What did you do today to save money?

[Chickysmom]

I am having DH pick up my DD from basketball practice on his way home from work....saving me some gas and time!

 

[Suzflee]

What a great thread. thanks for all the ideas.

I went to walmart to buy plastic floor mats for our van for our ski trip and only added cheap cereal and oatmeal.

Does that count?

My sisters and I watching Wishes

 

[KristinU]

DH signed us up for Vonage this afternoon - it should save us almost 2/3 off of what we're spending monthly for phone service

 

[3dog2kidmom]

I canceled the caller ID on our home phone (the only option we had), since we never use it anyway and just get calls on our cell phones - saved ~$9 a month. Dropped HBO/Cinemax/Starz and saved another ~$18 a month. Ate lunch I brought from home at work. Had frozen pizza with DS for our pizza party and are watching Lilo & Stitch on the Disney Channel instead of ordering in and renting a movie. Whew!

 

[ohiominnie]

Packed dh a salad for dinner so he didn't have to run to McDogFoods. I had a salad and leftovers for lunch. Dinner was an easy meal (since dh is on call)....we had crepes. some flour, a couple eggs, some milk, and topped with syrup or Redi-Whip....mmmm....simple and CHEAP!

 

[vhoffman]

Refilled empty gallon water containers with tap water. I honestly can't tell the difference, but dh insists he can. However, no one's noticed they're drinking tap water yet

Figure I saved at least $5!!!

 

[delmar411]

booked Sept/Oct trip today and saved $600 by having DH call instead of just booking online since we got that discount code.

Also sold off some of the cloth diapers we aren't using so I saved space in our house and made a little money!

And I didn't even leave the house today so no gas usage...every little bit helps! LOL

 

[lori1043]

We brought our lunch on a field trip and picniced with a couple other families instead of buying it in the cafeteria of the place we went! I was very proud b/c I was tempted not to leave to go do this and cave and eat at the kind of expensive cafeteria. I passed when DD9 says, "mom let's go eat under the trees and come back later". Thank God she said it- it is amamzing how even your kids can get in on this with you w/out knowing it! The day was gorgeous and I am SO glad we were enjoying it instead of holed up indoors. They played and climbed trees and we went back and completed our feild trip in peace since everyone else was done-we had first dibs on everything!

 

[Carrie772]

I am going to make chicken biscuits for breakfast this morning with the laft overs from last night's dinner. Mna, I am sleepy. I had to correct evry word I typed!

 

[3dog2kidmom]

Made coffee with leftover hotel packets I've been accumulating.

 

[Lorikr65]

To keep from running the dryer as long I run the spin cycle twice. Seems to cut drying time!

I think I'll try that. I have a Whirlpool duet and the dryer seems to take longer since I got it. It use to take 1 hr, now it seems to take 1 1/2 hrs. My washer and dryer were 13 years old. The washer stopped spinning so I got the Whirlpool duet. I just think it's too much of a coincidence that the dry would have a problem at the same exact time as the washer so I'm assuming for some reason it takes longer when drying cloths from the duet. Also, I was surprised that the duet takes an hour to wash cloths. My old Whirlpoot top loader took half the time!

 

[minnie1928]

For those that use it instead of fabric softener or Jet Dry, do you substitute with the same amount? Meaning, do you fill the fabric softener to the same mark with vinegar as you would for fabric softener? And vice versa for Jet Dry?

BTW, as I re-read this I wanted to clarify...I'm not using Jet Dry as a fabric softener and I'm not using fabric softener to remove spots on my dishes .

 

[ducklite]

I think I'll try that. I have a Whirlpool duet and the dryer seems to take longer since I got it. It use to take 1 hr, now it seems to take 1 1/2 hrs. My washer and dryer were 13 years old. The washer stopped spinning so I got the Whirlpool duet. I just think it's too much of a coincidence that the dry would have a problem at the same exact time as the washer so I'm assuming for some reason it takes longer when drying cloths from the duet. Also, I was surprised that the duet takes an hour to wash cloths. My old Whirlpoot top loader took half the time!

Huh? You can change the settings on the Duet to meet your needs. Unless you are washing loads on the sanitary cycle or have heavy articles that are really dirty, there's no need for that!

I wash most everything on the "Normal/Casual" cycle and bump it down for less soil except DS's work clothes (he works in a meat department, want to make sure that stuff is clean!) and it's a 35 minute cycle.

