Ways to save money

[Sangi]

Hello

I just want to add something , I honour your high sense of good morality .
I know for sure that those little napkins and salt and pepper packs along with the the ketchup are all there to be used . Actually restaurants, and hotels do take it into consideration when they stock items that it is to be expected that poeple will walk away with some things hence the cost is are already worked into the system , so those little bars of soap and conditioner and ketchup are already paid for by you the customer ...

Sorry guys i m new here so still figuring this whole posting thing , that previous comment was a response for the person who had some objections to picking up free kleenex at restaurants , please ignore this snafoo carry on and continue ...

[Blue Flower]

Food wasting barely happen in our house hold. I have trained not to waste food since I was a child and I generate it to my children. I cook almost every day to save $$$ even for my husband lunch it all prepared from home including coffee (instant coffee and sugar and milk in small tupperware, hot water) since my husband is carpenter so no microwave available on the site, you can save $1-2 for coffee and $3-10 for lunch also put some granola (on sale) and some home made cookies/cake.

At home every 2 days depends how much left over we have, we eat the left over first, I bought meat in value size divide it usually 1 time cook cost me $2-3 for the protein once in a while a little bit more but never exceed $7 and that is for fresh chicken breast/turkey/fish and my husband go fishing too so free fish..... I used regular ziplock for small portion of meat and put 4 unit to 1 big freezer bag to freeze them properly in that case I will spend less money buying small ziplock compare to big freezer bag and the freezer bag can be re-used again after all the meat has been used as it does not have contact to the meat. And I usually have data base for meat in my freezer, for instance ground beef 5 packages, 5 packages of chicken breast, or beef etc... and every time I take 1, I will put a sign beside each name on my data base list when it close to the last 2 or 1 bag then I will start checking what on sale to start my stock again. In that case you are aware and no meat had burried inside of your freezer and when you find it sometimes it is bad already and end up in the garbage....

We are now trying to clear out our cupboards and freezer...last year we threw out so much food because it either expired or got freezer burn lol.

Twice a week we try to eat something from the freezer, and I try to not buy as much bread, produce and milk because it always went bad..I was throwing so much money down the drain!

So far i've been surprised at how much money I was able to cut from our weekly grocery bill just by eating what we have in the house instead of buying more stuff.

I suggest everyone to try this for a week and see how it goes

[Valiant]

A few homemade food basics that are cheap to make and go a long way:
A big pot of homemade soup= then freeze in small containers
Crepes or tortillas= can be rolled, bagged and frozen to thaw later and spread with fillings
Homemade chili= spread on homemade pizza dough and top with grated cheeses to make delicious pizza; another version is to grind up the chili in the blender for a superior-flavoured pizza sauce base; several pizzas can be made from just one basic pan-ful of homemade chili; freeze pizzas in pan, then remove and store in freezer in separate plastic bag. I stack them and enjoy when life's too busy to do any cooking.

[tjthemanto]

Food wasting barely happen in our house hold. I have trained not to waste food since I was a child and I generate it to my children. I cook almost every day to save $$$ even for my husband lunch it all prepared from home including coffee (instant coffee and sugar and milk in small tupperware, hot water) since my husband is carpenter so no microwave available on the site, you can save $1-2 for coffee and $3-10 for lunch also put some granola (on sale) and some home made cookies/cake.

At home every 2 days depends how much left over we have, we eat the left over first, I bought meat in value size divide it usually 1 time cook cost me $2-3 for the protein once in a while a little bit more but never exceed $7 and that is for fresh chicken breast/turkey/fish and my husband go fishing too so free fish..... I used regular ziplock for small portion of meat and put 4 unit to 1 big freezer bag to freeze them properly in that case I will spend less money buying small ziplock compare to big freezer bag and the freezer bag can be re-used again after all the meat has been used as it does not have contact to the meat. And I usually have data base for meat in my freezer, for instance ground beef 5 packages, 5 packages of chicken breast, or beef etc... and every time I take 1, I will put a sign beside each name on my data base list when it close to the last 2 or 1 bag then I will start checking what on sale to start my stock again. In that case you are aware and no meat had burried inside of your freezer and when you find it sometimes it is bad already and end up in the garbage....

Your husband is not only saving money by taking home made food with him ..he is also eating healthy ..way better than the processed crap they sell in most restaurants/fast food joints

[lor1492]

if you use a dryer, take out the lint screen once a month and clean it with a little liquid soap and a small brush (old tooth brush works great). A lot of people don't realize that fabric softener (esp sheets) have a waxy coating that will coat the screen and impeed the airflow. Someone told me that a couple of years ago and to test the theory I dropped a spoonful of water onto the screen - I was shocked to see it beading instead of running through- so even though it looked fine- it wasn't and I noticed a big difference in how long it took the clothes to dry.

