Now that we are on "Modified" income, What tricks help you save money?

hauntedtexan

hauntedtexan

Member
Location
Central TX
My local electric company has a plan that gives me free electric from 9PM to 6AM every night, soooo, At 9PM exactly, my A/C thermostat is set at 62 degrees and then back up to 79 at 6AM. With the thermal curtains I have on spring loaded curtain rods, the A/C doesn't come back on until 5pm on the really hot days. Cut my bill almost 70% the 1st month I signed up. I can even do a load of laundry by bedtime..... bonus!!!!
 
That is a great program!

I live in an apartment and the delivery charges for my gas and electric are much higher than the actual cost of the fuel I use so I really don't have much incentive to save on utilities.
 
I have a ton of money saving tricks. I don't go shopping for fun, especially not to malls. Seeing all the stuff set out to entice me to buy it just makes me want what I don't need and can't afford. The majority of that stuff would end up being clutter, which I dislike.

Similarly, I don't watch tv shows that have commercials. That way the ads don't entice me. It is also cheaper to have Netflix and Amazon Prime for television -- our middling cable bill used to be over $100 a month.

I buy a lot of clothes at Goodwill. It is amazing how many nice clothes that seem new are there. I've also had good luck on eBay. I don't have as many clothes as many people do because I see no point in having more than I need. I am not a clothes horse.

I don't buy junk food or drinks. I comparison shop, stock up when things are on sale. I cook and bake from scratch. We have an Aldi, which helps a lot with saving money on groceries. I eat a healthy diet, heavy on vegetables, lower on protein.

I don't eat fast food or eat in restaurants very often. Fast food is not healthy, and I can cook better food than most of the restaurants around here.

I combine errands when I go to town (a 20-mile round trip) to save on gas. I make sure our car is well-maintained so it lasts longer.

I take care of my things so they don't have to be replaced often. When I buy something, even from Goodwill, I make sure it is high quality so it will last longer.

I read a lot, so I am always getting free books for my Kindle, from libraries and from Amazon. The upside of this is that I have discovered a ton of great authors this way.

I keep track of our finances for business and home on Quicken.

I keep in mind that what I spend my money on indicates what is important to me. It helps me not waste money. Things I think I want very much go my wish list at Amazon. They just sit there until the urge goes away. Am I really going to make homemade ice-cream often enough to justify buying the machine? No! Ice-cream is not one of my favorite foods, and everyone else in the family is happy with store-bought (buy one, get one free).

I grow food -- tomatoes and other vegetables, herbs.

I keep my weight stable and do not keep clothing from the past that is a larger size.

I routinely go through our belongings and give to thrift stores everything that is not needed (ie, not used often or seasonally).

I don't use credit cards. We have one, but it is for emergencies only.
 
We are comfortably off these days - and my partner still works. Not that we can't do with saving the pennies! I invested in solar panels three years ago. So far by a rough calculation they have saved me around $1800 in electricity bills!
 
I retired at age 50 and went from making a $45,000 salary (back in 1998) to getting a little under $16,500 a year net from my pension. I had a little more than 10 years to go before I could start collecting social security. Due to having great retiree benefits and owning a co-op where our expenses are extremely low, I was able to live comfortably on that small amount. But I also learned new frugal tricks. Saving money takes a bit of time and organization. We are Costco and Walmart shoppers which has saved us a lot, even on gas because we only go to each place once a month.

Other ways to save:
Speaking of gas, if you drive, check out GasBuddy to find out who has the cheapest gas in your area.

Unplug appliances and phone chargers within reasonable reach or turn off power strips they are plugged into when not in use. “Phantom power” still generates and will cause your utility bill to be higher than necessary.


Couponing: Ordinary or better yet, extreme couponing. My DIL saved $338 on ONE grocery bill and $72 on another (just examples). She’s so into it and so good at it that now she’s teaching classes. Download your supermarket app to your phone. Many now have digital coupons which you can save to your phone. Also find out if your supermarket doubles coupons (Shoprite here in Jersey doubles all the time on coupons up to $1.00. When done religiously, the savings can be literally in the thousands over time.


If you have good credit, make sure you are using the right credit cards. Get reward card(s) that give cash back. Citi has the 2% cash back. Chase and Discover give 1% but 5% in special categories every quarter. Most cards now allow you to use your points on Amazon (a great place to find great prices BTW). Amazon’s Visa gives 3% back on all Amazon purchases.


Another reward card trick: Use your card(s) to pay for everything you'd normally pay for by check or debit card in addition to purchases. Pay the bills in full every month. This avoids interest and increases the amount you’ll get in cash back rewards. After all, your checking account isn't going to pay you for paying your bills. Last year I got back $570 in cash back rewards.


If you are paying bank fees, find another bank or credit union that doesn’t charge them. My credit union doesn't charge for checking as long as you keep $50 in a connected savings account. My bank and others have free checking for seniors or if you sign up for monthly direct deposits. Do not pay fees on anything. Avoid paying interest as well. I did a timeshare deal that not only knocked the price down to 37% of what they initially asked, I also insisted on a no interest deal. That saved my husband and I $4,123 in interest.

Which brings me to my next point...Haggle! There's no shame in it and it's not just for yard sales. I've done it at retail stores as well. My husband is also great at it (having been in retail himself for decades).


