What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Joggernot]

This is more for my son than me, but tonight I attended an information night and starting laying the plans for him to participate in our state's program that allows high school students to take college classes and get both HS and college credit and the state pays for it 100%.  I suppose no money savings yet, but step 1 of a long walk has been taken.

This is good.  My youngest grandson was in this type of program and is graduating HS with a 2-year degree that cuts 2 years off his college degree in a state college.  Saves two years of college costs.  Yea!

[Rosy]

^^^ awesome savings on the kids college funds ^^^

Made a salad entirely with fresh, organic, produce from my garden - 3 kinds of lettuce, borage, lemon balm, parsley, basil and tomatoes. Delish:)

[Kitsune]

Had 2 hours of time to use with my toddler in the city, and it was too cold and icy to play outside... So I took her to the farmers market and spent 5$ on things she felt like nibbling while exploring (cherry tomatoes, a small Apple, pitted olives, a slice of cheese, an empenada...)

She had a great time exploring the place and was super excited to get to taste everything she wanted, and I was super happy to be able to ask "how much for a small handful of cherry tomatoes for the toddler" and spend 50 cents. Overall, a cheap way to spend 2 hours in the city in winter.

[HappierAtHome]

Desperately wanted a "fun" lunch in between medical appointments today. Resisted picking anything up and am instead making pizza with homegrown basil and capsicum.

[FerrumB5]

Ordered checks online from Vistaprint, with a coupon, instead of from my bank. And I resisted spending a dollar on a customized icon or monogram, because who cares? Not sure how much I saved, but the last time I checked they were laughably expensive from the bank. I was tempted to upgrade to the $8.99 for 150 checks package, but then I realized that at the rate I used the last book, 150 would be a ten-year-supply and I will almost certainly move or change banks or something before I used them up.

Not exactly something *I* did, but my parents came to visit yesterday and my mom had asked if she could pick me up something at the grocery store since she was going anyway and she knows it's hard for me lately (hurts when I walk, so grocery shopping is no fun). I felt bad asking her for any favors since she was in the hospital earlier this week (the Slice family is in rough shape these days!), but she asked multiple times and it was clear she would really like to bring me something, so I told her a few small things I needed (soap, bread, pasta). She decided that in addition to that, since I've been looking for things to try in my new Instant Pot, she would just bring me everything I needed to make a really nice beef stew. And some nice Lake Champlain chocolates, just because. So that's pretty much all my dinners and desserts sorted out for the week :-)  If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll make a baked ziti while the stew is simmering (which was my planned "big bake-ahead dinner for the week" thing) and use that for lunches...

Can I order my Chase bank checking account checks via VistaPrint? Bank offers 100 checks for $22, VistaPrint offers 150 for $13. If answer - yes, could you walk me thru the details, pls?

[Dollar Slice]

Can I order my Chase bank checking account checks via VistaPrint? Bank offers 100 checks for $22, VistaPrint offers 150 for $13. If answer - yes, could you walk me thru the details, pls?

Yes, the ones I ordered are for Chase bank, actually :-)

Go here: http://www.vistaprint.com/checks.aspx and select "personal wallet checks." Then you have to pick a design (it costs an extra dollar if you pick something with an "accent image," which is the little clip-art thing in the corner of some of them; but you can remove the image). Give them your name, address, name of your bank, etc. Then you have to give your routing number and account number (which are on your old checks, if you have some, or you can find it online). Triple check all this to make sure it's correct or your checks won't work!

You can get a coupon code to make it even cheaper, e.g. "BIGDEAL" will get it down to $8.99 for 150 checks right now, or $2.99 for 25 checks.

That's about all you need to know. If you have any trouble with it feel free to PM me.

[Inaya]

It's always surprising to me that people still use checks (and have to buy in increments of 100+). My bank(s) will just send a check to anyone (e.g. landlord) on my behalf. But what's even more amazing is that banks still charge for them. How are free checks not the norm? (Protip: Sign up for Vistaprint's e-newsletter. They have lots of deals. I used them exclusively for wedding stuff (invites, thanks you card, etc.), and saved a lot of money through newsletter deals.)

And so not to derail, made a big pot of soup on Sunday so I don't buy at work all week. Also finally brought my box of 100 teabags in so I don't pay $1 per at the snackbar. Will be making homemade pizza tonight for pennies instead of spending $25 on delivery.

[FerrumB5]

Can I order my Chase bank checking account checks via VistaPrint? Bank offers 100 checks for $22, VistaPrint offers 150 for $13. If answer - yes, could you walk me thru the details, pls?

