Saving money

[Soliloquy]

I pay attention to the unit prices and buy in bulk whenever feasible. Fortunately I have the basement and basement freezer to facilitate this. We cook big meals a couple of times a week and eat the leftovers the rest of the time.

 

[ACSAPA]

I pay attention to the unit prices and buy in bulk whenever feasible. Fortunately I have the basement and basement freezer to facilitate this. We cook big meals a couple of times a week and eat the leftovers the rest of the time.

You're so lucky. If I didn't live in a one bedroom apartment, I would totally have a chest freezer for freezer cooking. I envy the people on Extreme Couponing that have a basement stockpile.

 

[aa888]

Couponing is great! I don't go to the extremes of those individuals on extreme couponing, however, I do keep my eyes open for good deals. If I see a good deal, I'll definitely stock up on the item. For restaurants and such I use groupons, living social, deal find, etc.

 

[Dorothy]

In the US, you receive interest for keeping money in your bank account, you don't pay interest for it. And in the US, it takes 3 days for the money you withdraw from Paypal to show up in your bank.

But I'm glad that you've found another use for Paypal that works for you.
I like Paypal for paying for things and I think the Paypal debit card is the best thing ever.

I agree with you on that one about he Paypal debit card, it only takes seconds to transfer your money from your paypal to your card it is a lot better then waiting three to four business days like with my other debit cards.

 

[ACSAPA]

I agree with you on that one about he Paypal debit card, it only takes seconds to transfer your money from your paypal to your card it is a lot better then waiting three to four business days like with my other debit cards.

I remember years ago, Paypal didn't even have debit cards so you could only use your money to buy stuff online. With the debit card, you can get groceries or gas. It seems so primitive that a few years ago we had to wait 3 days to have access to our Paypal funds in the bank. I don't remember how I even managed back then.

 

[ihopper]

What I do is I generally just set aside money. For example, I take 25% of my salary and save it. I pretend that the money isn't there anymore so I won't be tempted to spend it. I'll just spend what I have and no more than that.

 

[VioletxSkye]

To save money, I've seen people look at their budgets. They'll have a chart to show all for all of their bills, including their savings. They have to "pay" their savings every month like a bill, so it's easier to put the money away.

I totally support change. Having it were you can't easily get it back would be good too, so you won't mess up your own efforts.

 

[trefle77]

Couponing is definitely a great way to save money. However, having a grocery list and sticking to it is also important otherwise savings could just go down the drain. I always cook on the weekends and put in the freezer portions for the weekdays. Eating at home saves a lot of money too. Savings could easily be a few hundred dollars a month. I usually wait for the sales to buy clothes and shoes too since it is almost always 40% or more in savings.

 

[christa]

To save money, I've seen people look at their budgets. They'll have a chart to show all for all of their bills, including their savings. They have to "pay" their savings every month like a bill, so it's easier to put the money away.

I totally support change. Having it were you can't easily get it back would be good too, so you won't mess up your own efforts.

This is a great tip VioletxSye thanx i really gonne try this one!! We have 5 kids so saving is not very easy this side with all the school fees and everything going along with it. But i really gonne keep this in mind!!!

 

[VioletxSkye]

This is a great tip VioletxSye thanx i really gonne try this one!! We have 5 kids so saving is not very easy this side with all the school fees and everything going along with it. But i really gonne keep this in mind!!!

I recommend of getting a piggy bank for them, each of them.
Teaches them it is good and fun to save, and may come in handy for them one day.
There can even be a family one, to save up for something for everyone.
Maybe to help for a vacation, game, road trip, etc.

 

[AyeManda]

I am all about saving a couple dollars, but I don't think I could ever take it as far as some of the people on Extreme Cheapstakes. I believe it was that show where one woman used rags instead of toilet paper, and washed them everyday and made her family reuse them. There was another woman that was making "wild salad" for dinner, which was basically grass she had picked at the park. Things like that are going too far if you ask me. I do shop for bargains, clip coupons when I can, and stock up on sale items. I also recently discovered the salvation army. I am not sure if this is national or just something my local store does, but on Mondays they have 29 cent sales, and literally half their clothes are only 29 cents! Last week I came home with a trash bag full of nice clothes, that only cost me a grand total of $3.62.

 

[ACSAPA]

I am all about saving a couple dollars, but I don't think I could ever take it as far as some of the people on Extreme Cheapstakes. I believe it was that show where one woman used rags instead of toilet paper, and washed them everyday and made her family reuse them. There was another woman that was making "wild salad" for dinner, which was basically grass she had picked at the park. Things like that are going too far if you ask me. I do shop for bargains, clip coupons when I can, and stock up on sale items. I also recently discovered the salvation army. I am not sure if this is national or just something my local store does, but on Mondays they have 29 cent sales, and literally half their clothes are only 29 cents! Last week I came home with a trash bag full of nice clothes, that only cost me a grand total of $3.62.

