Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8358036 times)

2ndTimer · « **Reply #2700 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:14:54 PM »

Invited neighbors over to see how we had fixed up the old greenhouse they gave us. Nothing encourages people to give you their old stuff like letting them see you use it.

rocketman48097 · « **Reply #2701 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:46:46 PM »

I biked to work today in a bad rainstorm. Not sure it was worth it, but I feel good because of the exercise.

Less · « **Reply #2702 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:53:09 PM »

Have not driven to work this week and baked bread last night.

I also did the math on how much said bread costs. Saves about $1.50 a loaf from a comparable store bought option. Would be more if i bake it in batches and buy larger quantities of ingredients.

lunahsol · « **Reply #2703 on:** March 04, 2015, 02:01:29 PM »

Had already decided to buy lunch today. Took some change from the jar as I left home this morning to cover what I thought would be the exact cost ($3.25). Went to pay and I was 50 cents short. Took out a $10 bill to cover it and the cashier told me that instead of breaking the ten, she would just take 50 cents of my total. Awesome!

This one from yesterday . . . found a $1 bill on the sidewalk. Since there was no one else in sight who could have dropped it, I did not feel bad at all about pocketing it.

1967mama · « **Reply #2704 on:** March 04, 2015, 05:36:50 PM »

I love reading everyone else's small victories! So encouraging! So motivating! All those small decisions and actions throughout our days can really add up!

Today I hung a load of laundry on the clothes line and another load on the drying rack that I moved out into the sunshine for the day.

I checked my electricity usage online and I am FINALLY seeing my averages come down. For the last 3 months I have been 2% over last years usage, but for February, it said I was 0% higher than last year! haha! Now of course, the goal is to use LESS than last year, but we are a work in progress over here at the 1967 household :-)

Bought a whole ham to slice myself instead of buying deli ham for sandwiches. I'm only doing this about every 3 weeks. We were eating too much ham! <EW!>

Turning the heater off during the day and letting the sun warm us up inside. The other night, I forgot to put it back on in the evening, and lo and behold, everyone survived the night!

Tracking library materials more carefully to avoid fines. I feel as if I have funded the new computer system there! <sigh>

Got a Dr. referral to a specialist for my son by making a phone call rather than having to drive to an appointment, wait, see the Doc and drive home.

MrsCoolCat · « **Reply #2705 on:** March 04, 2015, 07:37:03 PM »

I work at a mall, the 3rd highest grossing and 4th largest in the US. During lunch I went back to Macy's and did a price adjustment on the 3 pairs of shoes that I bought on Monday. I saved an additional $27 (refunded to my card) and got 3 pairs of shoes for slightly less than $50! :-D

pancakes · « **Reply #2706 on:** March 05, 2015, 03:35:49 AM »

I missed my train this morning and immediately started walking towards the coffee shop to grab a $4!!!! take away coffee while I waited. I was already rethinking the decision when I saw a huge line. Unable to risk missing my train again, I walked away.

Who knows what I would have done if there wasn't a line.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2707 on:** March 05, 2015, 07:17:56 AM »

I got a $50 gift card in the mail that was apparently a rebate for the car I bought. I was totally surprised by it.

Rather than using it for fun wants (I thought of 5 or 6 ideas), I used it to buy the groceries I planned to buy yesterday anyway.

wintersun · « **Reply #2708 on:** March 05, 2015, 07:47:31 AM »

The water heater is off, our clothes are drying on racks and we are eating down the fridge again.

I like this thread because it inspires me to do more, I get ideas from others on what I could be doing and I also feel good when I list what I am doing.

horsepoor · « **Reply #2709 on:** March 05, 2015, 07:57:14 AM »

Woke up early and got a lentil and hamhock soup going in the crock pot since I'll be out late tonight with the horses and it would have otherwise been a grab-a-burrito-to-go type of night

Posted my old computer monitor on Craigslist. Hopefully it will sell this weekend.

mleigh · « **Reply #2710 on:** March 05, 2015, 08:19:43 AM »

I finally broke down and bought a new oven. (The old one had serious hot spots, one broken burner, and filled the kitchen with smoke when set over 350.) I was thinking I was on the verge of needing a new hot water heater as well, but decided that wasn't an emergency and I could deal with tepid showers for a while before pulling the trigger. When they installed the (gas) oven, they turned the gas off and back on and that fixed the hot water heater! Hoping it will last a few more years before it needs to be replaced now. :)

GardenFun · « **Reply #2711 on:** March 05, 2015, 08:36:22 AM »

Quote from: 1967mama on March 04, 2015, 05:36:50 PM

Bought a whole ham to slice myself instead of buying deli ham for sandwiches.

