What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Dollar Slice]

I'm known around my friend group as a sort of Concert/Ticket Whisperer, so people will often text me and ask if I know how to get tickets to a sold out show, or how to get discounted tickets to something, or the best way to get tickets to something, etc. So a friend had mentioned 6 weeks ago wanting to go to a fairly expensive show. I've been keeping an eye out and today I just scored a completely free pair of tickets for us to go together. Sweet! :-) Depending where we end up sitting, somewhere around $150-$165 value, I'm guessing. And I get to treat a friend who doesn't have a lot of money.

[jnw]

Bought a $110 Amazon gift card from raise.com at a 0.7% discount.  I used my Discover It Cashback card and will get 2% cash back on that.  I also used the raise.com 10EXTRA promo code and got $10 off that.   So altogether I got something like a 12% or so discount on the $110.  EDIT: $99.49 for the $110 gift card was charged to my credit card.  I'll get 2% back on the $99.49 = $97.50 for $110 card.  97.50/110 = 88.64%.  11.36% off total.  (I am not currently on Amazon Prime so my Amazon Credit Card is only 3% cash back.. so 11.36% vs 3% is nice -- I'll definitely use it up in the next two or three months from normal purchases; I'm borrowing the money from Discover It for 15 months 0% APR anyways, so there is no real opportunity cost buying the gift card.)

Raise.com emailed me right after the purchase and told me if I make another purchase in the next 3 days I'll be getting another $10 off coupon.  So I went ahead and bought a $25 gift card for $24.50 or so on my Discover It card.. altogether around a 2.5% discount just for the extra $10 off coupon :)  I have no idea what the spend requirement is for the second $10 off coupon but maybe it's another $110 Amazon gift card; if I so I'll do it.

[jnw]

Wow that sucks about the property tax, here in the state I live in there is a max 3% increase per year -- state law.

[kenner]

Now the trick for me is to figure out how to maximize cash back paying electric & water/trash & natural gas bills .. currently usign checking account to pay those.. no bonuses.  Utilities are quite high for us at around $3800 per year tied with the house payment -- house payment is around $4000 per year not including principle portion of payment.   Both are second behind groceries -- groceries being about $4500 per year currently.   Health category after that (health insurance, medical care & equipment, vision, dental, etc..)

If you're looking for cash back on utilities, check out the USBank Cash+ card...you pick the 5%/2% categories from a list of options, and one of the 5% options is home utilities.  I know a lot of people like the doctorofcredit website for checking out credit cards, but I tend to like frequentmiler for more specific category searches like this one.

[jnw]

Now the trick for me is to figure out how to maximize cash back paying electric & water/trash & natural gas bills .. currently usign checking account to pay those.. no bonuses.  Utilities are quite high for us at around $3800 per year tied with the house payment -- house payment is around $4000 per year not including principle portion of payment.   Both are second behind groceries -- groceries being about $4500 per year currently.   Health category after that (health insurance, medical care & equipment, vision, dental, etc..)

If you're looking for cash back on utilities, check out the USBank Cash+ card...you pick the 5%/2% categories from a list of options, and one of the 5% options is home utilities.  I know a lot of people like the doctorofcredit website for checking out credit cards, but I tend to like frequentmiler for more specific category searches like this one.

Thanks I didn't know about the USBank Cash+ card. Can one get 5% cash back on Utilities every month of they year, or are these categories rotating?  It sounds like a card I want to get.  I have Citi Custom Cash for 5% back on groceries, Discover It Cashback for 5% back at Walmart / Sams & Sams Gas / Paypal & Amazon.  I have the Amazon prime card for 3 to 5% back there.  Those are my 3 best cards.  My BofA card gets me 1.5% cash back in general but I want to perhaps get the Elan Fidelity 2% cashback card for that.   Both the Elan and USBank cards I ultimately want to get will also be useful for selling tradelines.   I suppose I'll apply for the USBank card in about 6 months after several hard inquires disappear; also a couple more cards will then be older than 2 years for the 5/24 rules if USBank looks at that.  I hear USBank is pretty darn picky so I guess I'll just wait it out. I've been denied by them in the past.

