Best Way You Have Saved Money on Monthly Expenses

[Anonymous]

I know this seems counter intuitive, but using peapod has really helped me stick to our $100 week food budget (family of four). There are discounted times for delivery. And this also allows me to meal plan and only buy what we need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've read in a few threads that you can save by cutting down on meat.....what do you buy/eat instead?

For meat, I buy whatever the store has marked down that has to be sold by that day. If I go after 2pm, they mark down the prices even more.

+1 I always look for the markdowns. Then take them home and freeze them ASAP. I also use chicken thighs in soups and casseroles.

[Anonymous]

Decided to rent the cheapest apartment we found as opposed to the largest our budget would allow. This gives us hundreds of dollars am month in flexibility.

[Anonymous]

We shop at Aldi. I used the envelope system for a couple weeks to get a handle on spending. Use cash for going out to eat/coffee etc. When cash is gone no more "fun money" for the month. We went from Verizon to Cox for tv/internet.

[Anonymous]

An HSA.

[Anonymous]

Tracking every dollar.

[Anonymous]

We have a special credit card, scheduled to pay off in full every month, that we use for the two budget areas where we went routinely over budget every month. So now we can check the balance regularly and we know instantly if we are on track for where we are in the four-week billing cycle. We can even set up alerts that tell us if we hit a certain figure.

Before it was so onerous to regularly add up all the small transactions to see what we had spent, that we didn't do it often enough and often did it far too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a special credit card, scheduled to pay off in full every month, that we use for the two budget areas where we went routinely over budget every month. So now we can check the balance regularly and we know instantly if we are on track for where we are in the four-week billing cycle. We can even set up alerts that tell us if we hit a certain figure.

Before it was so onerous to regularly add up all the small transactions to see what we had spent, that we didn't do it often enough and often did it far too late.

I do something similar. $250 per paycheck (every other week) for all incidental (coffee, lunch, school stuff, birthday presents, random stuff at Home Depot, etc). All other money goes directly to checking for auto bill pay or savings accounts.

[Anonymous]

Having three roommates has saved me hundreds a month (I'm 26).

Also:
- Choosing not to have a car and using metro/uber exclusively
- bringing lunch to work everyday (I keep a stock of cup of noodles in my desk for when I forget)
- no cable

Lots of other, smaller things but those have the biggest impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this seems counter intuitive, but using peapod has really helped me stick to our $100 week food budget (family of four). There are discounted times for delivery. And this also allows me to meal plan and only buy what we need.

I do this too - I am terrible about sticking to a list if i go to the store. Peapod saves me time and money. I do their podpass ($49/3 months of unlimited delivery) which also saves as I get food once/week. I could be even smarter about meal planning based on what is on sale, but I don't do that as much. they also have coupons often (like $5-$10 off) which I take advtange of.

one more thing I do is quickly compare unit prices between target.com, amazon, and peapod. the cheapest is where i get (assuming free shipping) it b/c time is money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this seems counter intuitive, but using peapod has really helped me stick to our $100 week food budget (family of four). There are discounted times for delivery. And this also allows me to meal plan and only buy what we need.

I do this too - I am terrible about sticking to a list if i go to the store. Peapod saves me time and money. I do their podpass ($49/3 months of unlimited delivery) which also saves as I get food once/week. I could be even smarter about meal planning based on what is on sale, but I don't do that as much. they also have coupons often (like $5-$10 off) which I take advtange of.

one more thing I do is quickly compare unit prices between target.com, amazon, and peapod. the cheapest is where i get (assuming free shipping) it b/c time is money.

I feel the same way about Internet shopping in general. I may pay slightly higher prices by buying online, but I don't buy impulse things that I (or my kids) don't need and I've saved a lot that way. The only shopping I really do now is grocery shopping (and I will probably switch to an online grocery soon).

[Anonymous]

one small thing may not apply.. on my commute i don't pay tolls. Its literally just 10-20 minutes of my day taking a backroad, leaving a little earlier to save about $350 a month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read in a few threads that you can save by cutting down on meat.....what do you buy/eat instead?

Eggs! Make a vegetable quiche or just have omlets for dinner every now and again.

We also do a lot of beans. The frozen tilapia at Aldi's is very good and not very expensive as well.

[Anonymous]

I watch sales and stock up. I have a cabinet downstairs that can hold a good amount, so I'll buy a LOT whatever snack is on loss leader and dole it out as needed. Same with cereal, which my children can inhale at all hours of the day....

[Anonymous]

Peapod. If I go to the grocery store, even with a list, I routinely spend $50+ more than our budget. If I use Peapod, even with any price increases, I can stick to a frugal budget and have enough food for everyone all week.

Relatedly, meal planning. If you have a plan, you are less likely to blow money on unnecessary food.