Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8356949 times)

Kwill · « **Reply #9450 on:** August 27, 2017, 02:32:57 AM »

Yesterday I had an experience that made me feel better about not having a car. I sold my car 19 months ago when moving to the UK, and I've stayed pretty local for most activities except for major trips, work-related things, or when friends with cars invited me. I don't have a UK driving license yet, so I can't rent a car. Anyway, yesterday, I went to a vintage music and dance festival in an airfield outside a village outside a city that is about an hour away. I had bought a day ticket (£47) back in December, thinking I could get a ride with someone, but then that didn't work out. I thought I'd have to give up on going because people told me you really needed a car. Overhearing something about a bus, I checked the event website and found the directions. I took a bus to the closest city and then took a taxi to the event. On the way back, I split a taxi with some other people to get to the bus station. Total transportation cost: £25.20. I also packed snacks and water, so my total spent on food there was lower than it could have been (though higher than it would have been if I'd packed a proper picnic): £6.90 for a sausage, a coffee, and a cup of squash (like KoolAid but more fruity). I enjoyed looking at all the pretty things for sale but didn't buy anything, instead spending the time in dance lessons, concerts, and dancing, which were all included. Instead of eating dinner at the event, I picked up a microwavable meal at a convenience store (£3.50) on the way home and had a quick dinner at home around 9:30 pm. Total cost for the day's entertainment: £82.60.

Rough estimate of what I've spent on my bike over the past 18 months, including purchasing (used) bike and accessories plus wimpy reliance on bike shops for repairs: £239
Low estimate of annual costs to have and use a car in the UK: £1,556
https://www.elephant.co.uk/pressReleases/5/How-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-car-for----------------a-year

It's like I got the whole day for free plus several other days worth of using taxis or trains as a prize for not owning a car. And today I'll bike into town again. It's nice to also feel less dependent on other people for getting around.

kjulez_83 · « **Reply #9451 on:** August 27, 2017, 05:05:47 AM »

I haven't done it yet, but planning to on Tuesday morning (I'm organised!): Arriving at the airport at 5am for our flight and going to take our own muesli, yogurt & blueberries instead of paying $40 for some very average ham and cheese toasties! Plus our own on board snacks & water (obviously)

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Imma · « **Reply #9452 on:** August 27, 2017, 07:58:37 AM »

I went to buy a small tool today that I really need and can't borrow or buy secondhand anywhere. This store takes coupons from all other stores so before I go I always do a quick search and found a coupon that gave me 20% off. I paid €10,40 instead of €13,00 so I saved €2,60. We live close to the other store too, so I could have bought the tool there, but I prefer to go to this particular store because they're part of a loyalty scheme. I use the points for grocery store discounts.

Rural · « **Reply #9453 on:** August 27, 2017, 05:52:23 PM »

We tuned up a very old Huffy hybrid bike we got for free for him to ride to grad school from the AirBNB where he's staying. It's decidedly unfancy and unpretty, but hopefully this means it won't be a theft target.

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #9454 on:** August 27, 2017, 06:03:29 PM »

Our doorbell stopped working. Husband did the trouble shooting and fixed it. (Although to be honest, I don't even know WHO you would call for something like a doorbell not working if you couldn't fix it yourself!)

Leftovers for lunch.

engineermom21 · « **Reply #9455 on:** August 28, 2017, 01:15:31 PM »

Didn't have any typical breakfast foods on hand for this morning, but instead of stopping somewhere on the way in, I defrosted some flatout breads I had gotten free after coupon, opened a can of black beans, and combined the two with some cheddar cheese and hot sauce to make a taco-inspired breakfast sandwich. Tasty and super cheap!

Brought leftovers for lunch, trying to eat up the rest of the meals from the end of last week.

Scored a few books at the thrift store for my daughter's birthday. They were buy 1 get 2 free, so I ended up with 6 books for $1 - most of them look like they were never even read, not that she will care one way or the other.

