Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8029422 times)

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13950 on: July 28, 2020, 04:06:50 AM »
Sale plus coupon code means that we should be good on school clothes for at least the first semester (unless the kid grows another 2 inches overnight...I wouldn't rule it out).  By second semester, we may be back in pajamas instead of real clothes, so who knows.


Also, just found a gift card to Old Navy that I guess was a xmas present from my MIL last year.  That will take care of the rest of the school clothes.  In the same drawer was a Visa GC with $2.12 that I added to my Amazon account and a GC to Starbucks that I'll either use when they open the new SB near my house or give a a xmas present.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2020, 08:28:39 AM by Sugaree »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13951 on: July 28, 2020, 10:20:20 AM »
-Provided mileage updates on all of our cars, in advance of auto insurance renewal. Received new policy quote & it's substantially less, thanks to the very limited driving during COVID.
-Used garden produce in dinner last night
-Sold an old jacket on eBay (made $40)
-Listed another item on eBay
-Read books online via the library app

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13952 on: July 28, 2020, 10:41:53 AM »
I just did a review of all my credit cards' rewards categories to try to maximize.  I may have a freecycler coming to pick up 2 bulky giveaways this evening.  I procured these 2 bulky furniture items for free on CL from a business that was closing, so I want to give them away for free as well. 

I went through an old sewing basket earlier today and discovered 2 containers I may be able to use more efficiently for toiletries. 

I've boxed up and will return some cheap and wonky Amazon purchases later.  It's very hot here today so I'm waiting for later this afternoon when it may rain to do some errands with less people about and cooler temps to run around in. 

PMG

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13953 on: July 28, 2020, 04:32:54 PM »
I paid our 6 months car insurance premium today and managed to notice that they offered an option to pay via paypal, and paypal just happens to be one of Discovers 5% cash back categories this quarter, so I jumped through the hoops to pay via paypal and discover.  Not too bad.

My spouse and I are doing a lot of camping this summer. This has meant buying some new gear. When we sat down to plan the first trip and I started talking about cast iron over camp fire and where to buy ice mid trip... he declared that all too much work and insisted we buy a little jetboil stove that essentially just boils water (very quickly and efficiently) and dehydrated backpacking food.  So, we did.  And now camping trips include a fire with sausages and s’mores on a stick the first night, with easy pack and easy cook options for the rest of the trip (and coffee all the time!). So we still get some of the traditional campfire fun food, but the whole process of camping is now fabulously so much more relaxing, so much less work and less stuff to pack and clean and it is starting to save money.  No buying firewood $8 for 5 pieces at the last campground would add up quickly!  No buying ice.  No throwing out food because it might not be safe anymore. And we’ve come up with several easy meals to fix in the jetboil that are better & cheaper than backpacking food.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13954 on: July 28, 2020, 11:24:11 PM »
Bought a used couch from FB. Have been looking for over a year, and found the perfect one. Promptly cleaned and posted my old couch, and it sold in ten minutes! So I saved what I would've spent on a brand new couch and made a bit back towards the purchase.

Took my lunch and snack to work. Have been eating up the pantry and freezer to avoid buying more groceries until next month.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13955 on: July 29, 2020, 10:52:05 AM »
EXPERIMENT
I've been wanting to experiment with one of the popular food services.
I chose 'Hello Fresh' when I came across an $80 coupon plus Swagbucks had a 5000 pts ($50) cash back offer, plus using my 3% cash back credit card.

Keeps me entertained, keeps us fed royally and I'm picking up new recipes and cooking tips for us to enjoy in the future.
It's been fun with very diverse cooking options. At almost 4 weeks in I know I will not continue with the current plan.
It is too expensive and I miss the freedom of my spontaneous, creative cooking from day to day. With this plan I need to use up their fresh veggies asap.
BOTTOMLINE
I would keep the service for a while longer if I can switch to a different plan - two dinner deliveries every other week instead of the trial three dinners ea week.
This will still be cheaper than dinner out or even pizza delivery from our favorite local place.

