for you (can't really be stored to be sold later) and meets all the expectations, except you don't want it anymore. That's no reason to refuse to pay even if the cause (pregnancy) is understandable. I would have asked for a container to take it home.

I wouldn't return yoghurt that's perfectly ok but not your taste either, but the label usually says something like "if you don't like our product for whatever reason then please return it" so if they make that promise, I guess you could do it.

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13004 on: June 19, 2019, 10:15:54 AM »
We cancelled the Netflix one-at-a-time DVD plan for a savings of $8.55/mo.  Husband is the only one who watches them, and after many years, he has lost interest.  After seeing DVDs sit on the ottoman for long periods of time waiting to be viewed, I broached the subject of getting rid of the plan.  It took him a couple of weeks to agree, and he only had one request.  He said he was only keeping Netflix while waiting around for the next new John Wick film to come out.  Since that might be a while, we'll cancel Netflix now and when it comes out, do something we never do -- order it on Demand.  Seems like a good compromise to me.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13005 on: June 20, 2019, 12:23:51 AM »
It's my grandma's birthday and she's really old and recovering from An accident. Thankfully she's doing fine now! I was afraid she'd never recover to the level of fitness that she is at now, and she's continuing to make progress.

But due to this she didn't have the energy to hold a big birthday party with home baked cakes. She told everyone they are welcome to visit but they'll just get coffee/tea and store bought cookies. Nothing wrong with that of course, but as my grandma doesn't want gifts at her age and I love baking, so I offered to bake cupcakes as a gift. So last night I baked two dozen cupcakes: regular and her favourite, banana. All ingredients came from the pantry except for 5 eggs and 3 bananas, so all in all I maybe spent €2 on a gift that will be really appreciated.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13006 on: June 20, 2019, 02:10:32 AM »
Walked to work and will walk back again in the afternoon.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13007 on: June 21, 2019, 07:03:22 PM »
I'm doing the Saved Savings challenge over at Surviving and Thriving, and I've decided to count every time I use a bag that isn't purchased for dog poo removal. Carrier bags, takeaway bags, newspaper bags, cereal box liners, etc. Nearly all of these are asked from friends, since I don't accumulate many. It's still throwing away plastic, so it's not an Environment post. I'm going to see how long I can go without buying plastic bags expressly to throw away!

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13008 on: June 22, 2019, 12:50:21 PM »
I took the initiative to clean out an office fridge that needed a lot of mysterious items discarded.  So as I was tossing out aged salads and antique aluminum foiled cheeses, I actually found some of my own stuff pushed way in the back, that actually contained useful stuff—a packet of peanut butter and a bottle of iced tea.  Then I decluttered the countertop by the fridge that had probably 500 random freebie teabags, sugar packets & creamers.  I took some of my favorite teas home to make iced tea and organized it all better.  The countertop can actually be used as a flat surface again. 

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13009 on: June 22, 2019, 01:04:11 PM »
I took the initiative to clean out an office fridge that needed a lot of mysterious items discarded.  So as I was tossing out aged salads and antique aluminum foiled cheeses, I actually found some of my own stuff pushed way in the back, that actually contained useful stuff—a packet of peanut butter and a bottle of iced tea.  Then I decluttered the countertop by the fridge that had probably 500 random freebie teabags, sugar packets & creamers.  I took some of my favorite teas home to make iced tea and organized it all better.  The countertop can actually be used as a flat surface again.

Once in a fridge at work, in some remote test lab with leaking roof, I found an unopened pack of quark with my initials on it, and my favorite flavor. It was 2 years over the best before date. It looked good, smelled normal and a small spoon tasted normal. So I ate it and that went fine. I figured that quark is a type of bacteria and thatvwill usually protect against other stuff developing in it.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13010 on: June 24, 2019, 02:00:50 AM »
Walked to work and will work back today. DH cycles to work today.

