DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Favorite Money Saving Tips

So .... what are some of your favorites?

I always look at the bargain bin when I go to my local hardware store, or even Wal Mart, , anytime I need paint. I like a lot of neutral colors, and I can often find a gallon or 2 on their markdown table.

When I painted my garage, (OK, a friend actually painted it for me) I saw 2 gallons of paint that looked a lot like my house color. They were marked down to $5 each. I got one more gallon tinted to match, mixed them together to make them uniform, and I got my 2 car garage, cinder block construction, painted for about $48 in paint. That was a whole lot better than almost $100.

I have old cabinets in my kitchen, and wanted to paint them. About 2 1/2 years ago, I bought some paint, and it was totally the wrong color. I wound up using that paint elsewhere in my house, but I was left with one set of upper cupboards painted, and the rest not.

I was at Lowes yesterday, and found a gallon of their top line paint, the kind with the primer and paint in one, and in the color I wanted, (I actually picked out a paint chip that was really close to it) and I got it for $5. I might have preferred the slightly darker color, but the difference was really minor.

I think that I painted my garage, 2 bathrooms, and now will have my kitchen cabinets painted, each for about $5/gallon.

Oh, and I got a gallon of brown paint for my cabinets in the basement for $5 too.

If you are painting, check the bargain bins. I have found that I can find a lot of suitable paints at bargain prices.

Hit Big Lots before you go to the grocery store. Cereal, spices and seasonings, condiments, salad dressing, paper products, trash bags, zip locs, etc. can usually be found for a fraction of the cost at Kroger....even the name brand stuff. It's no problem to save 20-30 dollars on the grocery bill for us, and Big Lots is right next door to Kroger here.

Buy a freezer, then when you grocery shop, look for family packs and BOGO specials. You can get significantly better prices on large packs of ground beef, steaks, chops, roasts, etc, and then when you get home do a quick repack into meal-sized freezer bags. Then open a cheap beer and stare at your freezer full of meat. Not too long, what are you trying to do - cool the whole basement?

1. Amazon Subscribe and Save.

- Free shipping, no tax, 15% off and you pick the delivery schedule. It's good for just about anything. I use it for toothpaste, soap, protein powder, milk boxes for school lunches & tampons (not for me).

2. Eat dinner at home and bring your lunch to work.

- Eating out is crazy expensive. We will go out once or twice a week, but no more than that. And when we do, we try our best to eat at local, family owned restaurants. While they aren't any less expensive that big chains, they keep the community strong.

3. Grow your own herbs at home.

- I have two basil plants and 1 thyme. I'm going to start a few others soon. I would spend $6-10 per month on fresh basil and thyme at the store....not anymore. The seeds were like $.60 and the soil was $5 for a 8 lb. bag. I can grow as much as I want.

Been trying to get my wife to understand the "fill up the cart" idea for stuff on sale.

BOGO deals she buys 2, I'm like buy 6 (on items that don't expire) and put them in the pantry. lets cut our grocery shopping to once a month or at least every other week.

She hates shopping, yet buys just enough to get through 1 week.

We have a nice pantry 7' x 6' with 14' ceiling (so I can add more shelves if we need to). Heck half our pantry shelves are stacked with pots, pans, steamers, etc. Things we use once a year or less that could easily be put on an out of reach shelf for storage.

I am the Dollar Tree's #1 customer

Seriously, if there's a Dollar Tree around you, everything is $1 and they actually have (some) name brand things. I buy things like toothpaste (Crest), deodorant (Speedstick), Q-Tips ... All that kind of stuff there.

Also, even the things they have that aren't name brand, some of them can be pretty good.

I buy bags of pretzels, big jugs of water, etc.

it's all $1.

I was looking for some shelves for my basement, and I went to WalMart and they had some that were something like $39. (The approximately 6' tall, 3' wide set)

I went to Big Lots, and they had a set that looks even better, with some nice trim that the one at WalMart lacked ....... and they were $25.

I also get certain "rewards" with my debit card, frequently as much as 10% back at certain merchants. One was for Family Dollar, so I stocked up on some stuff, spend about $25, and will get $2.50 back.

