Blessedmommy gave me this idea! Post your fav money saving secret!

I think I've said this before, but putting X amount into your savings once you get paid is what I do. It's not in my chequing account, so I can't use it. My MC gets paid off as soon as I get home.
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Very interesting topic!A+

My best tip is to NOT PAY INTEREST on balances - so don't carry a balance if you can help it at all. A typical credit card charges 19.99% interest. Even if you are carrying a small balance, that adds up. In one year $100 will cost you $120. So whatever you bought that seemed like such a deal isn't so cheap when interest gets added on. Also, look at your bills and credit card statements for things like 'balance insurance.' It is usually 1% of your balance each month. That's an extra 12% a year! on top of your cc interest. And, call your bank about bank fees - you might not be on the best plan for you.

If people added up the interest they pay on all their debt in one month they would absolutely start paying those balances down.

Secondary tip: Don't buy what you don't need! Sure, something may be a super great deal with that coupon, but if don't use it, it's just taking up closet space.

I thought of another one I do. Walk or ride a bike everywhere you can if you can. I have been doing this all year so I don't have to spend money on gas or bus fare. It also helps me get my excercise for the day in easily.

I menu plan each week with a friend(so that we do it!!)and I buy only what's on sale. I know it's on sale by keeping a price book. My meals are planned by what's in the freezer, the pantry, the fridge and on sale, rather than deciding on things and then buying the ingredients. I blog about the sales weekly, so that helps me keep track and help others who are too busy. I use cookbooks and magazines from the library for inspiration. This has helped us tremendously.
Now, I read all your wonderful posts to help me learn all sort of new ways to save money!!! :)

I do most of the same things everyone else listed :)

* Meal Plan
* Wash in cold
* Freeze fruits and Veg from the summer
* Bundle packages for cable,internet,etc

We actually ended up getting rid of our landline,internet(was seperate), my cell and got the Iphone. We ended up getting the "promo offer" for tv and internet(with a different company) for substantially less than what we paid before. I believe it works out to be close to $50 a month in savings :)

But I also keep a "stockpile list". I do it not only for my dry goods but also my freezer. I think many people just keep buying something cause it's a good deal and throwing it in the freezer(for example) and they have no idea what's at the bottom :omg:

We also:

* stopped using our debit card and try to either use cash or CC and of course pay it off every month!

* we use the 48 hour rule when we shop. If we find something that catches our eye we wait 48hrs before we purcashe it. It gives us time to see if we really need it or if it is just frivolous.

* We have called the CC companies and asked for lower rates(most of the time it works especially if you have a good credit history)

* Have garage sales. It not only brings in some $ but also helps de clutter our place :)

* I have some girlfriends over and we "swap" clothes. It's a great way to get newish stuff and not have to shell out big $$$ for new items.

I go to thrift stores for work ties. I have found so many cool, current and fashionable ties at the Salvation army. Brands such as Bill Blass, Dior, DKNY and Armani...all for $1-2.

It does take some browsing (there are a lot of duds) but I usually leave each time with one awesome tie.

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Originally Posted by momof3heathens

At the end of each day I transfer the change part of my chequeing account into my savings. Example say I have $453.02 in my chequeing account I will transfer the $3.02 into my savings account. I first started only transferring the $0.02 part but now am comfortable with the dollar amount as well. It's a pretty effortless way of saving without it really hurting.

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I set something similar up with my TD account - - every time I use my debit card, $2.00 is transferred to a savings account that I cannot access with my ATM card, so I'm not tempted to dip into my savings.

You can set the amount from $.50 all the way up to $5.00 per debit transaction.

I bet other banks have this program as well. And I was able to set it up online by myself! :tongue:

:)

My mom taught me this trick - - she called it "nearly new - hardly used"!!!!!

