‘Tis the season…or something. I’m trying to figure out what I could be doing better - and the thing about habits is, I don’t even realize there are OTHER ways of living. So I thought I’d ask about the smart choices Dopers make.
Good - No credit card debt.
Lots of thrift store shopping.
I cut my own hair & the kids’
Some cheap meals (big pot of soup or beans & rice)
Bad - Too much thrift store shopping
Kids have too many toys
Too much fast food ($200/mo)
Cheap meals not frequent enough (3x/mo)
I don’t make a lot of good choices but I won’t let that stop me from commenting on your post! The food part, it takes a lot of planning. I turn to fast food for a lot of reasons, but part of it is that I didn’t plan ahead and have an alternative to keep me from getting super-hungry and looking for a less-healthy choice.
And you will spend a little more to eat a varied diet with plenty of nutrients. To me that’s worth it, though, and a valuable use of your money. You may pay more for less-processed food but again, that’s worth it.
We are good savers and good spenders (unfortunately, we started later than we should with regard to saving). We live within our means and try to remember that we are living far better than most people in the world. That attitude keeps my “wants” and “needs” in perspective.
Plus, I feel not one iota of guilt when I have the occasional urge to have a really nice lunch or dinner out. I don’t make a steady diet of it, so it’s well within my budget to do it every month or so.
Congratulations on the Good! Too many people keep a revolving balance on their credit cards, and paying them off becomes a nearly impossible burden. Way to go!
Bad- that’s a lot of money on fast food. I found a few years ago that cutting out fast food was a double bonus- I saved lots of money, and I didn’t always feel like crap. It was amazing how much healthier I felt after cutting it out.
This season is a tough one to try to get spending under control, so I admire your initiative. We found that a Sunday afternoon grocery store trip would set us up for the week- lunches for me at work and the family at home during the week, and 3 cooked dinners a week. Each dinner yields another meal’s worth of leftovers, so there was only 1 more dinner a week to worry about, and that’s usually pizza. It resulted in a significant savings at the end of the month. Take that saved money and sock it away somewhere- you’ve killed a few birds with one stone.
If something is frequently on sale, say once a month, I *only *buy it on sale.
For example, I haven’t paid full price for years for things like soda, tissue and paper towels, coffee, eggs, milk, lunch meat, pasta, detergents.
One thing to save money will seem strange. Buy a lot at once. This ties in with sale purchases, but the logic is different. What you are saving here is trips to the store. Value your own time and “pay yourself” by saving that extra trip. Say you earn $8 or $80 per hour, multiply that times the hour you spend on a grocery run. That freed-up time is just as valuable to you as your paid vacation time.
I never carry a credit card balance.
I generally don’t carry much cash on me. $10-20. Cash seems to just evaporate.
I get most of my cash from the grocery store with my Discover card - can’t beat cash back on your cash!
Have never used an ATM other than for work.
My basic loathing for shopping helps keep expenditures down.
I don’t mind cooking and don’t get enough enjoyment out of eating out to make the premium worth it.
I bring my lunch every day.
Probably my biggest personal expenditure is golfing, and we always look for specials or courses that are under $50.
Of course, the flip side is that with all of my penury, there are times I’ll gladly toss money at a situation to make it go away. For example, I’m a crap haggler in car or house shopping. The savings just doesn’t mean enough to me to make the savings - even of hundreds or thousands of dollars - worth it.
And because I hate shopping, sometimes I’ll rush a purchase, and later realize I’m not satisfied with what I bought.
Or I’ll just drive to the store figuring they will have something in stock, instead of calling first to check.
No credit card debt - and cash back.
When my wife started Weight Watchers, we started planning menus for the week, and did a big shopping on the weekend that bought all the stuff we needed for that week. We found this saved money because it cut trips, and because we bought only what we needed - less stuff cluttering up the refrigerator, and less spoliage. It is also good because all the ingredients are on hand, so no meals based on what is around, and no take out because there is nothing to eat.
We are also thrift shop patrons. I’m addicted to jigsaws, but no big deal at a buck a piece.
My only sin is going to used book stores and spending $100 on books I won’t read for years - but I have a collection and I need them.
