What About Your Lifestyle/Habits Saves You Big $$$ ?

[DisLiss]

We opt to be a one car family. I know many folks cannot or would not ever go for that, but it's definitely the biggest savings in our arsenal. We made the choice about, gosh, 15, 16 years ago, I think. Occasionally it's a pain, but mostly it's fine.

We don't use shopping as entertainment. Aside from vacations, we never go to a store just to browse. And even then our kids have been saving their own spending money for souvenirs since they were preschool age.

We cook our own meals the vast, vast majority of the time. Breakfast, lunch, & dinner.

We are voracious readers, but we rarely buy brand new books. We are huge fans of our library, and we go to book sales and garage sales where we rarely spend more than a dollar or two on even a really nice hardcover book. Paperbacks we easily buy for a dollar or less. When the kids were still reading picture books, I routinely got those for as little as a dime or quarter a piece.

 

[MrsPete]

My husband wants us to go down to one car (that we own) because he is a Sheriff Deputy and has a take home car now, but I'm the one holding out on selling his truck. We are only paying about $30/month to insure it and it's paid off. I know $30/month x 12 months is $360 we could do something else with, but I just can't seem to let go of it. We hardly ever drive, but it sure is nice to have when we need a truck for something or if my car is in the shop.

Don't forget taxes, yearly tags/registration and maintenance.

We don't use shopping as entertainment.

That is a huge money saver.

 

[DisLiss]

My husband wants us to go down to one car (that we own) because he is a Sheriff Deputy and has a take home car now, but I'm the one holding out on selling his truck. We are only paying about $30/month to insure it and it's paid off. I know $30/month x 12 months is $360 we could do something else with, but I just can't seem to let go of it. We hardly ever drive, but it sure is nice to have when we need a truck for something or if my car is in the shop.

I totally get that. For us, there was a lot more savings than that. Our insurance on the car was more. We live in a cold weather area with a lot of snow, so we were buying both regular and snow tires for it. We had small kids, so we kept buying 2 new car seats every time someone outgrew an old one. Plus the basics---registration, gas, maintenance, repairs. And the car we opted to sell at the time had been hitting us pretty steadily with repairs, so it didn't hurt to let it go. It was a relief, really.
We also found that it had a surprise savings---on days when DH took the car, the kids and I stayed home or in our immediate area. No temptation to run out to a movie, or for ice cream, or to here, there, or another place that might lead to us spending money. We instead had planned outings for the days we had the car, and we planned them in ways to save money instead--play dates, family visits, parks, nature walks, etc.

 

[barkley]

Don't forget taxes, yearly tags/registration and maintenance.

on the flip side it's a good idea if considering selling that extra car to check and see how it will impact your insurance rates. when we sold an extra car some years back we lost a multi car discount on our insurance that more than offset the cost of registration and the minimal maintenance it cost. it ended up costing us more on an ongoing basis to have sold it.

 

[LovesTimone]

So for us I really don't think its one thing... but a combo of alot of little things...

We made a 5 year plan, and have stuck to it. We did have some extra cash come our way, and we made a couple of other financial decisions, and it looks like if everything stays on track we should get to our goal around 8 months earlier.. so pretty good I think...

The house we live in, was a investment house... We bought at the right time, for a really good and right price.... when the development wasn't really even opened yet, and the area we bought in was really just getting started... The home values in our area has skyrocketed... We really made a good investment, plus we got a home the we can easily afford, and are not house broke...

I cook alot, and I enjoy it... We do eat out on the weekends... and I might have lunch out with a friend once a week... other than that we eat at home, and DH takes his lunch at least 2 or 3 days a week...

So I plan my shopping trips...
Aldi - every 2 weeks
Walmart - once monthly
Publix - BOGO's weekly - and only if I need it
BJ's warehouse - every 3 months...
Trader Joe's... I really only go here when I know my grandson is coming to stay with us. They have certain things that he likes..

I have a list in my computer for each store, I print it, then use as a inventory sheet, if I don't need that item this trip, I just mark through it, and if I need something special, I just hand write in...

I have a very well stocked pantry... this is something that my grandmother taught me and has served me well over the years. Create the pantry for how you cook as well as how and what your family likes eat.

I meal plan for 2 weeks at a time, as well I plan on what to do with leftovers. By knowing what you are going to do with leftovers, whether you are going to just warm them up again, or create side dish or freeze them for soup or something else, you are saving time and money.