Signed up for some free coffee samples online. I use the free samples I get in the mail as stocking stuffers at Christmas.

Kwill · « **Reply #9456 on:** August 28, 2017, 02:54:36 PM »

Yesterday: biked on a new trail and came across a basket of runner beans with a sign, "Spare produce looking for a good home. HELP YOURSELF." I took some beans and had them a couple hours later. The basket is mounted on the fence of a community garden, so I might want to visit again.

Today: Today was a day off. I biked to Aldi to do my shopping instead of going to the supermarket that's more convenient to work. I picked up a grater and a bestseller from the free / abandoned goods corner of the laundry room. Later, someone in my apartment complex posted to our Facebook group that he had accidentally bought a bag of frozen curly fries and did anyone want them, and I was the first to respond. :-) For dinner I made enough to have leftovers later in the week.

frooglepoodle · « **Reply #9457 on:** August 28, 2017, 08:01:12 PM »

Raided my parents' donation pile, which yielded a sweater for unraveling into yarn, and a pair of jeans for the denim quilt I'm collecting material for. Free craft supplies are the best ones.

Imma · « **Reply #9458 on:** August 29, 2017, 03:07:15 AM »

Quote from: frooglepoodle on August 28, 2017, 08:01:12 PM

Raided my parents' donation pile, which yielded a sweater for unraveling into yarn, and a pair of jeans for the denim quilt I'm collecting material for. Free craft supplies are the best ones.

And jeans quilts are the best repurposed quilts, imho!

I'm saving up worn out pairs for a second jeans quilt right now.

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #9459 on:** August 29, 2017, 09:01:22 AM »

Costco had some nice looking men's jeans (Urban Star?) for $15/pair. On a whim, and appreciating Costco's amazing return policy, I grabbed a few pairs of that and other brands, all of which miraculously had DH's size. And the $15/pair jeans FIT. Which is amazing, since normally my deadlift-and-squat-loving-DH can only fit the $75+ "athletic cut" jeans, and I'm excited to get them for $50/pair. Needless to say, I returned the other styles and I bought 5 pairs of the ones that work ;) I'm stockpiling the extras, for when he inevitably destroys them =P (Although I'm hoping the kevlar-like denim we bought him for work will help slow the demise of these day to day jeans!)

Juslookin · « **Reply #9460 on:** August 29, 2017, 10:46:04 AM »

I have taken meal planning and prep to a whole new level lately. Thawing, prepping, eating up the leftovers, freezing individual portions of meals. Saved a ton on grocery bills for the last few weeks. Today I made a pot of chicken meatballs that are dinner for tonight and tomorrow because the whole family runs in different directions these days.

marielle · « **Reply #9461 on:** August 29, 2017, 11:00:54 AM »

I almost bought a cabin air filter for my car. I remembered some people mentioned specific years not having a cabin air filter, so I took apart my glovebox to check first. And yep, no cabin air filter.

Though it is possible to cut out the area and fit one in, but probably not worth it.

Dollar Slice · « **Reply #9462 on:** August 29, 2017, 06:15:23 PM »

Doing laundry tonight, I had one more load than I usually do because I was washing a comforter for the spare bedroom (aka the inflatable mattress on the floor in the livingroom). I had three loads and there are three machines in the building laundromat. Perfect. I loaded them all up and when I got to putting quarters in the second one, I realized it was jammed. Someone else had put quarters in, jammed it, and left it without reporting it. Boo :-( I tried and tried to unjam it and the super heard the rattling coming from the laundry room, came by and fixed it for me. Then I got a free load of laundry because the other person had left all their quarters in there. Woo, $1.50!

I would feel guilty for taking someone else's money, but they were a jackass for leaving it broken without a note or reporting it to the super, so, karma.

chasingthegoodlife · « **Reply #9463 on:** August 29, 2017, 11:07:04 PM »

Downloaded the book for my new book club from the library site rather than purchasing.