We're doing the same. Started sub-categorizing grocery spending and was shocked how much we spent on lunchmeat. When hams are priced at $0.99/lb, I stock up, take them home and break down into 1-2 lbs bags. Easily saving us $20/mo in lunch costs.

Also found out I can use the ham bone to make ham and lentil soup. Awesome.

frudulgence · « **Reply #2712 on:** March 05, 2015, 08:41:26 AM »

not that small, but sold my second car this weekend. we dont use it much, so it was good to get it off our drive.

threatened to move my broadband service to a cheaper provider, i got offered a deal to reduce it to £33 a month from £55 if i got rid of anytime free local and national calls and moved tofree evenings and weekends calls. I dont call that much so it was not much of a sacrifice. Further reduced the bill to £30 a month by prepaying line rental for an entire year. So pretty chuffed to save about £300 pounds a year.

My husband is finishing his 12 month sim contract this month. Made sure to call up one month in advance to cancel the contract after the end date, so that no extra payments were made. Moving him over to a PAYG super deal, which i am also on currently. He mainly calls me from his phone, so we decided to use google talk on wifi to chat instead of direct calling. The top up amount does not expire on this deal, so i hope he can eke out the £10 pounds initial top up for many months, instead of paying £16 pounds a month as he did previously for unlimited calls and 3G.

Decided not to buy cornflour in the supermarket, which is used as a thickener in a recipe i wanted to do. Decide to use existing rice flour (even if it wont be as effective). another 75 pence saved.

lunahsol · « **Reply #2713 on:** March 05, 2015, 10:57:19 AM »

Paid off another credit card in full this morning, thus eliminating any more interest on it. One more card to go (at 1.99%) . . .

Brought two meals of leftovers from the freezer to get myself through this long work day without spending any money.

Enjoying and appreciating what has become an overall shift in my mindset about letting money leave my wallet! Paying off that card this morning was an awesome feeling and I could not have done it without the inspiration from this thread over the past several weeks.

Minimali · « **Reply #2714 on:** March 05, 2015, 01:05:02 PM »

Queried my new contract with Virgin Media and got £5/month off it. Woo!

NCGal · « **Reply #2715 on:** March 05, 2015, 05:49:31 PM »

Removed app. a dozen partial packages of bread, bagels and English muffins from the freezer and made bread crumbs. First I pulverized everything in a food processor then I baked them in the oven to remove moisture and get them crispy. This made app 15 cups of thick panko-style crumbs. I don`t think I`ll ever purchase them again.

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #2716 on:** March 05, 2015, 07:20:18 PM »

Cut SO's hair. This isn't anything new, we've done this from the beginning of our relationship, but it still saves money. Especially with how quickly his hair grows! I just wish I had bought my Wahl trimmers sooner and not wasted money on replacing norelco's every year when they died.

lunahsol · « **Reply #2717 on:** March 06, 2015, 10:45:15 AM »

Had the itch to shop, so loaded cart on amazon . . . BUT! I removed my credit card from their records two months ago, so in order to pay, I would have to unfreeze the remaining card and enter the info . . . and that all just seems like too much trouble . . . . so $167 saved because I am lazy!

MsPeacock · « **Reply #2718 on:** March 06, 2015, 02:09:22 PM »

Paid off one high interest credit card. Did a monthly survey of the remaining cards (40k, sadly all from legal expenses), adjusted my automatic payments to them to account for the paid off card and to continue my snowball. Earlier this month I opened a 0% card and moved the largest balance to that card (two cards, actually). Managed to pay my lawyers bill this month with cash (since it was "only" $1300, instead of the 7k-8k it is sometimes run).

Continued on my money "diet" and bought no clothing in January or Feb, made dinner and packed lunches every day for those two months (no pizza, no dinners out, no fast food, etc.).

If the stupid legal BS would stop I'd be in fine shape.

mm1970 · « **Reply #2719 on:** March 06, 2015, 02:52:42 PM »

Didn't go out to eat. I decided no eating out 3 weeks ago, and not until end of March. (Exception: pre-paid things like gift cards, and ordering pizza for my son's birthday party).

Well, we had layoffs today, and I knew it was coming. Still, I packed a random assortment of raw veggies, fruit, cottage cheese, and a muffin to take to work. And some of my coworkers went out (both laid off and not), but I opted to just stay in the office and not-work. It would have been pretty depressing. Already is.