When I was in the city yesterday, I didn't buy an ice cream. I was very much in the mood for a soft ice. So on my way to the train station, I looked around if I saw a place that sold it, but there wasn't any. Only the standard ice creams, which I wasn't in the mood for. So I ended up buying nothing.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2019, 02:02:25 AM by Linea_Norway »

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13011 on: June 24, 2019, 05:30:12 AM »
We are having a "clean out the cupboards" week here.  Rather than do our usual grocery shopping trip, we just bought a few perishable items and other than that we are going to put together all meals from (a) the garden, and (b) stuff that's already in our cupboards and fridge. 

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13012 on: June 24, 2019, 06:06:12 AM »
Okay, this is a weird post. The other day on Good Morning America they have a part of the show where they offer bargains on different products. They showed a Yonanas machine. It is a machine you can run frozen fruit thru and end up with yogurt type fruit desserts. I am famous for throwing out too much fruit. Bananas are thrown out most often. I can only eat so many bananas, banana bread. With this machine you freeze peeled bananas and just about any fruit and you can run it thru the machine for a healthy treat. My machine is coming today and I can't wait! I think in a weird way by buying this machine, which was a bargain at $20, will help me not throw out fruit, thus, saving money. No more cash in the trash.

I have some fresh mangos and orange segments frozen. Plus, some bananas, strawberries and cherries.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13013 on: June 24, 2019, 06:33:24 AM »
Okay, this is a weird post. The other day on Good Morning America they have a part of the show where they offer bargains on different products. They showed a Yonanas machine. It is a machine you can run frozen fruit thru and end up with yogurt type fruit desserts. I am famous for throwing out too much fruit. Bananas are thrown out most often. I can only eat so many bananas, banana bread. With this machine you freeze peeled bananas and just about any fruit and you can run it thru the machine for a healthy treat. My machine is coming today and I can't wait! I think in a weird way by buying this machine, which was a bargain at $20, will help me not throw out fruit, thus, saving money. No more cash in the trash.

I have some fresh mangos and orange segments frozen. Plus, some bananas, strawberries and cherries.

If you throw away fruit and vegetables, you should probably buy it in smaller quantities and rather more often.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13014 on: June 24, 2019, 06:48:22 AM »
Okay, this is a weird post. The other day on Good Morning America they have a part of the show where they offer bargains on different products. They showed a Yonanas machine. It is a machine you can run frozen fruit thru and end up with yogurt type fruit desserts. I am famous for throwing out too much fruit. Bananas are thrown out most often. I can only eat so many bananas, banana bread. With this machine you freeze peeled bananas and just about any fruit and you can run it thru the machine for a healthy treat. My machine is coming today and I can't wait! I think in a weird way by buying this machine, which was a bargain at $20, will help me not throw out fruit, thus, saving money. No more cash in the trash.

I have some fresh mangos and orange segments frozen. Plus, some bananas, strawberries and cherries.

Fruit freezes incredibly well, and can easily later become bread, cookies, smoothies, so on. No need for a clutter causing machine.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13015 on: June 24, 2019, 06:55:25 AM »
Walgreens had a BOGO sale on all their Move Free products and last Sunday's paper gave us a duplicate coupon - saved us $27.99 plus two $1 coupons. When I opened it this morning I found the two boxes each had a $3 manufacturer's coupon inside.
Total saved $35.99 :) not too shabby.

Garden
Took down the last tomato plant, got enough for a week's worth of lunches for Mr. R.
Decided it was time to harvest more peppers - chopped up four half-gallon bags for the freezer.
The hot chili pepper is thriving - drying about fifty of them now, still more to come on the plant.
Thinking of trying my hand at a bottle of spicy hot pepper mango salsa sometime this week.
Also cut down the dill - drying the leaves and saving the seeds.
Lemon verbena has been growing like crazy so I cut it back - used some of the leaves for our salmon dinner and hung up the rest to dry.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13016 on: June 24, 2019, 07:05:38 AM »
Okay, this is a weird post. The other day on Good Morning America they have a part of the show where they offer bargains on different products. They showed a Yonanas machine. It is a machine you can run frozen fruit thru and end up with yogurt type fruit desserts. I am famous for throwing out too much fruit. Bananas are thrown out most often. I can only eat so many bananas, banana bread. With this machine you freeze peeled bananas and just about any fruit and you can run it thru the machine for a healthy treat. My machine is coming today and I can't wait! I think in a weird way by buying this machine, which was a bargain at $20, will help me not throw out fruit, thus, saving money. No more cash in the trash.

