What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[senecando]

gave egg nog the middle finger at the grocery store today... gonna try and make my own, we'll see how that goes

http://www.nationaljournal.com/pictures-video/we-made-dwight-eisenhower-s-eggnog-20131210

This sounds like a good place to start. I've wanted to make it before.

[Bruised_Pepper]

I died.  That knocked out most of my bills right there.

Except I'm not sure "death" counts as small, and this is the small things thread;)

Hopefully you did not actually die?

In the grand view of the world, each one of our lives is insignificant; thus, it is but a small thing to die.

Yes, I am actually dead.  I found out that you don't even have to buy food after you die.  Who knew!?

[anastrophe]

In the grand view of the world, each one of our lives is insignificant; thus, it is but a small thing to die.

Yes, I am actually dead.  I found out that you don't even have to buy food after you die.  Who knew!?

True.

And yet you are able to post on forums! Amazing. Surely you have no more need for financial advice, or does the afterlife have markets too?

[Russ]

^ I've heard the market on soul futures is pretty hot right now

[Russ]

gave egg nog the middle finger at the grocery store today... gonna try and make my own, we'll see how that goes

http://www.nationaljournal.com/pictures-video/we-made-dwight-eisenhower-s-eggnog-20131210

This sounds like a good place to start. I've wanted to make it before.

I just made some recipe off allrecipes... it was alright, pretty eggy which is good I guess. Presidential eggnog (so much bourbon holy smokes) sounds excellent.

[RootofGood]

Question for people in this thread: how many days out of an average month do you spend no money?

Now, obviously you'll use up some things that cost money (unless you don't eat or use electricity). I just mean making a purchase in some form.

Probably half the days or more.  I might hit 2 grocery stores during the week. 

Today I spent nothing other than buying something for $2 online that I will make $27 off of without spending any extra money. 

[nikki]

This is the fourth day wearing the same shirt and third day wearing the same pants and cardigan to work. Monday-Wednesday were testing days, so I got to go home around noon each day after sitting here doing nothing and seeing no one. Today I *might* actually see students...? I'll probably wear the same clothes tomorrow, too, just for fun.

And no, I'm not stinky!

Last night I ordered pizza, which is the exact opposite of this thread. No regrets!

[Miss Scribbles]

I scheduled a cut-off date for my cable.  I am paid through December 22, so I schedule the cut-off for that day.  This will save me approximately $90 per month.  Comcast has trained their CS phone terriers to never let go of their prey, but I was able to convince Thomas in Minnesota that I really didn't need cable.  Lordy, it took 20 minutes of saying no to all of the alternative offers!

I also stayed home from work today, and am making a large batch of corn chowder to take to work in the next few days.  (am freezing some as well). 

Last week a friend helped me get my antiquated pellet stove running, so I have shut off the electric furnace today and am heating with pellets. 

I also downloaded an app for selling items locally--Offer Up--and I am now going through items to sell.

I LOVE becoming a Mustaschian--I finally feel empowered and in control of my finances.

And I am so glad to be on this forum.

Best to all,
Miss Scribbles

[acroy]

got cheaper Internet service - $33/mo instead of $53. Options are limited, that's the best we could do without going to slow dial-up or dsl.

[ArcticaMT6]

got cheaper Internet service - $33/mo instead of $53. Options are limited, that's the best we could do without going to slow dial-up or dsl.

We dropped down to DSL when we bought our house this summer. Dropped us down to $20/month. I really don't notice the speed difference much. Watching some videos takes a bit more time to load sometimes, but usually it's not bad.

[anastrophe]

got cheaper Internet service - $33/mo instead of $53. Options are limited, that's the best we could do without going to slow dial-up or dsl.

Last place I lived we could only get DSL. It was fine as long as you didn't want to game (I don't).

[acroy]

got cheaper Internet service - $33/mo instead of $53. Options are limited, that's the best we could do without going to slow dial-up or dsl.

We dropped down to DSL when we bought our house this summer. Dropped us down to $20/month. I really don't notice the speed difference much. Watching some videos takes a bit more time to load sometimes, but usually it's not bad.

as far as I could tell, I could only get DSL if I have a phone line also, which added up to 35-40/mo. No home phone here... Is this your case as well?

[AccidentalMiser]

Killed my iPad internet, we rarely use it.

Brought my own cheap costco coffee to refill my little reusable keurig cups for the workgroup's machine.

Carpooled to work with my son.

[anastrophe]

as far as I could tell, I could only get DSL if I have a phone line also, which added up to 35-40/mo. No home phone here... Is this your case as well?