My favorite "bargain" store is Marc's. I bought a whole bunch of Browns and Buckeyes stuff there over the past couple of years. Last year I bought a nice Browns throw there for something like $7.

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Favorite Money Saving Tips

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Put my wife in charge of your money.

This brings me to my next money saving tip....

Don't get married

Get two ply Toilet paper and unroll the first ply on an old cardboard roll.. Two for one

I like Dollar stores for things that don't matter like if I want new plastic glasses for use on the patio. can't beat the prices. I get a lot of office supplies there also, paper clips, copy paper when they have it in stock.

Big Lots has good stuff for the price. if you need tools but aren't looking for Snap-on or Craftsman quality, Big Lots is a good place to get that kinda stuff on the cheap.

If your a professional mechanic, you won't like that stuff.. But for a home tool kit, or just a backyard kinda thing.. it's not bad, gets the job done and won't break the bank.

I needed a new keyboard and mouse for my desktop puter. wanted them to be wireless. I'm not a fancy kinda guy so I thought,, I'll take a look. found a nice set up with the little stubby kinda USB thing and it works great. 15 bucks. Not the best keyboard I've ever had but does the job.

I don't like Wal Mart because of some of thier polices, but must admit that prices on some of thier stuff is so low compared to other places that if you wanna save a buck, you gotta go there.

My neighbor bought two NY Strip Steaks,, good size ones at Walmart. They had a special.. total 9 bucks for two half pounders. I thought,, these have got to suck, but she said, no,, they were terrific. Better than she's paid twice as much for at Heinens or Giant Eagle.

On my I phone I have the Gas Buddy App.. When I'm getting low, I check Gas buddy and it tells me the lowest price in the area where I am. Uses GPS to locate me.

Oh, and I'm kidding about the two ply TP thing...:LOL

So everybody is in agreement then, the best way to save money is to buy cheap stuff that was made in China from a store that has a reputation for providing poor benefits to its employees.... this should be fun.

Nah.

$19 hunting license. $24 deer tag, $15 doe tag. $58 for more than enough meat for a year. Plus, you get out in nature.

Garden. $15 for seed corn (store leftover in freezer, it's good for at least 3 years) Enough corn to eat twice a week for a year - for basically $5 for the entire year. We haven't bought corn in years.

Smoking the generic crack instead of the name-brand stuff.

This is the first year I planted a vegitable/herb/fruit garden.

My kids love cucumbers and we have been eating them like crazy. Not much savings there but they are typically $1 at the store and we have already eaten 20+. I have two more sitting on my counter and plenty more growing.

Our basil has grown very well. I gave some away to my brother because I have so much. Both my cucumbers and basil were the best growing crops for me.

Planted a small strawberry patch and have gotten a few harvests from now. Probably has saved me around $15 compared to what I buy at Giant Eagle.

I have harvested our green beans twice and I was just looking yesterday and I'm about ready to get some more. Probably a few $$ saving there as well.

Only thing that didn't grow was my peppers and our tomato plants have grown but have yet to bear any fruit. I've noticed a few flowers here and there yesterday though so I'm hopeful.

I didn't grow a large garden this year but I'm already planning on making a larger garden next year and I want to plant some grape vines so I can make some homemade wine. Growing your own food can be a huge saver.

Cigs have outpriced gasoline. When I worked at a station in HS, gas and cigs were the same price.....45 cents a gallon/pack.

Or get an electronic cigarette. The disposables are about eight bucks and have two packs worth of nicotine in them. Start weening down after that. After just a month of using the electronic, I ditched it completely and have been quit for four months now.

Other money saving tips? Write out a damn budget and stick to it. Plan meals instead of wing them on the fly and going out to eat frequently. Oh. And shop Aldi.

I need to get off my ecig but it has been much cheaper. I spend about 60 bucks a month vs. 240 when I was a pack a day. havent had a regular cigarette in over a year and really happy for it.. I can breathe again, smell again, taste again, and my clothes dont reek. I'm down to the lowest liquid that still has nicotene and plan to go nicotene free on my next batch to eliminate any physical cravings

Congratulations.

+2. My girl and I switched over to them after we just both came to the conclusion that we were tired of the taste, cost, and quality of our lungs. My nose was always stuffy when I smoked (at least one sinus would be congested) and my cardio became laughable.

