I have to emphasize switching out traditional lightbulbs, utilizing your public library, and shopping at thrift stores. For those of you that drink craft beer, consider investing in a homebrewing kit. Also, take navy showers and start a garden (windowsills will work).
Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
Pro tip: mail-in rebates are for suckers. There is a reason they're offered at such great deals. Not only do they try to fuck you by losing your paperwork and whatnot, most people just forget about it.
Certified mail seems to work to get around this, though. When I bought my laptop a year ago, I got at least $200 in MiRs. As long as they are certified and you remember to do them, it's not that hard to get them.
I have to emphasize switching out traditional lightbulbs, utilizing your public library, and shopping at thrift stores. For those of you that drink craft beer, consider investing in a homebrewing kit. Also, take navy showers and start a garden (windowsills will work).
Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
In addition to this, if you find out when they put stuff on the showfloor, go and look for suits. The Goodwill where I'm at has like four racks of suits that are near perfect quality for $20-50. If you aren't some sort of deformed giant or fatty, they'll probably have a quality suit that will reasonably fit you.
I have to emphasize switching out traditional lightbulbs, utilizing your public library, and shopping at thrift stores. For those of you that drink craft beer, consider investing in a homebrewing kit. Also, take navy showers and start a garden (windowsills will work).
Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
In addition to this, if you find out when they put stuff on the showfloor, go and look for suits. The Goodwill where I'm at has like four racks of suits that are near perfect quality for $20-50. If you aren't some sort of deformed giant or fatty, they'll probably have a quality suit that will reasonably fit you.
A "reasonably" fitting suit will like like complete shit next to someone with a suit that actually fits them. Considering you only wear suits when you want to look extra sharp, buying something that looks "reasonably" good is counter productive. Trust me, I have a "reasonably" fitting suit at home that I hate wearing but it was super cheap when I bought it.
Also a word of advice. Walmart's fresh items are usually lower in quality and not always the best in price either. Prepackaged stuffs like the tomatoes above of course are fair game. It's a complete crap shoot on their fresh items though. One time I got some great avacados there, the next week they were completely shitty and flavorless. Their potatoes are always bad. The meat didn't look so hot and the prices weren't even close to as good as the sale prices in other markets.
This.
I work in a meat department right now, formerly a produce department at a small grocery store. My produce manager told me that Wal-Mart's fresh foods is all seconds. Meaning, anything left over, anything too crappy to sell, anything they just need to get rid of, goes to Wal-Mart. I've literally heard of a pallet of Bananas that we didn't want end up getting re-routed to Wal-Mart. I never buy produce or meat there.
Their meat department is really just a bunch of stockers. At least the one here is. They don't cut their own meat, they just get it all pre-packaged and put it out on the shelf. Usually far below USDA Choice, to boot.
Anyway, about saving money, go to smaller grocery stores earlier in the day. Most meat/ produce departments need to get rid of stuff that is close to going dated, or a little brown. You can find some pretty good deals, that are usually more than good enough if you are planning on using it that day. If I wasn't allowed to give myself discounts on whatever meat I wanted anyway, that would be the only way I'd shop.
The key is to go early though, as they tend to get snatched up quick. Go after holiday weekends, or other events, as there is a chance they over prepared and will have a lot they need to push.
I wanted to expand on this one a bit, too.
Our Walmart's produce department is serviced by two different companies - the usual produce delivery people (Spokane Produce, iirc), and our "need produce now" people (Charlie's Produce). If it's not feasible to get to another grocery store, pay attention to the quality of the produce you see in Walmart. If it varies wildly from day to day, make note of when the high quality stuff is there, and try and shop early on those days in particular.
Adding another anecdote to last sentence about shopping after holiday weekends? We had PALLETS of corn left over after Memorial Day weekend, and not enough places to put it all - we were selling it at a dime an ear just so we could blow it all out before we had to take a loss.
Personally, I don't like buying meats or produce from Walmart unless I know I'm using it THAT DAY - the produce won't last, and the meat freezes poorly in my experience.
If your local newspaper offers a "Wednesdays and Sundays" subscription, that's worth going for too. All the grocery ads are out on Wednesday, and Sunday is all the other sale ads. It may run contrary to the "cheap bastard" theory to put out money for anything, but it's nothing to ignore.
If your local newspaper offers a "Wednesdays and Sundays" subscription, that's worth going for too. All the grocery ads are out on Wednesday, and Sunday is all the other sale ads. It may run contrary to the "cheap bastard" theory to put out money for anything, but it's nothing to ignore.