Found a food mill at the op shop after having my eye out for a while - $2!

MrsTuxedocat · « **Reply #9464 on:** August 30, 2017, 01:05:39 AM »

- I am carpooling 3x this week, which is almost a record for me. It's usually only 1-2 times per week with my co-worker car pool buddy.
- I returned three library books today.
- I am making my own wine for christmas presents and myself

Imma · « **Reply #9465 on:** August 30, 2017, 01:34:29 AM »

It's my day off and the weather is terrible. I'd planned to go for a haircut, but I'm staying in today. And as I'm not riding past the grocery store, I'm just going to have to eat whatever I have in the pantry. So I'm going to have a much nicer day and save about €50. Win-win!

Inaya · « **Reply #9466 on:** August 30, 2017, 07:19:15 AM »

After Saturday's trip to the farmers market, I decided I wouldn't spend any money for the rest of August. I didn't count on running out of a bunch of staples at once. Like the milk I need for my oatmeal (water+oatmeal=no thanks). So breakfast this morning is half a bag of cheese curds and a handful of cherry tomatoes, both from the market.

4alpacas · « **Reply #9467 on:** August 30, 2017, 09:26:20 AM »

Cancelled my gym membership
Joined a weekday running group
Packed my lunch
Made breakfast smoothie from fruit I froze a few weeks ago (a large amount was gifted by a friend)
Picked up a few free food items from the sharing table at work

EconDiva · « **Reply #9468 on:** August 31, 2017, 03:01:22 PM »

This was actually the other day...

I made a BIG pot of soup. Cabbage and turkey kielbasa sausage soup.

My food expenses are rather large for a single person and I'm slowly cooking more and more at home over the long term. Learning how to cook food that tastes how you like it takes time if you never focused on doing so before. But it saves SO much money.

So yeah, I got about 10 meals out of that pot! About half of it is in the freezer for next week. I'm pretty proud of myself...especially because I was having a random cabbage and sausage soup craving (lol) and had never even tasted such a type of soup before. Really glad to have another trusted recipe I can go to for bulk cooking.

Rural · « **Reply #9469 on:** August 31, 2017, 06:46:43 PM »

Went out even though I didn't want to and filled the tank before gas prices surge higher. Bought groceries while I was at it, so I shouldn't have to leave the mountain again until Tuesday.

mustachepungoeshere · « **Reply #9470 on:** September 01, 2017, 04:42:00 AM »

Received a $5 email voucher for a beauty chain so I popped in after work today.

Shampoo was 30 per cent off, so I grabbed a big bottle, marked down to $7.69.

With the $5 voucher it came down to $2.69, and I happened to have $2.69 in loyalty points.

The shop assistant gaped. I grinned. :D Free shampoo!

This is the second time I've made the most of their free vouchers without overspending (which is obviously the point of getting me back in the store).

Also did some online shopping as a favour for Marty and scored a refund which means his purchases will be half price.

katekat · « **Reply #9471 on:** September 01, 2017, 06:58:54 AM »

Everyone else in my office ordered burritos which sounded really good but I managed to stick to my guns and eat my brought-from-home pasta salad instead. Even though they often get food it's not usually that appealing, but the burritos were really tempting so I'm proud of my willpower.

frooglepoodle · « **Reply #9472 on:** September 01, 2017, 06:37:35 PM »

Had couple of planned purchases to make from Amazon and took advantage of an offer to get $10 credit for reloading $100 onto a gift card, plus 5% back in points on the Amazon credit card.

dreams_and_discoveries · « **Reply #9473 on:** September 02, 2017, 04:32:23 AM »

Can I chime in with garden bounty tales as well?

I love this time of year, I've got pears, apples, plum (singular), berries,courgettes, accidental marrow, tomatoes, cucamelons (very strange, but they have grown a treat), kale, lettuce and beans all being harvested now. And eggs from the chickens. Good times.

And I feel even more chuffed, that these are old seeds I'm using up, and I've learned to actually plant the right proportions, to minimize wastage and gluts...