I have some fresh mangos and orange segments frozen. Plus, some bananas, strawberries and cherries.

Fruit freezes incredibly well, and can easily later become bread, cookies, smoothies, so on. No need for a clutter causing machine.

To each his own.

Omy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13017 on: June 24, 2019, 07:15:31 AM »
I was given one of those machines a few years ago. Used it twice and it has sat on my counter ever since. Cute gimmick, but hard to store (tall) and clean. Hopefully you get more enjoyment!

Slow&Steady

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13018 on: June 24, 2019, 08:32:21 AM »
We freeze bananas, blueberries, and mangoes regularly and then throw them in the blender with almond milk or juice or just water to make a frozen "ice cream" type of treat!  Same concept, we just use a gadget that we already had and has multiple purposes.

It is a great low sugar, easy to save fruit, treat for the kids.  Hope your family will enjoy lots of yumminess from your purchase.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13019 on: June 25, 2019, 02:51:46 AM »
I actually spent some money, about 70$. But at least I didn't spend 100$ and an additional 360$ on a hotel room. And I didn't sign up for day packages for free fruit, popcorn and drinks. I'll bring my own stuff.

I am going to an event. Basis price if 70 for 2 days, 100 for 3 days. I decided that the full 3 days is a bit tiresome for me, as I get a bit stressed by being among a lot of people all day long. So 2 days might be enough. It is about 50-60 kms from where I live. But I figure I don't need hotel rooms for that. It is from Friday to Sunday. I think I will either sleep in the car somewhere or pitch up a tent. I checked that there is some forest on walking distance.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2019, 01:15:57 AM by Linea_Norway »

11ducks

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13020 on: June 25, 2019, 05:21:38 AM »
I've  gotten into a bad habit of stopping at the grocery store for snacks after two particularly gruelling workouts each week, spending $10-$20 each time on treats, snacks and food I'm craving (usually bad carbs).

I'm determined to knock it off- tonight I ignored the familiar pull (gnocchi! Icecream!), came home and made a frugal meal that I'd read about (tomato and egg stir fry with rice). It was simple, cheap, delicious, much better for my waist and for my wallet!

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13021 on: June 25, 2019, 05:48:45 AM »
I've  gotten into a bad habit of stopping at the grocery store for snacks after two particularly gruelling workouts each week, spending $10-$20 each time on treats, snacks and food I'm craving (usually bad carbs).

I'm determined to knock it off- tonight I ignored the familiar pull (gnocchi! Icecream!), came home and made a frugal meal that I'd read about (tomato and egg stir fry with rice). It was simple, cheap, delicious, much better for my waist and for my wallet!

Good to break the habbit, because after some time it will be your body (your gut flora) that drags you there, more then your mind.

I have in my life spent too much money in a kiosk on the train station where I also daily bought a bag of candies in my way home from work. How addicted I have been to that. Luckily for the past 4,5 years I have another job where I don't have that temptation.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13022 on: June 26, 2019, 07:59:51 PM »
Managed to get three free meals at work! Just had to work over 10 hours...
I did go ahead and eat a small amount of leftover soup that I was afraid would go bad with another day in the fridge, as a snack.
Had to work at two different locations today, so I drove to the farther one, then drove the car home and walked to the next location. Even though it was 90 degrees and so humid and would've been two more minutes in the car. But I'd set my mind to walking, so I left earlier and figured out a route that took me through public buildings and mostly in shade. There is no free parking at that location, so I saved at least $8 by not driving ($15 if I'd gotten a parking ticket).
Did two free errands on the walk. I dropped off library books before they were due, saving fines. Then went to the post office to mail off a donation, using gifted stamps and a repurposed envelope with a mailing label made of scrap paper, sealed with leftover tape from my last move. Not a cent out of pocket today!
And I decluttered some donations 24 hours after I'd decided to get rid of them, instead of driving them around in my trunk for a month!