Ask them about "dry loop" or "standalone" DSL. It is technically possible though I don't think Verizon sells it anymore.

[ArcticaMT6]

got cheaper Internet service - $33/mo instead of $53. Options are limited, that's the best we could do without going to slow dial-up or dsl.

We dropped down to DSL when we bought our house this summer. Dropped us down to $20/month. I really don't notice the speed difference much. Watching some videos takes a bit more time to load sometimes, but usually it's not bad.

as far as I could tell, I could only get DSL if I have a phone line also, which added up to 35-40/mo. No home phone here... Is this your case as well?

Not here. Century Link is $25/month, but if you bundle your mobile phone with them (on Verizon, which we have), it goes down to $20/month.

[MoneyCat]

I study martial arts (expensive hobby, but I love it and I've done it for years now), but instead of renewing at my old school in a nearby town, I've enrolled at a local school down the street instead.  Not only is the tuition cheaper, but the school is only 0.4 miles from my new house, so I can ride my bike or walk to class.  In addition, the new school is part of a much bigger national martial arts association than the old school, which means that my belt achievements will transfer to many other schools and I can participate in more tournaments, plus the new school is allowing me to continue from my current belt level instead of starting over at white belt.  :-)

[ShortInSeattle]

Stopped by the cobbler to have some hard caps put on the heels of my boots. Should extend the useful life by 6mo or more. $3.50

:)

[annaraven]

Used a coupon to finally buy something I've been waiting to go on sale, and got an additional 25% off the sale price. Dropped by the pet food store on my way home from an errand and stocked up on buy3get1free pet food. (I only go there when it's part of other errands as it's not nearby.) And logged it all on YNAB so I'll know where my money is going.

I also started another batch of sourdough bread for tomorrow. And made dinner using my canned eggplant from this summer.

[shamelessHedon]

Made an appt to sit down with hubby and dig into our numbeers. Communication is half the battle.

[Capsu78]

A (money losing) long standing Chicago area foodchain Dominicks (aquired by Safeway) is exiting the market.  They have sold a dozen of their most profitable locations, but the rest are closing Dec 28.  My wife went to 2 of them and worked the 50% off everything pretty effectively.  We spent around $400 for $800 of the normal staples we regularly buy, replenishing our main and 2 back up pantries with items we regularly use anyway.  We have a mini Costco going on down in the basement that represents at least 2 or 3 rotations of mostly everything we use.

PS Yes, I was laughed at by my kids for prepping for Y2K.  I have 2 secondary storage locations in addition to the kitchen pantry.  After much discussion of rotation, the only things that go to the basement are items that match our kitchen pantry items- nothing fru fru that is not on the weekly normal monthly menu.
 
We could shelter in place pretty effectivily so long as I didn't lose the house.   The kids may laugh, but when I can pull out just about any battery for the grandkids toys, they see the value!

[annaraven]

A (money losing) long standing Chicago area foodchain Dominicks (aquired by Safeway) is exiting the market.  They have sold a dozen of their most profitable locations, but the rest are closing Dec 28.  My wife went to 2 of them and worked the 50% off everything pretty effectively.  We spent around $400 for $800 of the normal staples we regularly buy, replenishing our main and 2 back up pantries with items we regularly use anyway.  We have a mini Costco going on down in the basement that represents at least 2 or 3 rotations of mostly everything we use.

PS Yes, I was laughed at by my kids for prepping for Y2K.  I have 2 secondary storage locations in addition to the kitchen pantry.  After much discussion of rotation, the only things that go to the basement are items that match our kitchen pantry items- nothing fru fru that is not on the weekly normal monthly menu.
 
We could shelter in place pretty effectivily so long as I didn't lose the house.   The kids may laugh, but when I can pull out just about any battery for the grandkids toys, they see the value!

I was laughed at for prepping for Y2K also. After Sandy and Katrina, I think people don't laugh quite so much.

[nikki]

I skipped my language exchange to take a relaxation break today, saving me public transit fares.

I made vegetable stock with scraps I collected in my freezer. I'll use this to make a big pot of vegetable soup tomorrow; I'll eat some and freeze the rest for dinners later on.

I cut up some overripe persimmons and mixed them with sugar and plain yogurt. While it wasn't the greatest, I finished it and felt good about less waste.

I'm about to make tortillas, which I'll eat with bell peppers, rice, and salsa because I don't have any meat.

