Creative ways to save money??

maddensmom

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Allright, for most of us saving money isn't fun. I don't like it, because I'm more of I want that right now kinda person. I don't like having to wait!! LOL Retirement and all is totally diferent, I'm talking about saving for a trip, or something special.

Hubby and I are saving for new flooring for our kitchen and living room, and are doing a pretty good job and I'm really motivated, but I was looking for more creative ideas to make it a lot of fun to save money!

For example...I was watching Trading Spaces the other day and this couple had a piggy bank that they called their "Passion Pig" and everytime they uh....did the deed...they put money in the bank. We also talked about a dirty mouth jar, where if you're caught saying a dirty word in the house, you have to put money in the jar. Lord knows we'd save a lot of money that way!


Anyway, do any of you have any ideas? Or is there anything like this that you do at home??
 

butterflydream

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Would that be sorta wrong thinking though, paying yourself for doing the deed seems kinda wrong, but onto point, I put all our spare change in a jar....eventually it adds up.
 
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maddensmom

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We keep our spare change too, but if we relied on that we'd never get new flooring!! LOL We're trying to save up enough to get it in a few months. I never thought of it as "paying yourself to do the deed" LOL and its not something we were going to do, but it made me laugh when I saw it on tv!
 

butterflydream

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You actually got smile out of me with the idea...which is good cause I needed it.

Maybe do a yard sale and in that you make money and you get rid of stuff you don't need????
 
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maddensmom

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I thought about a yard sale and I just might do that. I'm sure I can dig up plenty of junk around here that we don't use anymore...plus that would mean that I'd HAVE to clean the garage!!
 

lilleah

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Yard sales rock!

I made alot of money last summer getting rid of all our crap! And all the baby stuff...

It was a great reward for some hard work that turned into a much cleaner house! lol. It's a win-win situation
 

meowsas

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If you are trying to look after the pennies the food shop can provide a surprising amount of cash saved.
Plan the weeks or 2 weeks 'menu' before you go on one side of the list. Then on the main list write what you need for those meals. (Limit prepacked stuff) add lunches. Packed lunches to take to work. Soft drinks (shops brand) water (best value)
Find a shop that offers a happy medium between quality and value I.e. public’s v Wal-Mart?

Then don't shop locally between shops as that gobbles so much cash.

What else..ummm
Selling on ebay can bring in cash..Don’t buy!!
Recording of the TV rather than buying or renting videos/dvd's
Paying in cash what you can afford thus avoiding interest rates.
Setting a budget together with a spreadsheet if able to plan how much you will save each month.
Maybe have some cash put into a little spending account for both of you each month like $200 for magazine sweets bits and bobs and anything over that you have to decide together.. and don't touch the main money!

Look at what you don't use. If you order a paper everyday but only read at the weekend only order for the weekend. That sort of thing.
Good luck!
 

nekokaasan

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Yard sale, definitely.

Keep track of your daily spending for a week. You'll be amazed at how much goes into buying coffees, sodas, and fast food.

If you stop at the coffee shop for a latte on the way to work three times a week, cut back to once or twice instead. Buying sodas out of the vending machine at work? Buy some bulk water or soda at the grocery store and take it with you to work instead. Buying vending machine candy bars? Stock up on granola bars or snack packs at the supermarket instead. Cut back on eating out. I've saved lots of money by taking my lunch to work every day instead of eating out. (And I've been eating healthier, too. I usually take Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, or Smart Ones meals, whichever are on sale.)

Clip coupons, but resist the urge to buy something you don't need just because you have a coupon for it. Buy the cheap store brand on anything you can - store brand sodas, chips, crackers, cereals, dish detergent, etc.

Check your bills for services you don't use. Some phone and cable companies charge a dollar here, two dollars there, etc, for services you could do without, such as caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, etc.

Change your thermostat by a couple of degrees. (This is my least favorite, but it does make a difference.) In my area of the country, it's pretty hot during the summer and we can rack up quite the electric bill while using the A/C. Hubby's insistence on keeping the thermostat on 78 (instead of my preferred 76 or below) actually makes a small but noticeable difference.