Yeah, the wild salad was pretty gross. You never know if dogs have peed in that grass. I remember one episode where the mother was thrift shopping with her daughter and refused to buy her a $4 shirt. Then after they showed the kid's depressed face, they cut to the mom saying "I feel good when I save money."
I remember wondering how she can feel good about refusing to buy her kid a cheap shirt when her kid's closet is basically empty.
Extreme Cheapskates isn't meant to give helpful hints, it's more about showing the dark side of thrift and the lengths that some people will go to in order to save money.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

We love out on the country now, so we have a septic tank, and don't pay for sewer, but when we lived on Huntsville, they took whatever your water bill was, and doubled it for the sewer charge, which I thought was terrible.
In the summer, most of my water usage was to water the garden, so it was not going into the sewer, on any case. But they said that if you didn't want to pay for the water being double charged as sewage, you had to put in an extra outside faucet that was designated for outside use only. Of course, it cost about $400 by the time you hired someone to do the digging and installation, and had the city inspect it, so for someone who was only renting a house, it was totally out the realm of possibility.

 

[ACSAPA]

I am all about saving a couple dollars, but I don't think I could ever take it as far as some of the people on Extreme Cheapstakes. I believe it was that show where one woman used rags instead of toilet paper, and washed them everyday and made her family reuse them. There was another woman that was making "wild salad" for dinner, which was basically grass she had picked at the park. Things like that are going too far if you ask me. I do shop for bargains, clip coupons when I can, and stock up on sale items. I also recently discovered the salvation army. I am not sure if this is national or just something my local store does, but on Mondays they have 29 cent sales, and literally half their clothes are only 29 cents! Last week I came home with a trash bag full of nice clothes, that only cost me a grand total of $3.62.

One of the guys on Extreme Cheapskates was a fake guest. The artist who did the artwork from scraps of neon and slathered himself with cornstarch is a real artist,
but a fake cheapskate. He said on his website that he exaggerated everything on the show for comedy. So his serving guests canned beans and watered down box wine was all an act. The other cheapskates are real and have done interviews and had news crews in their homes, but that guy in particular was putting on an act.

 

[trefle77]

I had never heard of Extreme Cheapskates before but they sound absolutely horrid. Saving money is definitely a virtue but when you're going as far as not buying basic necessities like the $4 t shirt for the little girl, that's being just plain mean.

 

[ACSAPA]

I had never heard of Extreme Cheapskates before but they sound absolutely horrid. Saving money is definitely a virtue but when you're going as far as not buying basic necessities like the $4 t shirt for the little girl, that's being just plain mean.

Yeah, the only guy on Extreme Cheapskates that gives somewhat useful advice is Jeff Yeager. The rest of them are crazy. I admire that Kate Hashimoto completely owns her expensive New York apartment but she uses a squirt bottle of water instead of toilet paper and that's pretty crazy.

 

[stanfordsarah]

I was wondering what other people do to save money on their household budget each month. Do you just put aside savings or do you do more like saving change, cutting back in shower tie, making all your meals. Does anyone go to extremes to save money like the people on Extreme Cheapskates?

I have done lots of money saving things, like walking to the gym, no cable, etc. But what has helped me really get a handle on my spending is an online program called readyforzero.com. I just basically had to take the credit cards out of my wallet. Now I just use my debit card and I am really not shopping anymore. But I have everything I need, so I guess I'm okay

 

[isabbbela]

I think the key to saving money is to always have a clear budget of what you can spend in what. For example, if you need to pay your rent, always leave that money aside and know that is something you cannot touch. Have a clear notion of what you can spend with food, with leisure, with extras, with gas, etc. I struggled a lot last year with having a modest paycheck and having to sustain myself with no help from others (I'm only 24, so it hasn't been that long that I started to be financially independent). I would always end the month with no money, not even for food. Now I'm making double what I did, but I'm also saving a good amount, and that is because I learned to spend money wisely. For example for clothes, beauty and similar, if I don't have money to spare, then I won't spend on those, it doesn't matter if the summer sales are great! For food the same, if I know I won't have a lot, maybe cut back on expensive restaurants, don't go out too much. Programming and organizing are the way to go.

 

[winnifred]

I do a great deal of couponing also. I plan my meals around the sales for the week. So basically whatever is on sale is what I eat. I also shop at my local trader Joes because they tend to keep their prices low, so I know how much my favorite foods will cost and can budget accordingly.

 

[ACSAPA]

I had a "doh!" moment where I realized that I've thrown away hundreds of dollars in maintenance fees over the years for a savings account that I didn't really save money in. It's so sad that it took me this long to close that account and open an online Ally savings account with no maintenance fees.

I wonder if I'll ever recover completely from my past stupid financial mistakes. I certainly have made more than my share of poor decisions and I wish I could time travel and slap my past self.