I started a journal on the MMM forums, which will probably end up saving me money somehow in the future: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/nikki's-journal/

[NinetyFour]

Went to a friend's house for a dinner party last night.  If I had driven, the distance would have been about 12 miles (one way).  However, the host's house is only about 4 miles from mine via an old 4WD type of road that is now off limits to vehicular traffic.  So I chose to walk to his house via the old road.  It was light when I started at 4:30, but I got to see the sky turn pink and then dark.  On the way home, the moon was shining brightly on the snow.  It was a beautiful night.  The other dinner guests were quite worried that I would be devoured by a mountain lion.

Got some great exercise, had a wonderful experience, and yes, saved some money.

[mm1970]

Well, this was  yesterday.  My company holiday party was last night.  They scheduled it at the last minute, but luckily a friend volunteered to babysit for free.

But the hard part - what to wear?  It wasn't formal or anything but I really didn't want to wear the same jeans that I wear to work.  But here's the thing...I don't have much else that fits.  I am 30 pounds from getting back into my pre-baby clothing and I really don't want to spend money on new clothing.

I bought a thrift store skirt last year and wore it to the party.  But I learned soon when I sat down that the length (about 2 inches above the knee) doesn't really work for my post-40, post 2nd-baby body. 

I hate shopping.  Alternatives were wearing jeans, buying tights (shopping), or buying something else to wear that I would probably only wear once or twice.

But I went with a different option.  I am a quilter and I have quite a bit of fabric.  I dug out a bunch of black fabrics with different patterns on them (cotton) and my husband and I voted.  In about an hour, I managed to sew on a little ruffle to the bottom, adding about 6 inches to the length.  It came out great and was FREE.  I like it so much I'll probably wear it to my husband's party (which is "formal", but hey, it's California, skirt and blouse will have to do).

I attached a pic...

[Siamond]

Tuned my Amazon subscribe & save subscriptions to benefit from a couple of coupons, and selected a few products with a better price/quantity than the ones we had previously selected...

Although I screwed up things a tad as I had not paid attention that the deadline for the next delivery was... yesterday, so changing my mind today on some items pushed the next delivery to January... Oh well, life is a learning process.

[annaraven]

Stopped at a garage sale yesterday and picked up some emergency supplies (a butane burner and 3 canisters) for $10. That'll allow us to safely cook indoors if there's an earthquake or other power outage.  (That saves me money compared to the ones I was looking at.)

[Rural]

Planned meals at least through tomorrow, putting off shopping until Tuesday at least.

Also, yesterday, retrieved my bread machine which I'd loaned years ago to my mother but which she'd quit using and put in the attic. Should save some while giving us healthier bread.

[NV Teacher]

I stayed home.  Too many temptations in the stores.  I didn't even go grocery shopping.

[centwise]

I spent an hour shovelling snow, instead of going to my usual fitness class. I didn't do it to save money; I did it because I really only had time to do one or the other, and the shovelling had to be done.

So I saved the $6.50 drop-in fee for the fitness class. But, do you know what's even cooler than that? I had a much better-than-usual attitude toward shovelling! I banished my complainypants wah-wah about having to do it, and instead appreciated every minute of the awesome upper-body workout I was getting. What a great Jedi mind trick to pull on myself. The mustachian way is awesome.

[annaraven]

I asked DH (dear husband): "What do you want for dinner"
DH: "How about we go to a steakhouse"
Me: "How about I thaw out a couple of steaks and grill them here?"

I then walked over to the local Sprouts and bought 99cent lettuce (which I used less than half of) and 2 for $1 radishes, carried it home in my backpack, and made a lovely salad with homemade dressing with ingredients I already own (including the herbs I grow with an aquaponic setup). Bread was a par-baked loaf from the freezer. Wine was a bottle we bought on sale a while ago.

Overall - dinner maybe cost $25 including wine, steaks, salad and bread. If I'd managed to make bread in time (sourdough takes longer), it would have been a bit less (bread costs around $2.50 to $3 for a decent loaf).   

Homemade sourdough is rising now for tomorrow. I plan to make homemade pasta for dinner. Flour is cheap!

[CT]

Yesterday we went to a Church Christmas Dinner.  There were 8 hams left over that they offered to whoever wanted them.  I watched a bit while people refused them.  Then I said I'd take a small one.  I knew right then we'd be having scrambled eggs, pancakes & ham for dinner--something we rarely have (the double expense of eggs & meat in the same meal).  Before making it I sliced it a little on the thin side and there is enough for a second meal.  I also rescued from the garbage, some Christmas bows that were used as decorations at the dinner.  There were empty spots on my tree this year that the bows filled perfectly.
Made my own ear infection preventative for the dog with 1 cup each water & apple cider vinegar & 5 drops tea tree oil--put it in a spray bottle & just mist once a week. It is an anti fungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial.
Also--again this year all the gifts I give will be homemade. 

