What is the most frugal (or cheap) thing you do to save money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

NP but most people I know (middle class and working class) spend more on daycare than rent or mortgage.

Keep in mind, though, that daycare costs are a lot more short term than rents and mortgages, which are, by definition, either forever or for at least 30 years for the vast majority of people. As a result, averaged out over a lifetime, or even over a decade, daycare costs are an afterthought compared to the big 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

Since when is childcare a helicopter expense? Ask any dual earner family without a SAHP on this forum--childcare expenses can be as high as a mortgage payment. This article from the Urban Institute can give you some actual data.

http://www.urban.org/research/publication/child-care-expenses-americas-families

Nearly half of America's working families with a child under age 13 have child care expenses that consume on average 9 percent of their monthly earnings. Working low-income families, single parents, and families with younger children spend a considerably higher share of their earnings on child care. Families with earnings below the federal poverty level who pay for child care spend an average of 23 percent of their monthly earnings on childcare. The average dollar amount that a family spends on child care in a month varies widely across states, reflecting differences in state costs of living, but the share of earnings that a family spends does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

Since when is childcare a helicopter expense? Ask any dual earner family without a SAHP on this forum--childcare expenses can be as high as a mortgage payment. This article from the Urban Institute can give you some actual data.

http://www.urban.org/research/publication/child-care-expenses-americas-families

Nearly half of America's working families with a child under age 13 have child care expenses that consume on average 9 percent of their monthly earnings. Working low-income families, single parents, and families with younger children spend a considerably higher share of their earnings on child care. Families with earnings below the federal poverty level who pay for child care spend an average of 23 percent of their monthly earnings on childcare. The average dollar amount that a family spends on child care in a month varies widely across states, reflecting differences in state costs of living, but the share of earnings that a family spends does not.

The point isn't that childcare is expensive; no one is arguing with that. The point is that it's a very *temporary* expense compared to the actual 3 top outlays, which are lifelong. You never stop needing a place to live, and most people are either lifelong renters or take 30 years to pay off mortgages. You never stop needing transportation, and most people do it through cars, which are money pits. You never stop needing to eat.

[Anonymous]

Oh lordy. The data is right there from the Department of Labor. The fact that you're in the temporal phase of life where you're spending a lot of income on daycare does not mean that, over the course of your life, it will be one of the three biggest things you spend money on. Statistically, those will be housing, transport, food. Arguing with this just makes you look like you have no understanding of the difference between short-term and long-term situations. You'd look equally uninformed arguing that nursing care should really be in the top 3 section of expenses for people because you live in a nursing home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

Since when is childcare a helicopter expense? Ask any dual earner family without a SAHP on this forum--childcare expenses can be as high as a mortgage payment. This article from the Urban Institute can give you some actual data.

http://www.urban.org/research/publication/child-care-expenses-americas-families

Nearly half of America's working families with a child under age 13 have child care expenses that consume on average 9 percent of their monthly earnings. Working low-income families, single parents, and families with younger children spend a considerably higher share of their earnings on child care. Families with earnings below the federal poverty level who pay for child care spend an average of 23 percent of their monthly earnings on childcare. The average dollar amount that a family spends on child care in a month varies widely across states, reflecting differences in state costs of living, but the share of earnings that a family spends does not.

The point isn't that childcare is expensive; no one is arguing with that. The point is that it's a very *temporary* expense compared to the actual 3 top outlays, which are lifelong. You never stop needing a place to live, and most people are either lifelong renters or take 30 years to pay off mortgages. You never stop needing transportation, and most people do it through cars, which are money pits. You never stop needing to eat.

Agreed! I have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My 2nd grader gord to aftercare and that is $550/mo. My 6thh grader lets himself into the house. Total daycare costs $550/mo. No where ner my mortgage, food, or transportation.

At the PEAK of our daycare expenses, one a baby and one 3.5, our costs were $2600/mo +350 for PT preschool. That lasted about 2 years. Yes it sucked, and it was temporary.

I will say, I'm playing major catch up with college. Contributing at a clip of 30k/yr. Only saving 100k for each kid.

[Anonymous]

Wear the same clothes and shoes until I'm no longer able. Im talking on the verge of having holes in them.

When I go out with a friend, I secretly hope they'll offer to pay because I don't want to spend my money. Or I'll tell them I don't want to go out just so I don't spend my money.

Rarely turn on the a/c or heat which has helped me keep my electric bill to under $40 each month.

I don't pay for Netflix, use my sibling's account instead.