Here in Florida, we are currently the epicenter of Covid - so restaurants keep closing and there is no place I'd feel safe dining out since I am high risk.
Anyway - an all around great deal, also, the meat delivered is great quality which is important to us. Well worth a try.

DEALS
Office Depot had a deal $14.99 for 50 masks (the same ones Costco carries for $27.99), free delivery.
Home Depot had a daily deal on the weatherproof storage box 32qt size I've been looking for - 30% off and free delivery.
Both deals - another 3% off via cc plus additional 1-3% off via a shopping portal.

FREE BOOKS
I'm getting free books online via bookbub feeding my historical romance, time travel and sci-fi addiction. Saves time too since they send one daily e-mail with free book offers, mostly on Amazon - no searching the library and I've been discovering new authors that way.

...and yes, occasionally I have bought the other books in a series that kept me enthralled.
Saving money is a good thing but I also like to support the authors from time to time - no one else would dream of giving away their work, time and creativity for free.

GARDEN
1. Harvested two Persian limes and a batch of peppers this weekend.
Planning to cut and dry most of my lemon balm and a third of my lemon verbena next.
2. I'm happy to see the Moroccan mint is doing alright in this heat and humidity - having a fresh pot of tea this evening.
Maybe I'll even make a batch of ice tea.
3. Got free seeds along with a seed order. Discovered a new favorite online vendor veggie/flower/herb seeds and bulbs.
Eden Brothers, they offer weekly promos, offer a few rarities and lots of diversity.

GROCERIES-pharmacy
Mr. R. has become an excellent shopper (since I'm staying home trying to avoid exposure) taking advantage of the BOGO deals.
I discovered Swagbucks presently offers points (cashback) for printing grocery coupons and more points for actually using them:).
Coupons saved us roughly $30 this week - incl. $4 coupons for eye drops.
Mailed off for a free carton of eggs - save ten proofs of purchase, get one tree carton of Nellie's eggs.

Will join Sam's Club this month - offer - $45 dollars membership, get $45 off your first purchase = FREE.
Primarily to stock up on TP and hurricane supplies as well as meat since we have new freezer space.

TIPS n TRICKS
Found a very old box of Clorox wipes that went dry - added an oz of 90% alcohol, shake it up - voila.


GENERAL
1. Just received $50 cash back from my main credit card. Total all cards so far this year $300 + $110 cashback via Swagbucks.
2. We bought a new Microwave on clearance at HD - they also gave us an extra $50 off for the one on display but wanted $150 for installation. Insane!
Since we also purchased a new oven, we waited for that delivery and free installation and offered the guys $50 to install the Microwave. No problem - saved us $100 - everybody happy and Mr. R. didn't have to tackle this job on his own and potentially re-injure his arms and back.

Due to COVID -
I cut Mr. R's hair for the past two months, I'm getting better at it each time.
Letting my hair grow for the first time in 50 years:).

DIY
Mr. R. did some electric work and is installing a new outlet - saving us around $75.
(he works with electrical stuff at work incl micro chips which always helps us prolong the life of our appliances too)

Hope y'all are having a good week and finding lots of opportunity to optimize and decimate those monthly expenses.
It is amazing how the little stuff adds up over time.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13956 on: July 29, 2020, 11:30:11 AM »
Great post @Rosy!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13957 on: July 29, 2020, 05:24:31 PM »
-Cut all of our herbs (mint, basil, & parsley) to share with neighbors, as we don't have a kitchen right now & aren't using them. One neighbor graciously left apple pears on our porch as a thank you. They are delicious.
-Continuing to use the tomatoes & jalapenos in a relish (think pico de gallo without cilantro, as I don't want to go to the store)
-Bought an inexpensive wine at 20% off. It's a nice summer rose', and good to have on hand. I prefer a more expensive variety, but that gets expensive & I'm not that fancy. The less expensive stuff is great, save the fancy for special occasions.
-Continuing to make all meals at home, even without a kitchen. "make" is probably a generous description. More like cobble together freezer meals with bagged salads.
-Went through my wardrobe again with a closer look at what I really need, now that I'm a few months in to WFH, and it will continue for a very extended period of time at my work.

mm1970

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13958 on: July 29, 2020, 05:31:31 PM »
I agree Rosy - that's a great post!