Many major grocers have their weekly ads in Flash on their websites, custom tuned for your area.
I live by these. I don't buy artichokes if they aren't on sale, because I feel like shit when they go on sale next week and I could have had asparagus this week on sale.
Buy good fresh produce, but learn to make your meal plans based on what's on sale.
I have to emphasize switching out traditional lightbulbs, utilizing your public library, and shopping at thrift stores. For those of you that drink craft beer, consider investing in a homebrewing kit. Also, take navy showers and start a garden (windowsills will work).
Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
In addition to this, if you find out when they put stuff on the showfloor, go and look for suits. The Goodwill where I'm at has like four racks of suits that are near perfect quality for $20-50. If you aren't some sort of deformed giant or fatty, they'll probably have a quality suit that will reasonably fit you.
A "reasonably" fitting suit will like like complete shit next to someone with a suit that actually fits them. Considering you only wear suits when you want to look extra sharp, buying something that looks "reasonably" good is counter productive. Trust me, I have a "reasonably" fitting suit at home that I hate wearing but it was super cheap when I bought it.
Sounds like someone doesn't have a tailor.
I think one of the important things to consider when saving money is to make concessions where you are comfortable. Getting suits at Goodwill is not a bad idea for some people - particularly students. You can take them to get tailored and cleaned and still only pay a fraction of the price you would pay for an Off-The-Rack Macy's (or whatever Dept. Store is near you) straight-black suit. If you are looking for something designer and super-sharp you probably shouldn't be buying off any rack, regardless of what establishment holds it.
I have to emphasize switching out traditional lightbulbs, utilizing your public library, and shopping at thrift stores. For those of you that drink craft beer, consider investing in a homebrewing kit. Also, take navy showers and start a garden (windowsills will work).
Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
In addition to this, if you find out when they put stuff on the showfloor, go and look for suits. The Goodwill where I'm at has like four racks of suits that are near perfect quality for $20-50. If you aren't some sort of deformed giant or fatty, they'll probably have a quality suit that will reasonably fit you.
A "reasonably" fitting suit will like like complete shit next to someone with a suit that actually fits them. Considering you only wear suits when you want to look extra sharp, buying something that looks "reasonably" good is counter productive. Trust me, I have a "reasonably" fitting suit at home that I hate wearing but it was super cheap when I bought it.
Sounds like someone doesn't have a tailor.
I think one of the important things to consider when saving money is to make concessions where you are comfortable. Getting suits at Goodwill is not a bad idea for some people - particularly students. You can take them to get tailored and cleaned and still only pay a fraction of the price you would pay for an Off-The-Rack Macy's (or whatever Dept. Store is near you) straight-black suit. If you are looking for something designer and super-sharp you probably shouldn't be buying off any rack, regardless of what establishment holds it.
A tailor can be fuck all expensive, but yea, if you need a suit it helps to look good in it.
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If your local newspaper offers a "Wednesdays and Sundays" subscription, that's worth going for too. All the grocery ads are out on Wednesday, and Sunday is all the other sale ads. It may run contrary to the "cheap bastard" theory to put out money for anything, but it's nothing to ignore.
Many major grocers have their weekly ads in Flash on their websites, custom tuned for your area.
I live by these. I don't buy artichokes if they aren't on sale, because I feel like shit when they go on sale next week and I could have had asparagus this week on sale.
Buy good fresh produce, but learn to make your meal plans based on what's on sale.
You should probably repeat this every page. If only because it implies that one should be going out for food in the sense that they go to the market to purchase their food. Cooking is really easy when you have fresh ingredients.
Learn the number to the Retention Department of your cable/satellite/internet/phone provider. When whatever promotional deal you signed up under (as well as guarateed contract) expires, call them up and find out what they'll offer you to stay. It's not hard at all to get them to give you a $5 or $10 credit, or free DVR service, or free text messaging for the next few months - the toughest part of the experience is the time you'll spend on hold.
Pro tip: mail-in rebates are for suckers. There is a reason they're offered at such great deals. Not only do they try to fuck you by losing your paperwork and whatnot, most people just forget about it.
Mail-in rebates are awesome, and lead to tons of great deals. Yes, they require a little more effort to save money than simply paying MSRP, but isn't that what the thread is about? Just scan/xerox the forms before you mail them in, and you'll have proof of what you sent if they try to screw with you. It also helps to know the good rebate fulfillers from the bad, such as Staples=good and TigerDirect=awful.
