Tips for Saving Money in Everday Life

[Daft as a brush]

My favourite tips...

1)Place an ice-cream tub in the basin to catch any excess water while washing hands. You'll quickly collect enough to flush the toilet

2)Make your own inexpensive mints by leaving blobs of toothpaste to dry on a window sill.

3) Experience the thrills of a skiing holiday without the expense. Simply glue two planks of wood to your feet, sit in your freezer for three hours, then run into a tree as fast as you can.

4) Dog owners. Don't waste money on a lead. Simply walk your dog backwards holding its tail.

5) To make a pot of supermarket coleslaw go further, simply grate a carrot, some cabbage and an onion into the tub, then add some mayonnaise.

Hope these help!

[mmbt0ne]

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6. Pack your lunch.

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If you work 50 weeks a year, and save $4 a lunch by bringing it instead of eating out, that's $1000 a year saved.

[astroglide]

i think my CFL bulbs take like 5 seconds to reach max brightness. there's just a delay after the switch and then a couple phases of increase.

[dethgrind]

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collecting cans, and complaining about fast food seem like terrible ideas. The time it takes to do these, and the hassle involved is not compensated by the few bucks you will save.

This goes for a lot of money saving tips. If you are going to spend 2 hours preparing and cleaning up for a homemade meal, then its really more expensive then the $20 chicken you picked up on your way home.

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Well, if the 2 hours you spend preparing and cleaning up, would otherwise be spent on other money-making endeavors, then I agree. But if you are sitting on the couch watching TV during the 2 hours prep/cleanup time you have saved by ordering in - then how would you not save money by cooking at home?

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Well sure you can save money, but I can either go to the chicken place down the street, get a meal combo for $8, or I can buy a chicken for $4 at the store, then prepare it/cook it, and then clean up afterwards. Is that extra time worth $4? For me it is. I'm not really 'wasting' the extra $4; that extra money is what I'm happy to pay for the convenience for having my meal ready for me, and not having to prepare/clean up.

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Am I crazy or a woman because I actually enjoy cooking a couple times a week? Even if I'm tired and hungry after work, its no problem for me to eat a snack to hold me over while I prepare something nice. I cook only for myself so I usually make enough for leftovers for those nights when I'm really lazy.

I actually derive some pleasure out of cutting stuff up and grilling and creating something with my own hands. It does take time, but it's time I'd be wasting on the internet or tv anyway, because I'm tired after work. I consider the time I spend cooking new recipes to be pretty valuable, like learning a new skill.

[ScottieK]

Saw this on Yahoo Finance, thought of this thread:

http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/a...llionaire/1287

Some good ideas on how to save money. I've also gone with fluorescent lightbulbs just about everywhere in my house. It's made a little difference in my electricity bill. One thing I do at lunch is try to find a place where I don't have to tip, and just drink water instead of ordering a drink.

ScottieK

[dethgrind]

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Best Buy: There was already a thread on this, but on big items, the price can be talked down. Tactics are discussed in that thread.

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Could you link to this thread? I'm having trouble using the search.

[Ineedaride2]

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By-Tor,

Tipping Starbucks employees? Is that standard? It seems like a Starbucks "barista" is on the same level as a Subway "sandwich artist," doesn't it, or do you tip at Subway as well?

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This is exactly what I was thinking. I went through a Starbucks drive through the other day for the first time, and saw a tip container at the window.

I remember thinking, "Put a McDonald's hat on this chick, and you won't know you're not ordering a cheeseburger. And she wants a tip for taking 10 seconds to spout out some 4 dollar coffee? WTF are these people smoking?"

I'd rather tip the hamburger guys. At least they have to assemble something.

[NickMPK]

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There's no reason to spend more than $10/day for food during the week.

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Unless you actually enjoy eating good food. Being able to eat well is one of the biggest reasons I try to save my money on other things. I can't imagine living in a world where I eat the same thing for dinner every night.

[Gildwulf]

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There's no reason to spend more than $10/day for food during the week.

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Unless you actually enjoy eating good food. Being able to eat well is one of the biggest reasons I try to save my money on other things. I can't imagine living in a world where I eat the same thing for dinner every night.

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I agree. A nice sushi dinner is so key to happiness.

[cbloom]

I've learned most of you are hobos.

Here's some serious ones :

1) When you get a traffic ticket or any sort of offense, hire a good lawyer and get it knocked down as much as possible. It seems expensive and not worth it, but the savings in not having points on your license or a bad record are well worth it in the long run.

2) With many large medium-term ownerships, you can do better buying (used) & reselling instead of renting. This goes for RV's, trailers, moving trucks, boats, etc. assuming you put in the time to make sure you're buying (used) at a good price.

3) It's worth paying for a good tax guy who will help you screw uncle sam, even if you don't think you have deductions, he can advise you on some things to do to get deductions.