One of my rules-of-thumb for living not cheaply, but with an eye for your money, was that food from Safeway was always allowed, but food from restaurants was much more restricted. There are lots of very nice dinner and food items you can buy at Safeway for a fraction of a restaurant meal and not feel like you’re depriving yourself. We try to keep our eating out to a standing Friday night dinner out, and usually a lunch out on the weekend at some point.
Keeping your house stocked with lots of good food from Safeway is also a way to keep from the temptation of eating out. If I go to the pantry and there’s nothing there, yeah, I’m gonna go get a burger. If there’s three or four yummy things to eat, I’ll eat in.
You didn’t mention it, but things like coffees at Starbucks and 7-11 trips can add up really quickly. Not that you can’t have an indulgence or two - just pick the one that means the most to you, and enjoy it fully (ours is the eating out on Friday - I never buy a soda or coffee anywhere because I just don’t care about that). Oh, don’t buy sodas or desserts while eating out, either - those are the biggest rip-offs in the restaurant. Get in the habit of drinking water with your meal, and having sodas and dessert at home where you have bought them from Safeway for one-fifth of what the restaurant is charging you.
Also, if you’re serious about where your money is going, keep track of it for a while at least. It can be very eye-opening to see where it dribbles away.
Thanks for sharing your experiences & making suggestions.
I should probably clarify, that $200 is for a family of 4 (although probably most of it is me & the twins doing McD’s).
If taking the twins to McD’s is something they really enjoy (and from what I’ve seen of kids, it is), I would suggest at the same time reduce the number of times you go and make it more special. Maybe make it a standing Saturday lunch thing or something, that they could look forward to, instead of a couple times a week thing. Just throwin’ that out there. 
Good - no credit card debt.
Bad - buying food in a fit of “must be economical and eat a home” pique and then throwing it all out two weeks later.
Excellent idea, thanks!
I get the sales flyers each week and plan my meals around what’s on sale (perishables). I keep an eye out for the non-perishables I use regularly and buy them on sale so that I always have new stock on hand when the one in use is done.
When I had a freezer that was still working, I’d buy several loaves of bread on sale and freeze them. Bread seems fine when it’s been frozen and thawed and in fact seems more resistant to mold. I’d also buy meat and freeze it. You have to be sure to mark it with the date and remember you have it, though :o
I haunt the sales for big purchases, too. I waited a few years to buy a digital camera and got an excellent one for about $200 off on sale. I just got a winter jacket for $100 off. I replace things before the originals are totally worn out which means I have the luxury of waiting months for the sales and buy on sale.
I’ve been planning to get a crockpot and one of my favourite retailers has a good one on sale for twenty bucks this week. I’m actually debating whether to wait for the post-Christmas clearances, which is when I usually get things like wrap and cards and great bargains on electronics can be found.
I also make my lunches and keep frozen ready-made meals on hand for nuking for the nights I’m too tired to cook - still much cheaper than takeout. I take my teabags to work and make tea for the afternoons and buy a plain old coffee for a buck and a quarter a couple times a week.
It’s fun to get bargains 
And I have money for treats when I want them! Thing is that treats cease to be treats if you have them all the time so none of this feels like deprivation. I still eat well and get things I like, but the moccaccino I have maybe once every second month is way tastier than it would be if I had it every day.
A few years ago I bought my wife, who went out for coffee a few times a week, an espresso maker for her birthday. This was not intended to save money, but it turned out to. She has found that making her own lattes satisfies her cravings as much as going out, and is a lot cheaper. It’s paid for itself many times over by now.
Good: I’m cheap so I only buy things if I really, really want them and can afford them.
Bad: I don’t plan meals so I end up wasting food by throwing out once-fresh vegetables a lot. I also end up hungry but without the time to cook so I get fast food or take-out. I wish I were a good enough cook that I could just throw ingredients together and have it taste good. I’m pretty sick of what I already know how to make.
Some of my strategies for having good meals at home - have lots of frozen vegetables on hand (they have some very nice mixes, too, like stir-fry mix), have lots of pasta on hand, and always have canned tuna and salmon. Pasta, veg and fish makes a good, fairly balanced, one pot meal (I often use Kraft Sharp Cheddar mac & cheese for the pasta). You can cook the pasta first, throw the veg in when it’s almost done, and the fish goes in last. You could add any meat you like to this, too (chicken or ham are also good).