Today I spent a little bit of time meal planning and online looking at this week's deals at the local grocery store (Vons).  I used to always shop only at Trader Joe's, which is great and cheaper for MOST items that we buy.

However, we are trying to shop less frequently, so we buy 2 gal of milk at a time, and TJ's milk does not last. 

I finally found the "Just 4u" coupons online and they have saved me buckets of money on only a few regular items that we buy.  Varies by the week.

Oh, most of my produce comes from local produce CSAs (not cheap), but the last 2 weeks, I've ordered items that have not been available in the end.  I had to remind the one company now 2x to refund me for the missing items.  I mean, it's $2.50, but it's $2.50 for cucumbers that I didn't get.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13959 on: July 30, 2020, 07:21:01 AM »
DH is just finishing to make a trailer hook on our car. He did that at the previous car as well and seems to get better at it.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13960 on: July 30, 2020, 12:04:43 PM »
Today I fixed a snapped bike chain, cost $0.

We also found a cobbler who will replace the soles on my wife's Birkenstocks for $15 vs replacing them for ~$110.

MyAlterEgoIsTaller

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13961 on: July 31, 2020, 04:05:12 PM »
Today I went to my car insurance website and changed my approximate annual miles driven, because I'm driving so much less due to working at home since late March and for the foreseeable future.  It saved $46 for the year. 

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13962 on: July 31, 2020, 08:20:57 PM »
Cooked a spaghetti squash from the garden, with peppers, tomato, onion and garlic. Saved the seeds, also some from the heirloom variety tomato German Queen. Yesterday I baked a peach pie, using the left over pie crust scraps to make cinnamon sugar roll ups.
Went online to the local library's website, checked out some books that I can read on my computer rather than buying them on Amazon. This should save me a bundle! I miss being able to browse the stacks at the library, now at least I have something to read without a trip to town.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13963 on: August 02, 2020, 01:45:38 AM »
Had a bunch of people over today. Instead of ordering lunch, we had a potluck.

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13964 on: August 02, 2020, 08:51:45 AM »
Canned 9 pints of homemade salsa using our tomatoes and a motley collection of assorted hot peppers.

bloodaxe

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13965 on: August 02, 2020, 09:19:49 AM »
Rode my bike + trailer to 3 different grocery stores to hit up some sales. And get some exercise.

Was ~20 miles total!

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13966 on: August 02, 2020, 02:26:06 PM »
I made two jars of jam from wild berries.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13967 on: August 02, 2020, 03:15:23 PM »
I bought two bags of nice apples from the 99 Cents Only Store, then kind of forgot about them. Last night, I made my first-ever apple pie from scratch. I found a recipe that called for Apple Cider. I remembered one in the back of the pantry that was left over from an event I hosted nearly three years ago, so it cost me nothing, because I'm responsible for clearing away any leftovers. I used all of one bag of apples and only two from the second bag, because they'd gotten kind of soft. Today, I will ask Sir Google for soft apple recipes and will use them up. The pie turned out great and we're looking forward to leftovers tonight.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13968 on: August 02, 2020, 07:31:29 PM »
I did my own manicure in a bright and cheerful color.  I also drank up a pitcher of cold brew coffee made by my own hands in my fridge using the cold brew sock I purchased at MOM’s Organic Market a few months back.  I put my old used coffee grounds on my balcony container plants.  I redeemed some old Starbucks rewards points for a large bag of ground decaf to make more cold brew to drink in the evenings.  I find it very cool and refreshing. 