Yes, the ones I ordered are for Chase bank, actually :-)

Go here: http://www.vistaprint.com/checks.aspx and select "personal wallet checks." Then you have to pick a design (it costs an extra dollar if you pick something with an "accent image," which is the little clip-art thing in the corner of some of them; but you can remove the image). Give them your name, address, name of your bank, etc. Then you have to give your routing number and account number (which are on your old checks, if you have some, or you can find it online). Triple check all this to make sure it's correct or your checks won't work!

You can get a coupon code to make it even cheaper, e.g. "BIGDEAL" will get it down to $8.99 for 150 checks right now, or $2.99 for 25 checks.

That's about all you need to know. If you have any trouble with it feel free to PM me.

Thanks!! (Just checking - do they really work just as a regular Chase ordered ones? No bouncing?)

[RamonaQ]

I sold several gift cards with tiny amounts left on them that I would never use.  Made $8.

I cut open my bottle of lotion to get 2-3 more uses out of it.

[serpentstooth]

Can I order my Chase bank checking account checks via VistaPrint? Bank offers 100 checks for $22, VistaPrint offers 150 for $13. If answer - yes, could you walk me thru the details, pls?

Yes, the ones I ordered are for Chase bank, actually :-)

Go here: http://www.vistaprint.com/checks.aspx and select "personal wallet checks." Then you have to pick a design (it costs an extra dollar if you pick something with an "accent image," which is the little clip-art thing in the corner of some of them; but you can remove the image). Give them your name, address, name of your bank, etc. Then you have to give your routing number and account number (which are on your old checks, if you have some, or you can find it online). Triple check all this to make sure it's correct or your checks won't work!

You can get a coupon code to make it even cheaper, e.g. "BIGDEAL" will get it down to $8.99 for 150 checks right now, or $2.99 for 25 checks.

That's about all you need to know. If you have any trouble with it feel free to PM me.

Thanks!! (Just checking - do they really work just as a regular Chase ordered ones? No bouncing?)

I ordered checks from some online check printing service and I've never had a problem. If the routing and account numbers are correct, it should be fine.

[Dollar Slice]

Thanks!! (Just checking - do they really work just as a regular Chase ordered ones? No bouncing?)

Yep. I've used them before, never had any problems with my checks :-)  There are tons of places you can order checks online, this is not an unusual thing to do.

[cerat0n1a]

But what's even more amazing is that banks still charge for them. How are free checks not the norm?

Amazing to me - what other bank things do you have to pay for in the US? The only fees or costs I pay on my bank accounts are commission on foreign currency transactions. Do they charge you for other stuff as well as checks?

They've almost disappeared here - most people use internet banking to pay bills, move money to others' accounts etc. I used one today to pay a big lump sum into my pension. Not sure it counts as a small saving. For each £1000 I pay into it (up to a certain amount), the pension gets credited with £1250 (but I can't touch the money until age 55) and I get £400 back at the end of the tax year (a situation the government is likely to change soon.)

[Dollar Slice]

Amazing to me - what other bank things do you have to pay for in the US? The only fees or costs I pay on my bank accounts are commission on foreign currency transactions. Do they charge you for other stuff as well as checks?

A lot of checking accounts do have free checks, but at Chase you have to have either $15k in a Chase account or you have to hold a mortgage with them to qualify. I don't do either of those things, so I use the most basic checking account and I have to pay for checks. They do have free bill pay so I could in theory have them send the check. But my landlord lives across the hall from me, so it seems easier, friendlier, and more reliable to just give him a check rather than use online bill pay services to send him a check in the mail. Cost to me to use checks is measured in cents per month. I'm OK with that.

[cerat0n1a]

But my landlord lives across the hall from me, so it seems easier, friendlier, and more reliable to just give him a check rather than use online bill pay services to send him a check in the mail.

Now I'm more confused :-) You go online to make a payment and the result is that the bank sends a check in the mail? Does the landlord then have to take the check to his or her own bank? Don't they just move the money from your account into the landlord's bank account?

[Inaya]

But my landlord lives across the hall from me, so it seems easier, friendlier, and more reliable to just give him a check rather than use online bill pay services to send him a check in the mail.

Now I'm more confused :-) You go online to make a payment and the result is that the bank sends a check in the mail? Does the landlord then have to take the check to his or her own bank? Don't they just move the money from your account into the landlord's bank account?

At my bank the ACH transfer (my bank account to another person's) has a fee, but the "send a check" option does not. ACH and wire transfers are actually among the very few things my bank actually has fees for. I think traditional banks (BofA, Chase, etc.) are more prone to fees than online banks (Ally, Discover, etc.).