99% of my napkins came from restaurants. I tend to grab a handful and just save them.

Use olive oil to remove makeup.

The library is my friend. Haven't bought a book in about 10 years. I used to live in Borders and B&N.

Only use my printer if I must otherwise I print from work.

[Anonymous]

Do my own hair. I was spending a lot of time and money at the salon. Now I do my own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wear the same clothes and shoes until I'm no longer able. Im talking on the verge of having holes in them.

When I go out with a friend, I secretly hope they'll offer to pay because I don't want to spend my money. Or I'll tell them I don't want to go out just so I don't spend my money.

Rarely turn on the a/c or heat which has helped me keep my electric bill to under $40 each month.

I don't pay for Netflix, use my sibling's account instead.

99% of my napkins came from restaurants. I tend to grab a handful and just save them.

Use olive oil to remove makeup.

The library is my friend. Haven't bought a book in about 10 years. I used to live in Borders and B&N.

Only use my printer if I must otherwise I print from work.

Now we are talking!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wear the same clothes and shoes until I'm no longer able. Im talking on the verge of having holes in them.

When I go out with a friend, I secretly hope they'll offer to pay because I don't want to spend my money. Or I'll tell them I don't want to go out just so I don't spend my money.

Rarely turn on the a/c or heat which has helped me keep my electric bill to under $40 each month.

I don't pay for Netflix, use my sibling's account instead.

99% of my napkins came from restaurants. I tend to grab a handful and just save them.

Use olive oil to remove makeup.

The library is my friend. Haven't bought a book in about 10 years. I used to live in Borders and B&N.

Only use my printer if I must otherwise I print from work.

You're a mooch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

Since when is childcare a helicopter expense? Ask any dual earner family without a SAHP on this forum--childcare expenses can be as high as a mortgage payment. This article from the Urban Institute can give you some actual data.

http://www.urban.org/research/publication/child-care-expenses-americas-families

Nearly half of America's working families with a child under age 13 have child care expenses that consume on average 9 percent of their monthly earnings. Working low-income families, single parents, and families with younger children spend a considerably higher share of their earnings on child care. Families with earnings below the federal poverty level who pay for child care spend an average of 23 percent of their monthly earnings on childcare. The average dollar amount that a family spends on child care in a month varies widely across states, reflecting differences in state costs of living, but the share of earnings that a family spends does not.

The point isn't that childcare is expensive; no one is arguing with that. The point is that it's a very *temporary* expense compared to the actual 3 top outlays, which are lifelong. You never stop needing a place to live, and most people are either lifelong renters or take 30 years to pay off mortgages. You never stop needing transportation, and most people do it through cars, which are money pits. You never stop needing to eat.

Agreed! I have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My 2nd grader gord to aftercare and that is $550/mo. My 6thh grader lets himself into the house. Total daycare costs $550/mo. No where ner my mortgage, food, or transportation.

At the PEAK of our daycare expenses, one a baby and one 3.5, our costs were $2600/mo +350 for PT preschool. That lasted about 2 years. Yes it sucked, and it was temporary.

I will say, I'm playing major catch up with college. Contributing at a clip of 30k/yr. Only saving 100k for each kid.

What about summer camp? I was looking forward to saving money after DS started kindergarten but I'm looking at $600/month for aftercare plus at least 10 weeks of summer camp at around $400/week. That is not much of a savings compared to what I was paying for all day preschool. I'm assuming he'll need summer camp at least through elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per Early Retirement Extreme, the biggest outlays are housing, transportation, and food. That's where to focus on if you want more money left over.

By extension, our biggest frugal move was to buy a house that was the equivalent of 2x our projected salary when we moved to the area. Salary increased and we paid it off in 3 years. Everything else pales in comparison. However, we also make it a point to only buy used cars and in cash. On the food end, we spend more due to aiming for fresh this and that, but we also rarely eat out and don't buy soda / beer / etc. The healthy eating is also much cheaper in the long run due to reducing odds of all kinds of health issues when we're older, so we see it as long term health insurance.

'Early Retirement Extreme' must not have kids. For a lot of parents, the biggest expenses are childcare for kids under 5 or private school for kids over 5. Food is just a rounding error compared to the cost of daycare. Sending my kids to public school is one of my frugal actions, having only one car and using public transportation to commute to work is another.

You are so fantastically out of touch it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The overwhelming majority of parents in the United States do not send their children to private schools. Similarly, your private helicopter expenses are also irrelevant to what people are actually spending money on. Housing, transportation, and food are the primary expenses for 99% of households; this isn't new information.