[cool7hand]

Ate yesterday's dinner leftovers for lunch

[jnw]

Aldi currently has an incredible sale on butter.  These are normally $3.98 at Aldi and always $3.98 at Walmart as well.   But they were on sale for $2.49 / package of 4 sticks.

They limit the purchase to six, so we bought six salted and six unsalted -- we like them both the same; I've used both a lot in cooking and automatically adjust the salt depending on which butter we use.

Going to freeze a good number of them. I have never froze butter before but I guess I'll try just stacking them up as is; if someone knows of a better way to freeze butter please let me know.

I couldn't pass up the deal because it is a 37.5% discount.

[Dicey]

Aldi currently has an incredible sale on butter.  These are normally $3.98 at Aldi and always $3.98 at Walmart as well.   But they were on sale for $2.49 / package of 4 sticks.

They limit the purchase to six, so we bought six salted and six unsalted -- we like them both the same; I've used both a lot in cooking and automatically adjust the salt depending on which butter we use.

Going to freeze a good number of them. I have never frozen butter before but I guess I'll try just stacking them up as is; if someone knows of a better way to freeze butter please let me know.

I couldn't pass up the deal because it is a 37.5% discount.

I freeze butter all the time. Here's my trick. When I need a new package, I move one from the freezer to the fridge so that I always have an unfrozen amount of butter at the ready. I do the same thing with Costco Pesto. Just chuck the whole container in the freezer and rotate them out, one at a time, into the fridge.

[jnw]

I was returning my cart at Aldi to get my 25 cents back and someone else ran the cart up there but didn't bother with the chain to get his quarter back.  So I got my quarter back and his :)  I won't bend over to pick up a penny but will capitalize on a thrown away quarter :)

[sonofsven]

In the height of fishing season my engine had a breakdown (A Honda!).
A friend was at our marine store (perks to living at the coast) and picked up the parts I needed for $140 and dropped them off. I spent the day replacing the solenoid and the trim control in the tiller handle of a 50 hp Honda.
It took me about six hours, I bet a shop could do it in four. The shop rate is $140/hr.
I'd heard horror stories about taking tiller handles apart before. It was bad, but not too bad. Ok, it was bad. At one point I almost had the linkage put back together in the engine, when I dropped a circlip. I could barely see it in the depths of the innards, no way to reach it.
I took the bag out of my shop vac and jury rigged a tiny crevice tool and shoved it in as far as I could, opened up the vacuum, and there was the clip.

[Dollar Slice]

Another year and my friends and I have managed to quietly stay on the heavily discounted presale festival pass list for my favorite music festival. (I would do a devil horns emoji, but it's a classical music festival...)

[Weisass]

That sounds awesome, @Dollar Slice ! I’m jealous.

[cool7hand]

Batching car-related errands for efficiency

[Dollar Slice]

That sounds awesome, @Dollar Slice ! I’m jealous.

I'm glad *someone* is jealous, there aren't a lot of people in the world who are really frugal and love classical music ;-)

Last year I kept trying to get some of my best friends to go to a festival with me that was sort of similar (but also incorporated some free jazz) because I had a super discounted coupon code for tickets, and you would not believe the excuses people will come up with to avoid 20 hours of live music they dislike... even for 80% off full price!

[cool7hand]

Doing a batch of cold water delicates that has been growing for weeks until the load made sense

[jnw]

Got a couple free hair dyes and other things with my first couponing haul. $38 in stuff for free plus made 70 cents.

[RetireOrDieTrying]

I cooked a fish I caught. That doesn't sound very exciting, but I haven't cooked anything in years. I've subsisted off of sandwiches and frozen stuff.