MiniMoustache · « **Reply #9474 on:** September 02, 2017, 05:39:02 AM »

Quote from: dreams_and_discoveries on September 02, 2017, 04:32:23 AM

Can I chime in with garden bounty tales as well?

I love this time of year, I've got pears, apples, plum (singular), berries,courgettes, accidental marrow, tomatoes, cucamelons (very strange, but they have grown a treat), kale, lettuce and beans all being harvested now. And eggs from the chickens. Good times.

And I feel even more chuffed, that these are old seeds I'm using up, and I've learned to actually plant the right proportions, to minimize wastage and gluts...

What are cucamelons? Are they sweet?

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #9475 on:** September 02, 2017, 08:40:07 AM »

As usual, my savings tent to revolve around food =)

-Picking up our 1/4 cow from a local farmer today or tomorrow.
-Going to can red salsa this weekend, after canning so much salsa verde =) (Hope this works out, I still haven't found the perfect looking canning recipe for this. Sigh)
-As usual, refilled spice containers from bulk containers. It costs waaaay less to do it this way. Today, it was turmeric. I'll also make a big jar of taco seasoning from the bulk spices in the next couple days.
-Giving a new costco coffee a try. They took away the Yukon blend we were buying (waa) and now there are two medium roasts- one slightly less expensive than the yukon was, one slightly more. We're trying the less expensive one first.
-Bought Rx bars through subscribe and save. We only eat these on work days, but they're life savers when we do. $2.50/per a lot of places, $1.99 at trader joe's, $1.60 on amazon subscribe and save =)

Linea_Norway · « **Reply #9476 on:** September 02, 2017, 09:15:04 AM »

Picked a lot of edible mushrooms. Some are in the fridge, some are hested to loose water and then froozen. Others are in the food dryer. Now that I know so many edibles, there is a big amount of dried mushrooms piling up in my kitchen. I don't need to buy mushrooms for the foreseeable future.

I needed some new low hiking shoes. I often walk to work, 8km each way. In my sports shoes I always get a blister on the inside of my right heel. When I pinch it, next time I get a deeper blister and next time an even deeper. So today I combined a mushroom trip to visiting a shopping senter in the same area and bought a pair of low hiking shoes with goretex on sale for a very good price.

Imma · « **Reply #9477 on:** September 02, 2017, 12:29:13 PM »

I don't have a car so I always use public traffic. I never ask people for rides because I don't want to be a burden to other people because I voluntarily choose to be without a car. Plus sometimes I feel awkward sitting in a small space with the same person for a long time. I'm an introvert and sometimes I don't really know what to say anymore.

But today someone offered me a ride back and I accepted it. It's someone I'm really fond of and he would have to ride through my street anyway, plus I had some snacks in my bag that I could offer to share. It wasn't awkward at all and it saved me about €30.

mc6 · « **Reply #9478 on:** September 03, 2017, 02:51:37 AM »

I bought a large bottle of detergent vice buying from the laundry room vending machine at my hotel. I did not buy any extra toiletries other than a face soap. Happily got a free unwanted yoga mat from a friend.

marty998 · « **Reply #9479 on:** September 03, 2017, 03:54:28 AM »

Parked my car a 20 minute walk away from the start line of the half marathon I ran this morning, in order to avoid the $25 parking charge at the venue.

It took me 40 minutes to walk back after the race :( BUT I saved 25 bucks.

10dollarsatatime · « **Reply #9480 on:** September 03, 2017, 07:38:34 AM »

Yesterday I shaved and bathed to poodles. There are two of them and they are pretty big, so it took about 5 hours all in. Saved $160-$200 doing it myself though.

ETA: Forgot to mention that I also sharpened my clipper blades. Spent $2 on the whetstone, and shouldn't have to buy new blades for a very long time.

Imma · « **Reply #9481 on:** September 03, 2017, 09:57:35 AM »

I finally made the time to work through my mending basket.