Since when is childcare a helicopter expense? Ask any dual earner family without a SAHP on this forum--childcare expenses can be as high as a mortgage payment. This article from the Urban Institute can give you some actual data.

http://www.urban.org/research/publication/child-care-expenses-americas-families

Nearly half of America's working families with a child under age 13 have child care expenses that consume on average 9 percent of their monthly earnings. Working low-income families, single parents, and families with younger children spend a considerably higher share of their earnings on child care. Families with earnings below the federal poverty level who pay for child care spend an average of 23 percent of their monthly earnings on childcare. The average dollar amount that a family spends on child care in a month varies widely across states, reflecting differences in state costs of living, but the share of earnings that a family spends does not.

The point isn't that childcare is expensive; no one is arguing with that. The point is that it's a very *temporary* expense compared to the actual 3 top outlays, which are lifelong. You never stop needing a place to live, and most people are either lifelong renters or take 30 years to pay off mortgages. You never stop needing transportation, and most people do it through cars, which are money pits. You never stop needing to eat.

Agreed! I have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My 2nd grader gord to aftercare and that is $550/mo. My 6thh grader lets himself into the house. Total daycare costs $550/mo. No where ner my mortgage, food, or transportation.

At the PEAK of our daycare expenses, one a baby and one 3.5, our costs were $2600/mo +350 for PT preschool. That lasted about 2 years. Yes it sucked, and it was temporary.

I will say, I'm playing major catch up with college. Contributing at a clip of 30k/yr. Only saving 100k for each kid.

What about summer camp? I was looking forward to saving money after DS started kindergarten but I'm looking at $600/month for aftercare plus at least 10 weeks of summer camp at around $400/week. That is not much of a savings compared to what I was paying for all day preschool. I'm assuming he'll need summer camp at least through elementary school.

We take 2 weeks vacation in the summer, 2 weeks with the grandparents (one week each), 3 weeks of sports camps (expensive!) And 3 weeks of a sitter. Total summer costs ~ $ 2400+ 1800= 4200. The sports camps are truly elective. With 2 kids the babysitter is the less expensive option.

If we were on a strict budget, we'd do the program through casa that costs $150/wk pwr kid for full time summer "camp".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the things posted here aren't actually saving, it's just not spending. Unless you put those savings away where you can see it.
You are right, but I think all are welcome though. I like to read them and rarely ever see anything new. I was going to add all the places I get money from or free things (food/coffee at work) at the condo( people give away or put next to recycling things they don't want anymore), but those also don't fit the bill. Last year alone i found $100 cash on the street and a metro card with $120 on it and another $60 cash (just remembered), ebates, fee tax preparing. I also have 3 class action suits I'm part of. Last one paid out $400.
Aftercare gave us 70% off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wear the same clothes and shoes until I'm no longer able. Im talking on the verge of having holes in them.

When I go out with a friend, I secretly hope they'll offer to pay because I don't want to spend my money. Or I'll tell them I don't want to go out just so I don't spend my money.

Rarely turn on the a/c or heat which has helped me keep my electric bill to under $40 each month.

I don't pay for Netflix, use my sibling's account instead.

99% of my napkins came from restaurants. I tend to grab a handful and just save them.

Use olive oil to remove makeup.

The library is my friend. Haven't bought a book in about 10 years. I used to live in Borders and B&N.

Only use my printer if I must otherwise I print from work.

Now we are talking!

Haha love this list. I posted my list earlier but avoided things like "sometimes stay in the office later than I need to so I can expense dinner" but you inspired me to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wear the same clothes and shoes until I'm no longer able. Im talking on the verge of having holes in them.

When I go out with a friend, I secretly hope they'll offer to pay because I don't want to spend my money. Or I'll tell them I don't want to go out just so I don't spend my money.

Rarely turn on the a/c or heat which has helped me keep my electric bill to under $40 each month.

I don't pay for Netflix, use my sibling's account instead.

99% of my napkins came from restaurants. I tend to grab a handful and just save them.

Use olive oil to remove makeup.

The library is my friend. Haven't bought a book in about 10 years. I used to live in Borders and B&N.

Only use my printer if I must otherwise I print from work.

You're a mooch.

Agree! If I was your friend and got this cheap mooch vibe from you, I'd drop you. Friendships are reciprocal.

[Anonymous]

I steal k cups from work and reams of paper. I also shop in the supply closet for school supplies.