Hah, to sell my books I went into the campus bookstore and under the first new copy of the book slipped a note that said
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
Here's an experiment. Give $150 to two guys for groceries for a month. Have one guy buy nothing but roman noodles, have the other guy buy nothing but whole foods. Lets see who's healthier at the end of the month.
I'm not sure what kind of noodles they have in Rome, but both would leave a dude pretty malnutritioned at the end of the month. Mostly because the dude only buying whole foods would run out of money after about two weeks, and starve the rest of the month.
That's pretty much the same here, where food is generally "cheap"--the Southeast United States. The guy buying whole food would run out of money well before the month was over, unless his diet consisted entirely of uncooked rice every single day.
The ramen guy would have money to spare....doesn't mean I'd do it, because I don't like being malnourished, but it would be possible.
Hah, to sell my books I went into the campus bookstore and under the first new copy of the book slipped a note that said
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
Improv, you are a gentleman and a scholar. A+++ Would report awesome again.
As a huge wastrel I don't have a lot (I don't have anything) to contribute here, but I have to say this is a pretty neat thread. I'm going to give some of this stuff a try (as mentioned, I'm a huge wastrel) and see how it goes. If it's a big success or something maybe I'll report back with savings .
All of them offer great products at discounts for doing a few easy quizzes. Like I know the HPinfolab website is offering $100 rebates off any HP computer or laptop (until July 31 at least), $50 off printers and a 60 day timecard for WoW, among other things. Microsoft's site used to offer new games that retailed for $60 for like $10 or $15, since I'm no longer employed through retail I haven't checked it out, but I doubt it's changed that much.
My textbook policy in college was "do not buy the textbook until the course actually uses it." (Even then, I'd use the one on reserve at the library if it looked like I'd only use it once). When I did need the book, if the prof didn't ask questions from it, I'd usually buy the old edition ($4.05, including $3.95 shipping and handling). I saved probably about a thousand dollars, and never ran into a situation when it bit me in the ass.
Hah, to sell my books I went into the campus bookstore and under the first new copy of the book slipped a note that said
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
Improv, you are a gentleman and a scholar. A+++ Would report awesome again.
The phone calls were great.
"Um hi... I'm calling about a book?"
"Which book do you need?"
"Uhhh, the Biology 4th edition?"
"Look, I got the 3rd edition, I used it instead of the 4th and didn't have any problems. Check with your teacher first to make sure. Who do you have?"
"Oh, um, Ms. Packson?"
"Yea, she'll be fine with it."
It felt like a weird mix of drug dealer/good samaritan.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
2: Unplug your Wii / Battery Chargers / Remote Chargers / Vacuum Charger / etc. when not in use or the charge is full.
3: Get an insulated cover for your Hot Water Heater. They're about $20.00, easy to install and will lower your bill in the winter months.
4: Turn your computer and monitor off when not in use.
5: Cancel your trash service and buy tags to drop it off at the dump. (I don't know about everywhere, but in MD it'll run you about $25.00 - $30.00 to get trash picked up, but maybe $3.00 a week in tags (for us anyway) at .70 per tag)
6: Mentioned before, but Butchers and Farmers Markets are awesome for deals on meat and produce.
7: If you have cats, buy the cheapest litter you can find. It going to be crapped on anyway. As long as you clean it everyday (which you should do anyway) it won't smell too bad.
8: Check craigslists or local flea markets often for deals on stuff you may have to buy anyway.
9: learn to change your own oil. It really isn't too hard or time consuming once you know how and you'll save a good bit.
10: I've been building a collection of those energy saver light bulbs and over the past 6 or so years I have one in every fixture I have. I have no idea if they save me money, but if anyone says otherwise I don't believe them.
11: Don't buy movies or rent them from Blockbuster or whatever. Get the Netflix online subscription and DL your movies cheap and easy. I think it's $8.99 a month (or the price of two Blockbuster rentals).
12: Make sure you do FULL loads of laundry so as not to waste water or elec. If possible, use a cloths line.
Hah, to sell my books I went into the campus bookstore and under the first new copy of the book slipped a note that said
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
This is the greatest and best thing.
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
edited July 2009
A lot of the power/water-saving things don't apply to me since I don't pay for utilities. Probably good to do anyway from an environmental point of view though.
11: Don't buy movies or rent them from Blockbuster or whatever. Get the Netflix online subscription and DL your movies cheap and easy. I think it's $8.99 a month (or the price of two Blockbuster rentals).
Is Austin the only place in the world that has Red Box?
