Comments on: Back to Basics: Start doing the little money-saving things again

By: Money Advice Expert

Money Advice Expert — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:12:30 +0000

Gas has got to be the best place to save. Isn’t it amazing that when the oil price goes soaring up, the prices at the pumps goes soaring up. However, when the oil prices drops quickly, the reduction is far slower.

So join together to do the errands, walk more – also better for our health – think twice about getting into the auto.

Oh and on the less heating idea, it is much cheaper to put on more clothes than to put on more heating.

By: Norm

Norm — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:08:10 +0000

I’m going to have to second that buy online tip. Not only is it quicker than going off to the store, but you save gas, headaches from dealing with traffic, parking and idiots, and the most important of all, you actually get what you want. How many times do we see something on sale, go off to the store and it’s not in stock? Then you go home empty handed, or, even worse, buy something you didn’t really want or need! I do all my shopping online, even my food shopping and I don’t miss it at all.

By: Armen Shirvanian

Armen Shirvanian — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:08:21 +0000

Combining errands to save gas can be difficult, as one has to plan the whole procedure before it occurs. For those that are a bit more organized, it would probably be more likely to be done. Replacing disposable items with reusable ones takes a bit of self-control, as it tends to be easier to work with disposable items than reusable ones. The transition could take a fair amount of focus.

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:25:37 +0000

I’ll chime in on the combining errands thing. My parents decided they wanted to go to one car and I was the lucky recipient of their older Toyota.

My mom and I decided to start combining errands, using my little car, when gas shot up. It required a lot of planning the first few weeks but after a while we put the basics on auto-pilot and have a nice routine going. I average about a tank of gas a month (live v. close to my office).

It’s nice, it’s social, it keeps us on a schedule, and we can both ask each other “that’s not on your list, do you really need it?” It tends to also build in an impulse purchase buffer – “eh, I’ll probably be in Target in a few days, why bother going tonight” so you have a few days to talk yourself out of a purchase – staying out of stores is an automatic money saver.

By: Bay Area Financial Planner

Bay Area Financial Planner — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:49:35 +0000

These are some great tips for saving money. Here are some of the easy savings wins I just accomplished:
Cancelled HBO, which we hardly watch anymore ($10 month / $120 year)
Switched our phone and Internet to Comcast ($40 month / $480 year!)
Reduced our childcare by 3 hours per week ($150 month / $1,800 year!)

And don’t be shy away from the little things that only seem to save a few pennies. I always like to show my clients how small savings can add up to big money over time:
Save $1 per day = $30 per month = $365 per year
Save $50 week = $200 per month = $2,400 per year

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:08:47 +0000

A friend of mine tops of list of saving money. For 4 years my friend has spend nearly zero.
He lives rent/utilities free in a studio apartment located above the building he works at. He uses the company bathroom. He uses the company gym. He has no car. Once in a while he uses a company car to get away. He usually walks or rides a bike everywhere. He hasn’t bought any clothes in 3 years. The company caters free lunch 5 times per week for all employees. He takes the leftovers and puts them in the apartment fridge for breakfast and dinner and weekend food. He has zero fixed expenses. Nothing. He told me he has went as long as 4 months without spending any money. Nothing. Not a very exciting life. But he is the ultimate money saver.

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:53:02 +0000

Make a game of it. How little do you have to spend to stay alive? Cut your spending to the bone. If it is absolutely not required to live, don’t buy it. He who spends the least wins.

By: Bill Cahill

Bill Cahill — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:23:52 +0000

Tried the water heater trick. I did notice a difference — I had to set the water hotter in the shower to gain the same temperature (mix in less cold water), and then, since I had to use more of the hot water, I would run out sooner… probably because I take a 20 minute shower though…

Also tried the energy efficient bulbs. I will say that they have come a long way in terms of light quality but they are incompatible with the dimmer switches I have throughout my home. I tried a few dimmable ones but they haven’t come all that far yet.

By: David

David — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:52:39 +0000

Two easy ways to save money throughout the year -

1) Turn down your water heater by 5-10 degrees. You probably won’t notice a difference.

2) Replace some regular light bulbs with energy efficient instead. The payoff period may be longer, but they’ll last longer and cost less in the long run.

And another tip for movie lovers – use Netflix instead of buying DVDs. My wife and I have only bought one DVD since we started using Netflix about a year ago. This was compared to probably 10-25 the year before that. Not only are we saving money, but we have less stuff (junk) taking up space around the house.

By: Rich

Rich — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:54:27 +0000

Something that I’ve been thinking about doing, but have not implimented yet is after grocery shopping look at he receipt and see how much you saved, both through store sales and coupons. Most stores will print this on the bottom of the receipt. Take that amount you saved and transfer that money from your regular checking account into an online savings account and if you don’t touch this money it’ll grow very fast if you’re a good shopper. I use ING and I like the fact that I can open multiple savings accounts for differnt things. Emergency account, Savings account and maybe I’ll open a new one, Grocery Savings account…