That's all that comes to mind right now...these are all ways I use to cut unnecessary spending and save money. Not all of them will apply to you, I'm sure. YMMV.
 

semiferal

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I don't have direct deposit (on purpose). When I deposit my paycheck, the amount in 100's goes into checking, for general purpose use. Whatever's left goes into savings.

For example, if my paycheck were for $637.75, $600 would go into my checking account and $37.75 would go into savings.
 

satai

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If you like the video game the sims, you can do up a "sim board" like the panel in the game and pretend you're a sim family - that's what I like to do...

Wacky, I know, but super fun.
 

marie-p

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Especially if you have older stuff, eBay is a great idea.

Once, my ex-boyfriend gathered all his old GI Joe toys from when he was a kid, put them back into the right "kits" (making sure the platic men all had their original accessories, etc.) and sold them on eBay. He made around $500 doing that.
You'd be surprised how much some people will pay for some old stuff. It's usually much more than you'd get at a garage sale.

Or you could always take a certain amount out of each paycheck and put it somewhere where you wont touch it.
 

fwan

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I have a huge kitty money box, and everyday (i have so much spare change) i put it in the can, along with some notes..

*its my aussie bank*
 

phenomsmom

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My money jar works like this: I give myself so much spenidng money per week. at the end of the week all my change goes in there along with any $1 bills. I save up quickly that way.

My dad's works this way. He collects quarters. He will do anything possible to get as many quarters back when he goes to the store. So he carries a lot of nickles pennies and dimes to make the change come out to .25 or something!
 

annasmom

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I think someone mentioned the online savings account in another thread. We started one for a vet fund. Its 3.75% interest. We have $25 taken out of eah of my husband's paycheck ($50/month). You don't even miss it because, really, what can $25 buy you? Fast food, junk food, a few coffees? I read money magazine and this is thier top suggestion for people trying to save money. Also they say if you win a bet at work, some $ at a poker game, a small bonus at work, basically any unexpected money, dump it right in there and it really adds up!
 

babyharley

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I have $25 a month taken out of my checking account that is automatically put into my savings. I don't even miss it! And it REALLY adds up fast - one time I really forgot it was there, and I checked and I had about $200 in there! What a great surrpise! I highly suggest having that done if you can!
 

lunasmom

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I stuff away $50 every paycheck automatically from my checking account. Since it's automatic I can't even touch it or change the amt. (Sure I could transfer it back, but I just pretend that function isn't there)


I had a co-worker that her and her husband had the dirty mouth jar. They were both trying to fix their swearing, so each time they swore they would place a $1 into the jar. One month they saved up some pretty good cash...only because they were stressed at work
 

nerelda

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I definately agree on clipping coupons. I've been doing this every sunday and love it! I've been slowly learning how to save lots of money using these. Sometimes if you call up the company that makes an item that you really like, you can get coupons from them. It doesnt' hurt to ask at least.


I also keep all my spare change in a bank, rather than spending it. That's always a nice surprise when you find out how much you really saved by doing that. (I just put another $60 in the bank.)
 
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maddensmom

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Thanks for all the great suggestions!! Extra money (or what we like to call "found money") is definately being saved. The other day we got a 20 dollar check from the doctors office b/c I overpaid on my account. (Actually I think their figures are off) The money went straight into the "flooring fund". Its not much considering the total that we need, but every little bit helps right?? You guys are a great help!
 

zissou'smom

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Well, when you live off of student loans... it is pretty easy to save money. My entire paycheck goes to a savings account that I have set up to start paying off my student loans. It's also one of the online ones with a 4.25% interest (yes, you read that right!).

Work out a budget for yourself for as long as you need to save. Mortgage, utilities, car payment, and add all that up for the month. That stuff you can't really save on. Then figure out the bare minimum you can get by on for gas, food, etc, and spend only that, putting everything else in savings.

One really really good way to save money is to turn off the cable and put the bill money for that right into your savings account instead.
 
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