<p>With all the media focus on the economy, what have you done to help your bottom line?</p>
<p>I’ll start:</p>
<p>Dropped HBO - $15 a month
Dropped call waiting and a couple other perks- $23 a month
Called Nicor and was able to reduce my monthly plan payment- $59 a month</p>
<p>I only buy meat on sale. Whatever meat we eat for the week, is whatever was on sale that week.</p>
<p>I use manufacturers coupons for toiletries and wait until they are on sale to get the double savings. If I run out and nothing is on sale, I’ll use the shampoo or soap that I have hoarded from hotels. :-)</p>
<p>Never had cable at all. Never had call waiting. Have a family plan with no texting. Not much to save there!</p>
<p>I mostly use store brands because I get bored with clippings and there are never clippings for the only cereal my kids eat. I mostly eat food that is in season. I rarely buy clothes. I use the library a lot.</p>
<p>Only buy stuff (food and clothing) that’s on sale and only buy store brands. Also, I recently increased what I put into my retirement account through my employer. Forced savings, and I don’t really notice it from the pay check.</p>
<p>I have always been a shopper and saver, so I have not changed my habits at all.</p>
<p>For the toiletries you mention, I buy them in bulk when they are on sale. </p>
<p>As far as food, I buy what the buys are that week. If steaks are 3.99/lb. and chicken is 5.99/lb. I will buy more red meat that week. I will skip the chicken and look for what other poultry is on sale (maybe turkey). I skim what is on sale on the computer. In my area there are easily 5 different grocery store chains within less than 10 minutes of my home. I look at weekly circulars to see what each one has on sale. It is so easy to do with a computer. Honestly, I do not look at all 5, but I look at 3 each week. </p>
<p>We rarely go to a movie, or go out to dinner anymore. I try to no longer bring home take out food. It is truly cheaper to make everything myself.</p>
<p>My H washes our cars until it is just too cold to that. </p>
<p>We try to buy our gas at the least expensive station.</p>
<p>I buy clothes (not all but a lot) from our local Goodwill store. The stuff I find there is amazing. Thankfully my family has never had any prob. or stigma about wearing clothes from GW.</p>
<p>-do all my food shopping at “Fresh n Easy” (great!)
-dropped HBO
-NEVER eat out
-Saturday or Sunday are cooking days—stock, large pots of soup,cheap cuts of meat made into stews–then frozen in small portions
-actively marketing my own artwork(just made $900 for 3 small paintings-yay)
-Ive become the “queen of free cultural events” in so cal
-NO NEW Clothes—“vintage” only
-no more vacation trips that dont include a coleman stove and a tent!</p>
<p>Clothes: Macy’s 50% off of 50%-discounted clearance items are our family’s wardrobe staples. I do not fall for the trendiest stuff or “hottest” colors. Black and white and blue and gray are always “in”, and so are jeans, t-shirts and sweaters. I buy winter clothes in March/April and stash them away for the summer. H does not mind that his jeans are Kirkland Signature ($15 at Costco).
I have never taken anything to drycleaners, I buy only washable stuff. Many items that have a label “dryclean only”, including wool sweaters, are in fact hand-washable, or they can be washed in some machines using an appropriate cycle. My fontload washing machine does a great job with those. I even managed to wash H’s dress pants without ruining them. The trick is in the drying.
I take the bus to work; it does save me a few bucks on gas and a whole load of neurons, because I can relax and read a book rather than yell at a car in front of me “Move, you moron!” I frequent the library for my reading materials or trade books with a friend.</p>
<p>I signed up for a health club for excercise/fitness. I need to keep this old body in tact when I get to retirement because medical bills are going to be expensive otherwise. Cut back on massage therapy, net savings $250-$75=$175.</p>
<p>started wrapping all the change that we’ve collected over the years and will deposit them. will start to take the aluminum cans to the recycling place. there are probably other places where I have cash or things that can be turned into cash easily hanging about.</p>
<p>We won’t be making as big a donation to many groups this year.</p>
<p>Have started producing some of our own food–big veggie garden, also have started making meals out of clams we have harvested.
no premium cable.