Another easy trick to make food more tasty is keeping lots of onion soup mix around. I use it as a seasoning for most savoury dishes.
We also really like tuna ceasar salads. I buy a bag salad (I could wash the lettuce from a head, but I just don’t) with dressing included, and I add a little lemon juice, some parmesan cheese, some freshly ground black pepper, and a can of drained tuna. It is surprisingly good.
There are lots of frozen nukeable meals that are way cheaper and better for you than take-out.
Spend a few hours browsing your local bookstore or online to find ten or so ‘quick and healthy’ type recipes that appeal to you and then you can fall back on them.
Mine are veggie omelet, creamed tuna and peas on waffles, baked (nuked) potato with grated or cottage cheese on and some nuked veggies, baked quesadillas, nuked potato, salad, and toasted tuna sandwich, sautéed vegies in olive oil (sweet onion, peppers, and mushrooms) with ‘neatballs’ (tofu balls in the manner of meatballs) or veggie burgers, sautéed veggies and tomatoes (giardino or campari tomatoes if possible) over pasta, chili (sooo easy if you use tinned mixed chili beans, stewed tomatoes, and lean burger or ground poultry) and veggie pizza. Most take 10-15 minutes to prepare, and I interchange the ingredients and permutations.
A real shortcut to making salads is to pre-wash and dry your greens and keep them in a foodsaver type container in the fridge.
Good: I’m notoriously spend-thrifty on purchases but you wouldn’t know it. Many people comment about my ‘expensive’ tastes for what looks like designer stuff but in reality, was about $20 from Paddy’s Markets. eBay is a wonderful tool as well; $300 polarised sunglasses for $25, including P&H. I don’t see the point in spending a car downpayment on a handbag I’m too scared to use. I also take very good care of all my things because they do last longer that way, but obviously I’m not going to be upset if something gets busted before its time. I also found that when out with the girlfriends, window shopping and whatnot, my biggest expenditure was buying a drink, like a bottle of water. Solution, obviously, was to bring a bottle of water with me.
I borrow books from family rather than buy them - I also return them because I don’t have a bookcase.
I only keep $100 in my ATM-accessible account so if something’s more than $60, I have to really think about whether it’s worth it (I keep a minimum of $40 in there for emergencies). I also direct all wages into a savings account. I have two jobs and one (the one which pays less overall) pays cash in hand. I use that cash as spending money on petrol and takeout in order to save more.
I sell things I don’t need on eBay. It really is the easiest option because I have such a small living space (a bedroom no larger than a glorified shoebox) and if I’m not using it within six months, it gets turfed. I get some form of return through selling it.
Bad: I don’t think some purchases through (just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean I should buy it) - I have a lot of jewellery that’s just beautiful but I never wear it. Some of this is because it’s not as nice as it used to be but I’ve polished it up but I still don’t wear it. Again though, everything bar earrings can be sold on eBay. I don’t insist on the grocery shopping routine, so this means I often eat badly because there is very little in the house.
Good: No credit card debt, sizeable savings account, IRA, buying a house instead of renting an apartment, car is paid off, bills are always paid on time.
Bad: Spend quite a bit of cash on makeup, clothes, eating out, and the worst habit is that I go to Starbucks almost every day.
I think I am going to get an espresso maker so that I can make my own coffees. I always feel guilty about paying $4.50 every time I go to Starbucks. It’s not that I can’t afford it, but that money would be better saved than spent on something so frivilous. I don’t feel bad about the makeup and clothes, because I do feel that it’s ok to indulge myself since I work so hard. I try really hard not to go overboard on it, but I probably spend $300 a month on that kind of stuff. As for eating out, I should really cut back on that. I’ll do pretty well for awhile on buying groceries and eating at home, but I still probably spend $100 a month on going out.
Overall, I do well with my money and save about 75% of what I make. I do plan for the future and think about things that we need around the house and make sure I have money in the bank in case something big should need fixed. I would like to get some investments going, but I am fairly clueless about how to get started on it. That is something I need to start looking into.