My husband went out for lunch, but he just got back from a long business trip (which are also exempted from the no-eating-out, obviously). There wasn't any food ready for him, really.

I did have hubby get beer at Costco. Generally I try to not keep alcohol in the house for diet and $ reasons, but today is going to have to be an exception.

2ndTimer · « **Reply #2720 on:** March 06, 2015, 03:30:12 PM »

Made sour dough flat bread instead of yeast flat bread. Thus saving 1 Tbs yeast.

Inkedup · « **Reply #2721 on:** March 07, 2015, 08:32:56 AM »

Hemmed 2 pairs of pants by hand instead of taking them in for alterations, as I had originally planned to do. I would have had to drive the pants to the alterations shop, pay $32 (on top of the costs of the clothes themselves), wait 7-10 days, and then drive back to pick them up. Too expensive.
I am not an experienced sewer, but my work is passable and previous hand-sewn projects have held up nicely.

Immediate savings of $32, plus the instant gratification of having them ready to wear as soon as I cut the last piece of thread :)

I'm already planning to fix the sleeves on one of my jackets.

Gerard · « **Reply #2722 on:** March 07, 2015, 10:26:55 AM »

Quote from: Bracken_Joy on March 05, 2015, 07:20:18 PM

I just wish I had bought my Wahl trimmers sooner and not wasted money on replacing norelco's every year when they died.

+1

I baked bread, which I now do about twice a week. And slow-cooked kala channa to get me through the work week.

<edited to fix gender agreement on adjective>

lunahsol · « **Reply #2723 on:** March 07, 2015, 10:41:10 AM »

* going to the ballet today with a free ticket
* eating from the freezer
* soaking garbonzo beans to put in the crockpot later . . . which will then be frozen for future meals

southern granny · « **Reply #2724 on:** March 07, 2015, 01:04:39 PM »

I also baked a loaf of bread, but i'm not sure how much that saves. It may only cost 1/4 as much, but it gets eaten 4 times as fast. A loaf of store bought bread will last all week. A loaf of home baked bread is lucky to make it two days.

1967mama · « **Reply #2725 on:** March 07, 2015, 08:22:53 PM »

Didn't finish the book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" from the library due to unexpected crises in the home last week. REALLLLLLY wanted to order it from Amazon but instead, went back to the library website and put a new hold on it. Will have to wait a while but quite surprised and please that I made this choice.

Watching a great hockey game with my boys just now on our OTA digital antenna. Perfect HD reception :-)

Got free bread and almond milk from a friend today who was the recipient of a donation larger than she could use. Froze the bread and storing the tetra packs for long term use. Sharing a 12 pack of almond milk with a friend.

thef0x · « **Reply #2726 on:** March 08, 2015, 12:37:33 AM »

I haven't purchased a cup of coffee in the United States in the last 3 months.

Giving away old clothes to create more physical and thus psychological space in my apartment.

Craigslisting a never used Yamaha Keyboard for $80 tomorrow!

Got a free dinner! Saved $3 on 4 packages of Yakisoba noodles and bought my sister and myself a popsicle for our birthday (I'm a twin :)

Wrote a lot. Watched entertaining videos online. Worked out at my YMCA with my cheapest-possible membership for $2/visit -- including playing basketball + lifting weights + wifi. Had a wonderful dinner with some of my family tonight. Feeling grateful!

swick · « **Reply #2727 on:** March 08, 2015, 12:54:03 AM »

Hubby had first day off in over two weeks...really wanted to go out for breakfast. Instead made a kick-ass brunch of good coffee, roasted potatoes, poached duck eggs, fried local ham and homemade Hollandaise.

Made a black forest cake trifle to take to my parents house for my dad's birthday tomorrow. Used up a bunch of pantry odds and ends including the leftover egg whites from the Hollandaise and a leftover cup of cold coffee.

Took the pup for a long walk up the lake as our afternoon entertainment and came home and played some games instead of going to the pub.

Did our taxes with free software. Discovered due to moving, switching jobs, actually claiming some donation credit and maxing out RRSP's we are getting a sizable return.

G-dog · « **Reply #2728 on:** March 08, 2015, 07:31:50 AM »

Quote from: frugalconfederate on March 07, 2015, 01:04:39 PM

I also baked a loaf of bread, but i'm not sure how much that saves. It may only cost 1/4 as much, but it gets eaten 4 times as fast. A loaf of store bought bread will last all week. A loaf of home baked bread is lucky to make it two days.

