Tales from the Wallet: What’s the Best Change You’ve Made to Save More Money?
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What are some of the best changes that you've made to save more money? For some people it might be curbing your Starbucks habit; for others it might be something like learning about double coupon days.
But I'd love to focus our discussion today on what you've CHANGED about your strategy (versus what you never did or what you've always done).
For me, one of the biggest changes I've made in recent years was to start stocking up during sales at the drugstore and grocery store, instead of buying items only when I needed them.
I first tried doing this when I was first out of college and writing articles on how to save money for Family Circle magazine — there were a ton of coupon tips that just did not work in NYC. (There are no double coupon days here, and you can't even get that many coupons from the Sunday papers.) I just felt like my store bills were higher because I would buy stuff I didn't need or didn't use, and all for a $.30 “savings” because I had a coupon.
Another friend of mine (who started her career working for Woman's Day) spent hours making an elaborate spreadsheet with an average cost per count” for every single thing she bought — and I figured, if I can't put hours into it, why even put a second into it?
Ten years later, though, I found myself noticing store sales — like when CVS or the local grocery store would mark things down. Now I take a loop around the entire store whenever I can, and if things are on a “good” sale then I'll stock up.
My rules are that I have to know I'll use it by the expiration date (usually because I've used that same brand forever, or because it's something generic that I don't care about) and I have to be able to store it somewhere (which can be tricky in a cramped NYC apartment).
And I do keep a small spreadsheet of some of the best prices (usually broken down to a “per count” price) that I can refer to when standing in the store. I also try to take a loop around Cleveland drugstores when I get home because the prices are so much lower — I've come back to NYC with as many as ten packages of Glide floss because it was $2 cheaper in Cleveland. I also take advantage of Amazon's “Subscribe and Save” program for a lot of things because — compared to NYC prices — it does tend to be substantial savings.
Am I saving thousands of dollars? Probably not. But I'm sure I'm saving a few hundred every year, and every little bit helps. (I'm at a point now where it hurts a bit to pay full price for something because I ran out and need it right then!)
Readers, what is the best CHANGE that you've made to save more money? Is there anything that you tried to change and decided to stop, either because it was too hard, you didn't like the change, or because you weren't saving money?
Stock photo at top via Stencil.
Here are the rules I live by…
+ Avoid recurring payments like the plague — I do not have: a landline, a gym membership, a television, Netflix or a smart phone. The only recurring monthly payments I have are rent, insurance, electricity & internet.
+ Try to buy large purchases used. None of the furniture in my home is new except for couch & mattress (not willing to buy these items used). (I am young and move around frequently so this one makes sense for me especially).
+ Never pay retail for clothes. May make exceptions for wardrobe staples (think black suit or a pair of jeans), but try to stick ot this rule even for those.
+ For wardrobe – I don’t buy a lot of casual clothes. I don’t really need casual clothes except on the weekends (and the occasional weekday night). Each season I tend to buy a few new items (which get heavier wear) that I mix and match with the items I already have. This probably wouldn’t work if I was really in to fashion, but I found that not only does save money, but it also makes dressing simpler.
+ Avoid outsourcing tasks — cleaning, laundry, manicure, eyebrows, etc. I could afford these things at my salary level, but I want to avoid the golden handcuffs!
+ Stretch the life of my electronics when possible. For example, I am not a techie person so I have had the same laptop for 5 years — I could update but it is not necessary.
+ Limit the frequency with which I eat out. My limit is not particulary low (about 4 to 5 times a week), but I have little free time and am not an excellent cook – so this takes effort for me.
I have the majority of my fixed monthly bills set to come out of a secondary account. Every paycheck I deposit a set amount, and I have my car payment, insurance, student loans and credit cards all set to autobill from that account. It doesn’t really save money, but it makes my finances much less stressful. i used to have my car payment and insurance auto-bill from my primary checking and was always stressed out about whether my balance reflected those payments or not. Now I don’t have to worry about it. It’s also nice that all those bills are now paid automatically and i don’t have to worry about logging in to pay them every month.
+1 on this – I use this system as well, and its so much less stressful. It also keeps my primary bank account balances lower, so I don’t look at it and think “we have plenty of money, I can buy xxxxx”. Its a mind game, but it works for me!
