Money Saving Tips

[time4fun]

Here's a list of my top money saving tips:
1)Eat to live - don't live to eat
Small to moderate sized portions of meats, vegetables and fruits will keep most folks out of the doctor's office.
2)Limit severely or completely do away with the tv
Watching tv can fuel your desire for more 'stuff' - use that time for hobbies, reading, relationships etc.
3)Use the 'envelope' method
Label letter size envelopes with your budgeting needs - 1 envelope for groceries, 1 envelope for home needs, 1 envelope for car care etc. Each week, or whenever you get paid, plan out how much money should be divided up into each envelope. When the money is gone out of that envelope, that's all that can be spent in that category until the next payday. It may take a few tries to get the amount just right in each envelope but this has been a great help in keeping us from overspending.

Add your own tips.

[whatsup]

Here's mine:

1. Cut out all non essential mailings like magazines and newspapers. So much of what you need to know can be found online.
2. Be gentle with your clothing - hang dry whenever possible; be quick to mend any lose buttons and catch loose seams or small tears at the earliest stage. If your clothes are of pretty good quality, they should last you a while unless you are someone that has to have the latest fashions. Often you can find high end designer clothing at consignment and thrift stores for good prices. The only problem with some of those type of clothes however is that they often require dry cleaning which I don't recommend - always check the label and make sure the clothes are washable.

[Troy]

Try to distinguish between what you really need and what you want. If you used your computer to do office work, you wouldn't need to upgrade your processor to Core2quad.

[simplegal]

Use coupons and shop sales. Stock up on products that you use when they are on sale. Pay your bills online and save on stamps.

[Phena30]

These are some great tips so far. We save money by buying in bulk and cooking in bulk too. I will make 3 meals out of a whole turkey, instead of 1 out of turkey breasts.
I also use coupons and match the coupons to store ads.
I also shop at discount stores for groceries.

[Troy]

The other good way to save is growing your own food instead of buying it. Of course many of us who live in countries have been doing that.

[joyful1]

One thing that worked for us was actually giving our son a small allowance each month. If he wants anything special, ie sports drinks, soda pop, candy, etc., then he has to buy it. I found without it, that stuff finds it's way too easily into the grocery cart and not by our son, but by our son begging dad. It saved us money because we were able to say, "Do you have your money?", and if not, walk away. Eventually, he opted to save his money for bigger more important things, which helped again by him not chewing through a pack a gum in a couple days.