Haha! True for us too, homemade bread is so good, we eat at least half of the loaf the first day (first 4 hours). Warm fresh bread, optionally with butter. Yummy.

ShaneD · « **Reply #2729 on:** March 08, 2015, 11:22:47 AM »

Quote from: mm1970 on March 06, 2015, 02:52:42 PM

Well, we had layoffs today, and I knew it was coming. Still, I packed a random assortment of raw veggies, fruit, cottage cheese, and a muffin to take to work. And some of my coworkers went out (both laid off and not), but I opted to just stay in the office and not-work. It would have been pretty depressing. Already is.
...
I did have hubby get beer at Costco. Generally I try to not keep alcohol in the house for diet and $ reasons, but today is going to have to be an exception.

I think that's a good exception, mm1970. Sorry to hear about the layoffs. Hope you're well.

ShaneD · « **Reply #2730 on:** March 08, 2015, 11:32:17 AM »

Purged about 75% of my clothing (criteria: don't like, doesn't fit, doesn't match anything, why did I buy this, I never liked this, this just isn't practical, I'm not that person anymore, etc.). Felt great and will contribute to needing less space in our next place.

thef0x · « **Reply #2731 on:** March 08, 2015, 03:34:18 PM »

Cut my own hair.

Made $80 on a Yamaha Piano I sold on CL.

Posted an old Kindle Fire 7'' 1st Generation Tablet on Ebay + took photos and wrote copy!

Switched plates and bowls in my house from large plates to small plates -- fooling my eyes, my belly, and cashing in on more $$.

Instead of getting an expensive latte that will make my stomach hurt at a cafe with my friend visiting from out of town, we're headed to the park with a dog! More fun and a better way to enjoy the weather.

Awesome day :)

2ndTimer · « **Reply #2732 on:** March 08, 2015, 04:00:31 PM »

Sour dough pancakes for breakfast and then a bike ride with a thermos of coffee to enjoy the beautiful weather.

MrsCoolCat · « **Reply #2733 on:** March 08, 2015, 04:12:42 PM »

Made the DH waste less tomato [spaghetti] sauce and olive oil. Recycled envelops received by mail to pay for our monthly HOA payment.

lunahsol · « **Reply #2734 on:** March 08, 2015, 06:16:59 PM »

* crock potting various beans for the freezer
* being creative and eating whatever is on hand
* boxed wine for a treat :)
* using coconut oil to moisturize & hopefully help some skin issues
* working small side hustle for a couple extra bucks
* staying home & no money spent today

GardenFun · « **Reply #2735 on:** March 08, 2015, 06:53:36 PM »

Sent DH on a work trip for a week. That will cut down on the alcohol budget, plus allow me to make meals that he doesn't like, using odds and ends from the fridge and pantry.

Made sugar cookies for DS's birthday vs. making or purchasing a cake. DS loves cookies.

HappierAtHome · « **Reply #2736 on:** March 08, 2015, 06:56:12 PM »

Made up a big batch of black rice and vege chilli for lunches for the next few weeks.

Brought to work more food than I normally would, in order to keep my tum full of healthy snacks so I won't turn to chocolate or coke during my stressful and busy week. Avoiding both the immediate cost of the 'treats' and the longer term cost of health issues.

Arranged for my dad to help us repaint our flat over an upcoming long weekend - we don't know how to paint (yet) so while we'll pay him for his time, it's cheaper than contractors and means we'll be learning the skills for next time.

mc6 · « **Reply #2737 on:** March 08, 2015, 07:41:56 PM »

Didn't feel well and still trying to get over pneumonia 100%, so I took a nap this afternoon vice going out or loading up on more Tylenol. I turned off the heat and let in some fresh air. Fresh air is so nice!

I made one internet purchase today (yarn for my charity stitching) but I used an offer code for 20% off and what I was buying was also 20% off. Free shipping too!

horsepoor · « **Reply #2738 on:** March 08, 2015, 11:04:16 PM »

Finally got around to cooking the turkey that was "free with purchase" at Thanksgiving. Had mashed potatoes from spuds stored from last summer's garden, plus some snow peas that needed to be used up, for sides. Now have copious amounts of turkey to leftover to eat throughout the week for lunches and dinners.

Caught a 40% off deal w/free shipping from Sierra Trading Post to get the last couple gear items I needed for our "free" trip to Peru in May. About $200 cheaper than if I'd picked the same items up at REI.