Raenia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13969 on: August 03, 2020, 06:20:25 AM »
I used all of one bag of apples and only two from the second bag, because they'd gotten kind of soft. Today, I will ask Sir Google for soft apple recipes and will use them up.

I recommend apple sauce or apple butter.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13970 on: August 03, 2020, 06:43:17 AM »
I used all of one bag of apples and only two from the second bag, because they'd gotten kind of soft. Today, I will ask Sir Google for soft apple recipes and will use them up.

I recommend apple sauce or apple butter.
Thanks! There are only three left, so I think it's going to become a small batch of apple sauce.

MudPuppy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13971 on: August 03, 2020, 07:12:40 AM »
Do you eat meat? That apple sauce would be great with pork chops.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13972 on: August 03, 2020, 08:11:35 AM »
Today I checked the household items that we need from Amazon for subscribe and save eligibility to see if we could save extra on them by bundling them with other purchases.

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13973 on: August 03, 2020, 09:52:20 AM »
I used all of one bag of apples and only two from the second bag, because they'd gotten kind of soft. Today, I will ask Sir Google for soft apple recipes and will use them up.

I recommend apple sauce or apple butter.
Thanks! There are only three left, so I think it's going to become a small batch of apple sauce.
With 3 left, I usually make some little apple pie. Just ready-to-use crust in little squares, put a little apple, some raisins and cinamon on half of it, bake it and you're ready for more!!!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13974 on: August 03, 2020, 10:26:29 AM »
-Found $100 bill on the ground (crazy)
-Used a gift card to offset a grocery store purchase
-Ordered bike parts for my son, who repairs his own bike. He's very interested in bike mechanics, and learning more about how to be self sufficient. Love it. He's 13, btw, and has been rebuilding old bikes we have laying around & selling them.
-Sold another few items on eBay. Packaged up using repurposed mailing envelopes & other miscellaneous boxes hanging around

mm1970

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13975 on: August 03, 2020, 12:00:21 PM »
Cut my 8 year old's hair.  We tag teamed it.  He's not very patient.

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13976 on: August 03, 2020, 07:42:13 PM »
I baked two loaves of Cuban bread (recipe from the Tightwad Gazette)...first yeast bread I have made in YEARS. It made fabulous turkey and tomato sandwiches for lunch, will make toast with bacon and tomato for breakfast.
Contacted one of our credit card companies, they refunded $12 from a mistaken charge and will send us a check for that amount. That was worth staying on hold for 9 minutes. (I think!)

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13977 on: August 04, 2020, 09:41:25 PM »
I used all of one bag of apples and only two from the second bag, because they'd gotten kind of soft. Today, I will ask Sir Google for soft apple recipes and will use them up.

I recommend apple sauce or apple butter.
Thanks! There are only three left, so I think it's going to become a small batch of apple sauce.
With 3 left, I usually make some little apple pie. Just ready-to-use crust in little squares, put a little apple, some raisins and cinamon on half of it, bake it and you're ready for more!!!
They're pretty soft, so they're in the Instant Pot now, with a cinnamon stick, a splash of lemon juice and about 1
3 cup of leftover apple cider. Fingers crossed.

Do you eat meat? That apple sauce would be great with pork chops.
Ha! I've been a vegetarian for 32 years. When I got married nearly eight years ago, I inherited carnivores. I make chicken and buy ground beef which gets batch cooked for tacos, burritos, etc. then frozen. Any other desired meat is purchased and cooked by the desiring party, not me.

However, apple sauce is the winning answer. We'll see how it turns out.