It's all easy to do, but I hate sewing on buttons.

Tyson · « **Reply #9482 on:** September 03, 2017, 02:09:35 PM »

Went to the Denver Art Museum with my daughter, got in free because we'd been gifted a membership for Christmas last year. There was a special "The Western" showing that we got into for only $5 because we were members. Non-Member price was $15. So we had a nice afternoon and a good amount of culture for a grand total of $5. Nice.

gmdv · « **Reply #9483 on:** September 03, 2017, 02:19:12 PM »

Changed my car broken interior door handle and bezel. It was ridiculously easy and took about 10 minutes. Total cost was $12 for parts ordered online. The auto shop wanted to charge $45 just for the parts, labor not included.

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #9484 on:** September 03, 2017, 04:08:40 PM »

Replaced the toilet flapper. Admittedly, we bought the wrong one at first, but for a $2 loss, it wasn't a bad DIY =) And now that stupid toilet won't run and flush at night!

Saw N95 masks at the store while we were there, for cheaper than we were going to buy them on amazon. Fire smoke is really bad here right now, so we picked a couple up. And they were sold in 1s, so we won't have a ton of extras like if we had ordered online.

EmFrugal · « **Reply #9485 on:** September 03, 2017, 06:53:56 PM »

Got back in the habit of doing grocery shopping at whole sale store first followed by Trader Joes. Used coupons at wholesale store for items already on my list and saved an extra $11. Made a price comparison list to determine if whole sale store items are more economical and they are. On track to get our $280 per week grocery bill for a family of five who eats (a lot!) fresh whole foods down. Today rang in at $242. Progress!

mustachepungoeshere · « **Reply #9486 on:** September 03, 2017, 07:22:47 PM »

Quote from: EmFrugal on September 03, 2017, 06:53:56 PM

Got back in the habit of doing grocery shopping at whole sale store first followed by Trader Joes. Used coupons at wholesale store for items already on my list and saved an extra $11. Made a price comparison list to determine if whole sale store items are more economical and they are. On track to get our $280 per week grocery bill for a family of five who eats (a lot!) fresh whole foods down. Today rang in at $242. Progress!

Good work!

Imma · « **Reply #9487 on:** September 04, 2017, 06:16:54 AM »

We ran out of shampoo this morning. Normally we buy it in the grocery store whenever we go shopping, but while on my bike to work I passed a different store that had a buy one, get one free promotion on all shampoo so I bought 4 bottles and paid only 2 ( I always keep a small stash of care products). They also have a loyalty scheme so I got some points towards free groceries too.

FIREFTW · « **Reply #9488 on:** September 04, 2017, 06:25:10 AM »

Intentionally ordered less food for myself while on an outing

EconDiva · « **Reply #9489 on:** September 04, 2017, 07:35:59 AM »

Quote from: EconDiva on August 31, 2017, 03:01:22 PM

This was actually the other day...

I made a BIG pot of soup. Cabbage and turkey kielbasa sausage soup.

My food expenses are rather large for a single person and I'm slowly cooking more and more at home over the long term. Learning how to cook food that tastes how you like it takes time if you never focused on doing so before. But it saves SO much money.

So yeah, I got about 10 meals out of that pot! About half of it is in the freezer for next week. I'm pretty proud of myself...especially because I was having a random cabbage and sausage soup craving (lol) and had never even tasted such a type of soup before. Really glad to have another trusted recipe I can go to for bulk cooking.

Still eating from the same big frozen batch of soup.

Was out and about running errands yesterday and ended up near my favorite restaurant. Was realllly hungry. But I convinced myself to go home instead of paying $20-$40 for an expensive meal out. Will probably make a fresh batch of soup today.

gmdv · « **Reply #9490 on:** September 04, 2017, 04:19:23 PM »

Replaced kitchen faucet. The new design makes installing quite easy. I did waste $0.99 on seal tape that wasn't necessary in the end. Overall a really productive long weekend.