Freezer meals - When I was working out side of the home this was a life saver... I would make around 100+ meatballs, and divide them up, into freezer bags... When I would make red sauce, I would make a huge pot, and freeze in different container sizes... so on the nights when DD was at practice, or a club meeting or I had a meeting at school or church, DH was stopping to pick up DD from whatever after school activities and such... Knowing that morning, I would take out a some meatballs, and a container of red sauce, put in the fridge to thaw, and whoever got home first could throw the meatballs and red sauce in a pot, and add in sub rolls, and homemade meatball subs for dinner... You have to see what works for your family...

2 for 1 meals... making enough of something to use for another completely different meal... If DH is grilling, I might have him grill more chicken than we need, to use for meals later in the week... I was making baked ziti a few weeks ago, so I made some extra pasta, and the next day made a veggie pasta salad for myself to have for lunch that week.

I helped my friend set up her pantry not to long ago, and she had so much stuff that she had bought and only used one time for a recipe... Total waste of money. When looking for a new recipe or a new dish to make, look for ingredients that you have on hand, or that you can change in the recipe... My granny taught me that a recipe was just a guideline for you to go by when cooking... that you can change up or take out or add anything in that you want to...

DH decided that he wanted to start doing our lawn work, for 2 reasons find a good lawn guy or company is hard, and save some more money... We have a very small yard, it takes him around 30 minutes to mow, weed, and edge... we do have alot of landscaping, bushes, flowering trees, and plants, and planters which we do together... We already owned a weed eater, edger, and blower... so we put out around 400.00 bucks for a mower... last year even with this purchase we saved 900.00 that we did not have to pay out for lawn service, we had already paid for a month or two ... This year we will save about 1,500.00...

We are planning on our next 5 year plan that will be focused more on retirement goals... and where we want to be at... and how to achieve it..

 

[DisneyHardin]

on the flip side it's a good idea if considering selling that extra car to check and see how it will impact your insurance rates. when we sold an extra car some years back we lost a multi car discount on our insurance that more than offset the cost of registration and the minimal maintenance it cost. it ended up costing us more on an ongoing basis to have sold it.

Since our truck is older, the taxes/registration are less than $100/year anyway.

 

[LovesTimone]

So for us I really don't think its one thing... but a combo of alot of little things...

We made a 5 year plan, and have stuck to it. We did have some extra cash come our way, and we made a couple of other financial decisions, and it looks like if everything stays on track we should get to our goal around 8 months earlier.. so pretty good I think...

The house we live in, was a investment house... We bought at the right time, for a really good and right price.... when the development wasn't really even opened yet, and the area we bought in was really just getting started... The home values in our area has skyrocketed... We really made a good investment, plus we got a home the we can easily afford, and are not house broke...

I cook alot, and I enjoy it... We do eat out on the weekends... and I might have lunch out with a friend once a week... other than that we eat at home, and DH takes his lunch at least 2 or 3 days a week...

So I plan my shopping trips...
Aldi - every 2 weeks
Walmart - once monthly
Publix - BOGO's weekly - and only if I need it
BJ's warehouse - every 3 months...
Trader Joe's... I really only go here when I know my grandson is coming to stay with us. They have certain things that he likes..

I have a list in my computer for each store, I print it, then use as a inventory sheet, if I don't need that item this trip, I just mark through it, and if I need something special, I just hand write in...

I have a very well stocked pantry... this is something that my grandmother taught me and has served me well over the years. Create the pantry for how you cook as well as how and what your family likes eat.

I meal plan for 2 weeks at a time, as well I plan on what to do with leftovers. By knowing what you are going to do with leftovers, whether you are going to just warm them up again, or create side dish or freeze them for soup or something else, you are saving time and money.

Freezer meals - When I was working out side of the home this was a life saver... I would make around 100+ meatballs, and divide them up, into freezer bags... When I would make red sauce, I would make a huge pot, and freeze in different container sizes... so on the nights when DD was at practice, or a club meeting or I had a meeting at school or church, DH was stopping to pick up DD from whatever after school activities and such... Knowing that morning, I would take out a some meatballs, and a container of red sauce, put in the fridge to thaw, and whoever got home first could throw the meatballs and red sauce in a pot, and add in sub rolls, and homemade meatball subs for dinner... You have to see what works for your family...

2 for 1 meals... making enough of something to use for another completely different meal... If DH is grilling, I might have him grill more chicken than we need, to use for meals later in the week... I was making baked ziti a few weeks ago, so I made some extra pasta, and the next day made a veggie pasta salad for myself to have for lunch that week.

I helped my friend set up her pantry not to long ago, and she had so much stuff that she had bought and only used one time for a recipe... Total waste of money. When looking for a new recipe or a new dish to make, look for ingredients that you have on hand, or that you can change in the recipe... My granny taught me that a recipe was just a guideline for you to go by when cooking... that you can change up or take out or add anything in that you want to...