Once P2P (peer to peer) payments catch on a bit more, you could potentially get rid of check aspect entirely.

[Dollar Slice]

But my landlord lives across the hall from me, so it seems easier, friendlier, and more reliable to just give him a check rather than use online bill pay services to send him a check in the mail.

Now I'm more confused :-) You go online to make a payment and the result is that the bank sends a check in the mail? Does the landlord then have to take the check to his or her own bank? Don't they just move the money from your account into the landlord's bank account?

The bank's bill pay service has agreements with lots of companies that send monthly bills to customers (electric & gas, cable, etc.) so you can use the service to pay them electronically. If you use it to pay some random person, they would mail a check to the person since they don't have a prior agreement set up for electronic transfers. If you wanted to do an electronic transfer to another individual, you would have to use a different service (at least some of which cost money).

I've honestly not spent any time looking into electronic transfers since every landlord I've ever had has wanted to be paid by check. I'm not about to demand his checking account number and bank info so that I can automate something that takes me about 30 seconds a month. Who cares?  :-)

[MandalayVA]

I literally can't remember the last time I wrote a check.  I have them for my current account but every entity with which I do business does online bill pay.  I guess you never know when a situation will arise.

As to my money saving, I have a Tuesday night group meeting on the other side of Richmond that cuts into dinner hour, which in the past meant I'd grab fast food out there.  Now I make sure I have something at home that I can heat up quickly.  Cheaper and better for me!

[FerrumB5]

One of my previous landlords allowed electronic payments, which gave me $120 in credit card points over a year. Not everyone does that, unfortunately.

[PMG]

I send checks through my bank but wished I had some when I had to put a deposit on my new apartment.  Used a money order instead but that was a pain and risk as I had no way to stop payment if I needed to.

I pay my tuition by having the bank send a check to the school and avoid the schools 3.5% fee for online payments.  Those fees are ridiculous. Sure they pay for the service but I'm guessing it costs more to have staff process my check! 

If only I could put all that tuition on a credit card to earn points, so I save money by sending checks.

[lunahsol]

The usual free work coffee and homemade lunch routine.

Also, having some fun delving into making credit cards work for me instead of the other way around.  I'm starting small, but think I have it worked out to a credit of $200 if I play this right.  That said, I am going to need a spreadsheet so I do not lose track!

[JLee]

Amazing to me - what other bank things do you have to pay for in the US? The only fees or costs I pay on my bank accounts are commission on foreign currency transactions. Do they charge you for other stuff as well as checks?

A lot of checking accounts do have free checks, but at Chase you have to have either $15k in a Chase account or you have to hold a mortgage with them to qualify. I don't do either of those things, so I use the most basic checking account and I have to pay for checks. They do have free bill pay so I could in theory have them send the check. But my landlord lives across the hall from me, so it seems easier, friendlier, and more reliable to just give him a check rather than use online bill pay services to send him a check in the mail. Cost to me to use checks is measured in cents per month. I'm OK with that.

I send my landlord a check. He lives downstairs. :P

He's rarely home, though, and I like being able to just schedule a repeating payment and forget about it.

[cerat0n1a]

If you wanted to do an electronic transfer to another individual, you would have to use a different service (at least some of which cost money).

I've honestly not spent any time looking into electronic transfers since every landlord I've ever had has wanted to be paid by check.

Interesting. Long time since I've rented here, but I would expect nearly all landlords to only accept money going directly into their account - having to collect checks from tenants and take them to a bank seems like work. Electronic transfer to someone else's account is easy, instant & doesn't cost anything.

[Rural]

If you wanted to do an electronic transfer to another individual, you would have to use a different service (at least some of which cost money).

I've honestly not spent any time looking into electronic transfers since every landlord I've ever had has wanted to be paid by check.

Interesting. Long time since I've rented here, but I would expect nearly all landlords to only accept money going directly into their account - having to collect checks from tenants and take them to a bank seems like work. Electronic transfer to someone else's account is easy, instant & doesn't cost anything.

Would cost me $20. Transfer to accounts generally isn't free in the US. Also there's no way to do it online, at least for me; I'd have to physically go into a bank to set it up.

[serpentstooth]

If you wanted to do an electronic transfer to another individual, you would have to use a different service (at least some of which cost money).

I've honestly not spent any time looking into electronic transfers since every landlord I've ever had has wanted to be paid by check.

Interesting. Long time since I've rented here, but I would expect nearly all landlords to only accept money going directly into their account - having to collect checks from tenants and take them to a bank seems like work. Electronic transfer to someone else's account is easy, instant & doesn't cost anything.