Walk to work.
H makes bread ( and ale and mead).
Bike and walk to errands whenever possible.
No new clothes.
thermostat kept low.
Rarely eat out, almost never eat fast food.
Library!
CF lightbulbs.
Am thinking of giving up my two newspaper subscriptions and reading online, but I feel guilty that I might be contributing to the death of newspapers.</p>
<p>Vderon—I have put myself on the mailing lists of several cultural institutions. For example—lots of museums here have free concerts. We went to the Getty this weekend—took our own lunch, went to a show on Bernini,and then a concert. FREE! In fact, ever since my H lost his job a year ago, I think we have done MORE, because I hate hanging out at home and feeling sorry for myself. Its’ out there!
(and yah—check those newspaper cultural suplements—I do it at the library, I cant afford even the Sunday Times delivery )</p>
<p>I am not sure if I am actually saving money, but I am much more aware of what is being spent. I have always been a library patron and I am an avid reader so I always have books to read.
We have a ‘special’ from Verizon right now where we get free HBO, but the day that expires I will cancel it.
It is starting to get chilly here in MD, but so far we have managed not to turn on the heat.
Since our main eater is at school, I have really cut back on the groceries and the trips to the store.
I have always been one to take a lunch and I still treat myself to lunch out every Friday.
We stop being members of the upscale gym and bought a really nice treadmill. Now my basement. That alone saved us about $1300 a year.
Ok, so I guess I am saving money.</p>
<p>Dropping the Y membership and changing to the Gym at my husbands work. Didn’t know until recently that I could join as a retiree’s spouse.</p>
<p>Rarely eat out any more.</p>
<p>No Starbucks . Our Starbucks closed anyway so that was easy.</p>
<p>Trying to get H to get rid of the crap in the storage unit so we can stop paying for the unit.</p>
<p>Canceled the video movie pass. If I want to rent I will go to the McDs redbox which is way cheaper.</p>
<p>had my Derm change my prescription for my skin condition back to the old generic instead of the new better medicine.</p>
<p>Haven’t bough new clothes in forever. </p>
<p>Go into town much less (we live 10 miles out).</p>
<p>However none of this will anywhere near compensate for the increase next year in the cost of my husbands prescriptions now that his company is dropping retirees from their prescription plan which means he has to go onto Medicare D. Medicare D is horrible for anyone with a lot of health problems. Hoping the doc can make some changes there that don’t actually endanger his life or we are looking at over $5,000 a year for our share of his prescriptions.</p>
<p>We have always had basic cable, no extra channels. Also DH has a change sorter on his dresser, we have always saved change there, rolled it, and put it in the kids’ savings accts.</p>
<p>We buy our cars used - usually as they come off of a lease - and drive them until they become unreliable.</p>
<p>Lately I’ve started washing all our clothes (except towels) in cold water. Saves time on sorting, too - just whites and colors, no more warm white vs cold white, warm color vs cold color.</p>
<p>I give my hs D a weekly allowance that includes enough money to buy lunch, buy gas to get to/from school, and a little bit left over. This week she asked me if she started making lunch at home and bringing it to school could she keep her same allowance? I told her yes. Even though it will cost me a little more in groceries, I think the lesson she will learn about saving money by not spending on things you can get cheaper (or free) will be valuable. Plus I think the food from home will be healthier, and she’s willing to make it herself!</p>
<p>Mine are pretty similar to everyone else.
-Meat for the week is what is on sale.
-Dropped extras on satellite.
-Eating out very infrequently.
-Selling some of the stuff around here that the kids deserted on Ebay and Amazon.
-Doing all my errands on one day/week.
-Making several of my Christmas gifts.
-Okay, here’s one no one mentioned–been taking online surveys for pay–now hold on to your hats–made 10$ in 2 months!</p>
<p>mkm, please send the info as to where you do online surveys by PM. I would do them, but I just want to know that they are who they say they are. I also wanted to do the secret shopper thing, but I also do not know which companies are legit either.</p>
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