DH decided that he wanted to start doing our lawn work, for 2 reasons find a good lawn guy or company is hard, and save some more money... We have a very small yard, it takes him around 30 minutes to mow, weed, and edge... we do have alot of landscaping, bushes, flowering trees, and plants, and planters which we do together... We already owned a weed eater, edger, and blower... so we put out around 400.00 bucks for a mower... last year even with this purchase we saved 900.00 that we did not have to pay out for lawn service, we had already paid for a month or two ... This year we will save about 1,500.00...

We are planning on our next 5 year plan that will be focused more on retirement goals... and where we want to be at... and how to achieve it..

I am the OP to the above post...

Last night I thought of something that I really did not see anyone mention...

Taking care of what you have... you know making what you have last...

Like keeping your car current with oil changes, tires and rotations, basic maintenance, wiper blades... even washing and cleaning out your car...

Basic upkeep and maintenance on your home, things like painting, fixing minor stuff before it become major stuff... like a air conditioner check up or yearly maintenance here is Florida is a must... You can survive here with out a good air-conditioner.

Household appliances - I have had things like a crock pot last over 20 years, and a iron for that long... I have a blender that was given to DH and I as a gift for our wedding, and It's like brand new, and we have been married 18 years... I still have the ironing board that my granny gave me, it was her's... It's a heavy duty metal one... I know I have it over 40 years... and I iron pretty much daily... My neighbor was having problems with new dryer, and she was like I'm not sure what's wrong, I pulled the lint filter out and she had not cleaned it out since she bought it... she was like oh, I forgot... things like this simple things, can make what you have last a long time...

Another thing I thought about was... clothing... I love to shop... I'm not a trend shopper. I try to buy things that will never go out of style, basic or classic styles... and I look at how things need to be washed... what is the garment made of, how is it made... and if it has stuff like beading, or sequins or whatever, if it going to be a pain to care for.... or... if it has to go to dry cleaner it goes back on rack... Living in Florida, we have a much more casual life style than in most parts of our beautiful country... I will say that once in while I will buy something kinda trendy or fun, still I have trouble doing that... I guess that I have a hard time spending money on something that I know that I will not wear more than a few times... DH is a basic guy...he is dress pants, white or blue dress shirt, and tie kinda professional guy, and relaxed on the weekends, shorts or jeans, t's and polo... and once in while a short sleeve button up for date night, untucked of course... I really have OCD when it comes to the laundry, I read labels, sort colors, watch my water temp, I do spend a bit more for laundry products like Tide, and Persil and spot remover oxyclean, because for me they work, and rarely have to rewash something.... and I hardly every dry clothing in the dryer...

 

[barkley]

Taking care of what you have... you know making what you have last...

absolutely, and in addition to the suggestions you posted i'll pass on one i learned decades ago while working in a furniture store-never directly spray cleaning products onto either hardwood or veneer furniture. spray onto the dust rag you are using b/c the propellant in canned products can lead to deteriorating the finish.

 

[shawthorne44]

I really have OCD when it comes to the laundry, I read labels, sort colors, watch my water temp, I do spend a bit more for laundry products like Tide, and Persil and spot remover oxyclean, because for me they work, and rarely have to rewash something.... and I hardly every dry clothing in the dryer...

Me too! I'm 51 and I still occasionally wear stuff that my mother bought me when I was in high school and college. Everything except, underwear, socks, sheets and towels are washed on cold and put on a hanger to dry

We have a water-softener, so I am able to successfully use homemade laundry soap. I use the powder, then combine 1 teas of the powder with 3 cups of water in a glass iced tea container, and heat/stir in the microwave until it is a solution. For spot treatment (generally food on my shirts), I put a dab of Dawn dish soap when I take the shirt off. I do have oxiclean around for really bad stains.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I was talking about the people who make min wage, live in govt housing, no phone, no internet/cable etc. beater car to get to their crappy job. Getting gov assistance and still struggling to eat ramen noodles kind of broke. The kind of broke where you buy a gallon of gas at a time and hope it gets you to work till payday. I’ve been lucky to not be there but I def have known ppl who have been. They don’t have any extra to save bc they don’t even have enough to get by. Today we don’t have the communities like your grandparents had where neighbors help each other out. I’m not saying you are wrong in general. But there are ppl out there who literally cannot save bc there is nothing left to cut back on.

Just curious, have you ever read Mr. Money Mustache's website? It's an eye-opener for sure.