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13023 on: June 27, 2019, 01:34:32 AM »
Walked to work and will walk back in the afternoon. Washed my hair at work.

Omy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13024 on: June 27, 2019, 05:48:06 AM »
Sent in for a rebate on paint. I usually forget about these until it's too late. Saved $40.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13025 on: June 27, 2019, 07:04:55 AM »
Replaced the motor (and fan and capacitors and a few other things) in my HVAC unit.  I am absolutely going to need a new one sooner rather than later (this unit turns 30 years old next month apparently).  Hoping to make it until at least next spring with the new parts.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13026 on: June 27, 2019, 08:25:27 AM »
- A lunch meeting at work was cancelled yesterday so we had a nice free lunch.
- Went to get ice cream but found out the place was closed, so I had a nice afternoon walk and didn't spend money & didn't eat something unhealthy.

Raenia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13027 on: June 27, 2019, 01:04:14 PM »
Worked from home today so I didn't need to drive anywhere.

lizzzi

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13028 on: June 27, 2019, 05:20:31 PM »
Had a peach from the grocery store that I couldn't get to soften up in a brown bag, although it smelled nice. Instead of discarding it, I cut it up into small pieces and poached it in water with some sugar, cinnamon, and whole cloves, and ate it with lunch. Very good.

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13029 on: June 27, 2019, 10:06:45 PM »
* did my own yard work, stacking several functions (saves money, no-carbon practices benefit the environment, good exercise)

* for the first time, used an app to get some stuff printed without having to spend time getting it set up the old way. We don’t own a printer so on the rare occasions when we need a hard copy, this is a good option.

slappy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13030 on: June 28, 2019, 07:12:14 AM »
Worked from home today so I didn't need to drive anywhere.

Me too. I hate driving anyway, and the gas savings is nice.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13031 on: June 30, 2019, 06:58:19 PM »
Returned a bag of chips to the store that hadn't been sealed properly. In the past, I would've skipped it, since it was less than $2. But I was going past the store anyway, so I ran in and exchanged them for a properly sealed bag and didn't buy anything else!

My SO isn't Mustachian, but I'm slowly working on him. Convinced him to only eat out once this weekend, and it was to a cheap sushi place where lunch was less than $8. He got creative with leftovers for dinner, and it was delicious. He wanted to learn to bake bread, so we did that as a fun activity instead of going out. Another activity was going to the local bulk grocery store and pricing the bin items vs. already packaged.

At the big box store, I had my coupons and Shopkick digital gift card, and managed to save $9 on a $40 order of all HBA items. He joked that I was making money on this transaction, and called me the Coupon Queen to the lady behind us. We're getting there!

He suggested the bookstore, I countered with the public library. We had a great time and got a load of books.

I made it a point to praise his leftover cooking creativity, and get excited about baking bread. We had a lot of fun doing things around the house working on projects he'd considered hiring out. Overall, there were several frugal wins!


Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13032 on: July 01, 2019, 01:29:11 AM »
Walked to work today and will walk back later.

Zaga

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13033 on: July 01, 2019, 04:57:14 AM »
We spent the past 2 weekends running wire to and wiring up the garage ourselves.  Still not cheap, but way less than hiring it out!  I had my dad on speed dial, he's an electrical engineer so he knows all the answers to the questions I asked right off the top of his head.