I felt a sense of urgency to get off the e-cig as quickly as I could, though, because of them not being FDA approved. I know the FDA can approve its fair share of sketchy products, but I did/do worry about the limited research into their effects to where I didn't want to stay on those long term.

Other cost savers... scratch cable. I probably am biting the bullet on it so I can watch at least Browns full replays (satellite not an option and I'm out of market) and just go with a Netflix/Hulu internet route to get TV needs. Also of use is buying used when possible. I've done that with music and other things like dishware/old appliances via goodwill and others and had no issues.

Just a heads up on the paint. Of course if you used it your alright

I tried some Walmart paint that was on clearence. Bad Idea! It looked like the same Yellow that I wanted to paint the Kitchen. I poured it into a pan and rolled my roller in it and......It ran and ran all down the walls and onto my base board. It was like trying to paint with water. I threw it away, because when they sell that paint it is no returns. I went to Sherwin Williams and got the color I wanted. I paid alot more but you get good thick paint. Anyway, I have come to realize that you get what you pay for. At least in somethings. I noticed a poster that saves coins in a jar. I have a bag in my car that I throw all my change in. I have counted out $20.00 - $30.00 for gas or eating out for lunch. Great way to get by until payday.

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Get two ply Toilet paper and unroll the first ply on an old cardboard roll.. Two for one

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If your anything like me, you'll use twice as much that way. Like using corn-cobs Buy paper towels that have pick a size. No reason to use a whole sheet just to wipe your hands and such. Course I guess weve all heard about Vinegar & water to wash windows. Somebody just told me about newspaper & windex to clean your car windows. Have not tried that.

- Couponing. Not like that stupid show on TLC but real world stuff. Shop at a store that doubles coupons, then buy the items on sale.

- Growing your own garden and reducing red-meat intake. Fresh, grilled veggies most nights for dinner instead of expensive meat/chicken/pork/fish. We have a garden with a variety of tomatoes, onions, peppers, zucchinis, cucumbers and squash. Probably the biggest $ saver of all.

- Stay away from shopping malls.

If you know you are going to buy something large (I just bought a new HE washing machine), pickup gift cards and load your money on to them. Often you get money back or a % discount buying a gift card.

Ask for a discount! On that same washing machine I got an extra $50 dollar gift card at the front of the store, and then asked the appliance manager if I could get the special they were running before 10% off all energy star appliances. Between the 2 I saved over 100$.
I havent bought any single item over 100$ in the last few years without asking for 10% off. most of the time I get it. Even at places like Lowes and Best Buy.

I also am willing to buy a floor model on certain appliances.

I bought a portable air conditioner because I can roll that in and out of my living room easily, instead of having to lift it into a window. I bought a really nice, high end unit, that was advertised online for $499.

The girl said that I could get the floor model for $399.99. I asked for an extra discount, and she "checked" and got me a little more off. It still wasn't the right deal for me, so I went and checked elsewhere. I later called her back and asked again for a little more off, and I would come pick it up immediately.

I wound up with the $499 floor model unit for $320 plus tax. That was 20% off the "floor model" discount.

I love the air conditioner too. It's an amazing unit.and cools my entire first floor .... plus it's environmentally friendly.

Buy a haircut kit. Saves at least 10 bucks a month

Or.......be like me and have an Aunt that is a Barber/Beautician. I've never paid for a haircut my entire life. I do sweep the floors and taker her trash out every time she cuts my hair though.

I've been cutting my own hair for about 7+ years. At first, I'd use all the number attachments to try getting a natural looking fade while keeping the top a little shaggy......as time went on, I started using less and less attachments until eventually, I have my current look (for about 2 years)...no attachment. As short as it can be without shaving my head.

The wife doesn't really like it but hey, I'm saving us $30 per month (the barber shops in the city are all $25 per cut + tip).

Yup - I'm buzzed as low as I can get it - not attachments - but I cut mine about every 4 to 6 days.

Wow, a bunch of bald farts around here.

I still have a full head of hair, though gray now and I'm keeping it as long as is reasonable and professional. Seeing how many at my age don't, I'm grateful enough to pay for a good haircut.