In related news, I took a slice of pie to my 95 year-old friend today, and there is enough left for one last go 'round tonight.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13978 on: August 06, 2020, 12:17:10 PM »
I subscribe to two newspapers (digitally) - one I get for free/a gift, the other was expiring today and they wanted to renew it at the full undiscounted rate :-( $100 a year. Ick. I decided to cancel and see if I could get a better offer later. I didn't have too wait long, just signed up for $29 instead of $100.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13979 on: August 06, 2020, 06:05:24 PM »
I cancelled my reservation for WDW ....in November....In Florida.  My 2 friends are hashing out their plans now.  It’s a hard no for me. 

LaineyAZ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13980 on: August 06, 2020, 06:23:34 PM »
A small thing I did a few months ago has paid off:  I had filed an appeal with the county assessor's office on my home appraisal.  They replied this week and agreed that their assessment was too high and reduced it to a much lower number. 
The appeal was a single page form that took about 15 minutes to fill out and mail, and probably saved me several hundred dollars in property taxes. 

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13981 on: August 07, 2020, 07:50:47 AM »
That's awesome @LaineyAZ

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13982 on: August 08, 2020, 02:02:52 PM »
Yesterday we stayed on a campsite that needed 20 Norwegian crowns for a shower. We brought a 20 crown coin and went showering together, because 6 minutes is a very long time for one person. DH found out that there was a coin stuck in the coin insert machine. He pushed it with his own coin and the stuck coin dropped in. He retrieved his own coin and we got 6 minutes of showering for free.

We also ate selfcaught mackerel for dinner and I added some wild edible plants as vegetables.

Today we can load our plugin hybrid car for free at another campsite. With permission from the German interim manager.

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13983 on: August 08, 2020, 03:00:08 PM »
I’m working on a saving for a deposit plan so I had to have a serious talk with myself with how lax I’ve been with my money and I’ve returned to keeping a detail spreadsheet to tracking things. I now have the most complete picture of my spending and expenses, so that was helpful. It also motivated me to see if I could reduce expenses or “find” more money, and here’s what I’ve done over the last 2 weeks:

1. Called my health insurance and had that lowered: $572 savings for the year
2. Contacted my phone provider and had the data plan for my iPad removed as I mostly use wireless or it can hotspot and share data with my phone: $480 savings for the year
3. As my lease is ending and my landlord wants me to renew, asked if I can have my rent lowered since the rents have all gone down and he’s agreed for 6 months, which works perfectly: $2600 savings for 6 months
4. Discovered that my health insurance will refund me costs for my gym if my doctor signs a form, and because of COVID, they’ve rolled over the benefit I didn’t use last year: $500 refund

Total: $4152 in “extra” money. Not bad for 30 minutes of work.

marion10

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13984 on: August 08, 2020, 03:59:53 PM »
This week:
Downtown garage in Chicago was having a free parking Monday special. I signed up and went to the Art Institute with a friend. Already have a membership. We brought or lunch and ate outside.
Reviewed our credit cards- husband feels we have too many to keep track of. Looked at the points for one we want to cancel and had enough for a $250 visa gift card. Another card had enough points for $10 Lyft credit.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13985 on: August 08, 2020, 09:53:56 PM »
Redeemed rewards points for a $10 Uber gift card, got it in the mail today. I'd forgotten about it, so it was a nice surprise.
Ordered a Mint mobile SIM card and three-month plan. Now I've just got to switch my old plan over.

Switched my phone over from AT&T to Mint. It's been two weeks, and so far so good! My phone was the only one that worked on a recent trip to the mountains (ha!) out of everyone who had traditional wireless plans. I'm saving $41.08 per month and have already set up an automatic transfer from my checking to savings. Now I'm actually SAVING that amount per month and not letting it get absorbed into spending.

Haven't bought groceries in three weeks. I made an eating plan of all the freezer and pantry items for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

RainyDay

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13986 on: August 10, 2020, 09:45:12 AM »
Switched my phone over from AT&T to Mint. It's been two weeks, and so far so good! My phone was the only one that worked on a recent trip to the mountains (ha!) out of everyone who had traditional wireless plans. I'm saving $41.08 per month and have already set up an automatic transfer from my checking to savings. Now I'm actually SAVING that amount per month and not letting it get absorbed into spending.


