I haven’t seen one of these threads in awhile so what the heck. It’s cold, icy and I’m not going anywhere today, maybe not tomorrow either! So why not think of little ways to save $$ as that heat bill will be coming no matter how low I keep the thermostat. (68 degrees during the day, 62 at night)
So…here are a few little things I do that save a bit. Nothing earth shattering but it makes me feel better when I do them:
Instead of buying “shower gel”, I go to the discount shampoo section and buy one of the fruity smelling shampoos. Usually can save 3-4, and Suave or White Rain make some nice smelling shampoos that do a fine job for .99 or lower if I happen to have a coupon.
Since we don’t have a mechanical dishwasher I have found the only dishwashing soap worth anything is Dawn Ultra. It is a bit pricey, but because it’s “concentrated” I have found that if you add water to it you can make it last longer and not lose any of it’s cleaning power. What I do is every time it’s emptied about 2 fingers worth I fill it back up with water and shake it up to distribute evenly. I do this maybe twice with every bottle. Also, about a 2-second squirt to every sink of dishes is all that’s needed. I have had the same bottle of Dawn since about Thanksgiving and it’s still almost half full.
Congrats to you for finding ways to shave off a few pennies, but if you want to really make a difference, put on an extra sweater and crank down the thermostat. We usually keep ours set at 60 during the winter; it will never get above 64. It means that we sit around the house wearing long sleeves all the time, but it makes a big difference when the bills come.
If you clip coupons and keep an eye on when the sales show up in your local stores you can get several items for practically nothing. For instance, Red Baron pizza is usually $5-$7 but the store I shop at had them recently for 3 for $10. I had coupons for 75 cents off for each pizza so they ended up costing about $2.50 per pizza. This way I get pizza each friday for the next 3 weeks for next to nothing.
Even though I’m single and live alone, I shop at Costco. I buy bulk quantities and some last a year or more. I buy whole chickens for less tan 90 cents a lb. and cut them up myself, vs. paying 2 or 3 bucks a lb. for someone else to do it. I also shop a Winco. I have to bag my own groceries and it’s not fancy, but the savings are more important to me. They have lots of products sold from bulk bins, bag your own. Pasta, beans, flour, sugar, spices, snack items, etc. They’re much cheaper than buying packaged items of the same products. Store brands, can’t tell the difference, are half the price of major brands. Two liter Shasta soda, 58 cents, vs. a buck or more for Pepsi, or Coke. People pay a high premium for packaged foods, which are often very easy to prepare from scratch. You can save a lot of money by taking a close look at your food purchases. I probably should do coupons, but haven’t really gotten into that, yet.
Think twice about convenience items, it’s usually not worth the additional cost.
I use cheap Suave conditioner instead of shaving cream/gel. It doesn’t iritate my skin, and it’s only about 89 cents for the bottle. I prefer bar soap - it’s cheaper and lasts longer than shower gel.
Also, for things like cotton balls, q-tips, etc - off brands work just as well. I don’t skimp on toilet paper though.
Borrow library books instead of buying them.
Things like calendars and cute notepads can be found very cheap at Michael’s.
Speaking of calendars, I’m using a 2001 calendar. I got too lazy and uninspired to buy a new calendar this year and instead went through my pile of old calendars looking for one that started on a Monday and wasn’t a leap year. The first one I picked up was a 2001, and it works. Plus, I wouldn’t have kept it if I didn’t like the artwork. Okay, so I saved about eight bucks this year, but you did say “small frugalities.”
Better yet, invest in a programmable thermostat. Mine turns down the temperature at the time I leave for work and raises it an hour before I get home. It turns down the temperature at the time I most commonly go to bed and warms up the house before I rise in the morning. (Yeah, I suppose I wouldn’t have to warm up the house for the few hours I’m here before work, but who wants to shiver while they sip their morning tea?)
But two-ply toilet paper and pull the plies apart. Fold three squares for plenty of thickness, and then fold again for use of the other side. (Not an idea original to me.)
The pharmacies and grocery stores here usually give out promotional calendars around the new year. They also tend to have coupons and recipes in them, so it’s another plus. I’m a big fan of coupons, too - those can save quite a bit if you use them well.
I use the generic version of most things. Ibuprofen and over-the-counter cold medicines, aluminum foil, and countless grocery products. Laundry soap too - and I’ve found that you don’t really need to use a whole capful of the liquid detergent if the clothes aren’t dirty. A half cap is plenty for a load of towels that need refreshing, for example.
Back when I was working in an office environment, I would bring home scrap paper from the recycle bin beside the photocopier, and use the blank side to write my notes on for school. (I had permission, don’t worry)
Something I’ve found that a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s surprisingly easy to negotiate discounts with various service companies. Just call them up every few months and ask politely if there’s any way you can lower your bill. There’s usually some kind of new plan or special offer going on that you can take advantage of to save a few bucks. Mobile phones especially-- the plans and offers are constantly changing.
I once got into a huge, pointless argument with a cow-orker about this very issue. I had gotten a nice old calendar on ebay, and I mentioned I was glad the calendar was for a leap year, because every month from March on lined up with the current year. The dumbass insisted in all serious that I couldn’t use it because “the year was wrong”
Really? I’ve never been able to talk my cell phone company into giving me a better plan. They tell me they’d be happy to do it but first I’d need to pay the $200 fee associated with breaking my current contract. Which pisses me off to no end, because I’ve seen a couple of much more advantageous plans since I signed on, and I can’t switch to them.
I haven’t paid for a calendar in ten years. The one I have at work was free from the drug store. It has pictures of people skiing next to an add for V8 juice (and other such nonsense). But I just need it to tell what day it is, I don’t care about the pictures. The calendar I have at home came free with the free weekly newspaper.
I inquired about “bundling” packages. I ended up with my land line, internet connection, and cellphone with the same company, then I asked about a package that would bundle them together for savings. Presto! It’s much cheaper now.
