What are things you do to save money?

[JoelR]

I was recently talking with my boyfriend Adam on some things we can do to cut back on money so we can boost our savings.  There were two things we immediately did:

• Called AT&T and reduced our cable package -- yes, yes we were overpaying.  In fact, we just went over our 2 year contract so our monthly plan spiked by $50 anyways, but we found a basic cable package and Internet that was sufficient and still saved us $90 / mo.  
• Unsubscribed from a magazine -- we both retain subscriptions to various magazines.  Some we want to keep and there are some that we like knowing that we can read, but never really do.  So we ended up saving another $10 / mo on that.  

What are things you do around the house that help you save money?  We're hoping we can boost my company's 401(k) and start saving for a major life purchase.  

[Sammy]

You can do a lot of saving here if you compare prices for insurance and providers. We have special comparing sites for this in Germany. They always advertise you can save hundreds of Euros per year. It's not always realistic but you can definitely save some money with that.

I check my car insurance once a year.

But be also careful about the benefits of the insurance(s). Low price sometimes comes away with low benefits. Ask yourself what you need.

[bakersman94]

up until now, i never tried saving any money at all. except maybe a short term save to go on a trip. in my later years, the last 25 years, i never had to save as i lived with family, and i didn`t feel the need to save. now, i am planning my first move to my own place for the first time in over 30 years. i`m going to have to start saving now, so i can afford my apartment, buy food, and pay a few bills like for my cell phone and hydro (electric bill for those now Canadian or English) bills!! my apartment is $1,200 a month, i have to pay 40% of the hydro bill, plus as always, i`ll be paying for my phone and food!! i have up to 4 more months to prepare. i know i can put $200.00 a month aside, plus i know i can expect help here and there from my new landlord as we go to the same gym and have become great friends!! he is a beautiful young Man of 32 years old with a wife.he owns his own home and has a rental apartment in the basement!! he doesn`t know i'm gay yet, and i do want to come out to him, to make sure he is ok with having a fag living in his basement. also, i wouldn`t mind finding a live in boyfriend to make it easier to keep up the rent and hydro, and without coming out, it might turn some heads to see 2 Men in the same apartment with only one bedroom!! with love from Wes!! hugs!!! 

[Kawika]

I compare prices for almost everything I buy. I get three different quotes for anything contracted (like lawn or pool maintenance) I research throughly any purchase over $500.00. One of the biggest things I've done to save $ is I quit smoking almost 10 years ago and I put the money I would have spent on cigarettes in a shoe box every week and put it in the bank in a savings account once a month. (I've saved a fortune ) and finally I'm very judicious about buying anything... If I don't need it or love it  I don't buy it. 

Edited January 13, 2019 by Kawika
spell much?

[RunItsBlip]

blip is in the process of switching to roku to replace cable

blip will miss the channel surfing which does not appear to be easy to do on a Roku

but when the cable/phone/internet bill borders $200 a month it becomes a necessity

[Sammy]

22 minutes ago, RunItsBlip said:

blip is in the process of switching to roku to replace cable

blip will miss the channel surfing which does not appear to be easy to do on a Roku

but when the cable/phone/internet bill borders $200 a month it becomes a necessity

Please what? It’s about 60€ = +- 70$ over here. 😶

[RunItsBlip]

Optimum - the cable provider by blip

has this package deal - internet and phone (land line which blip keeps in case of emergency like power outages) and cable

together it proved a cost savings for the phone

but the cable has become so expensive - coming to just under $200 that something had to go

the phone had to stay (it is cheaper and more reliable than any other option in the area)

the internet is a necessity as it is used for income

the cable plan was the lowest plan besides just basic

 

the cord had to be cut

[Sirpaul]

Buy everything in bulk from Costco or online seems when you buy in smaller bottles like cleaning supply’s you tend to save money funny story my uncle had 25 tubes of toothpaste cause when it would go on sales so he never had to pay regular prices oh and he would save money in books you could be reading then there’s a 20.oo in the page all the best for you and Adam you will get there 

tim

[bakersman94]

On 1/13/2019 at 9:51 AM, Kawika said:

I compare prices for almost everything I buy. I get three different quotes for anything contracted (like lawn or pool maintenance) I research throughly any purchase over $500.00. One of the biggest things I've done to save $ is I quit smoking almost 10 years ago and I put the money I would have spent on cigarettes in a shoe box every week and put it in the bank in a savings account once a month. (I've saved a fortune ) and finally I'm very judicious about buying anything... If I don't need it or love it  I don't buy it. 

quitting smoking was awesome, Kawika!! i quit smoking at the age of 23 years old. i started when i was 15 years old. that was 44 years ago, and i never looked back. the first 2 weeks were the roughest, after that i was over it!! 

[Kawika]

11 hours ago, bakersman94 said:

quitting smoking was awesome, Kawika!! i quit smoking at the age of 23 years old. i started when i was 15 years old. that was 44 years ago, and i never looked back. the first 2 weeks were the roughest, after that i was over it!! 

I really missed it a lot for the fist month and through the first year... but I feel so much better now and I have saved a ton of money.

[jcvdevera]

The salary that I earned, half of which is stowed in the bank. Until some time when it reached a certain amount for it to be invested on mutual funds.

The other half are carefully managed financially on basic necessities; running on the principle "if you don't need it, don't buy it." I was taught at a very young age to value every penny - so I ended up being a penny pinch. So when shopping for groceries, I tend to check first the prices and if an item is on sale I tend to gravitate towards it; provided that I triple check if it's really on sale.

I also don't have a cable tv packaged with my internet service. I only have an internet service with a landline attached because I rarely watch what's on tv... too tired to really focus on what's being shown. The only time that I know that the tv is powered on is if it's already news. And since this is the service that had rendered me virtually offline for a month, this one will really go. I just need to set an appointment on their business office to finalize it.

If I'm going out and its just blocks away from the house then I walk towards it.