Have you noticed any difference in coverage?  Lost texts?  (I've heard that some people have problems with texts not getting through.)  I keep thinking about switching, but I'm not a risk taker and tend to be a loyal customer...making it hard to make a change!  But saving $40 a month is awfully tempting...

BobTheBuilder

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13987 on: August 10, 2020, 10:00:07 AM »
Bought a rebate card for the high speed train system - 25% off for 17.5€ in the first 3 months of owning that card. It will pay for itself within the third ticket.
Brought my own lunch.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13988 on: August 11, 2020, 10:52:19 PM »
Switched my phone over from AT&T to Mint. It's been two weeks, and so far so good! My phone was the only one that worked on a recent trip to the mountains (ha!) out of everyone who had traditional wireless plans. I'm saving $41.08 per month and have already set up an automatic transfer from my checking to savings. Now I'm actually SAVING that amount per month and not letting it get absorbed into spending.


Have you noticed any difference in coverage?  Lost texts?  (I've heard that some people have problems with texts not getting through.)  I keep thinking about switching, but I'm not a risk taker and tend to be a loyal customer...making it hard to make a change!  But saving $40 a month is awfully tempting...

No issues so far. I'm very slow to adapt to new ideas or changes, so I've been eyeing this change for about a year. I figured I could always cancel it and sign back up with AT&T if it's terrible. It's worth it for an extra $492 a year.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13989 on: August 13, 2020, 01:54:28 PM »
I got my free flu shot at the CVS Minute Clinic this afternoon.  I had booked the appointment online for 1300hrs, filled out forms online, they call when they’re ready for you to enter.  Masks on the whole time.  I was walking out by 1311 and it didn’t hurt at all. 

This saved me money because I will Lord Willing avoid the flu or have a lesser flu.  I will also get a handful of health rewards points in my GEHA insurance account.  I did NOT buy anything in the CVS store but just ran through enroute to the clinic itself. 

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13990 on: August 13, 2020, 04:00:02 PM »
-Continued using garden produce
-Noticed an Amazon email about a promotional credit. Don't remember how I earned it, but followed the steps to click through & apply it to my account. Used it for a purchase I was already planning to make
-Continued to list items & eBay. It's really slow right now, but I've sold a few things. Mailed & packaged in entirely recycled/repurposed containers, to reduce waste & save costs.
-Made all meals at home, and we're on week 5 of no kitchen. Fingers crossed we're in the home stretch & back to normal next week.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13991 on: August 13, 2020, 10:44:38 PM »
Picked up a new book at the curbside library service. It's a new release in a series I really enjoy. Thanks to the library e-book app and hold program, I've read the whole series.

Ate lunch for free at work, then came home and ate leftovers for dinner.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13992 on: August 14, 2020, 01:05:50 AM »
We don't buy alcohol and snacks when we go grocery shopping - on purpose to discourage us from eating unhealthy food. Whenever someone has a craving they need to walk 5 minutes to the store and pay from their own spending money. My partner really wanted a sixpack of beer but also really didn't want to leave the house in the middle of the game he was watching. He was considering delivery which is of course ridiculous. So I joked "I'll do it for half the money". To my surprise he said yes! So I went to the store and got beer and ice cream and paid with his card and had a nice evening walk as well.