I do believe if income is that low, it is impossible to save. In that case, the focus needs to turn to how to qualify for a better paying job. This is possible but depends on how many children the person has and if he/she is getting support by friends/family. (not necessarily financial suppport but assistance with child care, hand me downs, etc.)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Me too! I'm 51 and I still occasionally wear stuff that my mother bought me when I was in high school and college. Everything except, underwear, socks, sheets and towels are washed on cold and put on a hanger to dry

We have a water-softener, so I am able to successfully use homemade laundry soap. I use the powder, then combine 1 teas of the powder with 3 cups of water in a glass iced tea container, and heat/stir in the microwave until it is a solution. For spot treatment (generally food on my shirts), I put a dab of Dawn dish soap when I take the shirt off. I do have oxiclean around for really bad stains.

I grew up hanging clothes outside on a clothesline but the first advice to help sufferers of pollen allergies is to not hang laundry outside. Wet clothes are a huge pollen magnet. I developed allergies at around 30 so after innumerable sinus infections, I have accepted the fact that the clothes dryer is a must.
Where on earth do you hang this much clothing? Our house is very small and the laundry room is around 4' x 6', just enough space to stand in there and use the washer dryer.
To hang everything, I'd need lines going across the living room and dining room.

 

[Judique]

My husband wants us to go down to one car (that we own) because he is a Sheriff Deputy and has a take home car now, but I'm the one holding out on selling his truck. We are only paying about $30/month to insure it and it's paid off. I know $30/month x 12 months is $360 we could do something else with, but I just can't seem to let go of it. We hardly ever drive, but it sure is nice to have when we need a truck for something or if my car is in the shop.

I agree with you. I have a much older van that costs me $267 ($201 during Covid) every 6 months to ensure - full, and high limit coverages. But every month I get my money out of it, for instance picking up an extra fence section at Home Depot a few miles away that would have cost $59 for delivery. I don't need the cash from the sale and it was well maintained so just needs occasional things like oil changes. Otherwise I drive a Hybrid and use very little gas, so car costs are very small. Once the hybrid goes out of warranty, I'll buy new and reevaluate my car situation. I also like the van for beach trips - all the chairs, umbrella and general stuff we bring. I once priced a large rental and it would have been $1100 for the week and that was before the high priced rentals going on now- that is more than my own van costs in a year.

Older daughter took my jeep when her car needed work then son in law started driving it when his newer jeep went in the shop. Switched title to them as I really had no need for 3 cars plus younger daughter lives here and has her own.

 

[Judique]

that's if they even have a rental car available. it is impossible to get a rental car most places right now. it's well worth paying that little bit extra for insuring an extra rarely used car to ensure you've got that backup source of transportation available (we are in the boonies too-it's a killer when your primary car's battery decides to totally die and absent a spare vehicle you are hoping a neighbor is around you can call in a big favor from to get you into the nearest town).

AAA is my go to for this situation. They will send the battery truck if you know it's a battery. And, the one time that I refused their battery, I paid extra for the same battery somewhere else, had to wait on installation and generally inconvenienced myself, when I could have had the guy drop it in for me and been good to go. Each vehicle we have now has a AAA battery and no issues (except the hybrid, obviously).

It's nice to have them come right to your home to do this or if you get stuck somewhere like a friend's house, a shopping mall or in my case, once at Disney in the parking lot while staying at Boardwalk Villas.

 

[808blessing]

Just curious, have you ever read Mr. Money Mustache's website? It's an eye-opener for sure.

I do believe if income is that low, it is impossible to save. In that case, the focus needs to turn to how to qualify for a better paying job. This is possible but depends on how many children the person has and if he/she is getting support by friends/family. (not necessarily financial suppport but assistance with child care, hand me downs, etc.)

When I was in high school, we were gallon of a gas at a time broke and ran out of gas at least once a year, with an empty unfurnished apartment. No govt or family $ assistance (she didn’t want to ask my dad for more than the $200 required support) but my mom eventually moved to another state, transferred to an airlines job with a sister location there, then went to a big corporate company just expanding their travel side. It ended up being huge. She only left the state because I had applied by myself to state uni. and moving into the dorms. I could fly to visit if needed. She ended up being senior sales in new branch My brother married up and worked for the family’s company and I had financial assistance in the dormitory thru work study jobs, govt. grants, tuition waivers, etc. Thank God they had a course for “at-risk” college students and leadership training through my campus work at college. So that’s how you make it up. That and a sparkling personality helps. This was definitely a diversion so I’ll leave you with another tip that helps me. When I budget, I do it by my paychecks. So I write everything spent for paycheck 1. Then paycheck 2 has a different list. I try to have all fixed expenses come out of the account on one day during the pay period and check it the day after. It helps me track how much is in the main account twice a month so I’m not checking all throughout. I also check my credit card (0 rollover of course) 2 weeks ahead and make sure all looks well. I try to spend toward the end and “fast” the first two weeks of my cc window.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Just curious, have you ever read Mr. Money Mustache's website? It's an eye-opener for sure.

