“When the tide goes out, you can tell who was skinny-dipping.”–Dave Ramsey from his book, The Total Money Makeover
I love that quote by Dave Ramsey. Putting up a false front doesn’t make it true. With regard to money, live wise and be honest. My parents always taught to “live beneath your means.” Saving where you can now will most likely benefit you down the road. Perhaps you will be able to get out of debt faster, make an extra mortgage payment to pay off the house sooner, start a college fund for your kid or find yourself secure in retirement maybe even a little early. While it may not seem like these money saving ideas add up to much independently, combining several suggestions throughout this site can make a significant difference. Just by downsizing my trash can, using online bill pay, cost-matching a prescription, and extending time between hair appointments, I’ve already saved around $665 a year.
Couponing: Know Thy Store’s Rules
Using coupons is a time honored way of saving money. They come weekly in the mail and are available online. I have neighbors bring them to me, and I have shared as well. Each store has its own coupon policy, and it will benefit you to know their rules. Target allows a manufacturer’s coupon, a Target coupon, and Cartwheel to be applied to an item. Joann Fabrics allows you to use competitor’s coupons. So you can take a Hobby Lobby coupon and use it at Joann’s. Hobby Lobby typically has a 40% off a regularly priced item coupon on their website, so always check that out before you go. I will use that 40% off coupon even on a small item if that’s all I’m purchasing. Every savings helps.
Know What to Buy Where
Certain items are a better value at different stores. Keep in mind, however, that you’re not going to save money driving all over town. So plan ahead to save trips. For me, I typically prefer to buy my ranch dressing and pasta sauce at Target. The Market Pantry dressing is an every day lower price, and it tastes good. Target will occasionally put their pasta sauce on sale for a $1, and I will stock up then. If they have any coupons you can combine with that at the time, even better. Our HEB grocery store tends to have better prices on produce. I’ve recently discovered $2.99 a gallon milk at a gas station near my house. Check the dating, and they haven’t always had my skim milk, but it’s definitely an option. I also have my parents bring me items they can get from their local grocery store and bulk items they get from the Amish. I like Hy-Vee margarine for baking and their store brand pizza crust mixes. My parents’ local Hy-Vee also carries large bags of regionally grown popcorn. The Amish have good deals on oatmeal, baking soda and sorghum. Sierra Trading Post is my go-to online retailer for pretty much everything other than food. Sign up for their deal flyers, and you can get great deals on workout clothes, outdoor gear, kitchen items, bedding, shoes, clothing, pet supplies, sports equipment…It’s decent quality, name brand products at affordable prices.
Watch the Ads
Take advantage of sales. I typically hone in on the “get you in the store” promo of the week. That’s the 8 grapefruit for a $1, pound of fresh strawberries for 87 cents, 6/$1 ears of corn, 3 red bell peppers for $1, etc. When I found red bell peppers for that price, I bought a dozen to wash, slice and freeze for future use. Living in the south, I tend to see great promotions on produce. My family in Missouri and Iowa tend to find better deals on baking items, dairy, and canned goods. For the Fourth of July festivities, Target had a great sale on ground beef. That’s the time to stock up and freeze. Home Depot and Lowe’s will drastically reduce the prices on Miracle-Gro garden soil in the spring to get you in store. If you’re a techie, I know my brother watches the Fry’s ads closely for exceptional sales.
Garden, Garden, Garden
Might I suggest planting a vegetable garden? It’s better food and saves you money. Preserve your bounty, and enjoy it throughout the year.
Buy Out of Season
Winter coats purchased in the summer can be a great deal! I got my dad and myself Columbia winter coats off season for fantastic prices from Sierra Trading Post. Purchase next year’s Christmas cards right after Christmas. Stores are eager to remove them from their inventory.
Buy In Season
When specific produce is in season, that’s the best time to stock up and preserve it for the year. I’ve also noticed back up north, they have exceptional sales on baking items and canned goods around the holidays. If I’m visiting, I’ll buy items to bring back home and stock my pantry. I’ve also been known to ask a family member up there to snag me a deal or two, and I will get it the next time we’re together.
Hair
Oh the sacred hair budget. This one gets touchy. I know for me, it’s my #1 personal indulgence, and it is expensive. Adding lowlights to my crowning glory has enabled me to stretch my appointments from every six weeks to every 10 weeks. That will save me about $485 a year, and “bronde” happens to be in this summer! Woohoo!
Jeans
Designer jeans can be expensive. I wore my Zenim jeans from Sierra Trading Post that I got for around $20 on a great sale and was asked if they were Miss Me jeans ($100+). Again, STP carries good quality products at reasonable prices. When buying clothes online, read the reviews. If everyone says an item is made for a stick, and you have curves like I do, accept the product is probably not for you.
Make a Shopping List
Stick to it! Only stray if you stumble across an extraordinary deal on a necessity. Planning ahead saves you time and money.