Not sure if that counts because it's not totally unusual for us to bring something for the other as well when we do a late night grocery run. But I did get unexpected free icecream yesterday and that's always a win!

stream26

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13993 on: August 16, 2020, 03:31:56 AM »
Yesterday I've made free birthday card for my grandfather
I have always made cards by hand, it’s a lot of work sometimes but when people are genuinely happy to open it it makes me really happy
« Last Edit: August 17, 2020, 12:04:23 AM by stream26 »

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13994 on: August 17, 2020, 08:40:46 PM »
I was given a free Hello Fresh meal delivery. Signed up with an empty Visa gift card and made sure to cancel before the week was up so that I don't get charged. That's six free meals.
Used up my coin stash when I had to pay for parking downtown. Most of them were picked up for free on my walks, so some free parking. Returned a library book while I was already downtown so no late fees.
Used coupons and Shopkick & Ibotta apps to get some free and cheap groceries.
Went through my bathroom cabinets and found some 'beauty treatment' type things. Had an at-home spa night and really enjoyed myself.
Wrote some notes to friends on cards and stamps from my stationery stash.

LWYRUP

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13995 on: August 17, 2020, 08:52:52 PM »
My wife gave me a covid haircut yesterday.  I mowed the lawn. 

Today, normal day.  Eating in.  Work from home. 

MyAlterEgoIsTaller

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13996 on: August 17, 2020, 09:14:46 PM »
The fence around my compost pile got squashed by a falling tree, and it was rusty anyway and the posts were rotting.  I made new posts from sharpened branches from the fallen tree, and new fence out of about a million feet of ivy and grape vines that I wove together. 

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13997 on: August 18, 2020, 04:08:34 AM »
The fence around my compost pile got squashed by a falling tree, and it was rusty anyway and the posts were rotting.  I made new posts from sharpened branches from the fallen tree, and new fence out of about a million feet of ivy and grape vines that I wove together.

Wow, that's hard core mustachian/green gardening for the win.  Love it @MyAlterEgoIsTaller!

midweststache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13998 on: August 18, 2020, 08:33:27 AM »
Now that we no longer have a car note, I called to update our car insurance today. Dropped collision, saving us $450/year.

Also related to no longer having the car payment, I upped DH's student loan contributions today by an additional $75/month, which will not only save us $500 in interest over the life of the loan, but more importantly shave off eight months of payments (assuming we don't be any additional beyond that toward the loan - HA!) My updated timeline has us paying off student loans about the same time our oldest leaves daycare for kindergarten.

I'm officially WFH for the rest of the year, so I cancelled my pre-tax transit contributions through work. I'll pay tax on that now, but I already have about three months of transit banked that I'm not using, since everything we need is in walking distance; I certainly don't need a full year of passes banked on my Ventra card. About $75/month in net income from canceling that.

Put some work purchases on my personal CC that I'll be reimbursed for next week. Points go to pay for Xmas this year!

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13999 on: August 20, 2020, 11:01:11 PM »
Now that we no longer have a car note, I called to update our car insurance today. Dropped collision, saving us $450/year.

Also related to no longer having the car payment, I upped DH's student loan contributions today by an additional $75/month, which will not only save us $500 in interest over the life of the loan, but more importantly shave off eight months of payments (assuming we don't be any additional beyond that toward the loan - HA!) My updated timeline has us paying off student loans about the same time our oldest leaves daycare for kindergarten.

I'm officially WFH for the rest of the year, so I cancelled my pre-tax transit contributions through work. I'll pay tax on that now, but I already have about three months of transit banked that I'm not using, since everything we need is in walking distance; I certainly don't need a full year of passes banked on my Ventra card. About $75/month in net income from canceling that.

Put some work purchases on my personal CC that I'll be reimbursed for next week. Points go to pay for Xmas this year!

Kudos to you for taking care of all those details! Pre-MMM, I would've put off making those calls/filing those papers/completing niggling little tasks. Sounds like you got everything straightened out quickly.

Did not get lunch out today, even though I really wanted to and had already chosen what I'd get. Pulled out my wallet, looked at my cash envelopes, put it back in my bag. We do have healthy options for free at work, so no excuses not to eat there. I ended up getting delicious meal that I loved for free. It was so filling that I just had a snack for dinner at home.

Found a missing earring. Glad I put off replacing that pair. I have so few pairs that taking one out of rotation make a difference, but jeez--what a first world problem!