Money Saving techniques

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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i'm guilty in saying that by the off chance i am in McDonald's, i do take alot of sugar and stirrers and ketchup and plastic cutlery. :(

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We budget.. We have a specific amount of money dedicated to everything including gifts, eating out, grocery, etc and we try to stay in that budget no matter what.. I dunno it may sound silly to you but I have noticed that the month we give out a lot in charity, we sometimes end up saving and the month we dun do much we can't save any.. I feel like charity puts barkah in the money. ok probably I am just superstitious that way!!

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[QUOTE]
I dunno it may sound silly to you but I have noticed that the month we give out a lot in charity, we sometimes end up saving and the month we dun do much we can't save any.. I feel like charity puts barkah in the money. ok probably I am just superstitious that way!!
[/QUOTE]

I dont think its superstitious at all, I think its totally true without a doubt. Charity never decreases wealth!

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I agree without a doubt you are not superstitious.

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Re: Money Saving techniques

What is the cheapest thing you guys have ever done?

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I would'nt say its the cheapest thing i took, but i was sure awful to this one kid, that i smacked him for his candy bar. I was possessed. :(

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^ :rotfl:

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Wow…u are confrontational :hehe:

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lol...washing and re-using paper/plastic plates is not hygienic...

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My husband used to pick up Splenda/Sweet N Low from fast food places (habit picked up from his thrifty bachelor days) I would glare at him… it worked, he doesn’t do it anymore :hehe:

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We have a set budget for the house but we know so many people, there is always a birthday or two to go to a month which means atleast 50-100 bucks for gifts. And taht kinda overblows our budget.

Every 2 weeks when hubs gets paid, he puts a set amount in our savings acct. Its not a lot but its still something. Then a set amount goes in our kharcha account which we both have cards for. Every day we get automated messages by the bank on how much the balance was for the day before. This way we dont overspend. I am doing pretty good on this but hubs is not. He keeps using his credit card and then forgets to take it out ofthe kharcha account :mad: Makes me sooo angry!

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I’m not good at this stuff, at all :no:

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Well...I don't know its funny or not...I stopped going to casinos some 8 months ago...so...these days I always have some money in my pocket...and am paying my bills and debts regularly... :D

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Re: Money Saving techniques

money saving.. we look at all these small things taking ketchup packets, plastic forks etc, but really do you know how much you saved? how much does a bottle of ketchup cost? or a big thing of plastic forks?

but then money is spent on useless stuff, and people almost fool themselves into thinking, yes I may be spending money on this, but I am really penny pinching on other stuff. the truth though is that what is saved on one hand does not even come close to what is wasted on the unneeded stuff.

so first thing is dont spend on things you dont need, clothes, music, and eating out are some big ones.

eating out as a treat is fine but not because well you did not cook. for food, have some meatless days, meat tends to be the most expensive thing, plus since it is so calrie dense it will be good for your health. 'nagha' rocks. for fruits and vegetables eat in season stuff, its cheaper, fresher..eat other stuff too, but focus on the inseason and your produce bill will go down.

clothes, ask yourself, do I really need this, and if it is a no, then dont get it. reward yourself, satisfying wants is fine, but change the mindset

as far as food and household stuff, look for sales, look for coupons, and buy in bulk what you can.

vacations, look at closeby places, the three key costs for vacations are travel, lodging and food. travel includes airfare/rental car etc.

if you drive a couple hours away, its a change of pace, no flight costs, no rental car costs..assuming you have a car. and you get a break. and even being a tourist on your own city is fun

weddings, sometimes its okay not to go especially those that are in a diff state. even for a couple, you spend $600+ on airfare easily, hotel, rental car, gifts... if its not someone you are close to, just send a gift and regrets

evaluate contracts and costs on cellphone bills, cable, landline, gym memberships, credit card fees,
monitor expenditure of gas and electricity, get a fuel efficient car, keep your car in proper maintenance, tires inflated and aligned etc. drive before or after heavy traffic maximise your fuel economy, combine trips

mens health had an interesting article on savings one time and they put it in terms that ppl could really understand, and they basically said, slap some turkey, whole wheat slices, mustard etc for lunch and over the course of a year you would save enough to buy a big flat panel, which is really true, think of it as having 225 working days each year, some will have more some will have less depending on vacations and holidays. but if you spend 7 bucks a day on lunch, thats $1575. add a morning coffee and even if we go for a cheap $2 one rather than some $4 starbucks latte, that adds up. I think ppl who take leftovers for lunch are smart, on one hand they are minimizing waste, and on the other hand they are reducing expenses,

