List of the things I do to save money.. am I missing anything??

[Preston]

I figure I'd compile a list of things that I do off the top of my head that I've done in the interest of saving money .

It is just my wife and I, with our cat in our one bedroom apartment. The rent is $525 here plus electric. All heating (water, home) is done with electricity. I've shopped around for apartments and I've realized that although I might be able to find a slightly lower rent, the amenities and location cancel out the money saved. Also not having to come up with another security deposit and moving expenses saves overall.

Right now the windows are covered with blankets to keep out some drafts. We only have two windows in our apartment. One huge glass door going out to our balcony and then one in the bedroom. Both are covered right now, but the blankets are movable.

I ride my bike to work as often as possible.

In about a month (when the temperature starts to really stay above freezing) I am hanging a clothesline from the balcony to dry clothes.

When my car dies I am not replacing it.

I have all of my electronics hooked up to surge protectors. I switch them all off when I'm not home as well as flipped the wall switch on certain outlets to no power is being drained by them.

I hypermile my car when I do drive it.

I use coupons for everything I can... oil changes, milk. But nothing that I wouldn't buy anyway.

I bring a calculator to the grocery store and log what I paid for when.

I use our "vacation" cooler when we go shopping and use this in place of plastic bags. The store gives us credit for this.

I only buy things that have nutritional value. I haven't had soda for months and rink mostly water.

We get free salad at work and try to eat there as much as possible. If we want a hot meal, it's $2. We try to coordinate our lunch breaks and split the meal.

We are selling our excess possessions on ebay.

We currently pay for internet however we are talking with a couple of our neighbors about setting up a private wireless network and splitting the cost.

We pay all our bills on time. We pay our car insurance every 6 months and don't incur a monthly fee.

We drive 60mph on the highway. All of our moving violations will fall off within the next year.

We got on vacation and rent a condo for the week and make our own meals. We still might go out a couple nights but it is much cheaper than eating out all week.

We avoid fast food. We rarely eat out, and if we do we make sure we have a really good coupon. (We went out last week and got a $25 off a purchase of $35 or more, which was AWESOME!!!)

We shop around on major purchases.

The thermostate gets turned down when we leave. Sometimes we forget to turn it up when we get home.

We pick up overtime at work whenever possible.

We have no recurring charges on our credit cards.

We eat 90% vegetarian. (I need the protein for all the biking I do).

I have convinced my wife to quit smoking. She has cut back significantly in the past couple of weeks.

Any suggestions?

[ladytoysdream]

Looks like you have some good ideas working for you

I would love to be able to pay our vehicle insurance as a lump sum instead of each month. Those monthly service fees do add up.

Do you carry renters insurance for your contents ?

[Thevail]

Do you do experiments to see how much of daily products you actually need to use instead of the "reccomended amount"?

I've found that with everything from dishwasher soap to laundry soap to shampoo etc, all has a "reccomended amount" that nearly double what you actually need.

It sounds pretty small fry as savings go, but honestly..if you only have to buy half as much...you're saving 50% on each item.

[thesightofoneself]

start loving oatmeal. its cheap and plenty of protein.

[pryor208]

Try making your own, for anything that you already use from detergent to baking mix. But make sure that you aren't paying more to make it yourself than to buy it.

[Preston]

Do you carry renters insurance for your contents ?

Yes. And when we got it we tied to renters and the car insurance together. This actually brought my auto premium down!!! It's actually cheaper for me to have renters and an auto policy than to just have an auto policy.

It literally costs me $10 per 6 months to insure my car.

[shoiji]

It sounds like you have a good system going. You may want to think about container gardening if you get enough light. Even growing just herbs will help out when cooking.

[rainbowgc]

I agree you can cut back more by making things like cleaners yourself. Otherwise you are in good shape1

[dcompton]

I'm pretty impressed - it sounds like you have the bases covered. I'm sure that you've eliminated the obvious things like no frills on phone service and such. I think you're doing a great job. That's not very helpful for new ideas, but I really can't think of any.