Still a little bit to go, but 2 of the 3 circuits are done.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13034 on: July 01, 2019, 05:40:41 AM »
We are going camping for the first time in three years. (Shocks me to write that, as we used to camp a LOT.  However for the last three years we've been living in camping-like conditions, as we rehab a very rough old house in the country.  So we've been crazy busy and also haven't felt the itch to 'go camping,').

So we did a careful inventory the equipment we have.  A lot of it has suffered from lack of use and crappy storage conditions.  Three of our five air mattresses are leaking.  Our backpacks were chewed by mice and are full of an ant colony.  I think and hope the tent is ok.  We are going to save money by cleaning up and using what we have.  If we try to patch an air mattress and it doesn't work, oh well.  Worst that can happen is we end up flat on the hard ground by morning.  Or get wet if the tent leaks. We'll live. 

What I refuse to do is spend money replacing the stuff now, when we don't even know if we'll go camping any time again soon . . .

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13035 on: July 01, 2019, 07:40:12 AM »
We are going camping for the first time in three years. (Shocks me to write that, as we used to camp a LOT.  However for the last three years we've been living in camping-like conditions, as we rehab a very rough old house in the country.  So we've been crazy busy and also haven't felt the itch to 'go camping,').

So we did a careful inventory the equipment we have.  A lot of it has suffered from lack of use and crappy storage conditions.  Three of our five air mattresses are leaking.  Our backpacks were chewed by mice and are full of an ant colony.  I think and hope the tent is ok.  We are going to save money by cleaning up and using what we have.  If we try to patch an air mattress and it doesn't work, oh well.  Worst that can happen is we end up flat on the hard ground by morning.  Or get wet if the tent leaks. We'll live. 

What I refuse to do is spend money replacing the stuff now, when we don't even know if we'll go camping any time again soon . . .

Nasty to have your stuff chewed by mice. That happend to us too, some time ago. They chewed on a brand new canoe, on rucksack straps and on fishing nets. We had to throw away 3 of our fishing nets, because they were beyond repair.

Bring along a cheap tarp (just a big plastic tarp from the building shop, to throw over the tent in case of rain.

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13036 on: July 01, 2019, 08:59:56 PM »
Found a hubcap that had popped off my wheel! Unfortunately it popped off again and this time I don't have any idea where.

I realized a grocery purchase included some HSA eligible items that I forgot to put on the card. Next time I was grocery shopping, I returned the eligible items and repurchased them with our HSA card. Made those items about 15% cheaper.

Took my daughter to the pediatrician Friday afternoon as the office was closing because I suspected she had an ear infection (mom instinct was correct). Saved us the cost and hassle of getting her in to urgent care on a Saturday.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13037 on: July 01, 2019, 10:07:45 PM »
I had 9000 Hilton Honours points (from business travel) that were due to expire.

The minimum balance to transfer points to an airline rewards program is 10,000, but I didn't want them to just evaporate.

I did some digging and found out I could cash them in for $18 Amazon credit. Done.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13038 on: July 02, 2019, 04:55:50 PM »
Used my Chase Freedom Card to buy groceries from Walmart grocery pickup, earning a $5 reward. Went through TopCashBack.com to get a 1% rebate. Did a quick search before I checked out to save another $10 with a promo code. Got $62 worth of groceries and household goods for just under $47.
I schedule pick right after the gym class I signed up for, consolidating errands and avoiding impulse buys.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13039 on: July 04, 2019, 12:47:47 AM »
Walk to work and will walk back this afternoon.