Would cost me $20. Transfer to accounts generally isn't free in the US. Also there's no way to do it online, at least for me; I'd have to physically go into a bank to set it up.

I've had it for free from both Chase and ING Direct, but it's certainly not widely used. I understand that in other parts of the world you might reimburse a friend for half the lunch tab via an electronic transfer, but that's not a thing here. Everyone pays my husband for freelance by cash or check or, rarely, Venmo or Paypal.

[4alpacas]

Packed breakfast and lunch for work. 
Forced myself to eat my packed lunch (really craving sushi)
Cooked breakfast for dinner because there were a few chicken sausages that were close to going bad.

[Gevans17]

canceled Sirius radio

[Bracken_Joy]

Had a friend over for tea, rather than going out somewhere.

[jennymouse]

I peeled and chopped whole carrots for lunch snacks instead of buying expensive bags of baby carrots. 

[NinetyFour]

I peeled and chopped whole carrots for lunch snacks instead of buying expensive bags of baby carrots. 

Why do you peel them?

I just give them a wash and then cut them up.  I haven't peeled carrots in years.

[Orvell]

A friend is giving me a lift to the airport so I don't have to use a taxi (I will repay in baked goods down the line); My upstairs neighbor is cat sitting for me; I'm packing oranges and nuts and an empty waterbottle so I don't have to buy airport food; When I get to my destination, I'm taking public transportation ($3.75) downtown to avoid the $25 communal taxi van into the city.

:D

[jennymouse]

I peeled and chopped whole carrots for lunch snacks instead of buying expensive bags of baby carrots. 

Why do you peel them?

I just give them a wash and then cut them up.  I haven't peeled carrots in years.

I peel them because that's how I like to eat them.

[Larabeth]

Cooking Minestrone Soup for dinner.

Also, just set up my raised garden using bricks my MiL was about to throw out.  Plus, since I did this instead of buying/making a raised garden, I don't need as much dirt.

[plainjane]

Yesterday I repacked my lunch container with some leftover pasta & chicken that I found in the lunchroom.  Today I brought in a small container of cauliflower to stretch the pasta to cover both today and Friday.

[Inaya]

I'm not sure if this counts. I realized I forgot to make my steel cut oats last night. Decided that instead of spending $.96 on hot cereal at work I'd "save" by taking a yogurt I already had on hand. Said yogurt was $1 when I bought it. So I technically saved by eating something I hand rather than buying something new. Yet the item in question actually cost more. I mean its 4 cents and not breaking the bank, but it makes an interesting thought experiment.

[Bracken_Joy]

At the recommendation of someone on the forums, I signed up for a service called Paribus. It watches your email for receipts, then tracks the price of what you've bought. For stores that honor price adjustment within a certain period, it follows up on that. DH bought a computer and the price just dropped.

So we got $100. (Okay, $80, because they keep 20%, but that's $80 more than we would have gotten!)

If anyone wants to join, you are welcome to use my referral link: https://paribus.co/i/jaD5Rd

[4alpacas]

I'm not sure if this counts. I realized I forgot to make my steel cut oats last night. Decided that instead of spending $.96 on hot cereal at work I'd "save" by taking a yogurt I already had on hand. Said yogurt was $1 when I bought it. So I technically saved by eating something I hand rather than buying something new. Yet the item in question actually cost more. I mean its 4 cents and not breaking the bank, but it makes an interesting thought experiment.

Consider the money spent on the yogurt a sunk cost.  Plus, I have a bad habit of letting food go bad, so I think eating anything I already have (instead of buying something new) is a win. 

I'm also eating stuff that I had on hand--yogurt a few days past expiration, a banana almost to smoothie level, shredded coconut I bought for something else, and peanut butter. I made tea with gifted tea leaves.  My lunch will be an uneventful can of tuna.  We REALLY need to go grocery shopping!

[OmahaSteph]

canceled Sirius radio

Ohhh, I feel that pain. Mine ran out and I didn't renew. I'd rather have satellite radio than TV, but I couldn't rationalize the cost. Free apps, Amazon Music and Bluetooth FTW!

[frooglepoodle]

At the recommendation of someone on the forums, I signed up for a service called Paribus. It watches your email for receipts, then tracks the price of what you've bought. For stores that honor price adjustment within a certain period, it follows up on that. DH bought a computer and the price just dropped.

So we got $100. (Okay, $80, because they keep 20%, but that's $80 more than we would have gotten!)

If anyone wants to join, you are welcome to use my referral link: https://paribus.co/i/jaD5Rd

I hadn't heard about this, thank you for sharing!

[LindseyC]

I worked on saving my parents some money today.