[ShortInSeattle]

Stopped by the cobbler to get caps put on the heels of my new boots (to extend life) for $3.50.

Score.

[kaetana]

- I went to turn on the AC in my car coming home from the train station today, thought better of it, and put down the windows instead. Got to drive home with the wind in my hair - even better than AC!
- My husband and I shopped around for car insurance and got it lowered by $50 a month just by switching to a cheaper one - a saving of $600/year!
- It was a really hot day, but we resisted from turning on the AC at home and used a fan + open windows instead.

[Debbie M]

I have had the bad cold (with fever) that's been going around.  To get well ASAP, I have been resting a lot.  That means fewer trips out of the house.  When I do get energy, I use it for showers, dishes, or laundry.

I still have to go to work (temp job with no benefits, mostly in secluded office), but I've been taking the bus (free with work ID) and bringing my lunch.  Sometimes lunch is canned ravioli--not as cheap or healthy as my own cooking, but much cheaper than going out, even to a $2 place.

I've also been working on a new kind of price list.  I made a list of just staples--things I use repeatedly and that can all fit on one page.  I am confirming which of the stores I visit sell each thing the cheapest.  Then I will make a new copy of that list organized by store so I can stock up on appropriate things.  Two things motivated me to do this.  One is that I found out that my old sources for shade-grown chocolate chips and cocoa are, by far, no longer the best-priced or tastiest options.  The other is that a Trader Joe's has just opened in my town--and they have the best price for growth-hormone-free dairy items and organic salad.  When I'm done, I will have a smaller, easier-to-maintain list that should help me better keep up with the times.

[Ian]

Instead of buying new school supplies, I just sorted through the jungle of random junk in all the cabinets in the English room. Turns out we already have everything we need, gathering dust in forgotten drawers. We have no less than fourteen unused rolls of tape.

[annaraven]

Today, I made bread. And had the pool pump turned to winter hours (fewer hours), and adjusted the watering system for the front to winter watering.

[ArcticaMT6]

Our water heater went out last night. Went to look at it today and it was throwing the lights that indicate it detected flammable vapors. Painting in the garage with the door closed with oil based paint set it off I guess. Rather than call a HVAC technician, I was able to reset it myself using 5 min of google and save a bunch of money on the service call. I guess my model of water heater is prone to doing that pretty easily.

[shamelessHedon]

Cut and colored my own hair.

Just waiting to rinse. :)

[captainawesome]

Applied for the work sponsored Transit pass, which covers public transportation on the light rail and ferry system in the area.  This will reduce my commute to 7 miles one way (to the light rail station) down from 15 miles.  Working on getting a road/hybrid bike instead of my mountain bike so I can bike to the rail station, which will have me only driving once a week to grad school.

[rocksinmyhead]

Okay, so it was yesterday, but I went to Goodwill on my lunch hour to get a $4 picture frame; it's for a print I bought for our book club gift exchange. Usually I avoid gift exchanges (big waste of time and money + adds more junk to your home, amirite?!), but the theme was "book-related but NOT a book" and I found these awesome author/quote prints made by a guy on Etsy for $15. Gonna spray paint the frame black and it will look awesome. I figured if someone gave me a rolled-up print it would sit in my house for at least 6 months before I got around to it... this way the recipient can hang it right away. The trip also reminded me I need to go to this particular Goodwill more often as it is super organized and has a lot of good shit!

Then I came back to work and ate my delicious leftovers :) and today I will walk home at lunch to eat some more leftovers that are in the freezer. Mmmm, beef paprikash :)

[AtlStash]

Our water heater went out last night. Went to look at it today and it was throwing the lights that indicate it detected flammable vapors. Painting in the garage with the door closed with oil based paint set it off I guess. Rather than call a HVAC technician, I was able to reset it myself using 5 min of google and save a bunch of money on the service call. I guess my model of water heater is prone to doing that pretty easily.

 
 That is actually not a bad thing that your water heater shut down when it detected flammable vapors. It beats an explosion or fire.

[C. K.]

Saving the family potential medical bills and time not spent in clinic waiting rooms by fortifying our bodies from this cold virus that's going around.

A smoothie of green, leafy vegetables, lemon and fruit - vitamin-rich liquids to course through your body faster than having to masticate the stuff yourself.