Try Store Brands
Often, store brands are less expensive. As a soda addict, I have an expensive habit. I have fortunately found a store brand of cola that goes on sale for $2.25 a 12-pack and satisfies the craving. Salad dressing, cereal, pasta, vinegar, coffee, tea…give them a try.
Online Bill Pay
I finally caved on this one. At $.49 a stamp, you can save a few bucks each month on postage.
Bank Apps
Save gas by depositing checks via your smartphone.
Don’t Be Too Proud to Say Thank You
Friends and family will offer to give you stuff. I’ve had a neighbor give me a dining table and chairs and my brother gave me an old bedroom set. It all works for now. I also found free bamboo at a local urban farm.
If you’re lucky enough to have amazing friends and neighbors, share! As a gardener, I may have extra soil to give a neighbor who needs a little to refresh one pot. I’ve borrowed tools and have lent them as well. Don’t abuse generosity, but a reciprocating kindness goes a long way.
Pet Care
Check into low cost pet vaccinations. Here, HEB routinely has a mobile vet clinic in its parking lot to provide this service. I took Sid, and he didn’t even have to get out of the car.
Purina My Cat Chow Perks
While I haven’t cashed in for any rewards yet, I have signed up for Purina’s My Cat Chow Perks program. Basically you get points for entering UPC symbols from your bags of cat food, logging in daily, reading articles, providing information, giving product reviews, and reading emails. Unless some shiny toy distracts us, Sid and I are saving up for a free bag of Cat Chow.
Pizza Night
Find out if your local Papa Murphy’s offers its $5 Faves. You can get a large take and bake pepperoni, sausage or cheese pizza for $5.
Free Trees
Look into local organizations that give away trees and tree saplings. I have received three tree saplings over the last couple of years from the local non-profit, TreeFolks. They host sapling giveaway days in the fall to promote education on the best time to plant trees. They also have a NeighborWoods program that gives away larger trees to be planted in areas that would aid in the reduction of energy consumption. Keep in mind there are more qualifications for that program. In order to learn a little more about planting trees, you can volunteer for one of their work days. I did, and it was fun. They really have done exceptional work planting trees in community parks and areas devastated by wildfires.
Prescriptions
Find out if your pharmacy price matches. Sometimes an insurance company discourages a particular medication by charging a high copay. I’ve found in one instance that it’s better to pay a cost-matched cash price than run the prescription through the insurance. Call Sam’s Club or Costco to find out their cash price, and see if your pharmacy will match it. It doesn’t hurt. It saves me about $96 a year.
DIY
I put in a fence post myself. The supplies are cheap. It’s the labor that will cost you. Try, and do what you can before paying someone else to do it. By all means leave the dangerous jobs to the professionals. Just consider doing projects yourself vs immediately calling someone else to do it. You might even enjoy learning something new.
Savings Notifications
MySavings.com is a good source of information regarding current promotions, coupons, and free samples. Prior to signing up, I created a separate email account specifically for newsletters like this. It keeps the clutter out of my regular email. My brother had already told me about Target’s sale on Simply Juice and that Cartwheel had a bonus 20% off. Thanks to MySavings.com, I was able to one up him when the site took me to a $.75 off coupon as well as explaining the sale and Cartwheel bonus. I’ll grant you the coupon limited my choices, but I still got juice for $.81 after also applying my REDcard savings. If you count the reusable bag discount, $.76. The site also alerted me to a try-me-free rebate. I got a jug of laundry detergent for the price of tax and a stamp. I’ve already received samples of wrinkle cream, shampoo & conditioner, and feminine products in the mail. Sid is eagerly awaiting his cat food sample.
Freeze, Freeze, Freeze
If this isn’t ever an ode to Mom! When we were kids, my mom froze EVERYTHING. We never had a chance to eat anything because it went straight into the freezer! While I will still argue let me have a cookie before putting all of them in the freezer, Mom was great at preserving and not wasting. As your garden produces an abundance, freeze what you’re not consuming right away. Buy extra when items are on sale and in season. I love to have sliced onions, red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, and zucchini in my freezer. It’s convenient to have them on hand, and it can save you money. During the holidays flour tends to go on sale. You can freeze flour. I once came across a little old lady in the bread aisle. The sweet widow was in a dilemma because she knew she couldn’t eat an entire loaf of bread before it went bad and didn’t want to be wasteful. Here’s where my mom beams with pride, I advised the perplexed woman to freeze half of the loaf. If you’re looking for a quick breakfast on the go, I like to make muffins. I use my giant muffin pan so I get six out of one batch instead of 12. I eat one fresh and put the remaining five in individual containers for the rest of the week. I keep one out for the next day and put the remaining four in the freezer. Then the night before I need one, I will take it out of the freezer and put it into the fridge. It’s ready to go in the morning and is a lot fresher than if you’d left all six out in a container. Meat tends to be a high ticket item on the grocery bill, so when you find it at a good price, freezing extra can be a good option. Knowing Target had a good sale on ground beef, I was eyeing the employee who was putting extra coupons on the short dated hamburger. I snatched up three pounds of 85/15 for $2.35 each. I stuck them straight in the freezer. Check out the Freezer Friendly page of the main Recipes section for make ahead and freeze recipe ideas.