[Wendy99]

thrift stores, stock piling on sales, learn to change the oil on your car yourself (cheaper than having it done), bring a sandwich to go with your salad at work or left overs from home (can keep it hot in a thermos), rather than just switching off surge protectors when not home, switch them off whenever the appliances connected to them are not in use ... these are just extra ideas as you asked for them , seem nit picky I suppose ... but I already think your doing awesome and it was hard to think up extra ideas to the ones you have .. good job! and thanks for sharing your ideas .. will try some myself

[cheriede]

Here are just a few and you may already be doing these.

~cloth napkins instead of paper ones
~cloth towel and old rags instead of paper towels
~wash in cold water

[rudypoo98]

Next winter I would put plastic on the windows instead of quilts that way the sun can come in and help with heat.That is if your windows face the sun.

[Grainlady]

1. Cut your own hair.

2. Bake your own bread.

3. Although it's getting warmer, next winter you can apply bubble wrap to your windows as extra insulation. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...bubblewrap.htm

4. Avoid clothing that requires dry cleaning.

5. Avoid commercial cereal and use whole grains. It's been estimated that there is 17-cents worth of grain in a box of cereal.

6. Coupons are fine in and of themselves, but get more bang for your buck by stacking savings. Not only is that toothpaste on sale, but you use a coupon AND it's double or triple off.

7. Reduce your need for goods and services. You'll have to fill in the blank for those. It can be anything from eliminating the gardener, psychotherapist, expensive fitness club or personal trainer, manicurist, expensive hair care, expensive "toys" or habits...

8. What food can you grow yourself? Leaf lettuce will grow in a flower pot or planter. You can make your own sprouts for high nutrition and inexpensive food (the proverbial garden in a jar). Grow some herbs for a great addition of fresh food to your diet.

[peanut]

You're in an apartment right? So...have you thought about...

~ a hand crank portable washing machine (Wonder Wash) like they use on yachts to do laundry. It could save you a lot of laundry fees.

~ if your rental agreement says anything about not hanging laundry from the balcony. If it does, buy a drying rack for a couple bucks and put it in your bathtub to dry small items from. Or hang hangers from the shower head or rod for sweaters/shirts/etc.

~ Create menus from frugal recipes. Don't just assume the recipes you have will be frugal if you buy the ingredients on sale. Sometimes certain foods are simply more expensive than others. Create a menu that uses food that is in season. Those are usually the cheapest foods at your grocery store.

That's all I can think of off hand. Good luck!

[Lady_V]

It's me, the condo dweller ... again

You two are on your way! Congrats on making such a commitment, and sticking to it.

I second the Wonder Wash. We will be getting one soon - sometimes spending a little can save you a LOT. Think about all the money you will be saving and it will pay for itself in a few months.

What about light bulbs? Some people aren't fond of the 'swirly' bulbs, but they are energy star proficient and last a lot longer than traditional bulbs. If you prefer traditional, what about wattage? Can you use a lower wattage and not be stumbling in the dark? Let in the light! Challenge yourself to see how long you can go before you have to turn on a light.

Patio gardening can be done easily. Occasionally donut shops either give or sell their 5 gallon jelly buckets. If you are short on floor space, they do have hanging gardens. I think [ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/member.php?u=1803"]Frugal Village Forums[/ame] had wonderful success with her 'soda bottle garden' last year.

Think bulk (but only if you are going to actually use it).

Check out the [ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=305"]FV Vegetarian Cookbook[/ame] and the [ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=234"]FV Cookbook[/ame] for ideas.

Want a cheap arm work out? Make your own laundry soap.

The key is not depriving yourself of everything. When you feel like you are not able to spend anything, the focus switches from what you want to acchieve to what you had to give up... which leads to spending... and into the vicious cirlce.

Keep up the good work!