It takes about the same amount to dry, 30-40 minutes, some things can dry in as fast as 20 minutes. My dryer is gas, so maybe yours is electric and takes longer?

Try playing with different options, I can guarantee you can cut that time in half.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Today is DAY 13 of the IPCEO!

Just got back from grocery shopping. Spent a bit more than I wanted to, but...

My Publix bill was $59.49. I could have kept it under $50, but decided to get a couple beef tenderloin steaks. That added $15 to the bill--although it would have cost $30 per steak to eat them out, so I figured it was a good reward for sticking to the IPCEO. Otherwise I saved $18.41 on my shopping with shopping the sales, and not buying things I didn't need except the BOGO on Cheerio's and Granola Bars. And I only bought one thing not on my list--the Dannon Yogurt Smoothies that DS has for breakfast every morning. It should have been on the list, so it wasn't an impulse buy.

Then I went to Target. Ugh. Well kind of ugh. First I used my Starbucks Gift Card for a cup of tea. Only enough left on the card for three more cups of tea.

I bought three Healthy Choice meals on sale and with a coupon, then went to buy Tampax. I priced it out per piece. They had a few boxes of "bonus pack" with five extra on the shelf, and they were cheaper per piece by a couple cents each, so I bought those instead of the ones on sale. I bought three boxes because actually the price was good, plus I had a coupon on top of it. So I wasn't planning on buying three boxes, but at the price I ended up paying (saved over $5 off the non-bonus/non-coupon price), it was worth it to stock up. I also bought a tube of toothpaste onsale, plus a coupon. And I spent $10 for a Rubbermaid bin I needed to store Christmas stuff in the attic in. So I ended up spending a little over $30 at Target, but I think that what I got for that money was a good deal.

Going to make pizza dough this morning and have that for dinner tonight rather than ordering out which ends up costing $25 with the tip. I've got all the ingredients in the house, and the total cost is under $5.

Anne

 

[Lorikr65]

Huh? You can change the settings on the Duet to meet your needs. Unless you are washing loads on the sanitary cycle or have heavy articles that are really dirty, there's no need for that!

I wash most everything on the "Normal/Casual" cycle and bump it down for less soil except DS's work clothes (he works in a meat department, want to make sure that stuff is clean!) and it's a 35 minute cycle.

It takes about the same amount to dry, 30-40 minutes, some things can dry in as fast as 20 minutes. My dryer is gas, so maybe yours is electric and takes longer?

Try playing with different options, I can guarantee you can cut that time in half.

Anne

My model is about 3 years old. The size is a 3.8 so it washes a lot of clothes, but it does take about 1 hr. on the normal/casual cycle.

Do you have the duet dryer? I don't, I just have a 13 year old whirlpool dryer. I also have a gas dryer. It's always taken about 1 hr. I'm assuming it's taking longer because I can wash a bit more clothes. I had a 3.5 before so I can stick a few more things in. I put in probably a full laundry basket and then some. The readout on the washer always says 40 minutes at the start of the cycle but the book says it can take longer if you have a full load because it has to even out the cloths, etc.

 

[Traveliz]

Today is DAY 13 of the IPCEO!

Just got back from grocery shopping. Spent a bit more than I wanted to, but...

My Publix bill was $59.49. I could have kept it under $50, but decided to get a couple beef tenderloin steaks. That added $15 to the bill--although it would have cost $30 per steak to eat them out, so I figured it was a good reward for sticking to the IPCEO. Otherwise I saved $18.41 on my shopping with shopping the sales, and not buying things I didn't need except the BOGO on Cheerio's and Granola Bars. And I only bought one thing not on my list--the Dannon Yogurt Smoothies that DS has for breakfast every morning. It should have been on the list, so it wasn't an impulse buy.

Then I went to Target. Ugh. Well kind of ugh. First I used my Starbucks Gift Card for a cup of tea. Only enough left on the card for three more cups of tea.

