Money saving idea
ellendi
10 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (18)
sushipup1
10 years agograinlady_ks
10 years agoRelated Discussions
$ saving tactic pays off again!
Comments (4)And even if it's not on sale, you can always ask, especially if it's a floor model. A friend of mine bought a tool box at HD, and it was the last one- a floor model. He asked for and got 15% off....See MoreWhy do you do it? And what are you getting out of it?
Comments (26)It would seem I'm a bit younger than most here. I'm 30, grew up in a home with one sister, and parents that were relatively frugal. My father was the more frugal one, avoiding debt, not wanting to spend money on anything he didn't need. He didn't have much of a reason, just that debt was a bad thing to have, for several reasons. We never went without, though, taking family trips each year to various places around the country. We always had good food, nice home and vehicles, etc. I started a summer job when I was 14, then an afterschool / full time job through high school and college. I started with my current employer 10 years ago, making less than the rest of my peers. Living on my own, and making more than I ever had before, I thought it would be wise to start furnishing my apartment and buy a brand new car, despite having a perfectly good vehicle already. This new car wasn't designed for Colorado winters, so I kept the other car as well as the new one. Along with that brand new car, I got brand new insurance, which was quite a bit. This all stretched me pretty thin, living paycheck to paycheck. At one point, my company was going through layoffs, and I was concerned that I would be one of those laid off. I was pretty worried about how I was going to pay my bills, and whether or not I was going to lose my vehicle and whatnot. My father payed off my car for me, and even though I didn't get laid off, I continued to pay him what the loan payments would have been. Bonuses and other extra payments went to pay off the car a couple of years earlier than I was scheduled. This opened my eyes to what could happen if I "lived the American way", and bought whatever I wanted, at whatever price I wanted. At some point, I could be in this situation again, and I don't want to have to worry if something should happen to my income. I paid off all of my debt, and then started finding ways to live more frugally. I started shopping around for the best deals, taking things that others didn't want anymore, and didn't buy things I didn't need. When I wanted something, I usually waited at least a week, at which time I rarely wanted whatever it was in the first place. I was able to direct deposit money into two accounts, so I gave myself an allowance each paycheck, with the rest going to a savings account. The allowance was enough to cover all bills, and still have some left over for entertainment. I also started contributing to a 401k, and each pay raise translated to an increase in the percent going to the 401k. After a few years, my winter car died on me, so I found another winter vehicle for around $1000 to get me around. I did this a couple of times over the next 5 years. All the while, I was still finding ways to lower my outgoing expenses. After those 5 years, I had enough to put down 20% on a house. I found one that had a low mortgage, even though I could qualify for much more. I readjusted my allowance, and continued finding ways to lower expenses in my house. My father never did much in the way of home or auto work himself. He always paid someone else to, so I don't have much knowledge in that regard. That hasn't stopped me from using the internet and friends to figure out how to do things myself, which has saved me countless dollars. I finally paid cash for a good all-use pickup, so I won't have to worry about vehicles for quite a while. All through this, I've continued to build my savings and emergency fund. Once the economy went down the crapper, nothing really changed for me. I still lived my life how I had before, quite comfortably. All of my friends, who have continued to make more than me, are struggling to pay their bills. Throughout the years, they gave me crap for being cheap, yet look at us now. I have no stress, as far as money is concerned. I have over 9 months of living expenses in a true emergency account, am funding a 401k and Roth IRA, and managed to save enough for my honeymoon cruise to Antarctica next year. If something were to happen, my fiancee and I would be in a decent position to handle what occurs. We have everything we want, and need, and are able to do basically what we want. If I screw up my timecard, and don't get paid, I don't have to worry about waiting an extra week for my money. If something breaks in my house, I know I can take care of the problem, one way or the other. Once we have children, I know we will be able to meet their needs, at least financially. Once we retire, hopefully we will be comfortable at that point, too. Ultimately, what I am getting out of being frugal is peace of mind, with regards to money. It's also nice to see just how far I can stretch something, how many different incarnations an item can turn into before it is truly unusable....See MoreMost Outrageous Money Saving Ideas, again