If there’s a Dollar Tree near you, check out all the items you can buy for just $1. Many of their goods are made in the U.S.A. My family, friends and I trust their products. Great place to buy reading glasses, greeting cards, gift bags, cleaning supplies, even some food and much more.


Shop at thrift/consignment shops. I've gotten designer clothing for under $10 and even a designer wool coat for $4.50. I've had several people tell me they want my coat. LOL


Eat out less and have meatless meal nights once or twice a week at home. When you do go to restaurants, carry your own drink or buy packets or vials of drink mix and just get water with your meals. My husband gets water, asks for lemon and makes his own lemonade. May sound silly but when you're plopping down hefty fees for meals, restaurants don't mind and at $2.25 or more a pop for a drink, over time it adds up.


Actively search out free things to do in surrounding areas.


Take advantage of senior discounts at retail stores and restaurants. Always ask if their senior discount policy is not posted. You may get it anyway.

Buy through Ebates when you can. The site connects to thousands of retailers and will send you a rebate check when you've accumulated $5.01 or more in your account per quarter.

Check out Groupon. It has deals on restaurants, activities and services. The trick is not to do or buy things you wouldn't normally do because they're "on sale".

Here are 99 more ways to save money (some are probably repeats of what I've suggested):
http://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/ways-to-save-money/
 
Since I have no Mortgage or Car Payments, and I get a nice 37-year Aerospace Pension plus Socialized Security, I actually have more spending money than
when I was a full-time Boeing engineer!

Since I quit buying big, expensive telescopes a few years ago ($25-30,000 since I retired), my savings are growing nicely.

I've also been getting Senior Discounts for 25 years, and I also get 10% off for prior Military Service. (US Army, 1960-1966)

HiDesertHal
 
When I go to the store, I usually have a list of things I need, and make every effort to stick to that list....rather than just aimlessly browsing the aisles, and buying stuff that is of marginal use. The US Chamber of Commerce did a study a couple of years ago, and found that most people spend $3 for every minute they spend in a store...so the stores make great effort to keep people in the store and shopping.
 
Before you buy anything, make sure to search on the internet for coupons! A good examples is Michaels, they often have a 20% off coupon that you can even use in the store but you wouldn't know if you didn't look. Whenever you go to checkout and see a coupon code box, search that websites name followed by coupon code. My grandson taught me that and been using it ever since. Probably works about 70% of the time and adds up to hundreds if not thousands by end of the year.
 
I save lots of money by having sold my pickup recently. I won't replace it, because I don't feel comfortable driving (I'm 87) and really didn't need to drive anyway. We have good bus service where I live, and I advise anyone who lacks that to move to a place that has that service.
 
Lolly said:
I save money by staying out of the Mall...
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Great advice!

Too often we only look at active ways to save money and cut expenses. Things like clipping coupons, turning the thermostat back, buying at thrift shops, etc...

Sometimes the things we just don't bother doing yield the greatest savings with absolutely no effort!!!
 
My most important tricks were long ago. One of them was not buying cars. Current one is 21 years old; previous one was 24 years old. Not planned that way, just hate shopping for cars.
 
I track prices of the groceries I buy most. I've read this is called a 'price book', but I do mine on the computer (a spreadsheet). This makes it easy for me to update it (and include the date of the price), put the best price in bold and products I don't care for are put in a smaller font.
Note that you have to calculate the price per unit of measure to determine the 'value'. Can be done with a formula in a spreadsheet.
I browse through the weekly grocery sales flyers with a big, fat marker (from the dollar store). I circle things that look interesting. If another store has a better price, I "X" over it. Then I compare the sales prices with my 'book' of best prices.
I can sort it by store and quickly see what things are the best price there.

Dried beans and rice are much cheaper than canned or semi-prepared, and even cheaper when bought in bulk.

I've read you can save a lot by 'couponing', but it would frustrate me to no end.
 
The need for protein has been grossly exaggerated in the U.S. I've been a vegetarian for decades, and don't miss meat one bit. I don't buy books, and instead use the library, which is about a twelve-minute walk from home. I recently sold my pickup, and it won't be replaced. I do my own investing advice, so I don't have to pay somebody to do that for me. I'm a caregiver, and never call for assistance with that, because to do so would cost a lot. All of the above save money.
 
Don M. said:
Most states have such an exemption... however, it usually only applies to those whose annual income is quite low. In our State, that option is not available to those whose income is above $30K/year.
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True, you have to qualify. In my county they don't tell me their formula but they used copies of my state and federal tax returns and my SS 1099 form (I think). From what I could figure out most of my income was exempt and they based it in some way on the taxable amount listed on my state taxes. They didn't look at bank statements, property value (that I recall), net worth, or previous years income. And they had different brackets for various incomes.

It will save me over $600 a year so it was worth jumping through a few hoops... and I had to jump through a few.
 
Don M. said:
Most states have such an exemption... however, it usually only applies to those whose annual income is quite low. In our State, that option is not available to those whose income is above $30K/year.
Click to expand...

In Illinois... there are TWO senior exemptions.. One is called.. "Senior exemption" the other is "Senior Freeze". EVERY senior 65 and older gets the exemption but you have to apply for it every year. .. however the "Freeze" is income based.. and you must have an annual income below 40K I think.. maybe its' 30K
 
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