I went fishing for the first time in my life in the Delaware Bay with my cousin and caught a 56# black drum fish. I've had this enormous pile of fish in my freezer ever since, and I finally decided to eat it. I marinated in pineapple juice and peppercorns for 48h and then baked.

So... healthy food, $0.

[Loretta]

I spent money as I was out of my usual routine for a weeklong class.  I did complete a chicken joint survey and as a result I can have a free chicken sandwich for my lunch tomorrow when I'm back for Day 2. 

[jnw]

Yesterday I got 4 free bottles of Old Spice & Olay Body Wash along with a tube of DSC Shave Cream for BF.  Learning how to coupon.  Even thgough it was free and I made $2.50 off of the run to boot, it's stilll very time consuming at this point to put the deals together.  Hoping it will become 1 day a week thing where I spend no more than hour to work out the deals.  Goal is to get free sundries year round.

[jnw]

Created a Rakuten account yesterday using a stranger's referral link for $30 sign up bonus.  (You get $30 from Rakuten when you spend $30+ at one of it's stores, so does the person who referred you.)   So I chose Walmart.com and by going to Walmart.com via Rakuten I get an extra 1% cash back as well.

So I bought 4 x Purex Free & Clear 150 fl oz laundry detergent for $8.97 each.  $35.88 total (meeting the spend $30 requirement).  It was shipped for free and I actually got it today at my house.  Taxes was $3.06.  So my total cost was $38.94.   Rakuten gave me 36 cents for the 1% cash back so Rakuten owes me a total of $30.36 now -- and they show that they do.   So it only cost me $38.94 - $30.36 = $8.58 for 600 fl oz of laundry detergent.   But wait it gets better.  Before I purchased these 4 purex detergents, I clipped the Ibotta $3 coupon for each jug of purex (limit 5).  So after it was delivered Ibotta sent me a $12.00 rebate.   So I got all the laundry detergent for free and made $3.42 on top of that -- "moneymaker".

EDIT: What's also nice about my transaction is I used a Sams Club gift card for it which I bought at Sam's club this month with Discover iT card which gives me 5% cash back, and double cash back the first year.. so 10% cash back on this detergent.  With the Rakuten cashback of 1% I am getting a total of 11% cash back.

[jnw]

Sent my BF Rakuten referral link today and we each made $30.  He bought 6 jars of Smucker's Natural 100% Peanut Butter ($5.84 per jar) at Walmart.   My nephew and niece are also interested in getting free $30 in groceries and so I'll be sending them a link too.

Got my $300 bonus today for opening Chase Total Checking.

A week back I got my $100 sign up bonus for my Discover It Cashback card.  (Used a stranger's referral link, each of us got $100).

Got $60 from Plynk so far for opening up brokerage account with them (they still owe me $100 once I satisfy the terms);  only have a couple hundred in there right now and going to direct deposit $105 per month for the next year.  The settlement account is a SPAXX (Fidelity Money Market account).

Got my Target RedCard $40 off coupon in mail today.  Used the promo code on it for an online order of 10 one pound packages of bacon.   Going to go pick up that bacon soon and at same time use the physical coupon to purchase another $40 in groceries in the store.  So total $80 back.

Got some dove spray deodorant (two bottles) and Netragena Deep Clean facial cleanser all for free with various rebate apps: Ibotta, Coupons.com, Alexa, Shopmium, Checkout51, Swagbucks.  Also got two free bags of Werthers caramal popcorn (but nothin to brag about really because it's unhealthy).  Also got 2 eight oz sticks of philladephia cream cheese for 75 cents per pkg.

[jnw]

Bought four 20 lb bags of Cowboy Charcoal Briquettes.  They got some great reviews and is supposed to smell and perform better than the Kingsford Blue charcoal.  Got it at a very good price at Walmart:  $17.92 for 2 x 20lb bags.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cowboy-Hardwood-Charcoal-Briquets-20-Pounds-Each-Pack-of-2/1432359089

I got it shipped for free to home the next day.