Trying to eat out of the freezer for the coming weekend. We only have some fresh potatoes and that is all of fresh veggie.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13040 on: July 05, 2019, 06:13:48 PM »
Bought groceries online using a 15% off coupon. We’ve been avoiding the local BBQ place and Starbucks for the past two days and eating at home. Today will likely be a zero-spend day.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13041 on: July 06, 2019, 03:25:01 AM »
I needed a few items and walked to the grocery store and back, 5 km, including a very steep and long hill. Good excercise.

tomita

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13042 on: July 06, 2019, 11:02:43 AM »
requested a Tax correction for 2017 and got some money back.

kaposzta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13043 on: July 08, 2019, 03:24:08 AM »
I didn't order a pair of Asics shoes on sale ($40 instead of $70). I asked my friend before the order whether I can wear them in the office, and he told me that those are running shoes. $40 saved, I'll keep wearing my old shoes :)

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13044 on: July 08, 2019, 03:36:26 AM »
We took the free bus from the hotel to the subway station to get home after our free afternoon tea at a fancy hotel.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13045 on: July 08, 2019, 06:22:48 AM »
The dog has been put on thyroid medication.  I've found the generic version online for $3/month rather than the $40/month that my vet charges for the name brand. 

zygote

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13046 on: July 08, 2019, 12:36:10 PM »
Just got back from a week long vacation, and won't have time to go to the grocery store until tomorrow night. Used a $10 credit to my favorite fast casual lunch place I rarely eat at now, and am scrounging together freezer food for several other meals until I can shop.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13047 on: July 08, 2019, 12:41:31 PM »
Remembered to buy a ticket to something in advance instead of at the door: $2.59 saved.

nouveauRiche

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13048 on: July 08, 2019, 08:59:56 PM »
Walked to pick up my kid from camp instead of driving.  He wanted to run the whole way home so it was a good workout, too.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13049 on: July 09, 2019, 11:46:22 AM »
All in all a lucrative weekend:)

1. Checked on Mr. R's rewards points - (I started doing that when I realized he's letting his points expire on his BOA card). Score.
Double score:) - $50 Lowes gc for $40 worth of points since they had a special offer on some cards - an extra ten bucks:).
Will use the card in the fall or spring for some garden extravagance:).

2. So I checked on his other credit card too and cashed out for $325. Awesome:)
Check in the mail - will go straight to savings.

3. My cc - didn't have enough for another $50 cash out yet, but I've done extremely well with my points last year and this year. I always go for the cash and plow it back into my savings goals. Normally my expenditures are super low but more travel and a bonus gave me over $850 in extra cash last year on this one card.
It keeps on giving...

4. Reviewed my method of madness in reaching my current $50K savings goal and realized that by changing my game plan I will net extra interest - about $150 +. What took me so long?:)
Reworked it at least ten times before I believed it - then set the new savings plan in motion. Easy money:)
The best part, it will also mean that I will reach my goal early, in EOM Sep 2019 instead of EOY 2019, which makes me deliriously happy:)

5. Yesterday, I stumbled across a $100 bonus for a local savings account that is super easy to do and requires only $500 for 90 days. I can do that:)
I was surprised to see that this is with a bank that I already have a checking account with.

... and Mr. R. saved over $60 in BOGO deals and another $12 in coupons at the grocery store yesterday.
... I harvested more red chili peppers from my garden this weekend - hoping the kid and I will make some good Salsa with mango and chili peppers while he is visiting.

Time well spent:
I have been searching for the best credit card deal for a zero percent APR. Slim pickings.
Six months in I finally found two 0% cards that also offer a $$ bonus that I like.
I'll go for the $200 bonus with 15 mo of zero interest first. This card also has extra perks which will continually save me an extra ten or twenty bucks throughout the year - by Christmas, this could mean an extra fifty to a hundred bucks.

If it all works out as planned this will not just earn me $350 in bonus money (total-both cards), but potentially earn me another $300 to $600 depending on what I use the card for and what my credit limit will be.
So I am trying to choose wisely and time it as well as possible for max benefit.

Today:
1. Changing two payments to a credit card to take advantage of 2% cash rewards and still get free cell phone insurance like I currently have through a debit card.
2. Also, need to check if it is cheaper to pay the car insurance every six months or once a year, instead of monthly.
3. Just claimed my coupon for that $100 bonus on the new savings account discussed above.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!