My geothermal HVAC system will hit its ROI in December (based on a standard, high-efficiency replacement). Sure, you need to spend money to save money.
It’s also fun. I don’t know if I realize substantial savings as a percentage of my income, and the opportunity cost (in a strictly economic sense) definitely puts me behind, but just like cooking or making my own beer, it’s a fun way to pass a rainy Saturday.
Yeah, I wish I had room for a freezer. Hopefully, I will have more money available next year to replace my old, old fridge with an A++ fridge with a **** freezer compartment, which will save me not only a lot of electricity, but also means that when Hofpfisterei bread is on sale - organic, sourdough, wood oven bread, 2 kg loaf from yesterday for 2 Euros! - I can freeze the quarters. Currently, I always have trouble eating a quarter loaf before it gets stale by the end of the week. With a freezer (compartment), that wouldn’T be a problem.
Red box movies are always a popular way to spend an evening in our household. And the town I live in has free concerts on Friday and Saturday nights that are always fun. Here is an article about ways to save money.
I’m a huge cheapskate…
Buy your spices from Indian or Latino markets- they will be much, much, much cheaper than the dinky little jars in the supermarket. Fresh fruits and veggies may be cheaper, too.
I used to make a batch of beans twice a week. This would take care of four dinners and four lunches practically for free. It does get boring, but I’d use the money I saved to have more exciting meals on the non-bean days.
Learn how to make a cream soup base. You can turn any leftover veggies into a quick and easy cream soup. You can even use celery tops, etc.
Start thinking of soda as a dessert, not an accompaniment. Learning to drink water is a favor to both your health and your budget.
Don’t eat in front of the computer or TV. If you want to eat, you sit at a table. This cuts down on mindless snacking.
If you are going out with friends, invite them over to share some cheap wine first (play up that box of Franzia for the kitsch value.) Then you can just buy one drink when you are out and about.
If possible, shop daily and do it by foot. You’ll be reluctant to buy jumbo boxes of cookies, two liters of soda and other junk food since it’s a pain to carry. Instead, you will more likely buy what you need for the day. In my experience, this also makes me more likely to buy fresh fruits and veggies, since i know they won’t go bad before I use them.
I’ve been experimenting with buying a few higher quality items rather than a bunch of cheap junk. So far, it seems to be working. You spend a lot of money to begin with, but your purchase is more satisfying and it cuts down on that itch to buy because you don’t feel deprived of good stuff.
Make purchases with cash- it’s hard to break that twenty, and you think twice as it starts to dwindle.
Convenience foods are pricey, everyone knows that. But ask yourself this: what are you buying those convenience foods to replace? If you’re buying them as a substitute for cooking a nutritious, tasty meal, yeah, they’re expensive. But if it’s just too damned hot (which it has been here a lot lately) to cook, or you’re just too exhausted, and you’re buying the convenience foods as an alternative to eating out or ordering pizza, they are a bargain. If you know what you’re doing, they’re not even always terribly unhealthy! Example: too hot to turn the oven on, so I decide to buy a frozen family-size entree that can go in the microwave. I buy sliced turkey in gravy. At the same time, I pick up a bagged salad and a can of no-sugar-added fruit. The turkey gets served over whole-wheat bread, with the salad and fruit on the side. Yeah, the turkey is high in sodium, but it’s pretty low in fat and has a fair amount of protein. So I’ve got a much more balanced meal than burgers and fries from McD’s, and it will feed all three of us, and it’s cheaper.
Coupons: if you shop at one particular supermarket, be sure to pick up a store circular from the store instead of relying on the one that comes in the Sunday paper. I’ve been a regular, card-holding shopper at a number of supermarkets that sometimes put ‘triple coupon coupons’ in their circular, but only the one you get in the store. These coupons are to be used in concert with clipped coupons, so instead of doubling the value (which most grocery stores do now), they triple in value. I’ve gotten name-brand items free or darned close to it this way, many times. It does take some organizing and planning ahead of time, but for me, it’s well worth it. Also, it’s kinda fun, if you’ve got a warped sense of what’s fun, like I do. 
About buying food at ethnic markets–I have never been to an Asian grocery that sold meat or produce I would touch with a ten foot pole, but the local Latino market is great. It smells nice inside and everything’s in excellent condition. Really good, ripe limes are 8/$1. It’s made of awesome. They have a bakery too.
I do a couple of things.
I use a credit card for everything. This seems counterintuitive to saving money, but I pay off the entire balance every month. Using a credit card allows me to see exactly what I buy and I think its a bit safer than a debit card.
I also use Quicken to track all my finances. It helps to see exactly where your money is going.
My bank account is set up to automatically transfer some money from my checking to my savings account each month. The idea is just to leave what I have budgeted for the month for bills and other stuff. That way when I go to the ATM, I’m not like “oh I have $20,000! I’ll just take out a thousand and blow it on strippers and scotch!” I only take $100 out to blow on strippers and scotch.
Everyone has certain things that work for them. For me, dealing with cash saves me money. If I use my debit card, it’s all too easy (for me personally) to think of it as ‘not really money’. YM, obviously, MV.