$1.08 for a Rental. That's it. Unless you rent 8 times a month (Who does?) you'll save with Red Box.
11: Don't buy movies or rent them from Blockbuster or whatever. Get the Netflix online subscription and DL your movies cheap and easy. I think it's $8.99 a month (or the price of two Blockbuster rentals).
Is Austin the only place in the world that has Red Box?
$1.08 for a Rental. That's it. Unless you rent 8 times a month (Who does?) you'll save with Red Box.
It seriously is an amazing deal.
Seattle too - it's fantastic. You can even reserve online, which makes it really easy. Before you leave work just reserve whatever you want, then slide your credit card when you get there, and you're done. Then return it on the way to work in the morning. And you can return to a different one you rented from, which is nice.
The only problem I've found is that on Fridays and Saturdays, the line can get really long, so I never reserve online those days. They really need a separate pick up/return slot so you don't have to wait for people looking through everything.
:-/ I'm about to move to New York City and have to live on a ridiculous budget (I'll be a graduate student for 5 years) and I'm a bit concerned about whoever's post about spending $400/month on food. In my absolutely-naive-never-having-had-to-live-on-a-budget, I only put down $200/month for groceries for myself. I did think it sounded a bit low but I don't have any experience in these things. What do you guys think? It'll be my girlfriend and I, we're looking to eat simply but not like... poor quality food. And it's NYC. Any estimates?
I spend about $200 a month. I mostly shop at trader joes and get what I can't get there at Key Foods.
If I recall you're going to be living uptown. There's a Fairway in Harlem, and I've heard Fairway has good deals.
Hah, to sell my books I went into the campus bookstore and under the first new copy of the book slipped a note that said
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
Improv, you are a gentleman and a scholar. A+++ Would report awesome again.
The phone calls were great.
"Um hi... I'm calling about a book?"
"Which book do you need?"
"Uhhh, the Biology 4th edition?"
"Look, I got the 3rd edition, I used it instead of the 4th and didn't have any problems. Check with your teacher first to make sure. Who do you have?"
"Oh, um, Ms. Packson?"
"Yea, she'll be fine with it."
It felt like a weird mix of drug dealer/good samaritan.
Used textbooks make the school about as much money as used games at gamestop. You have to be really careful about doing this or you might get your knees broken.
I had friends that got a bank loan for a few thousand dollars after getting the idea approved by the administration that they could buy students books and sell them out of their dorm room. They would use word of mouth, and hand out fliers that they would buy a used book(any, even discontinued) back at 5$ over what the bookstore would buy them for. The bookstore had damn near no used books for the next semester, and they made out like bandits. They paid their loan back and setup for the next semester, where they were promply told to stop, or they would be expelled, and arrested if seen doing it on school property again(campus police were real police and liked to remind people of such) for solicitation and whatever they could.
Used textbooks make the school about as much money as used games at gamestop. You have to be really careful about doing this or you might get your knees broken.
I was under the impression that as Barnes & Noble runs most campus bookstores, they were the ones making money off the used books.
Of course they probably carry a lot of clout at any school.
When I was an undergrad, a student had a website going for a couple years called nomorebookstore.com. Essentially a searchable database where students could lists books and what they wanted for them. Students would just meet up on campus to make transactions.
There was also this book swap run by some social justice group. You just donate your books and take what you want.
Once I got heavy into my Comp Sci classes though, I just bought all my textbooks from India. They're the same books, just in paperback on cheaper paper.
In the states when you get the bill at a restaurant and if you pay with your credit/debit card there is typically a field on the receipt to add the tip directly from your card. Does anyone know how those tips are latter distributed to your server? I always imagine the restaurant owner adding up the weeks receipts and stiffing his servers out of their tips.
Thus I try to have cash on hand whenever I'm tipping.
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
edited July 2009
I'm pretty sure the tips get to the servers most of the time. However I have heard that it's more beneficial to the server to get the tip in cash for tax reasons. i could be wrong tho.
Yeah, I always give tips in cash. And then I try and split it in half and provide more than one bill for good service. That way, if the service is extra-good and the waiter is supposed to place the tip in a pot to split at the end of the night they can still get a little something for themselves.
I almost never eat out. I don't drink much, nor do other drugs much. These three things alone save me a ton of money.
