“...but rather in your own firsthand personal responses to cutting spending and watching your pennies.”
Well, it’s nothing NEW, because I’ve lived like this for the past decade once I sobered up from my stupid spendthrift ways, but here are simple things I do, which are now second nature and continue to save me money.
*Food shop only once a week or once every two weeks. Plan your meals based on loss-leaders on sale that week. If you’re out of something, make do with something else.
*Drink water. Buy (or ask for as a gift) a good water bottle and keep cold water in your fridge at all times. I found a NEW Britta filter jug for pennies on the dollar; we’ve used it for years. I don’t change the filter very often; our water is straight from the well and tastes just fine.
*Save your change. It really adds up. I have a big jug on top of the fridge. All loose change gets thrown in there. At they end of the year, we usually have $200 or so in there. If we’re flush, it goes to charity. If we’re broke, it goes to pay a bill, or into savings.
*See how long you can make something last. I just bought a big jug of laundry soap. Paid about $5 for it. When I need to use it, I write the start date on the jug, then see how long I can make it last. You really don’t need as much soap as the package tells you to use. 1/2 a capful is plenty for a full load; just leave the lid up and let the clothes soak overnight if they’re really dirty, or do the same for whites with a little bleach in there, too. Always use cold water. Hang as much to dry as you can, especially heavy stuff like jeans and sweatshirts; a few minutes in the dryer to fluff things up is plenty if you just can’t stand it, LOL!
*Learn a new skill. Learn to sew. I make all of our curtains, lots of gifts, dish towels, bath towels, etc. If you can sew a straight line, that’s all you need to know for a lot of basic stuff and mending. Learn to change the oil in your car; you can save at least $100 a year if you’re normally changing it every 3 months.
*Never turn down anything FREE that anyone wants to give you. You can always re-sell it or re-gift it, or just GIVE it to someone else that needs it to keep the Good Karma rolling. My in-laws give us a lot of fresh food during the year; apples, squash, grapes, etc. I never say no! Wine, pies, squash soup, etc. for nothing but a little of my time.
*Look over your budget from time to time to find the money leaks. I’ve been at this for-EVER and I still find a leak here and there from time to time.
*Barter when you can. We are blessed to have a cirlce of friends with wide-ranging talents. In just the past few years we’re gotten oil changes, free venison, new windows installed, a new furnace installed at cost, free wood for the woodpile, our driveway plowed, a free .22 pistol and cash in exchange for storing stuff in our barn, computers fixed, freshly baked bread, clothing repaired, fresh garden veggies traded, veggie seedlings grown, use of our pick-up truck, a resume updated and printed for free...skills Husband and I have to barter with.
Truly, we lack for nothing. We have a great life, eat well, have nice clothes to wear, take trips, have paid off, old but driveable vehicles, etc. If you met me, you’d never guess how cheap I am, LOL!
As a single person with a mediocre salary - I have been doing this for about 5 years now. I shop at the local thrift shops (Goodwill, St. Vincent’s) for my clothes. I always look for (and find) clothing with tags (never been worn). About a month ago, I found a pants suit (jacket marked $250, pants $100 and matching top $40) and I paid.... wait for it....................$23.00 for all three. Check out shopgoodwill.com (a collaboration of goodwill stores throughout the U.S.)
I clean out my purse and pockets of change on weekends. Can accumulate $30-$40 in about three weeks time.
On a similar note, instead of relying on the inventory I keep of the storage food . . . . I actually dug out all the Latest Expiration Dated foods - for 2012/2013, and separated them from everything else -- and this pile of everything else is what we're working on consuming.
It's been interesting to look at everything from anew.
One other thing that I occasionally do at a grocery store is limit myself to spending $25 for an entire week -- THAT is very interesting to do, particularly if there aren't any great loss leaders. And even if we also eat food from the pantry that specific week, simply limiting the grocery purchase to an utter poverty level keeps one on one's toes, and keeps one culinary skills in practice making black bean soup, LOL.