I used my Sam's Club gift card to pay for it, which I bought at a 10% discount -- new Discover It cashback account with double cash rewards.

I also used Rakuten.com to make the purchase, having it redirect me to Walmart.  I got something like 2.6% cash back on that as well.  So I got 12.6% cashback on charcoal at an already good price.

(Rakuten is pretty cool, friends can refer friends and each make $30. I've already referred a couple friends.  I used a stranger's referral link a week or so ago to set it up.)

Some other very good charcoal is the Masterbuilt Lump on Amazon. $9.97 for 16 lbs:  https://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-MB20091621-Charcoal-Pound-Black/dp/B09C2M6M6Z .   I bought 4 bags of these as well.   

Allegedly these are the two best brands when it comes to deals with charcoal briquettes and lump charcoal.

[Treedream]

I saved €500 on a mortgage advisor by doing some if my own research and doing some paperwork myself.

[oneday]

According to this internet source, I saved $483 by preparing my own taxes (1040 standard deduction, sched D, sched E). It's probably the highest ROI DIY thing I do all year. About $60/hour, so it rivals my day job. :)

I also paid $78 less in taxes due to paying the capital gains rate on qualified dividends. Which is less something I did and more just a fun note about the US tax system.

And save $736 in taxes by tax loss harvesting. Whew!

[Sandi_k]

Well done, @oneday - impressive. ;)

[Dollar Slice]

I had ground turkey on my grocery list for a recipe, but decided I wasn't in the mood for it and I would make it next week instead. But then I was at the store and noticed it was on sale, so I picked up some to put in the freezer for later. Saved $3. :-)

[cool7hand]

Reconstituted some leftovers with olive oil and created lunch!

[jnw]

According to this internet source, I saved $483 by preparing my own taxes (1040 standard deduction, sched D, sched E). It's probably the highest ROI DIY thing I do all year. About $60/hour, so it rivals my day job. :)

I also paid $78 less in taxes due to paying the capital gains rate on qualified dividends. Which is less something I did and more just a fun note about the US tax system.

And save $736 in taxes by tax loss harvesting. Whew!

Nice job.  Did you use any software or do it all by hand?   I started using Turbo Tax for Mac/PC  a year ago and used it this year as well.  It's great.. it was only $44.99 but came with a $10 Amazon gift card -- so effectively $34.99 -- and it handled my 1040, Schedule C, Schedule D, 8949, etc.. and linked up to my brokerage accounts and downloaded all the 1099's for the trades etc..

I used the same software package to file for my BF as well.   We both printed out our state returns and snail mailed them for like $2 in postage.  (To avoid the $25 each for turbo tax oklahoma state efile.)  The federal returns were e-filed for free, for the both of us.

I could of used the software to do friends returns and family etc.. I think I can do at least 5 people for that same $35 package.

[oneday]

Well done, oneday - impressive. ;)

Thanks :)

Nice job.  Did you use any software or do it all by hand?   I started using Turbo Tax for Mac/PC  a year ago and used it this year as well.  It's great.. it was only $44.99 but came with a $10 Amazon gift card -- so effectively $34.99 -- and it handled my 1040, Schedule C, Schedule D, 8949, etc.. and linked up to my brokerage accounts and downloaded all the 1099's for the trades etc..

I used the same software package to file for my BF as well.   We both printed out our state returns and snail mailed them for like $2 in postage.  (To avoid the $25 each for turbo tax oklahoma state efile.)  The federal returns were e-filed for free, for the both of us.

I could of used the software to do friends returns and family etc.. I think I can do at least 5 people for that same $35 package.

Thanks! I do it "by hand" using the Free Fillable Forms on the IRS site. I've been doing my own taxes since about 1990, when I had my first summer job. It's easier to do when you only have to learn a little bit new each year (personal situation or tax rule changes).

I also printed and snail mailed my state forms, but it's because the state doesn't have e-file for capital gains. In other years, I've been able to use my state's website to efile for free.