I also live with anarchists/anti-capitalist/punk types, which means there is plenty of shoplifting, dumpster diving and food-bank missions. One of my roomies basically spends zero dollars on food for most of the year. Shoplifting is sketchy because its illegal, but frankly I cannot defend theft from a massive chain store on moral grounds. Foodbanks I wouldn't support if it meant denying food to people who really need it. But since the foodbank I've gone too has 1)way too much food to even give away and 2)a very small amount of people that go there *really* need it; its a way to cut down on costs, not prevent yourself from starving. But I'm not sure if I would go to a food bank if I wasn't getting food for a house with 8 people in it.
Libraries are my friend (where I'm posting from now). You can get a huge amount of stuff for free just on heavy garbage day; almost all my current furniture was found on the curb. Hitch-hiking is free and easy in most places, although also mildly illegal. I've hitched across the country and back and made incredible time.
All this is very easy for me though. Material wealth is not something that has ever interested me, even when I was a kid. Saving money is something I do by default; its an effort to spend money, not the other way around.
Yeah, cause it's not like grocery stores live off razor thin profit margins.
Oh, wait.....
Most of their losses come from employee theft, and why should I care about the profit margins of a huge faceless corporation? I'd rob Walmart blind if I knew I could get away with it. Locally owned businesses I'd never steal from though, regardless of how easy it may be.
I almost never eat out. I don't drink much, nor do other drugs much. These three things alone save me a ton of money.
I also live with anarchists/anti-capitalist/punk types, which means there is plenty of shoplifting, dumpster diving and food-bank missions. One of my roomies basically spends zero dollars on food for most of the year. Shoplifting is sketchy because its illegal, but frankly I cannot defend theft from a massive chain store on moral grounds. Foodbanks I wouldn't support if it meant denying food to people who really need it. But since the foodbank I've gone too has 1)way too much food to even give away and 2)a very small amount of people that go there *really* need it; its a way to cut down on costs, not prevent yourself from starving. But I'm not sure if I would go to a food bank if I wasn't getting food for a house with 8 people in it.
Libraries are my friend (where I'm posting from now). You can get a huge amount of stuff for free just on heavy garbage day; almost all my current furniture was found on the curb. Hitch-hiking is free and easy in most places, although also mildly illegal. I've hitched across the country and back and made incredible time.
All this is very easy for me though. Material wealth is not something that has ever interested me, even when I was a kid. Saving money is something I do by default; its an effort to spend money, not the other way around.
Yeah, cause it's not like grocery stores live off razor thin profit margins.
Oh, wait.....
Most of their losses come from employee theft, and why should I care about the profit margins of a huge faceless corporation? I'd rob Walmart blind if I knew I could get away with it. Locally owned businesses I'd never steal from though, regardless of how easy it may be.
Be...because its stealing?
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
I almost never eat out. I don't drink much, nor do other drugs much. These three things alone save me a ton of money.
I also live with anarchists/anti-capitalist/punk types, which means there is plenty of shoplifting, dumpster diving and food-bank missions. One of my roomies basically spends zero dollars on food for most of the year. Shoplifting is sketchy because its illegal, but frankly I cannot defend theft from a massive chain store on moral grounds. Foodbanks I wouldn't support if it meant denying food to people who really need it. But since the foodbank I've gone too has 1)way too much food to even give away and 2)a very small amount of people that go there *really* need it; its a way to cut down on costs, not prevent yourself from starving. But I'm not sure if I would go to a food bank if I wasn't getting food for a house with 8 people in it.
Libraries are my friend (where I'm posting from now). You can get a huge amount of stuff for free just on heavy garbage day; almost all my current furniture was found on the curb. Hitch-hiking is free and easy in most places, although also mildly illegal. I've hitched across the country and back and made incredible time.
All this is very easy for me though. Material wealth is not something that has ever interested me, even when I was a kid. Saving money is something I do by default; its an effort to spend money, not the other way around.
Yeah, cause it's not like grocery stores live off razor thin profit margins.
Oh, wait.....
Most of their losses come from employee theft, and why should I care about the profit margins of a huge faceless corporation? I'd rob Walmart blind if I knew I could get away with it. Locally owned businesses I'd never steal from though, regardless of how easy it may be.
Be...because its stealing?
pfft. Your laws are no match for my ideals!
I mean, we all admit to being cheap in this thread but I think we are all still trying to work within the confines of the law.
I almost never eat out. I don't drink much, nor do other drugs much. These three things alone save me a ton of money.