I bought three Healthy Choice meals on sale and with a coupon, then went to buy Tampax. I priced it out per piece. They had a few boxes of "bonus pack" with five extra on the shelf, and they were cheaper per piece by a couple cents each, so I bought those instead of the ones on sale. I bought three boxes because actually the price was good, plus I had a coupon on top of it. So I wasn't planning on buying three boxes, but at the price I ended up paying (saved over $5 off the non-bonus/non-coupon price), it was worth it to stock up. I also bought a tube of toothpaste onsale, plus a coupon. And I spent $10 for a Rubbermaid bin I needed to store Christmas stuff in the attic in. So I ended up spending a little over $30 at Target, but I think that what I got for that money was a good deal.

Going to make pizza dough this morning and have that for dinner tonight rather than ordering out which ends up costing $25 with the tip. I've got all the ingredients in the house, and the total cost is under $5.

Anne

Not sure how "into" this you want to get - but for the feminine products you can pretty much always get the free at either Walgreens with their Easy Saver plan or CVS with their bonus bucks. I used to pick them up from Walgreens occasionally but my goal this year is to study the Walgreens and CVS ad each week and get those freebies! I have a college age daughter so we can definitely stockpile these items.

Liz

 

[ducklite]

My model is about 3 years old. The size is a 3.8 so it washes a lot of clothes, but it does take about 1 hr. on the normal/casual cycle.

Do you have the duet dryer? I don't, I just have a 13 year old whirlpool dryer. I also have a gas dryer. It's always taken about 1 hr. I'm assuming it's taking longer because I can wash a bit more clothes. I had a 3.5 before so I can stick a few more things in. I put in probably a full laundry basket and then some. The readout on the washer always says 40 minutes at the start of the cycle but the book says it can take longer if you have a full load because it has to even out the cloths, etc.

I have no idea of the capacity of mine, but it holds about 1.5 times as much as the Whirlpool Gold models I had in my last house. I took delivery around September 5th, 2004, a few days after Hurricane Frances came through. My washer and dryer are both Duet's. The Duet dryer dries a LOT faster than the Whirlpool Gold dryer did--about half the time! It also has a sensor feature so it will turn off when clothes are dry, even if you had set it for longer, so no wasted energy.

I rarely stuff mine full, maybe that's the difference? It's usually about a full laundry basket. Mine is generally within a minute or two of what it says the cycle will take. Like I said, I usually bump it down to "Less Soil" for a shorter wash time, and the clothes seem to come out jsut as clean.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Not sure how "into" this you want to get - but for the feminine products you can pretty much always get the free at either Walgreens with their Easy Saver plan or CVS with their bonus bucks. I used to pick them up from Walgreens occasionally but my goal this year is to study the Walgreens and CVS ad each week and get those freebies! I have a college age daughter so we can definitely stockpile these items.

Liz

OK, I'm game, tell me more about the CVS thing. My goal is to save enough to pay off the five year car loan in three years--or less. That means an extra $400 towards the car payment each month.

I'm not picky about the brand of "stick-on's" but only use Tampax for the "plug-in's" as DH calls them. (Sorry if I offended anyone.)

Anne

 

[ohiominnie]

Not sure how "into" this you want to get - but for the feminine products you can pretty much always get the free at either Walgreens with their Easy Saver plan or CVS with their bonus bucks. I used to pick them up from Walgreens occasionally but my goal this year is to study the Walgreens and CVS ad each week and get those freebies! I have a college age daughter so we can definitely stockpile these items.

Liz

I agree here totally. Especially in October when CVS was PAYING me to take the stuff, I really stocked up. Weird thing is, because of medication I take and my body's own cycle, I only have a period about once every 4 months and I could get by on panty liners alone! But I've got enough pads and tampons to keep my daughter supplied for years! (of course, she hasn't even STARTED her periods yet, but they won't expire.)

I don't do Walgreens b/c there isn't one close, but CVS has truly spoiled me. Now I look at toothpaste on sale and with a coupon somewhere else and say "you want me to pay $1 for toothpaste???? NO WAY!!! That's too much!"

grocerygame.com has really helped me get the most bang for my buck, grocery wise. if anyone is interested in trying it out, they do work on referrals so please put down my email address ohiominnie at gmail dot com if you think about trying the $1 trial. And if you have any questions about it, feel free to PM me. I actually did a podcast spot on the Manic Mommies all about how much I've saved using the grocery game!

 

[ohiominnie]

I stuck my load of towels in my washer and put it on normal cycle with an extra rinse (I always do that for towels) but then I chose "extra fast spin" to try to get more water out. Hoping that shortens my dry cycle a bit.