You are also doing very well, paying just a fraction (like, 10%?) of what it would cost to have a professional do your taxes for you.

[sonofsven]

My riding lawnmower slowed to a barely crawl, I wasn't sure if it was the drive belt (fixable) or the transaxle (rip).
I got the deck off and the mower up on blocks and could see that one of the idler pulleys was malformed and the belt would not stay on; so fixable, yay!
However I couldn't get the pulley removed easily and ended up stripping the machine down to the point of lifting the body off the frame to get to the bolt holding the pulley.
$50 in parts ordered, buying a $4k new Deere averted, for now.

[jnw]

I saved $2 per bottle on my multivitamin by buying it at Walmart.com vs Amazon.com.  I’m finding the deals at Amazon are not very good these days. I always check Walmart as well these days when buying from Amazon. I’m buying more and more things from walmart.com instead.   I’m also getting the packages sooner from Walmart.com.

[Dollar Slice]

I got a snail-mail letter saying my address had been randomly selected to take part in a survey and yadda yadda representative sample and it's really important so please fill it out blah blah we would be so grateful etc. etc it takes 20 minutes and so on and so forth. Filling out a survey for 20 minutes is not so much fun, but I decided to take a look at it because the name of it made me think it might actually be helpful and I might want to have myself represented in the sample. Then after I filled out a few demographic questions it was like "WELL ACTUALLY! Now that you've told us you're Jewish... it turns out this survey is from a Jewish organization and we're going to ask you everything about your charitable donations, Jewish upbringing and family history" which was a total 180, and I felt kind of weirded out by the whole thing. I'm not sure what it would have asked if I hadn't ticked the 'Jewish' box, but presumably not things like "do you consider yourself a direct descendant of a Holocaust victim?"

ANYWAY. I ended up finishing it, it was less than 20 minutes and at the end they surprised me with a $20 gift card to a store of my choosing (from a list). Slicey's gonna be eating well tonight B-)  Because $20 buys a lot of groceries.

[Freedomin5]

There were a lot of leftovers from a lunch meeting at work that were all going to be thrown away by the catering people because something something food safety, so I brought it all home for dinner.

[Freedomin5]

I wanted to get a certificate from an Ivy League university, which required completing three courses. USD$1600 per course. But, while reading the fine print, I noticed that given my field and the type of organization I work for, I could apply for a 30% discount on select courses. And, once I’ve taken one course, subsequent courses are offered at a 30% discount.

So, first I applied for, and was granted, the 30% discount on one of the select courses. With the 30% discount, my PD funds offered by my workplace were sufficient to cover the discounted course fee. I then applied for my PD funds and got my company to approve that. So my first course is basically free for me. My new work contract starts in August, at which time I will have a certain PD amount as part of my contract, and I can then take my second (also 30% discounted) course and have my company cover it. I have 18 months to complete all three courses, so my third course I plan to take the following year, again using my PD funds, squeaking by and completing the certificate requirements just shy of 18 months.

Basically, with some planning and organization, I will be getting an Ivy League education worth almost USD$5000 for *free*.

[Serendip]

@Freedomin5 Awesome-that's quite an impressive workaround!

Mine isn't quite as substantial :)
Ran out of oat milk & coffee cream so used some powdered coconut milk instead of running to the store

[LaineyAZ]

wow, Freedomin5, that's impressive.

It sparked a memory where the chief in-house attorney once used the entire department's annual training budget for himself to attend a course at an Ivy League school which begins with the letter 'H.'   He wanted the prestige, I guess, but at the expense of everyone else. 
Kudos to you for frugality and for reading the fine print!

and my small thing:  I had wanted one of those paint color sample paper wheels (not individual paint chips).  They were available online used and/or new for $9 up to $35.  I visited my local premium paint store and they gave me one for free.  Going to be fun choosing a paint color for some upcoming projects, plus it will be fun for the pre-school age grandkids to play with later.