I also live with anarchists/anti-capitalist/punk types, which means there is plenty of shoplifting, dumpster diving and food-bank missions. One of my roomies basically spends zero dollars on food for most of the year. Shoplifting is sketchy because its illegal, but frankly I cannot defend theft from a massive chain store on moral grounds. Foodbanks I wouldn't support if it meant denying food to people who really need it. But since the foodbank I've gone too has 1)way too much food to even give away and 2)a very small amount of people that go there *really* need it; its a way to cut down on costs, not prevent yourself from starving. But I'm not sure if I would go to a food bank if I wasn't getting food for a house with 8 people in it.
Libraries are my friend (where I'm posting from now). You can get a huge amount of stuff for free just on heavy garbage day; almost all my current furniture was found on the curb. Hitch-hiking is free and easy in most places, although also mildly illegal. I've hitched across the country and back and made incredible time.
All this is very easy for me though. Material wealth is not something that has ever interested me, even when I was a kid. Saving money is something I do by default; its an effort to spend money, not the other way around.
Yeah, cause it's not like grocery stores live off razor thin profit margins.
Oh, wait.....
Most of their losses come from employee theft, and why should I care about the profit margins of a huge faceless corporation? I'd rob Walmart blind if I knew I could get away with it. Locally owned businesses I'd never steal from though, regardless of how easy it may be.
Be...because its stealing?
pfft. Your laws are no match for my ideals!
I mean, we all admit to being cheap in this thread but I think we are all still trying to work within the confines of the law.
Yeah, I'm not actually advocating this. My roomies do this all the time, I generally don't because getting arrested would really suck.
So, uhh, anyone know anything about urban gardening?
What kind of vegetables can I grow in Michigan Winter either indoors or on a porch in wooden crates?
So this lends to my next money saving tip:
Grow your own stuff.
Especially herbs.
Get yourself a basil, rosemary, parsely, and thyme plant and learn to care for them all. By having fresh herbs those meals you are making at home (instead of eating out) will get really good really fast. Fresh herbs from the store can be prohibitively expensive, especially since you probably won't use them all before they go bad.
So, uhh, anyone know anything about urban gardening?
What kind of vegetables can I grow in Michigan Winter either indoors or on a porch in wooden crates?
So this lends to my next money saving tip:
Grow your own stuff.
Especially herbs.
Get yourself a basil, rosemary, parsely, and thyme plant and learn to care for them all. By having fresh herbs those meals you are making at home (instead of eating out) will get really good really fast. Fresh herbs from the store can be prohibitively expensive, especially since you probably won't use them all before they go bad.
There used to be a gardening thread around here... might be worthwhile to resurrect it?
So, uhh, anyone know anything about urban gardening?
What kind of vegetables can I grow in Michigan Winter either indoors or on a porch in wooden crates?
So this lends to my next money saving tip:
Grow your own stuff.
Especially herbs.
Get yourself a basil, rosemary, parsely, and thyme plant and learn to care for them all. By having fresh herbs those meals you are making at home (instead of eating out) will get really good really fast. Fresh herbs from the store can be prohibitively expensive, especially since you probably won't use them all before they go bad.
My wife planted some basil recently. The plants weren't much more than fresh basil from the supermarket, and it grows ridiculously fast. Like, "WTF am I going to do with this basil?!?" fast.
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
So, uhh, anyone know anything about urban gardening?
What kind of vegetables can I grow in Michigan Winter either indoors or on a porch in wooden crates?
So this lends to my next money saving tip:
Grow your own stuff.
Especially herbs.
Get yourself a basil, rosemary, parsely, and thyme plant and learn to care for them all. By having fresh herbs those meals you are making at home (instead of eating out) will get really good really fast. Fresh herbs from the store can be prohibitively expensive, especially since you probably won't use them all before they go bad.
My wife planted some basil recently. The plants weren't much more than fresh basil from the supermarket, and it grows ridiculously fast. Like, "WTF am I going to do with this basil?!?" fast.
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Thrift stores and the library is a simple way to go for a ton of cheap stuff. Obviously the Library has free books but they tend to have movies as well. Find out when the thrift stores get their stock "in" (out on the floor) and go that day to find some high quality items. I got most of my spoons and forks from the Goodwill for something like a dollar a dozen.
And give back. We constantly drop things off at the store once we realize we are never really wearing it or it just doesn't fit us right, etc.
Certified mail seems to work to get around this, though. When I bought my laptop a year ago, I got at least $200 in MiRs. As long as they are certified and you remember to do them, it's not that hard to get them.
In addition to this, if you find out when they put stuff on the showfloor, go and look for suits. The Goodwill where I'm at has like four racks of suits that are near perfect quality for $20-50. If you aren't some sort of deformed giant or fatty, they'll probably have a quality suit that will reasonably fit you.
