Posted on 01/18/2014 6:27:19 AM PST by RKBA Democrat
Edited on 01/18/2014 5:37:14 PM PST by Jim Robinson. [history]
Saving money is a great first step to turning your finances around. This resource shows you 123 ways to accomplish that goal. For this resource, saving money is considered putting more money in the bank or investment accounts, spending less money on things you already pay for, increasing efficiency to spend less money later and other tricks to either spend less money and/or put more money in the bank over the long run.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneylifeandmore.com ...
flour - I mean $1.50 per 5 pound bag....
You’re right - the packets are pricier. I stuck with the packets because there’s another ingredient added to the yeast in jars, and I wasn’t sure about it at the time. Now it’s good to know we can buy that much yeast in bulk and keep it frozen.
Yeah, I probably was adding too many other ingredients to the bread - oat bran, whole wheat pastry flour, etc. That was driving up the cost, too.
I hope I didn’t come across as someone who thinks I can give tips on saving money. I’m here to learn. I just did what I did out of sheer desperation... lol. ;-)
I just took up baking bread. I started with sourdough. If you keep the starter fed, you don’t need yeast. I’d say the cost for 2 loaves is about 80 cents plus elecricity for the oven.
Also, I’m a beer brewer. That means I’m up to my eyeballs with yeast.
I never tried to make sourdough bread. It does sound like it would be cheaper to make.
BUMP!
My goal for 2014 is to NOT use credit for anything and to put every spare DIME towards my farm mortgage. I know pretty much all the tricks in the book for saving money but this was a good refresher, so THANKS! :)
There are a couple of things that will be more valuable to folks than that entire list.
1. Make your shopping lists (grocery, etc.) before the month begins, then be disciplined enough to not buy any item not on the list.
2. Use these lists to forecast the total cost for the month and then get all the cash you need in a single ATM transaction.
3. Put this cash in an envelope labeled for the specific purpose (gas, grocery, etc.)
4. When the cash is gone, then you must stop spending! However, you will improve your forecasting over time and figure out the right amount of cash you need.
5. Spend every dollar you make on paper before the month starts. The final category should be payoff debt or savings. Do not allow any variance to this spending plan.
If you follow these simple strategies, you will “feel” like you got a raise of about 30%!
The single best cost reduction action that I found is to simply unplug everything in my house, excluding the most necessary items. For example, I unplugged the mircowave, coffee pot, washer/dryer, and extra TV. I left the referigator, stove and cable box plugged in.
I compared the KwH usage on the next bill and found that the reduction was 66%. I was shocked! In fact, I thought that I had made a mistake, so I plugged everything back in the next month and re-did the benchmark. I ended up verifying the reduction of 66% in KwH usage.
“My goal for 2014 is to NOT use credit for anything and to put every spare DIME towards my farm mortgage.”
You can do it! There’s nothing cuter than a debt free chickadee! (sry, couldn’t resist.)
Done!
Cut the cable, fire the wire.
Do something useful with your time instead of staring slack jawed at the telescreen for hours at a time.
“Cut the cable, fire the wire.”
Amen to that. I forget that people have cable TV....I never have.
By now, I have now deprived Comcast (owner of MSNBC) of over $1200.
TV is junk food for the mind (especially reality shows).
Carrying cash leaves you susceptible to the “knockout game”.
Your option may be shooting someone.also very expensive even of you're 100% in the right.(bail,lawyers,etc)
re: carrying cash. I’m pretty careful where and when I shop and walk, and I don’t carry a pocketbook.
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