I’ve never had credit card debt, and when I only had one card, that was no big deal. But now, I have a couple of cards, with different due dates, and frankly, I also have a lot of other regularly recurring bills because life gets more complicated!
What has helped me a lot is to keep a spreadsheet of my check register and to project out about a month so that I don’t over-spend on my credit card. In other words, I look how much I’ll have left in cash at the end of the month, add in paychecks, and predict expenses coming out of my checking account. Then I know how much I’ll have left to pay off the credit card, and that is the amount that I am allowed to spend in the current month.
I used to just let myself make purchases so long as I didn’t go over-budget, and while a budget is definitely helpful, I needed another way to monitor cash flow. This helps a lot for months where I know I’m going to have a big charge on my credit card (like car insurance this month). That charge is totally within my budget, but since I’m watching my cashflow on my spreadsheet, I know how much I can charge on my credit card for the rest of the month and still be able to pay it off when due. It’s a little extra work (and dang is it painful in months where I have nothing left at the end of the month!), but it’s been really good to keep my spending down.
Never had credit card debt either. High five, sista.
We carpool to work which was a bit of an adjustment but now is working really well. We also grocery shop for the week over the weekend. I think one trip to the grocery store vs many saves money and we also then cook more at home rather than getting home
A change I need to make is bringing my lunch to work. I used to be good about it before kids but now after two kids I’ve gotten lazy. It’s also so much healthier!
Two things. My husband and I now car pool to work. It was a bit of an adjustment but saves on parking and gas. We also menu plan for the week and then grocery shop once. Going to the store only once saves as does having food at home and not eating out.
I need to start bringing my lunch to work. Before kids I was really good about this but right now I eat lunch out all the time. Not only is it expensive but it is less healthy.
Sorry!! The new comments are showing up differently on my phone. Pls feel free to delete one.
I’m embarassed to admit that I started using polyvore to keep track of my new clothing purchases and the items already in my closet. I was home sick a couple of weeks ago and I went through and added most of the items in my wardrobe to my account. I have had to get a whole new wardrobe several times over the last 2 years with weight loss (yay!) and going from working in a semi-casual environment to working at home to working in a conservative environment. Therefore, my wardrobe was a bit of a mess. My work wardrobe consists of pencil skirts/dress pants and shirts+cardigans that can all mix and match for the most part. Putting together all of the possible combinations on polyvore really helped me to see that I have a practically endless number of outfits from the (relatively) few items that I already own. This has already kept me from buying anything else for work, even with the 25% off J. crew going on now! I also saw that a couple of new items that I had purchased didn’t really go with enough other items and are therefore getting returned!
I also started putting together my favorite nonwork outfits that I wear regularly and trying out new combinations on polyvore that i will try in real life when I have time. It made me realize that I really have plenty of clothes but I felt that I didn’t because I had a significant gap in terms of fall/winter shoes to go with the majority of my pants. By buying two new pairs of shoes I can now get full use out of all the items that I already have, which will keep me from having that dreaded feeling of having nothing to wear.
It can be a time consuming process as first, but it’s totally addictive and a fun site to play around with. It’s super useful for new outfit inspirations (well, ignoring the ones put together by 12-16 year old girls!), which is why I joined in the first place. Don’t judge! :)
I’m trying to meal plan, which I think is saving us money.
Honestly, I’m really working to get better in this (money) area, because I currently do not pay enough attention. I’m pretty sure it drives my husband nuts.
One way that I have cut spending is that I am on a shopping ban/fast until January (when my personal spending budget should come out of the red.)
Anyone have any advice on avoiding Starbucks? I go every morning, and it’s definitely adding up. I bought a Tassimo to try to make my own caramel macchiato at home…but I can’t get it right and continue to spend $4+ every morning.
I am completely blown away by all this frugality! I figure time is money. I generally am willing to pay for convenience, from prepared foods at Whole Foods to the $10 early check in on Southwest so I don’t have to actually remember to log in and check in to my flight. I am making good progress towards my financial goals, and I would say I’m pretty financially responsible. But I would be completely miserable if I didn’t let myself spend $3 on coffee everyday.