A "reasonably" fitting suit will like like complete shit next to someone with a suit that actually fits them. Considering you only wear suits when you want to look extra sharp, buying something that looks "reasonably" good is counter productive. Trust me, I have a "reasonably" fitting suit at home that I hate wearing but it was super cheap when I bought it.
I wanted to expand on this one a bit, too.
Our Walmart's produce department is serviced by two different companies - the usual produce delivery people (Spokane Produce, iirc), and our "need produce now" people (Charlie's Produce). If it's not feasible to get to another grocery store, pay attention to the quality of the produce you see in Walmart. If it varies wildly from day to day, make note of when the high quality stuff is there, and try and shop early on those days in particular.
Adding another anecdote to last sentence about shopping after holiday weekends? We had PALLETS of corn left over after Memorial Day weekend, and not enough places to put it all - we were selling it at a dime an ear just so we could blow it all out before we had to take a loss.
Personally, I don't like buying meats or produce from Walmart unless I know I'm using it THAT DAY - the produce won't last, and the meat freezes poorly in my experience.
If your local newspaper offers a "Wednesdays and Sundays" subscription, that's worth going for too. All the grocery ads are out on Wednesday, and Sunday is all the other sale ads. It may run contrary to the "cheap bastard" theory to put out money for anything, but it's nothing to ignore.
Many major grocers have their weekly ads in Flash on their websites, custom tuned for your area.
I live by these. I don't buy artichokes if they aren't on sale, because I feel like shit when they go on sale next week and I could have had asparagus this week on sale.
Buy good fresh produce, but learn to make your meal plans based on what's on sale.
Sounds like someone doesn't have a tailor.
I think one of the important things to consider when saving money is to make concessions where you are comfortable. Getting suits at Goodwill is not a bad idea for some people - particularly students. You can take them to get tailored and cleaned and still only pay a fraction of the price you would pay for an Off-The-Rack Macy's (or whatever Dept. Store is near you) straight-black suit. If you are looking for something designer and super-sharp you probably shouldn't be buying off any rack, regardless of what establishment holds it.
A tailor can be fuck all expensive, but yea, if you need a suit it helps to look good in it.
You should probably repeat this every page. If only because it implies that one should be going out for food in the sense that they go to the market to purchase their food. Cooking is really easy when you have fresh ingredients.
Mail-in rebates are awesome, and lead to tons of great deals. Yes, they require a little more effort to save money than simply paying MSRP, but isn't that what the thread is about? Just scan/xerox the forms before you mail them in, and you'll have proof of what you sent if they try to screw with you. It also helps to know the good rebate fulfillers from the bad, such as Staples=good and TigerDirect=awful.
^Win.
My last 2 years of college I bought used off the web and sold to the campus bookstore after finals and ended up with a profit.
"I have a used copy of (this book) for sale
#phone number"
That's pretty much the same here, where food is generally "cheap"--the Southeast United States. The guy buying whole food would run out of money well before the month was over, unless his diet consisted entirely of uncooked rice every single day.
The ramen guy would have money to spare....doesn't mean I'd do it, because I don't like being malnourished, but it would be possible.
Improv, you are a gentleman and a scholar. A+++ Would report awesome again.
Most of the big names offer you jack. Look for credit unions or even better an online-only biz.
http://www.hpinfolab.com
http://expertzone.microsoft.com/
http://rls.us.playstation.com/
All of them offer great products at discounts for doing a few easy quizzes. Like I know the HPinfolab website is offering $100 rebates off any HP computer or laptop (until July 31 at least), $50 off printers and a 60 day timecard for WoW, among other things. Microsoft's site used to offer new games that retailed for $60 for like $10 or $15, since I'm no longer employed through retail I haven't checked it out, but I doubt it's changed that much.
The phone calls were great.
"Um hi... I'm calling about a book?"
"Which book do you need?"
"Uhhh, the Biology 4th edition?"
"Look, I got the 3rd edition, I used it instead of the 4th and didn't have any problems. Check with your teacher first to make sure. Who do you have?"
"Oh, um, Ms. Packson?"
"Yea, she'll be fine with it."
It felt like a weird mix of drug dealer/good samaritan.
What kind of vegetables can I grow in Michigan Winter either indoors or on a porch in wooden crates?
2: Unplug your Wii / Battery Chargers / Remote Chargers / Vacuum Charger / etc. when not in use or the charge is full.
3: Get an insulated cover for your Hot Water Heater. They're about $20.00, easy to install and will lower your bill in the winter months.