Bracken_Joy · « **Reply #9491 on:** September 04, 2017, 05:39:09 PM »

Found a farm stand in the area that sells local canning grade Romas. I got 25.6lbs for $19.99. Added another couple pounds of our garden tomatoes, and we're massive batch processing today- canning salsa currently (~16 pints planned) and then will can the remainder as diced tomatoes. Also got the jars on sale, so score there as well.

Linea_Norway · « **Reply #9492 on:** September 05, 2017, 02:45:21 AM »

Not saving, but earned: My DH won the local "being active" competition in our community. He will receive an electric bicycle that he can either use or sell. This is quite a big price.

mustachepungoeshere · « **Reply #9493 on:** September 05, 2017, 03:28:41 AM »

Quote from: Linda_Norway on September 05, 2017, 02:45:21 AM

Not saving, but earned: My DH won the local "being active" competition in our community. He will receive an electric bicycle that he can either use or sell. This is quite a big price.

Congratulations!

FrugalAussie · « **Reply #9494 on:** September 05, 2017, 03:51:06 AM »

I'm really appreciating all your strategies to save money. Thank you. :)

We're finally getting some sunny days Down Under (Western Australia) so, inspired by your garden bounty stories, I've been out in the garden today getting beds ready for tomato plants. I don't have a great deal of luck with Tomatoes as we have very alkaline soil but every year I try.

Frugal saving today: Fridge Leftover Frittata. Left over roast vegies/cooked vegies/tomato/old bits of mushroom and capsicum fried up in the iron pan, then cheese and six eggs added and bake. YUM! Fed three people with a salad for lunch. Very healthy and I have more space in the fridge now.

Kwill · « **Reply #9495 on:** September 05, 2017, 04:28:34 PM »

Yesterday I got a notice saying my Skype number had been cancelled because the payment didn't go through. I'd forgotten to update my credit card number after losing and replacing the card. Decided to notify people that I cancelled it and to use one of my other numbers instead. My Skype phone number had been redundant for years. Saved $30 this year and will save $30 annually thereafter.

Today friends had me over for dinner and asked me to bring salad. I bought full size tomatoes and sliced them for salad instead of getting the pretty cherry tomatoes. Saved between 20p and 90p, depending on which cherry tomatoes I might have gotten. Also re-gifted a fabric wall hanging.

LostGirl · « **Reply #9496 on:** September 06, 2017, 12:50:13 PM »

Quote from: 4alpacas on August 30, 2017, 09:26:20 AM

Cancelled my gym membership
Joined a weekday running group
Packed my lunch
Made breakfast smoothie from fruit I froze a few weeks ago (a large amount was gifted by a friend)
Picked up a few free food items from the sharing table at work

Impressive!

Rural · « **Reply #9497 on:** September 06, 2017, 02:33:31 PM »

Took the "laundry can" in which we collect pocket change to a Coinstar and redeemed for an Amazon gift card since there is no charge for that. We will buy husband's textbooks next term on Amazon, so we can save it for then. $151.35.

chasingthegoodlife · « **Reply #9498 on:** September 06, 2017, 02:37:46 PM »

Just cancelled my gym membership.

To be honest with you all, I will likely join again next year, but with all the time I'm away over the next few months it's just not worth it.

Dollar Slice · « **Reply #9499 on:** September 06, 2017, 02:53:24 PM »

Quote from: marcela on September 06, 2017, 02:39:04 PM

Bought hurricane supplies on amazon instead of the jacked up prices in local stores. If only they also delivered gas, we'd be all set. :)

Amazon Prime Pipeline™

@Rural, I kind of miss the Coinstar redemptions I used to do. I try to put everything on credit cards for the rewards now, and the only non-cash places I go tend to be even dollar amounts (e.g. $10 cover charge for a concert). I guess now I get the cashback rewards deposited into my checking account instead. But it's less exciting. ;-)

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Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8356949 times)