[Insane]

Anyone ever done the once a month cooking thing where you make huge batches of different meals and freeze? There are a few cookbooks on it.

[lor1492]

I have from time to time but certainly not on the scale my dad use to do it, before we had microwaves, dad used pie plates - I still remember his roast turkey dinners, it was great to come home from school and be able to pick an awesome meal - but we had to wait 40 minutes to eat it, he would have loved being able to do it with a mircowave- or maybe he wouldn't have wanted it to be so easy for us to eat them up...lol

[vsaint]

Change ISP's.
Most people are with Bell/Rogers for DSL/Cable.
I switched to Teksavvy 2 years ago and saved almost $20 a month for same plan.
Check it out, there all sorts of internet providers out there.

[lor1492]

trading services : there are some sites set up just for this, usually local ones you'd have to do a search for. Say you are a plumber for example, but you need a mechanic, you can swap services- you'd have to both sign an agreement before hand, be responsible for having the nesessary materials and agree to a set amount of time.
If you have good neighbours you could possibly work out trades with them as well. My neighbours can use our pool in the summer, in exchange they plow our driveway in winter- its an unspoken exchange really. We aren't "best buds" with them, we don't hang out, we just practice being "good" neighbours and neither tries to take advantage of the other. When I see they've been working in the garden all day I'll cook them a meal, she is a product purchaser for a grocery chain and drops off all pasta and cereal samples the reps give her because they don't eat either of these things. Its little trade offs like those - or big ones like getting a toilet installed. I agree these things work much better in a small town / rural community where people are known to each other. (And its imparitive to have some safety plans in place before letting any stranger into your home.) But I've also seen it work in cities when the participants met on a message board and traded services after getting to know each other (Ie it was a flooring specialist and a plumber that met on the ebay community message board)
And I've seen total strangers in the same church swap trades. My point I guess is that if you need something or need something done, look around, perhaps you have something to offer in exchange - maybe its just a hot meal, or sewing alterations or childcare, but every one has something.

Oh, and check out facebook for a local "exchange" group. I was just accepted to a local closed group who exchange kids clothing /toys and furniture- I set out on the search because I wanted to exchange a too big pair of skates for a smaller pair- and I got a lot more than I imagined!

[lizzie bargain]

One of my favourite ways to save money is by doing a house exchange when you go on vacation. Check out homeexchange.com-browsing the listings is free (and fun). I usually do a reverse search and see who wants to come to my city. If you see somewhere you are interested in I think the fee is 9.95 per month to respond to ads or post your own. We did a 3 week exchange to Australia 3 years ago and had a beautiful home for 20 nights for a total of $50 which was the annual membership fee then! What a bargain. Plus you are not all crammed into a hotel room and you have cooking and laundry facilities which is great with kids. Some people even exchange cars and pet care. We are still in touch with this family and you really get to know the neighbours and the neighbourhood. I never worried about any damage to our house as we had many e-mails with the people ahead of time and when you are staying in each others home you are very careful to take care of it and leave it clean. Of course you can always exchange in Canada if you want something closer.

[lor1492]

what an awesome idea! I recall watching a movie about 2 women who exchanged homes during the holidays and I remeber thinking what a cool idea!
Thanks for sharing that!

[AngJacob]

Change ISP's.
Most people are with Bell/Rogers for DSL/Cable.
I switched to Teksavvy 2 years ago and saved almost $20 a month for same plan.
Check it out, there all sorts of internet providers out there.

Teksavvy is a really good provider i have been using the best price i saw in the market 2yrs ago $31.XX including tax for the one i took (no hasel and annoying calls ..). when i called to cancel since i was moving to diff location no questions asked all done in less than 2 min .

[corbinx]

I find the best way to save money is to write down everything we spend, rounded to the nearest dollar. At the end of each month I put everything in categories and add it up. It really makes you think about spending money on something you don't really need if you know you have to write it down, and also it shows you which areas you are overspending in so you can make a conscious effort to cut back.

[French Lady]

There are so many ways to save money. I think a lot of it depends on the time and energy you're willing to put into it. Here are a few I haven't seen on this thread so far:
- my mom used to make huge batches of French-Canadian meat pies and wrap them in taped newpaper before freezing - no plastic wrap for her and it tasted just fine
- I never buy the white kitchen garbage bags, but recycle plastic grocery bags
- I save the elastics on vegies and recycle them
- for some reason, oranges are usually cheaper at Asian supermarkets than western ones. Asian supermarkets can also be good for buying rice and soy sauce in bulk at great prices.

Thanks for all the tips fellow SCers!

[freebies258]

- eat at home and pack your lunch really saves a lot...
- coupons, wait for sale
- selling off things that has been lying in the basement