So, I gotta ask. . .do you have cheap strippers, or cheap scotch? 
I’ve never seen one of those. What country are you from?
Either way, pharmacies usually have the cheapest liquor in the places I have seen. A 1.75L of hard liquor is $10-15 and a 30 pack of beer is $15.
In my experience, some states do, and some states don’t (have gov’t liquor stores, that is). But at any rate, if you’re going to have a couple of drinks, you’re much better off doing it at home! It’s way cheaper, and you don’t have to worry about a designated driver!
Ooh yeah, drink at home. Totally. I can’t believe that restaurants charge $8 for a gin & tonic that has, like, two drops of gin in it… and they’re always stingy with lime wedges too.
Have haircuts come up? My husband cuts his own hair with a Wahl trimmer. I do his neck and ears. For years and years I just let my hair grow long… I’ve been doing professional haircuts for a few years now, but I can go back to no-haircuts if our budget gets tight.
Instead of buying a boat or installing a pool… make friends with people who have boats and pools Ditto vacation homes.
Which states have both government liquors stores and private liquor stores, though? He indicated it was cheaper to get liquor at the government store, which implies that both types of stores exist in his state.
In Michigan the MLCC publishes the lowest legal rates for every approved liquor. We have no government stores, but some stores do advertise the fact that they sell at the lowest legal price. One of my hobbies is to verify my receipt against the MLCC list (and it’s always spot-on). (Our distributors are state controlled, rather than the retail outlets.)
North Carolina is such a state. You can buy beer and wine at the grocery, but all hard liquor is sold through the state-run Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) stores.
Or he might near a state line, where the adjoining states have different laws regarding where liquor can be sold.
I’m in Virginia (State-run stores only, for liquor; beer/wine can be sold almost anywhere). Nearby is the District of Columbia, where liquor is (I think) sold in any kind of store. I believe it’s considerably cheaper there, also - possibly enough so that it’s worth the drive if you buy more than the very occasional bottle. We don’t bother, as we use up a bottle of liquor perhaps every 2 years (and then only if I’m making fruitcake).
Another money saving thing: don’t drink alcohol at all. Obviously that might not be a choice someone wants to do - there’s nothing wrong with drinking in moderation - but it is more expensive than water!
Actually, I took it to mean as opposed to buying drinks at bars and restaurants.
In the Bay Area, 99 Ranch (or the better branches) has meat and fish at least as good looking as chain groceries, often better.
My list:
Coupons are good, but make sure to check the price versus the store brand or other brands before you buy. We often dump the coupon for another choice which is cheaper. Safeway store brand ice cream is as good or better than Breyers. Their store brand popcorn is awful.
We plan our meals based on what is on sale. That maximizes our savings. We also plan for and buy a week’s worth at a time. My wife works from home, so we seldom go out to eat, and has found that having all the ingredients at hand without a trip to the grocery both saves gas and reduces the incentive to get take-in.
Making double, like two meat loafs at once, can be done with no more electricity than just one, and then the second can be frozen when you need a quick and easy meal.
We buy almost everything with our Discover Card, get 1% back (or more for special offers) and pay it off every month. At the end of the year we have a lot of money for Christmas.
We’ve been Thrift Shoppers for quite a long time, and have accumulated utensils and such for our kids when they set up housekeeping. I like to do jigsaw puzzles, and the ones I can get for 99 cents at the thrift store are just as good as the ones that cost $15 in the game store.
We find Netflix is a saver. Not going to the movies once pays for an entire month, and we’ve practically stopped buying DVDs. I hooked my laptop to the TV for downloading movies from them, and that will be even better. Your library also has lots of good DVDs.
One of the best things is not enough time. Having books or projects stacked up somewhere makes you think twice about buying something to add to the pile.
Yeah, I’ve quit buying craft supplies, especially kits. I really have more than enough stuff already, and I need to finish up all the kits and projects I already have.
But it’s very hard for me. Very hard.
This is a good one. When cooking, I try to think to myself “how much harder would it be to make double, and freeze half?” For certain things, like meatloaf, lasagna, stews, chili, the answer is “barely any harder at all”. Not only does this allow you to make maximum use of whatever’s on sale, but it, too, reduces the urge to order carry out or stop at a fast food place. Even when I’m exhausted, if I can just pull something out of the freezer and slap it in the microwave, hey, it’s all good.
I usually freeze the extra lasagna in single servings. My homemade lasagna is a hell of a lot better than any commercial lasagna, and it’s very comforting to know that dinner is only half an hour in the future, if I need to pull out a couple of servings.
I buy the majority of my work clothes on eBay – if you know which brands generally fit you, you can get great deals. I just got a New-with-tags Anne Klein suit for $67, shipping included, and a silk Ann Taylor dress for $32. Those two brands nearly always fit me, so its a safe bet. I could get comparable deals by relentlessly hitting clearance sales, but my time is worth something too. On eBay, its like someone hit all the clearance racks FOR you.
Building a formal work wardrobe is expensive!