I guess I’m lucky to have a good job. I also don’t have kids and don’t plan to have kids. Maybe that’s the ultimate frugal decision–no children! I’ve read they cost $1 million to raise, from cradle to college degree.
I was totally blowing my food budget on a regular basis until I starting planning several coffees a week into the budget. I really love going out for coffee, and as long as I know I can still have that I find it much easier to stay on budget!
I used to have a major Sephora habit….I signed up for one of the monthly sample box services (birchbox) and now get my new product fix that way. $75-100/month is now $10.
Once a year, I use up all the canned/packaged/frozen foods in the kitchen before buying anything new. Usually have at least a month’s worth of food that looked good when I bought it, but has been sitting around since then. Saves a ton of money and discourages future bargain shopping for things I won’t eat.
I stopped buying new fiction (the books that cost around $14 in paperback) and only check these out from the library. If I want to buy books (typically classics), I stick with the $2-3 books from used booksellers or 40 cent to $2 books from the thrift store. New fiction is borrowed only.
I’ve started spending significant time thrift shopping. I don’t buy much, but I spend time at the thrift stores like I used to at regular retail shops. I found a lot of great things at super low thrift store prices. My last few suits (Theory, Banana, LOFT) have been no more than $15 a piece. I rarely buy retail anymore, and usually only for basics that are hard to thrift (like white tank tops or t-shirts) and more personal items (like socks and underwear).
I’ve applied my sewing knowledge to my thrift store purchases, allowing my to make some minor (and not-so-minor) alterations to clothes when the fabric is beautiful but the cut isn’t totally modern.
I started brewing French press coffee at home every morning with Starbucks beans that I buy in bulk from Costco. I love my coffee more than any I could purchase out, and this was a huge savings for me b/c I would go to Starbucks almost daily, but I didn’t like their coffee the way they brewed it – I always bought the $4-5 flavored latte.
I never use the dryer. Clothes last longer and I use less electricity.
I cut cable a few years ago and only watch Netflix, mostly streaming, but with the occasional dvd when something isn’t available streaming. I also watch my account closely and reduce the number of dvds per month when I’m not watching that many of them. I’ll bump it back up when I’m watching dvds more regularly.
If I want to go out to a restaurant to go out to a restaurant, I will. If I want to go to a restaurant b/c I need to eat and don’t have food at home, I’ll get take out. I save by not tipping a waitress or delivery person, and by not buying a drink. This was more applicable when I lived in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and had an empty fridge. Now, I live with my boyfriend in the suburbs and he cooks, so we often have food at home to eat (and no restaurants nearby).
I’ll drive to the train rather than driving downtown. It doesn’t cost anything to park at the train, and the cost of public transportation is way less than downtown garage parking.
Cut down my 2-glass-of-wine-a-night habit. Helps the wallet and the waistline.
Some wonderful money tips here, thanks ladies.
– Started cooking more indian food at home, comfort food I grew up with, cheap + healthy, use fresh organic produce. Cook everything from scratch, mostly veggies/whole grain/legumes.
– cut cable, share netflix account with BF. Got a library card.
– Avoid buying clothes at full price (especially Ann Taylor, BR, nordies). Buy stuff I know fits well when on sale (brooks brother non-iron shirts)
– Got few splurge items – LV hand bag and Christian Louboutin black pumps 2-3 years ago, still look fabulous, satisfied my designer craving. Now spend only on few comfortable classic shoes, nothing too trendy.
– I do get expensive skin care/makeup products but they last a long time and I use them daily, this is one place I never feel like skimping.
– we get free catered lunch at work, and keep a box of cereal for breakfast, get coffee at work — I actually like it more than starbucks !
– do my own nails.
– use the work blackberry as the primary cell phone, don’t pay for an extra personal smart phone/contract data plan. I am required to carry the work phone at all times + personal use is allowed. Keep a back up copy of my personal contacts.
– No car, live in a major city and use public transportation, deducted pre-tax from paycheck.
– Still using a 3.5 year old cheap Dell laptop, runs just fine for browsing, watching movies, light games. Still can’t get myself to splurge on a sleek Mac Book Air. May be an ipad this Christmas :)
Making coffee at home instead of grabbing it while I’m out really adds up.