Used leftover primer and paint to paint the scruffy old horse jumps I bought off Craigslist a couple weeks ago. They'll look quite sharp when I'm done.

Went on a trail ride with my riding instructor on my more difficult horse = free horse training!

Covered the newly planted veggies with bird netting to keep them protected.

MsPeacock · « **Reply #2739 on:** March 09, 2015, 07:33:15 AM »

Caught up my expense spreadsheet for Feb - my second month ever tracking what I spend. Started my March sheet and got it caught up. Working on getting Sprint terminated and things started with Ting (should be easier than it is proving so far).

Finally starting to feel like I at least have a handle on where my money is going. Working on the spending (doing really well is many categories and still learning in others).

Fixed the broken screen on my I-phone by myself w/ a kit from online.

pancakes · « **Reply #2740 on:** March 09, 2015, 07:40:33 AM »

I brought my own lunch to work and packed my lunch for tomorrow. 9 consecutive work days of bringing my own lunch to work!

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #2741 on:** March 09, 2015, 09:07:51 AM »

Normally I do NOT change my breakfast. Ever. I eat the same thing, every day, and have for like... 4 years basically. But a couple times in the past few weeks, I've sucked it up and ate something different to use up leftovers.

I know this sounds really pathetic, but it was a really big deal to me.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2742 on:** March 09, 2015, 09:47:04 AM »

We changed from a contract phone plan to a prepaid plan. It isn't super thrifty, but it saves us $5 a month compared to the old plan, and now instead of a small number of minutes and text we have unlimited, and instead of a shared 250 mb data we each have 1 GB.

Husband also found out that he doesn't have to get a new phone (he thought his might not work), and even though he hates his phone (which is what prompted looking for new plans, we were just going to do new contracts where he gets a new phone) he decided he hates spending $100 more, and will keep it until it dies.

Travis · « **Reply #2743 on:** March 09, 2015, 10:31:43 AM »

Delivered a car trunk-full of clothes to Goodwill and books to the library in preparation for our move this summer. I made $150 in two weeks from Craigslist.

thef0x · « **Reply #2744 on:** March 09, 2015, 11:23:42 AM »

Sold records for $30 and cleared up a lot of space. Have more storage bins than stuff to store!

Going to spend $0 on food today -- going to take advantage of my dad and his finance enjoying having me over for dinner :) and leftovers!

Gonna hit the gym later today for some squats! Should cost me ~$2USD. Hilarious that people don't spend money on a gym and think that just walking is going to make them resilient! I'm going to be throwing ~315LBs on my back and squatting that past parallel! That'll make you resilient :)

Drinking water + tea today = free!

And it's gorgeous out today!! :)

Woo!!
-j

lunahsol · « **Reply #2745 on:** March 09, 2015, 12:44:15 PM »

* homemade leftover pasta for lunch today
* am required to "dress up" for an event tomorrow night - and do not really have the right clothes - but will just make do with black pants, ballet flats and a nice-ish shirt. I am NOT going to spend money on clothes for one night.

laka · « **Reply #2746 on:** March 09, 2015, 01:56:45 PM »

This is for the whole weekend:

- made a large batch of black beans to freeze
- made yogurt
- made granola bars
- made chicken stock from leftover chicken carcass
- stocked up on sale items we needed/will use at the grocery store
- added to my spreadsheet of bulk prices (I write prices each time I'm in a different store, finding the best price for each item)
- got an extra week out done for meal planning (otherwise I fall back on the same recipes, get bored, don't want to stick to the plan)

Heavy on the cooking this weekend. Makes my week go so much better when food is planned out and available.

2ndTimer · « **Reply #2747 on:** March 09, 2015, 02:14:04 PM »

Currently drinking coffee made by adding one scoop of fresh beans to the grounds in the Mr. Coffee.

GardenFun · « **Reply #2748 on:** March 09, 2015, 06:11:43 PM »

Fought off the urge to get Subway on the way home from the part-time gig due to minimal leftovers at home. Drank water instead and made chicken curry. Curry was awesome - and so was saving $5.

DrSweden · « **Reply #2749 on:** March 10, 2015, 08:38:08 AM »

I sew together a hole in my pants. Took about five minutes, as good as new. Well not maybe new but at least without holes. Riding the train (first class with included water, coffee fruit. Paid for by work). Brown bagged my lunch and brought in the train. The downside is that I bought a 4$ coffee since a was at a cafe with a colleague for an hour waiting between trains. I will also have to eat out three nights in a row. Work pays but anyway, I would rather save that money.

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Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8358036 times)