Following on the heels of Bot's $10 a day thread, I like to start a thread with tips you use to save money here and there. Just add what you'd like.

1. Take my lunch to work.
2. Wash garments instead of taking to the dry cleaners.
3. Walk to work instead of drive.
4. Get just a just a haircut w/o blowing it dry (saves 15.00)
5. Buy fresh food insted of frozen dinners
6. Added myself to a friend's cell phone for 10.00 a month
7. stopped drinking sodas.
8. empty my change in a big container (added up too 126.00) just last year.
9. check out books from the library instead of buy them

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

The wife does the bulk of it, but...simply buying things on sale and looking at the price per lb vs unit price on store shelves when it comes to food.
In the case of milk, or local supermarket discounts one variety a week, no fat, 1%, or 2%. We stock up on whatever's on sale.
We have an additional fridge/freezer in the garage as well as a solo freezer also in the garage. Buying and properly storing food when it's on sale makes a big difference.

Staying in at lunch instead of going out.

Just saying NO to tempting Ebay items. This is difficult for a packrat such as myself.

Simply planning any necessary road trip to include multiple destinations. Do I need to go out for this thing right now, or can I combine a trip to go pick up the milk that's on sale and wait a day or two?

One of my reverse lights is out on the 300TD, but it'll stay out until I need to go by the place for another reason.

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85' 300D No inspection, No registration fees, Cheap insurance
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious %$&^."

Listen to Dave Ramsey and follow his baby steps!

$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
Three to six months of expenses in savings
Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
College funding for children
Pay off home early
Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

http://www.daveramsey.com/radio/home/index.cfm?fuseAction=dspFindStation&action=vote#poll_results
Type in your city to see if he is on the radio in your area. If not, you can stream him from the above website and listen to his archives or watch him on Fox Business at 8pm Eastern.

Drink at home...

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1989 300E 144K

I dunno but I think I'll do that $70 a week deal into a savings account.

Avoid dining out! Difficult for those always on the run (like our family), but the savings are substantial!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I do the trip consolidation myself--or try to. When I'm running errands I see if the places I need to go are all on the way. For short errands around a 3-mile radius, I'll ride my electric bike. It's fun.

I really need to learn how to consolidate my two credit bills. I keep getting these checks in the mail (especially from Bank of America) saying that I can transfer high-interest accounts to my BoFA account and have 0% until a certain date. Is this a gimmick?

It is a gimmick in a way.

My brother successfully kept transferring his debt to 0% offers while he was paying off his debt.

Transferring the money to a 0% card is not the way to get out of debt. It can be a way to avoid paying high interst.

The only way to get out of debt is to pay down the debt as much as can be allowed in your monthly budget, every month.

Usually they are 0% for a fixed term, like 12 months or 18 months sometimes. Then they default to the normal card rate.

Myslef, the loans (and CC) I currently have balances on are low rates and I will have them all payed off shortly (with in a year) so the amount I would save by transferring the balance is marginal. So I chose not to. Plus I have decided to live without credit cards so the thought of opening another one makes me sick to my stomach.

Generally, no, it's not a gimmick. But don't be late. Read the fine print. Also, you will probably retire the transferred debt first. So if you transfer balance from one CC to another card you use on a regular basis, your future payments will retire the "transferred in" balance, while your current purchases will be charged normal rates, whatever that is..

Course, you don't use that card then for new purchases.

My wife learned to cut my hair.
Learn basic plumbing maintenance.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Just imagine how much money you would save if you didn't have a car. No car insurance, no payments, no gas, no repairs, no parts, no lost time fiddling with cars, no tires, no registration, no personal property taxes, no car worries, etc.....Life would be sooo simple.
Consider moving close to work and shopping. like the fine friendly folks in NYC. Public transport.


I use cash for buying stuff and track all my expenses. Once you start writing down everything you spend your money on; it is like a revelation. You will quickly make your money behave.
Those little unnecessary items really add up..... Like cable, newspaper, magazines, coffee, cell phones, fitness center, lunch out, vending machines, trips, boats, guns, fishing stuff, bikes, garden equipment, electronics, spare cars.

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"Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration...
don't Fail Us Now"

Dollar Tree (nice), Family Dollar (ugh), and Dollar General (extra ugh). But I buy my paper towels, toilet tissue, snacks, and (now and then) conventional motor oil there and save a ton.

If your area has a grocery salvage store like my Suda Salvage, you can get tremendous deals without having to go to Sam's and buy quantities fit only for a polygamist ranch. When I'm out in the suburbs at my mechanic or getting my hair cut, I stock up on bread, cereal, and canned goods. Last week I found a dark blue polo shirt with a pool company logo on it, just my size, $2.00.

If you've got storage space, stock up on motor oil and filters when AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, or whoever has a sale. I grabbed a bunch of the TropArtic synblend oil at Dollar Tree back in the fall of '05, $1.00/quart. They don't carry it any more, but FD and DG have Chevron or Quaker State right now for about $2.50/quart.

Miss Linda is the Queen of Consignment Store Shopping, and manages to find all sorts of quality clothes in excellent condition without paying department store prices. Some, like The Buffalo Exchange, have men's clothing; I found a cashmere sweater there last fall and actually got a few days' wear out of it before the hot weather came back in March.
.

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* *
-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
Formerly:
'97 C230, smoke silver/parchment; '86 420SEL, anthracite/light grey; '84 280CE (W123), dark blue/palomino

Dont' just change your home heating/air conditioning filter every month without looking at the actual coils every now and then. You would be surprised to see how much dirt gets past, and around, the filter.
Sometimes all you need is a vacuum cleaner with the brush attachment - but at my cousin's house, and at another friends house, I damn near needed a fork or something, to get the caked on dirt off/out.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

Nah its cheaper to buy a new E class everywhere than live without a car in NYC. If you make $100k a year in NYC your poor, very poor.

I stopped eating out, and I drink in the dark at home more.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hattie- I'll send you a mirror and a candle. It's not good to drink alone and in the dark.

__________________
"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL