Increase insurance deductibles and reshop them all annually.

Appeal property tax increases, no matter how small.

3 bids on every home improvement.

Loose

Get a piggy bank for your lose change. Every three months we deposit the change into one of our kids accounts. We usually have about $150 in change every three months.

Anonymous wrote:
Buy a Jura capresso for $1,500 and stop going to Starbucks

Haha! That made my day, pp! Saving for the wealthy. Ha!

You could also get a $120 Keurig. But k-cups are expensive. So you could
Just brew regular coffee too.

Use thrift stores to buy young children's toys, play equipment, books, etc. When they outgrow, just re-donate or sell at a garage sale. As my kids get older I buy lots of their sports supplies at thrift stores. Baseball season is here and I just bought cleats, gloves, bats in various sizes at a fraction of the cost new.

At the beginning of the week make a list of the meals that can be prepared that you have the stuff for. Many times I get so busy or it's so late by the time I get home, I don't have the energy (or memory) for what's in the freezer, pantry, shelves. If I list the main dish and side dish options (even down to the bag of frozen broccoli in the freezer) i can glance at the list in the morning before or right after work and pull it together.

If you have savings, increase the deductible on your car
If you have car financing paid off, tell your car insurance (you may get a discount)
Cut out cable, go Netflix and Hulu and amazon
Get a 2% credit card and use it for everything. We spend close to $100,000 a year on our cards and get $2,000 back every year.
Turn your thermostat down 2 degrees or at least get a programmable one.
If you have a 401K max it for employer matching
If you have an ESPP, churn it for the easy returns
Ditch home phone
Combine home and auto insurance
Hire high school kids to mow your lawn
Use high efficiency bulbs
Buy a Jura capresso for $1,500 and stop going to Starbucks
Use your coffee as fertilizer (works great)
ditch the gym, the world is your gym

Super busy with work and several kids,

- For clothes - especially kids - keep running list of staples you will need, stick to a few brands so you know the general sizing to order on-line, wait for the big sales and then buy.
- as kids get older, - involve them in meal planning and chores. it will take more time upfront- but worth it for them to learn and they can help in saving.
- I don't have time for coupons but we do use the gas rewards programms (Giant) per pp, buy store brand on many things, and buy in bulk
- if you or DH travel for work often, take nutrition bars etc. . buy bottle of waters at the drug store next to the hotel. I find its the small items that are not expensable when you travel that can add up to more coffee runs, buying higher price things then when you are home. Healthier too.
- repair and maintain things you can (on your own when possible) to get a couple more years of life out of something
- agree on target card if you shop there often

Anonymous wrote:I do my online shopping via Ebates, where they give a cash rebate for online purchases.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=L0xgq26veNU%2Ft6Qqy6ndDQ%3D%3D

Many major online merchants give rebates (including hotels and car rentals), usually 2-5%. It adds up in the end.
Some places give a rebate if you order online and pick up in store (BBB, Home Depot, Nordstrom).

Looks pretty spammy to me.

Saved a ton of money by stopping at one kid. A ton.

Use a dry cleaner that gives a 25% discount for prepaying in cash.

To jump on the meal planning - it REALLY makes a difference for us both in terms of money spent and time & food wasted. But I can't plan to save my life, so I am paying ~$1/week for The Fresh 20 which provides dinner meal plans based on fresh foods. So far we're eating better while spending less, so it's workig well for us.

I also don't miss cable, and even my more into TV husband seems good with it (we're in temporary housing). Do have netflix & Amazon Prime, so it's not no TV, just not cable.

Use the library instead of buying books
Brew my own iced tea and keep in the office fridge
Make my own pizza/coffee/etc.

-pack lunch
-leap of for groceries/meal planning
-brew coffee
-use the library

Anonymous wrote:Pack your lunch, more often than not. And if you have a DH, pack his too while you're at it. I realized DH and I were spending about $10/day each for lunch out. That's $400/month! Now, we eat a lot of dinner leftovers for lunch the next day, and still get lunch out maybe once a week.

DH can pack his own damn lunch!

Cut the gym membership/newspaper/magazines if you don't use them/love them.

Redbox instead of movies in theater.

Try a week-long spending freeze where you only buy essentials.

Keep something yummy in the freezer (homemade soup works well) for nights you are too tired to cook.