I have read the articles on his site from time to time....have seen other FIRE people's sites, a couple of documentaries. With Mr. MM...it's about optimizing really....everything to pay the least for it, get the most out of it...etc. I find that it's interesting to get some ideas from the influencers in that world, but it's really not do-able for most people to drop off the grid like he did. Also, as he's likely one of the more famous FIRE people, he's also quite wealthy....he sold his website for 9 million bucks a couple of years back and they kept him around to continue to write for them, so he's making loads of money. Before he sold it I read an article that he was making 600K a year from his website alone. But...I think he seems like he really does live the spartan life for the most part. He also hasn't been to the dentist in 25 years (really), and says his medical expenses are $0, because he's healthy, eats salad...etc. Well, at 47 he might want to have a physical every now and again. I read several articles how he's simply fascinated by Teslas. He's rented them a few times and even admitted that he might actually have to break down and buy a used one. I just can't relate to a guy who is a millionaire many times over and is absolutely tortured by buying a used Tesla. Dude, just get the car.

 

[Judique]

My neighbor was having problems with new dryer, and she was like I'm not sure what's wrong, I pulled the lint filter out and she had not cleaned it out since she bought it... she was like oh, I forgot... things like this simple things, can make what you have last a long time...

OMG.....I once bought/was given a used dryer to supplement my still running washer. I wanted to replace both with new when the washer would expire. The person gave it to me for free even though it had been advertised for a cash price. She said, 'I can't do this to you' and told me it didn't work well. I took it home and removed enough lint to fill a garbage bag. It was all through the machine....looked like it had never been cleaned. Now I check it every so often to see if lint has gotten where it shouldn't be and it's still fine so long as you clean the filter each time. I often clean the filter during the load also when I'm just spinning stuff to hang dry.

Since then I did buy a matching pair, but still have this old dryer and use it when I have bulky objects that need longer drying so as to speed up my laundry day. There was nothing wrong with it and it's still going strong.

.

 

[808blessing]

Speaking of washers, my husband returned our brand new washer and looked for an traditional model spinner. He insisted they will last longer than the new models. So I’m living it up in the old school (while cleaning the lint trap often).

 

[shawthorne44]

Where on earth do you hang this much clothing? Our house is very small and the laundry room is around 4' x 6', just enough space to stand in there and use the washer dryer.

We live in our forever house that was old and needed extensive remodels before we moved in. So, DH gutted the inside and built the walls where we wanted them. The laundry room shares a wall with the master closet. There is one long rod that goes from the left side of the laundry room to the right side of the closet with an opening in between. So, I hang the clothes on the rod leaving a few inches between each. I can do about two loads of hanging clothes before I need to switch to something that goes in the dryer. The best part is that when they are dry, I just shove the whole batch into the closet. For DD's clothes, there is a lower rod and her job is to come get her clothes every now and then.

But, in our previous cookie-cutter starter home, I hung a rod up high right in front of the washer and dryers. So, it was over where I'd stand.

 

[Carol_]

Pro Tip:

NEVER GO TO THE FARMERS MARKET.

 

[Toolulu22]

In regards to entertainment options- we utilize the resources our local library provides. We have something called “museum passes” that can be checked out by patrons. These passes include passes to museums, historical places, and beaches and parks. We sign them out as often as possible, particularly during summer and save hundreds in fees. Our library also offers used books (some new releases, others older books not on the library shelves)for sale 3 for $1. I drop off books I’ve read and stock up on books, saving lots of money. My husband picks up books on CD to listen to while he he drives around during the day.

We care for and repair many items, and don’t replace things merely to go along with trends. Mortgage paid off early, and money directly in savings/retirement. Each time I get a raise, the extra money goes directly into an investment. Someone earlier mentioned being prosperous by making more money and years ago we made strategic career decisions that would bring in higher incomes, better compensation, and a high retirement pension in addition to the accounts we already had in place. Being frugal and careful helps, but no doubt that more income translates to a greater ability to save as well as spend. Also, I watched my parents live very simply and socked away their money, only to pass it on to us kids when they passed too soon. My mother talked about many things she wanted to see and do, and I wish my parents would have done a little more for themselves. My husband and I try to balance the value and comfort of today with the future~ which isn’t guaranteed.