[Debbie M]

I haven't had lasagna in several years and have been fantasizing about it for a couple of weeks, asking myself to use what I have instead, etc. Today I was still craving lasagne-made-by-someone-who-is-not-me. My grocer pointed me to a lovely frozen option -but for $13. I looked further and found one for $7 -bonus is that it's half the size of the first, so less pasta will land in our tummies! My son and I can share it tomorrow and I can again be free of lasagna obsessions.

I make baked ziti when I'm in the mood for lasagna without cooking forever.  Except I use some cheaper pasta, in whole wheat.

[ArcticaMT6]

Our water heater went out last night. Went to look at it today and it was throwing the lights that indicate it detected flammable vapors. Painting in the garage with the door closed with oil based paint set it off I guess. Rather than call a HVAC technician, I was able to reset it myself using 5 min of google and save a bunch of money on the service call. I guess my model of water heater is prone to doing that pretty easily.

 
 That is actually not a bad thing that your water heater shut down when it detected flammable vapors. It beats an explosion or fire.

Correct. However, it was just paint fumes, and there was absolutely no smell of gas. So, I reset it. If there were truly dangerous vapors present, it would have shut off again.

[Will]

My car's "check engine" light came on about a week ago, and I already had a service appointment for routine maintenance (covered by warranty) at the dealership.  I asked them to check it and let me know what the issue was.  They wanted $70-123 just to run the diagnostics, which,  to my understanding, consists of plugging something into something else which then reads the code and says what is wrong.  The $70-123 would not be applied to any repair cost (if any).  I knew there was a local shop that advertises that they work on my make of car so I gave them a quick call.  "Well of course we can read that code for you at no charge!"  Ding ding!  Stopped by their shop after my routine maintenance, they checked things out, told me the light was on because it threw a code during our extreme cold temperatures about a week ago, and that there was nothing wrong with my car.  (Technically, it was that the "mixture adaptation" was "lean" which wouldn't really have been a problem anyway, as running "rich" is what you really want to avoid.)  So the local shop got a hearty handshake and most likely a future customer should the need arise, and I saved $70-123.

[annaraven]

Well, I screwed up on lunch (had McDonalds in the car on the way to an appointment) but I did start a loaf of bread tonight, so it'll avoid having to pay for bread tomorrow.

[bugbaby]

I just called Geico (after an online quote inquiry) and dropped my auto insurance from 792 to 606 a year for the same coverage! Yay.

I last shopped hard 1.5 yrs ago including geico, and could not get anything lower than the 792.

[annaraven]

Ate lunch and made an espresso at home before I went out, so I wasn't even tempted. And, the bread is in the oven for tonight.

[fmzip]

I spent an hour shovelling snow, instead of going to my usual fitness class. I didn't do it to save money; I did it because I really only had time to do one or the other, and the shovelling had to be done.

So I saved the $6.50 drop-in fee for the fitness class. But, do you know what's even cooler than that? I had a much better-than-usual attitude toward shovelling! I banished my complainypants wah-wah about having to do it, and instead appreciated every minute of the awesome upper-body workout I was getting. What a great Jedi mind trick to pull on myself. The mustachian way is awesome.

Good for you! I myself went the complainypants route on the snow shoveling to motivate myself even more for FIRE to get the hell out of New England as soon as freakin' possible :)

[turboseize]

[...] (Technically, it was that the "mixture adaptation" was "lean" which wouldn't really have been a problem anyway, as running "rich" is what you really want to avoid.) 

Erm.... no.

Running lean can kill an engine within a few minutes, while running rich will "only" mean higher fuel consumption and increased wear. (The latter only, if you're really overdoing it). Regarding emissions, both is bad, with running lean increasing NOx and running rich increasing unburned hydrocarbons.
Running lean makes combustion temperatures rise, increasing efficiency but putting great stress on exhaust valves and pistons. Running rich reduces efficency, but lowers temperatures (protecting the engine). That is why most cars enrich mixture under full load.
Also, running slightly rich will improve throttle response, eliminitating any delay in providing the extra fuel needed as it is already there. (That is where a part of the temperament older Alfas are renowned for comes from).

I would definitely investigate what caused that check engine light. Perhaps it was just the extreme cold (meaning too much fuel condeses in the intake manifold and not reaches combustion, as well as more oxygen in the colder air), or you have a just so slight air leak that is just a tad below the fault code threshold and only combined with the cold air crossed the threshold.
In any case, a check engine light means that for a certain time, your engine was running outside of it's specifications. You would want to keep an eye on it.If check engine light stays out, fine. If not, do find the fault.