Look for marked down produce, bakery items, and meat. I buy bags of peppers for nearly nothing, then dice them up and put them in freezer bags so they are all ready to toss into chili, pasta sauce, etc. My 17-yr old LOVES to bake banana bread, so I am always happy to bring home a big bag of over-ripe bananas. We wrap and freeze extra loaves. Just this past Tuesday, I bought 10 pounds of minced turkey, thas was all marked down 50%. It's been cooked off, and bagged up for the freezer. We can quickly add to pasta sauce, or make turkey tacos for a fast weeknight supper.

Bread is often marked down at RCSS and Loblaws for 50% off, and generally I have a coupon to add to it - and bread goes right into the freezer. If I find a great deal on bakery brownies, tartlets or whatever, into the freezer they go for a future cookie tray to take to a party.

In this cold weather, we dressed extra layers all the time, and turn the thermostat lower. Doing this, my recent hydro bill was 3 x less compared to not doing it last year!

I also have to add that I pick up penny's (and other change too ;)) much to the dismay of DH sometimes :). I also will put away extra carts to get the quaters( Bad weather, Xmas and New Years are great times for this!) :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blessedmommy

In this cold weather, we dressed extra layers all the time, and turn the thermostat lower. Doing this, my recent hydro bill was 3 x less compared to not doing it last year!

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We do the same! We wear slippers and sweaters in the house. If we are moving around, you don't feel uncomfortably cool. If we sit down to watch TV, a blanket and a cuddle warm you right up!

DH and I were given a dual control heated blanket for Christmas last year. We can keep our bedroom heat pretty low in the winter using this. We pre-heat our bed (each side to our desired temp) about 15 minutes before we turn in. I turn mine up to HIGH to get it nice and toasty warm. I turn it back to 3 or 4 when I get in bed and I'm pefectly warm until morning.

I've got a few more that have saved us money these last few years: Use your public library. Yes, for books of course (I stop in for pick-ups and drop-offs easily once a week), but also for DVDs. And most libraries have online services. I just request anything i want from my computer at home (and they have pretty much every book and movie imaginable) and then I get an automated call when it arrives at my local branch. Free movie nights.

Laundry: like others mentioned I wash in cold (occasionally i do my sheets in hot) - but i live in a building with a laundry room, so i pay the same price regardless of the temperature. I just use cold to be green-er (and, it's easier on clothes and they don't fade nearly as quickly). But we bought a fold out clothes rack and we put probably 3/4 of our laundry on it to dry - even though I don't have a ton of space, you can fit an amazing amount on one of those. Sheets and towels are too big and we don't have outside space to hang them. Hanging to dry saves us $1.75 a load. Multiply that by 3 or 4 loads a week, and that really adds up.

Also, because I live in a big city, winning things like movie passes is actually pretty easy. We almost never ever pay to go to the movies, yet we see a few every month so we don't feel 'deprived.'

And, fruit and veggie stands vs: the grocery store. Generally speaking I can get better and cheaper veggies at the local stands than even at No Frills. If we see something at a particularly good price, we just grab it. I insist on fruits and veggies in every meal, so, always on the lookout for good prices. (in the winter, if i have to use frozen, i will - frozen works better in smoothies anyway!) :)

Since there are so many i will just mention the main money savings tips that I have just started doing in the past year and that have not been mentioned yet:

#1: download movies
#2: use dawn dishsoap as handsoap (we fill stainless steel handsoap pumps with it, and we get the soap for free and find it works just as good as softsoap!)
#3: use my cash back SPC mastercard and pay it off at the end of each week
#4: dh and I have a joint checking (which we love TD just not the fees) so we keep $3000 extra in our acct per month so we dont pay the $13 fee everymonth
#5: we use fave 5 on our cell phone plans so we only pay 25$ a month (after taxes)
#6: set up a tax free savings acct with td
#7: add extra money to our car payment loan each month
#8: anything we dont use on a daily basis gets sold on craigslist
#9: buy dh/ds/& most my clothing @ oldnavy (we usually only buy really expensive clothing but we all actually found we love oldnavy clothing!)
#10: I cut my sons and hubby's hair myself
#11: SDM redemptions for electronics/groceries... LD for free household products!

and i could go on forever listing tips but those are the most helpful changes that have not been listed yet!