Anybody else want to slow down on their spending? Today,

1. we ate lunch at home before going to town today which we usually don't ..so we saved
2. Stopped in Hancocks, saved 40% on everything I bought.
3. Ate supper at home, quite contently.
4. Gave my dh a haircut, saved.

How do you save? Anyone else interested in this?

Eating at home is our big saver, including bringing leftovers to work for lunch.

Today, we entertained ourselves at home instead of driving into town, going to a movie or eating out.

LOL! This is what I do. All.The.Time.

Eat at home
Shop sales
Don't shop at all (when even the sales are too much!)
Cut Dh's hair (sometimes he gets a wild hair to wear it longer...my expertise ends when I can no longer use clippers)
Avoid pre-packaged meals (except the occasional pizza)
Make homemade refried beans (costs about 25 cents to make a whole ton of them! Costs at least a buck for a 15 oz can,kwim?)
Coupons, coupons, coupons. BOGO is your friend. :D
Wait to shop KOHL'S until you get the 30% off coupon. Then, shop the sale racks.
Be a minimalist when it comes to shoes and pants. I find I do well with < 10pr of shoes. Even that seems like a lot. Couple pairs of good fitting jeans, a few slacks, a few capris, a few shorts. Then you have coordinating tops galore!
Sell-donate-throw what you don't use, so you can get to what you have! (and then you don't rebuy it)

This week I also cut back my cell minutes,also think we may read the paper online with their subscription. won't have to mess with the paper, don't mine that if we would recycle it. I love to be smart with my bills. It is empowering!

We always eat at home unless it's a special occasion.

I cut my fabric sheets in half so I don't have to buy as often.

I shop at Dollar Tree for those items that are more expensive else where.

I bought a brand new pair of jeans at the thrift shop for 3 bucks the other day.

I turn old towels into dish rags.

I own about 4 pairs of shoes and have enough clothing to last 7 days.

I cut everyones hair in my family.

I only buy what is needed.

Well, I saved $40 with coupons at the grocery yesterday.

Today my 2 DD's & I went to the mall so my oldest could get a new pair of jeans at American Eagle. She's grown and has her own money, so I only make suggestions about her spending habits. I suggested she try JCPenney first, she found a pair that fit great, a shirt & a nice bra all for the same price the AE jeans would've cost! Then we went home and had sandwiches for lunch. :)

Eat at home more, but I like coffee @ Paneras
Only 'use' from my stash.
Buy non perishable food and paper products once every 2 months at Sams.
Only buy enough food that we can eat for the week
When running errands, bunch them all up and hope they are my side of town.
For myself, daughter, and grandsons, I show @ Thrift Stores.
Big bucks will not be spent this Xmas season

You read my mind! I'm going to start a journal and write down at the very least one thing a day I did to save money. I figure this will give me motivation to save for a house.

I'd start with writing down every single cent you spend -- it's an eye-opener, and it makes it easy to see where spending cuts can be made.

Good luck!

Well my wife an I have cut back on going out to lunch during the week now we go twice a week and usually hit the specials they have at Chili's or Applebee's. We also buy in bulk at Sams so we save on certain things there. I limit my trips and now we only fill the car up once every 2 months and if I do go somewhere it is usually close by and I am on my bike.

But where I am really saving some serious bucks is the fact that my SIL raises cattle and I have a cow that is just about ready to slaughter. That and Deer season is coming so I will fill my freezer easily with everyone coming up hunting on my land. Next year we will have a garden and I will save more money and have better food!

Billy

I love this topic! Weve been eating mostly from the garden right now.....lunch was a cucumber sandwich, yum! And dinner was a veggie stir fry....so only paid for the oil, rice and coffee. Try NOT to go into any stores, I just see something that I really dont need.
Only buy my batting on sale or with coupons, and havent bought alot of fabric, except from a sweet lady here who offered me some bulldog fabric at a GREAT price....HOW COULD I RESIST?! LOL!
I am getting rid of the satallite tv, got rid of the house phone....am chopping away anything I can live without!

Great thread, hope it keeps going I love to read about being thrifty, I currently am making "plarn" rugs and rag rugs . I have found the ones at the dollar store fall apart too quickly. I also put dishsoap in a squirt bottle ,one squirt makes lots of suds!

Thanks all! I love this thread too! I hope we can keep it going as well. Maybe we can learn from each other. I will start writing everything down starting now. I could so get rid of the satelite, at $90 a month, I just don't find the value in it, but dh likes it! I spend way too much on fabric and such, and don't have time time to use much of it. So I got to really cut back on my spending there. I am getting so tight, I even cut our bills at work. I am trying to recycle, repurpose as much as possible.

A few other things we do...

1. I try to work from home at least one day a week, which saves at least 50 miles a day on my car, gas, lunch and needing business clothes for that day.

2. I changed to a Diva cup and cloth pads as backup about five years ago and haven't bought tampons or disposable pads since. HUGE savings!

3. I also bought a lot of washcloths and towels at serious discounts and use them almost exclusively in place of disposable paper towels.

4. Following the same principle we also use cloth napkins instead of paper.

5. Common sense: turn off the lights! :)

I am working on getting better at saving. Some of how I save is when I do go out to eat I try to save half of the meal to eat the next day. This cuts the price in half. Or split the meal with a friend. I am trying to take my lunch to work more often. I also try to save leftovers as much as possible they are great for lunches. When I use Enchilada Sauce or a can of chili, I freeze what I don't use. It's just me and my Dad so we don't eat much. I cut down on my cell phone bill - a little. And I cut down on my Uverse bill by going to a cheaper plan. Next I am planning on going back to shopping at a Neighborhood Walmart store as opposed to the Super Walmarts - less temptation to buy extra stuff.

We are retired and two years ago out income dropped dramatically so I had to make some adjustmesnts to our spending. I started getting DH meds at the VA and saved a bundle on medications as we did not have a good insurance in that dept. I called a few ins. agents about car insurance and got a cheaper rate to the tune of $500. less a year. We only eat out on special occasions, birthday, anniversary etc. I cook from scratch and do not buy perpared foods. Canceled all the extras on my phone bill such as caller ID, call waiting,long distance etc. Went on a fabric moritoriam and sewed only from my stash, which incidently is most gone now so its time to hit the sales and get some.When I do go grocery shopping I check the sales ads first and have a list with me No spur of the moment buying for me. Thats all I can think of right now but it all adds up.

I make my own laundry soap. We have a big garden and I have canned lots for later when the fresh is not available. I never buy any fabric unless it is on sale. I shop for my clothes from our church clothing closet and I limit my trips to town to once a week. I cook from scratch and we hardly ever go out.