[jnw]

Got about $100 worth of household & personal care items last night for $2 (including tax) via couponing.

[Loretta]

I picked up a penny in a parking lot.

[Michael in ABQ]

Instead of driving across town to pick up my son from track and field practice after school - my wife turned around from some errands and went to pick him up - thus saving a few gallons of gas since our second vehicle gets 12 mpg at best. I also was able to get another hour of work done at home.

[Josiecat22222]

left my best behaved child (the dog) with my bestie and her school aged kids for the weekend while DH and I are out of town.  Her kids are ecstatic, my dog will be loved and it is WAY cheaper than boarding him.  (for the record, did NOT do this to save money, but it's a nice side benefit.)

[Treedream]

I planted Dahlia and Canna roots in the garden that I overwintered in my storage space to survive the frost. No expense and hopefully beautifull flowers this year to sooth the soul and cheer up all the neighbours in my whole apartment building, as my garden can be seen from the entrance.

[Freedomin5]

Free lunch at work today with lots of leftovers. I packed a box and took it home for dinner.

[stoaX]

I picked up a penny in a parking lot.

Was it heads or tails?

[jim555]

Power company had a deal, $25 (tax included) for a HEPA filter air purifier and 5 flood lights.  This is easily worth over $100.

[LaineyAZ]

I picked up a penny in a parking lot.

Was it heads or tails?

haha, I remember this superstition too.  If it's heads up then you pick it up but if it's tails then you leave it on the ground..

[Raenia]

I picked up a penny in a parking lot.

Was it heads or tails?

haha, I remember this superstition too.  If it's heads up then you pick it up but if it's tails then you leave it on the ground..

I've heard it as tails, you turn it over to change the luck for the next person.

DH and I found a pile of change in the grass outside our apartment. Mostly pennies, but a few nickels and dimes as well. It looked like someone had cleaned out their pockets or dumped the detritus from their purse - lint, wrappers, and other bits of stuff. We sorted through and collected all the coins. Must have been nearly a dollar - plus DH found a few he was missing for his collection!

[LaineyAZ]

I picked up a penny in a parking lot.

Was it heads or tails?

haha, I remember this superstition too.  If it's heads up then you pick it up but if it's tails then you leave it on the ground..

I've heard it as tails, you turn it over to change the luck for the next person.

DH and I found a pile of change in the grass outside our apartment. Mostly pennies, but a few nickels and dimes as well. It looked like someone had cleaned out their pockets or dumped the detritus from their purse - lint, wrappers, and other bits of stuff. We sorted through and collected all the coins. Must have been nearly a dollar - plus DH found a few he was missing for his collection!

That's a lucky find.  It's amazing how many people just discard pennies especially.  I collect all pre-1983 pennies because supposedly they contain more copper than post-1983 pennies.  Not sure what I'll eventually do with them because I think it's against the law to melt them down but it's neat to have a little jar of them.

[Freedomin5]

Instead of eating breakfast at the hotel (~$90 for 3 people) and lunch at a restaurant (~$60), I bought several boxes of blueberries and strawberries from a road stand. I also bought a loaf of bread at a bakery. This will be our breakfast and lunch today. Total cost ~$18.

[stoaX]

Instead of eating breakfast at the hotel (~$90 for 3 people) and lunch at a restaurant (~$60), I bought several boxes of blueberries and strawberries from a road stand. I also bought a loaf of bread at a bakery. This will be our breakfast and lunch today. Total cost ~$18.

Wow - that would've been a wicked expensive breakfast! 

[Freedomin5]

Instead of eating breakfast at the hotel (~$90 for 3 people) and lunch at a restaurant (~$60), I bought several boxes of blueberries and strawberries from a road stand. I also bought a loaf of bread at a bakery. This will be our breakfast and lunch today. Total cost ~$18.

Wow - that would've been a wicked expensive breakfast!

Yeah, it’s $30 per person for their buffet breakfast. And they only offer the buffet for breakfast. No thanks!