Buy Gifts Throughout the Year
Yes, it’s July, and I have several Christmas gifts already. Take advantage of sales, rewards and “free money” coupons throughout the year. My nephew will be expecting his “Coke” t-shirt. Why not pay $1.50 for it now instead of $10 later? It’s the same shirt. I have the coupons now. Planning ahead helps you budget and gives you more time to enjoy the actual birthday or holiday season. So throughout the year when you have those bonus coupons, consider using them to buy gifts in advance instead of just splurging on something you don’t really need. It will most likely save you money in the end.
Credit Card Perks
Certain rewards credit cards will give you cash back plain and simple. I like that. If you can put your monthly bills on your credit card without any service charges, that will help build the rewards. Specific store cards may also offer added savings perks. You get 5% off at Target for using their REDcard. Kohl’s offers additional savings to their credit card holders. REI gives you extra dividends for using their card at REI as well as a lower percentage of dividends when using the card elsewhere and even offered a $100 incentive when I signed up a few years ago. Keep in mind the only way to reap the rewards from using credit cards is if you pay the entire bill every single month.
Do the Math
As you’re shopping, add up in your head how much your purchase should total. Having a pretty close estimate of what the amount should be will help you catch any errors at the register. Sometimes an item may have a clearance sticker on it but ring up at full price. Perhaps a coupon didn’t work, etc. We’re often so rushed through the line that we don’t have time to watch each item scan as we’re too busy unloading the cart. You’re more apt to catch the error if you have a solid grasp on how much you are expecting to pay. If you have a question during checkout, always just kindly ask. Mistakes happen on both sides. What is right is what matters. Your cell phone’s calculator can make this easier.
Round Up
If you are able, consider rounding up your mortgage payment to the nearest $100. For example, if your payment is $775, pay $800 and apply the extra $25 toward the principal. This is especially beneficial if you can start early in the loan. In the beginning, the majority of the payment is going toward the interest, not the actual principal. Paying down the principal means you’re going to ultimately pay less interest. You can potentially cut years off your loan by paying a little extra each month. My bank has an amortization estimator that I can use to gauge the effects of added principal payments. Your bank probably does the same. Just plug in a few numbers and see what a difference it can make.
I believe it is important to have the retailer do the installation. That way, if any problems arise, a separate retailer and installer can’t blame each other, which would cause more problems for you.
Great ways to save! I follow a lot of these already but it’s a great reminder!!! I am going to check out the jeans because I have a hard time grinding good quality jeans now days.
Do you have any tips on ways to save on house improvements if you can’t do it yourself? Any tricks you come across? I just came across the Menards 11% store wide deal so that is great but having a hard time finding someone to install the flooring within the budget for great quality.
Unfortunately, I haven’t followed sales or researched home improvement items or labor. I did lookup the Menards 11% rebate deal you spoke of which ends in a few days. Does Menards offer installation services? I know Home Depot and Lowe’s offer a variety of installation services. There might be a little more warranty security if your source of product and service were from the same entity. Not having priced their services, they may run high. I honestly don’t know. With you in mind, I asked a friend this morning (who put hardwood floors in his house) how he went about it. He recommended seeking out a business who specializes in the flooring. He thinks they have more variety to choose from, they offer installation services, and he got a 20 year warranty. I think I’ve heard of sales where they discount either the flooring or installation, but I don’t know if it’s a deal or not, since I don’t know if they’re overpriced to begin with. You bring up a very important point–quality. Home improvement projects aren’t ones where the cheapest way is necessarily the best way. In fact, it most likely isn’t. I’m guessing I’m like you. I’d find a flooring I like on sale at a big box store but need someone to install it properly and affordably (and I’m guessing the store’s service is too high which ruins the deal). Do you know anyone who has hired someone to install similar flooring? I would ask around to learn from other people’s experiences. If you can, read reviews about the service providers. Find out if they offer a warranty on their work. You’re fortunate to live in an area with lots of options, but too many choices can also make it more difficult. Perhaps, some of our readers who have experience in home improvement projects can offer some advice. I’m sorry I don’t have more experience in this realm. I wish you all the best with your new flooring project. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out. It’s a project I’ve been dreaming about for my house. If I went a laminate (durability issues with Sid), I would probably try to sweet talk Nathan into helping me install it. You can try to convince your cousin to come visit, but I can’t guarantee the quality of his work, and I’m guessing there’s no warranty! LOL!