4: Turn your computer and monitor off when not in use.
5: Cancel your trash service and buy tags to drop it off at the dump. (I don't know about everywhere, but in MD it'll run you about $25.00 - $30.00 to get trash picked up, but maybe $3.00 a week in tags (for us anyway) at .70 per tag)
6: Mentioned before, but Butchers and Farmers Markets are awesome for deals on meat and produce.
7: If you have cats, buy the cheapest litter you can find. It going to be crapped on anyway. As long as you clean it everyday (which you should do anyway) it won't smell too bad.
8: Check craigslists or local flea markets often for deals on stuff you may have to buy anyway.
9: learn to change your own oil. It really isn't too hard or time consuming once you know how and you'll save a good bit.
10: I've been building a collection of those energy saver light bulbs and over the past 6 or so years I have one in every fixture I have. I have no idea if they save me money, but if anyone says otherwise I don't believe them.
11: Don't buy movies or rent them from Blockbuster or whatever. Get the Netflix online subscription and DL your movies cheap and easy. I think it's $8.99 a month (or the price of two Blockbuster rentals).
12: Make sure you do FULL loads of laundry so as not to waste water or elec. If possible, use a cloths line.
This is the greatest and best thing.
Is Austin the only place in the world that has Red Box?
$1.08 for a Rental. That's it. Unless you rent 8 times a month (Who does?) you'll save with Red Box.
It seriously is an amazing deal.
The only place to rent from in Southern MD is Blockbuster ($5.00 and change per rental)
(edit: I wish we had Red Box here)
Seattle too - it's fantastic. You can even reserve online, which makes it really easy. Before you leave work just reserve whatever you want, then slide your credit card when you get there, and you're done. Then return it on the way to work in the morning. And you can return to a different one you rented from, which is nice.
The only problem I've found is that on Fridays and Saturdays, the line can get really long, so I never reserve online those days. They really need a separate pick up/return slot so you don't have to wait for people looking through everything.
I spend about $200 a month. I mostly shop at trader joes and get what I can't get there at Key Foods.
If I recall you're going to be living uptown. There's a Fairway in Harlem, and I've heard Fairway has good deals.
Used textbooks make the school about as much money as used games at gamestop. You have to be really careful about doing this or you might get your knees broken.
I had friends that got a bank loan for a few thousand dollars after getting the idea approved by the administration that they could buy students books and sell them out of their dorm room. They would use word of mouth, and hand out fliers that they would buy a used book(any, even discontinued) back at 5$ over what the bookstore would buy them for. The bookstore had damn near no used books for the next semester, and they made out like bandits. They paid their loan back and setup for the next semester, where they were promply told to stop, or they would be expelled, and arrested if seen doing it on school property again(campus police were real police and liked to remind people of such) for solicitation and whatever they could.
I was under the impression that as Barnes & Noble runs most campus bookstores, they were the ones making money off the used books.
Of course they probably carry a lot of clout at any school.
When I was an undergrad, a student had a website going for a couple years called nomorebookstore.com. Essentially a searchable database where students could lists books and what they wanted for them. Students would just meet up on campus to make transactions.
There was also this book swap run by some social justice group. You just donate your books and take what you want.
Once I got heavy into my Comp Sci classes though, I just bought all my textbooks from India. They're the same books, just in paperback on cheaper paper.
Thus I try to have cash on hand whenever I'm tipping.
Most of their losses come from employee theft, and why should I care about the profit margins of a huge faceless corporation? I'd rob Walmart blind if I knew I could get away with it. Locally owned businesses I'd never steal from though, regardless of how easy it may be.
Be...because its stealing?
pfft. Your laws are no match for my ideals!
I mean, we all admit to being cheap in this thread but I think we are all still trying to work within the confines of the law.
Yeah, I'm not actually advocating this. My roomies do this all the time, I generally don't because getting arrested would really suck.
So this lends to my next money saving tip:
Grow your own stuff.
Especially herbs.
Get yourself a basil, rosemary, parsely, and thyme plant and learn to care for them all. By having fresh herbs those meals you are making at home (instead of eating out) will get really good really fast. Fresh herbs from the store can be prohibitively expensive, especially since you probably won't use them all before they go bad.
There used to be a gardening thread around here... might be worthwhile to resurrect it?
My wife planted some basil recently. The plants weren't much more than fresh basil from the supermarket, and it grows ridiculously fast. Like, "WTF am I going to do with this basil?!?" fast.
Make pesto!