I drive an older car, and the gas mileage isn’t great, but it’s cheap to insure and it’s paid off. (If I lived in a state where gas was higher, this probably wouldn’t work as well.)
I think someone mentioned never going to the grocery store hungry? That is sage advice, y’all.
Ever since I cut my hair short, I go to Great Clips. They’re pretty good with short hair; at least the one near me is. So that’s $12 before tip for a haircut vs. $35.
1. We use our Discover card for most purchases, paying off the balance weekly. I like Discover’s rewards program and have used it to get gift cards for an ice cream maker, wedding presents, dinners out and refilling my Starbucks card.
2. Starbucks card! I go 5 times per week with my work mentor to Starbucks. We get a nice walk, a chance to talk about whatever and I earn a free drink pretty quickly. I try to get brewed coffee and splurge on my free drink, but I don’t make myself crazy if I order a latte.
3. Take advantage of BYO discounts. Starbucks gives you a $0.10 discount if you bring your own cup, grocery stores have bag discounts if you bring your own.
4. I buy the name brand when I know it’s better. I’m very specific about buying name brand for orange juice, cereal and pasta sauce and have not found a comparable store brand. Talking yourself into buying food that you don’t want to eat and will go bad isn’t better than spending a few extra dollars on what you know you’ll eat.
5. Don’t make yourself crazy. As awesome as it feels to save money and earn free stuff, it’s not worth making yourself crazy over a few dollars. Sometimes I buy a glass of wine with dinner even though I generally try not to because paying $9 for a glass of wine in a restaurant when I know I can buy the bottle for $15 at the liquor store down the street makes me a little crazy. Not so much that I don’t occasionally buy the glass, but I also try to ask myself if I $9 need the wine in that moment. When the answer is yes, I go for it!
I took a long, hard look at my spending habits. Then I turned “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” into my motto. I learned how to shop for quality, not quantity, and how to be happy with what I had. Believe it or not, fashion bloggers helped teach me a lot of that! I began to see the beauty in a versatile, classic wardrobe.
I’ve taken to buying books used where possible. New books are a treat, not a given. So much has already been written; there will be time to get around to what’s just come out. If I’m bored and looking for something to read, why not dig through Gutenberg’s archive? That’s free! We also got Netflix, which has saved us plenty in rental fees, plus I can actually access the obscure stuff I love. :)
I don’t go to films but once a year. I keep dates simple. — I think “simple” is the key to not being broke right now. Simple and quality. If I use those as my guideposts, I don’t go far wrong.
My first big change was creating a savings account at a bank other than my everyday bank. I send 10% of my paycheck there through direct deposit, and I rarely check that account, so right now I couldn’t even tell you how much is there. It’s been going since I changed jobs in May, and I don’t miss the money. My problem with savings is that if I see the money in my online banking, I *WILL* spend it. It’s my goal to make this percentage higher, but with consumer and student debt looming over my head… yeah, not yet.
I also sold my one year old car. My new job gave me a company car with a personal use option and a paid gas card, and it’s half as much as the car payment each month, nevermind insurance and gas costs. While I lost a few hundred dollars from my break even point on the loan, I no longer have those expenses. Do I love the company car like I did the one I picked out on my own for the first time ever? No. And I’m sad about it. But it’s cheap.
I started thinking about clothing purchases in terms of building an investment wardrobe, and not just wanting a new top because it’s on sale or whatever other reason. I upped the amount I was willing to spend on any item, such as $250 for a pair of leather boots versus $80 for a pair of faux (I’m still searching for the right pair on this!), but I know that the items I’m adding to my wardrobe are classics and will last through years of use.
The last big change I had to make was that I stopped thinking of available credit on my Visa as money that I could spend. Just because the limit is X amount doesn’t mean I should spend it all, and that, for some reason, was hard for me to figure out.
Oh. I almost forgot. I started shopping at Wal-Mart. Ugh, I hate going there, but it’s 2 blocks from BF’s house, so it’s convenient (if I have 20 minutes to wait in line), and the prices on groceries and toiletries are outrageously cheaper than my preferred visits to Target. This also helps me spend less on cheap clothes, since I have less exposure!