My parents have 6 portable phones (yes sounds ridiculous but they are not fast moving so they have a phone in every room. The concept of "portable" is lost on them despite my best efforts) All of the batteries are dead/dying and they only told me when the last phone has now started beeping about 2 minutes into using it. I have never had a landline so I had no idea how much a battery cost for a phone. Cheapest one, $20!!

I did a little online sleuthing and found 6 batteries for a grand total of $18, shipped to their door.

They then mentioned their toner was empty, so more searching, $23 to their door, versus the $67 my mom was about to spend at the local Staples. Echhh! I have them trained to always call me first before any purchases relating to anything with buttons. :) Good thing!

While I was talking to my mom I also logged into her Bell account and switched some items so that they are saving an additional $25 a month on their cable/internet/phone. I wish I could get them to cut the cable, it's outrageous but so far no luck!

I felt pretty good, saved them about $212 this month and $25 a month moving forward.

[ohsnap]

canceled Sirius radio

Ohhh, I feel that pain. Mine ran out and I didn't renew. I'd rather have satellite radio than TV, but I couldn't rationalize the cost. Free apps, Amazon Music and Bluetooth FTW!

The only problem with this approach is that when you're driving through Utah and other vast stretches of empty America, streaming doesn't work!  We found this out on a long road trip AFTER we'd canceled our Sirius. :)  Next time we'll be sure to download enough music/podcasts etc before hitting the wilderness.

[TheAnonOne]

canceled Sirius radio

Ohhh, I feel that pain. Mine ran out and I didn't renew. I'd rather have satellite radio than TV, but I couldn't rationalize the cost. Free apps, Amazon Music and Bluetooth FTW!

The only problem with this approach is that when you're driving through Utah and other vast stretches of empty America, streaming doesn't work!  We found this out on a long road trip AFTER we'd canceled our Sirius. :)  Next time we'll be sure to download enough music/podcasts etc before hitting the wilderness.

Yea, you find out quickly just how good cell coverage is once you start driving in any one direction for long enough.... You'll notice the cell companies use terms like "96% of the population is covered!". Well, cover the cities and some smaller towns and you got that... all the roads connecting them? Na

[Kwill]

I worked on saving my parents some money today. . . .

I felt pretty good, saved them about $212 this month and $25 a month moving forward.

Good job!

I returned a library book and tape set during my lunch break while on another errand, which will help me avoid any fees from forgetting about it.

[ohsnap]

Yea, you find out quickly just how good cell coverage is once you start driving in any one direction for long enough.... You'll notice the cell companies use terms like "96% of the population is covered!". Well, cover the cities and some smaller towns and you got that... all the roads connecting them? Na

Yep, 96% of population does NOT equal 96% of freeway!

[ohsnap]

I just had a nice little errand run.  This morning I found a grocery store gift card in my desk that I'd forgotten about - found money, yay!  I also remembered to bring my re-usable bags.  No big deal if I forget, but they are worth 5 cents each.  Before I hit the grocery store I stopped at the library to pick up a hold.  It was on a book that I had been tempted to download to my kindle last week for $11, but decided it was worth waiting for a library hold since I was #1 on the list.  (heck, a lot of the time I'm #19 on the list and it's usually still worth waiting!)

So, 7 miles put on the car, but I saved $14.62 with the found gift card, $.10 with the grocery sacks, and $11 on the book.  Feeling pretty good about my morning!

[JLee]

I got another vendor-paid lunch today. :D

[Basenji]

Let another of my magazine subscriptions go with the last issue. One by one over the past few years they've been retired. One mag calls every year, calls me, and begs us to come back, offering lower and lower rates. This now pisses me off and ensures I won't reup because it means that I was ripped off in the past.

[Elliot]

Not me, but rather, my spouse has finally seen the light on safety razors versus cartridge razors!

[11ducks]

While sorting through passport paperwork, I found $80 I had put away a year ago for an upcoming bill, and lost. Win! I'm using it as motivation to only spend that much this week, and try and leave my bank account balance untouched - it'll be tough but doable!

[jengod]

Let another of my magazine subscriptions go with the last issue. One by one over the past few years they've been retired. One mag calls every year, calls me, and begs us to come back, offering lower and lower rates. This now pisses me off and ensures I won't reup because it means that I was ripped off in the past.

Check to see if your local library offers an online service called Zinio. Free online magazines, including The New Yorker and similar.

[OmahaSteph]

Checked on pricing for kids' care over summer break and discovered that tomorrow is the open house and if you register then, they'll waive the registration fee for both kids ($25 EACH), so there's $50 saved. I wonder if I can use funds from my Dependent Care FSA to cover the deposit. I bet I can...