Comments (120)Hi again folks, When I worked as a personal financial advisor, I talked to clients about "financial freedom" adding to one's peace of mind (in addition to providing the worthwhile liquidity that some envy in others but lack it themselves). The person who is deep in debt, owes on credit cards, and worries when the phone rings as to which creditor is calling, this time ... does not know the peace of mind that comes with financial freedom. The homeless person doesn't, either. When a person has come beyond the age of retirement and lacks enough money to pay for all of needed medications, food, housing and the fuel to keep it comfortable in winter ... which is getting more difficult as some of the basics of life have recent substantial increases in price ... that person lacks the luxury of financial freedom, also. But I also said that I wanted people to boss their money, not having their money bossing them. The people who have adequate resources but squeeze the buffalo on a nickel till it bellers ... aren't making best use of their financial freedom, either. To my mind the rich old guy in the restaurant who made a fuss about refusing to pay because one item on the buffet was lacking was, to my mind, just being boorish. Though I lived on pretty thin income for a number of years during my career, now that I'm near age 80 and don't have to worry about paying for some (of the rather few) things that I want, or about leaving my executors so strapped with regard to my estate that they have to go fishing for extra money to pay for my burial ... that level of financial freedom pleases me. Plus I have some to help pay for my extra care before death, if necessary. If I'm at a party where it's to go on for several hours and they're using styrofoam cups ... for juice now, possibly for water later (and I eschew bottled water, at home) and perhaps for coffee, eventually ... ... I've been known to use my own pen, or hunt up one of theirs, to put my name on my cup in order to use it throughout the period. Not so much for frugal/tight reasons, as for reusing things - reducing our wasteful use of scarce resources, plus making less garbage (and that was true long before I lived within a couple of miles of what used to be a local garbage dump [pardon me - "landfill"] but recently had their licence heavily expanded - then were sold to a major city over a hundred miles away). A city that now trucks their garbage something like 250 miles ... and over an international border. It took millions of years to make the petroleum ... and we've been using it, often wastefully, for the past hundred years - did you hear that: "hundred years" - like it's going out of style. It's not going out of style, in fact, the demand is increasing. Unfortunately - it's availability is decreasing. In addition ... have you heard U.S. folks recently whining about the increase in cost of gas (Canadians, too, but we've been paying some more for some time)? In those threads, we had some Europeans telling how they've been paying $5.00 or so for gas for some time. Have you ever heard the saying that, "Necessity is the mother of invention"? Guess who have been studying, working on, building, evaluating and revamping, various means of production of electricity from renewable resources in recent years. It was the Europeans ... not us North Americans, continuing to walk (no, "drive") along our paths of cheap energy availability. Much less, until recently, concerned to find alternative sources of energy. Additionally - cheap food, which has been our policy for years, is finished. Not only was our food cheaper than in many areas, the fact that our incomes were larger meant also that it consumed a much lower percentage of our total incomes. By the way ... some time ago, on a similar thread, I reported another frugal situation, which someone said that she'd never thought of, but was impressed by. I took some hamburger and peas out of the freezer a while ago ... to let them warm up in the expensively heated air put out by the furnace. I'm cooking a pot of rice ... so took the lid off of the rice cooker and put an aluminum pie plate on there, then put the peas on it, then another aluminum plate with the hamburg on that, with another plate or the pot lid set down on top. Two/three birds - one stone. Good wishes for making good use of a lovely spring weekend - it's snowing, here ... again! ole joyful...See MoreGarage apartment building- finish pre-fab or build from scratch?
Comments (4)While I don’t love the idea of living above the garage/having stairs with our 4 dogs, I do like the idea of having room to park our cars if I wanted or have a little shop for projects. I did look at some one bedroom house plans with walk up attics but thought having a garage would be nice and better for resale though I may be wrong about that last part....See MoreLuAnn_in_PA
10 years agoemma
10 years agoazzalea
10 years agoemma
10 years agoevaf555
10 years agojannie
10 years agoemma
10 years agoTiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years agokavakona
10 years agojoyfulguy
10 years agoivamae
10 years agolam702
10 years agomayagreenly
10 years agokirklanda
9 years agoMarissa303
9 years ago
Related Stories
DECORATING GUIDESLook-Alikes That Save Money Without Skimping on Style
Whether in woodwork, flooring, wall treatments or tile, you can get a luxe effect while spending less
Full StorySELLING YOUR HOUSESave Money on Home Staging and Still Sell Faster
Spend only where it matters on home staging to keep money in your pocket and buyers lined up
Full StoryKITCHEN CABINETS9 Ways to Save Money on Kitchen Cabinets
Hold on to more dough without sacrificing style with these cost-saving tips
Full StoryWINDOWSPretty (and Money-Saving) Window Treatments
Stationary Drapes, Shades and Swags Add Polish for Less
Full StoryReplace Your Windows and Save Money — a How-to Guide
Reduce drafts to lower heating bills by swapping out old panes for new, in this DIY project for handy homeowners
Full StoryBUDGET DECORATING14 Ways to Make More Money at a Yard Sale — and Have Fun Too
Maximize profits and have a ball selling your old stuff, with these tips to help you plan, advertise and style your yard sale effectively
Full StoryLIFEThe Top 5 Ways to Save Water at Home
Get on the fast track to preserving a valuable resource and saving money too with these smart, effective strategies
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESHow to Save a Boring Box of a Room
Whip a ho-hum format and low ceilings into high-design shape with these ideas that offer a big new vision
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESBudget Decorator: How to Save When You Don’t DIY
You don’t have to be crafty to decorate your home inexpensively. Here are other ways to stretch your design dollars
Full StorySponsored
williamsem