I am completely 100% against deprivation, but these are easy fixes..if you drink soda at work, instead of the ripoff at the vending machine, put your own case in your office, toss a few cans in the fridge and drink away.

a little tweaking in routine and discipline can go a long way, and then from all that you save, reward yourself, after all we are not hermits.

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And if you carefully look around in your own house...80% of the stuff you bought so dearly...hardly or never use it... :D

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I saved money by not buying lunch from outside when at work, spendin like £10 on lunch items to last me the whole week.

making daal chawal, cheap and healthy and lasts
pasta dishes -
buying frozen veggies and peppers instead of fresh so it lasts
freezing leftovers
planning meals
making lists for shopping rather than going without an idea of what you want
get cheaper versions of things/buy in bulk/special offers

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  • Store things if you have space and when deal is sweet. things like paper towls, bathroom rolls, food boxes etc. This came to my mind first coz yesterday I bought 3 packs of Bounty rolls when they were for 12.95 instead of regular price of 19.95.

  • less dine out (although we have spent freaking 100 bucks in last 2 days :smack:. No more dine out for next couple of weeks )

  • dont keep more than 5 bucks in cash. Cash is hard to track and more appealing to spend

  • Off season shopping helps. So shop for winter when its over and similarly shop for next summer when summer is over.

  • technology stuff is also a money drainer specially when technology is new (and hot). Being a guy, I am into technology stuff and want to get hand on all new and hot stuff but I dont. I read about it, appreciate it and move on unless I am getting a REALLY GOOD DEAL which is normally when next technology is about to come in. For example this is a right time to buy large lcd tvs when 3d tvs are expected to hit market in couple of months.

  • Utility features that you dont use also drains your money. For example I have met many people who have 3 way calling but have never used it. they have HD TV cable package but still have one of those analog TV sitting at home. They have cable package with 100 channels but all they watch (95% of the time) is Treehouse (their kids) and City TV for traffic and weather. They have 16mbps data cable when all they do is read jang and check email. Review your bills and get these extras off your packages

  • Not wearing branded cloths will not make you look naked. If you have money growing on the tree, sure why not but if your goal is saving for some target, opt for non-branded cloths and other stuff. Those things are almost as good as branded minus label.

  • Gifts limits should be set and buy gifts on deals too. My wife normally buy gifts in bulk. like if some toy is on sale and she is buying it for our kids, she also thinks a year in advance and buy gifts for all expected birthdays. Now Guys keep their anger in control on bills for such shopping. It pays in long run. I used to get ticked off seeing 100$ bills but then we didnt have to buy any gift for next 6/7 birthdays.

  • If you can not pay cash for some product or cant pay off the CC bill for that product in 30 days (except for car and home), you probably can not afford that product. learn to live within your limits. CC should be paid of every month.

  • Finally, track your expenses. Use some accounting package or even simple excel sheet. It really helps at the end of the month to plan for next month and see where the money is leaking. I use MS Accounting and I have record of almost 95% of the money spent/earned in last 8 years up-to cents (rest of the 5% was cash that I have already stated is hard to track). Its takes 2 minutes every night to update it for day’s expenses.

in the end if my wife had writing this post, her single post would have taken whole page of gup-shup :D. These are just few things that I have learned from her and I really appreciate her for this.

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^ Good tips decent! how fat is wallet now :D

  • cut the cable bill - if you can watch your t.v online
  • cut the phone bill - just use your cell phones
  • Carpool
  • Price match on bigger items (most stores will match any advetised lower price)
  • Resell or donate old cameras, computers, cell phones - other electronics.
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Aw, so sweet!

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Lol.. same here. Started this a couple of weeks back and try not to spend more than £10-£15 a week on lunch. I think most weeks it's been about £10.

I wish I had done it earlier but I couldn't convince my colleagues to join me. The new guy does sammich day with me though :)