Cost cutting measures

[gmi3804]

A cost cutting measure I found out about after the fact… better to order tires online, especially from a store like Walmart that also installs, because that saves serious cash. Kicking myself for not doing more research, as tire inflation is insane!

I order online from Tire Rack and have them drop-shipped to my installer, which in my case is also my mechanic. Costco has some good sales too, but not the variety of Tire Rack. It’s stunning to see what people pay at tire shops for low-quality tires.

 

[lankman]

We bulk buy a lot of meat in Costco & Portion into meal sizes for freezing.
The wife also will bulk cook items that freeze well like lasagne, pies, chilli & other dishes.
Since we started doing this in 2021, we saw a considerable saving against our budgeted costs for food.
On average around 25-30%.
We now also bulk buy Sanitary & cleaning products & found this helps save.
I now grow a few of my own veggies & during the summer months this saves, to help save more I do all my own composting to cut that out of the equation & it helps with re-cycling.

Since we started budgeting better we've found a number of ways to save.
This though was not done to offset money towards any holidays, just a change in our lifestyle.
I even brew my own wines & beers, the outlay at the beginning for this was expensive for all the materials, but now it does save us money & the quality of some of the wines & beers are really quite good.
We love entertaining family & fiends at the weekend so the home brews come in handy.

But once you get into the right frame of mind, you can save in so many areas.

 

[barkley]

We bulk buy a lot of meat in Costco & Portion into meal sizes for freezing.

they have a good sale this week on pork shoulders-$8 off per package, worked out to just about $2.00 per pound. i'll have dh cook it up on the big green egg then we will portion it for multiple rounds of pulled pork

 

[lankman]

they have a good sale this week on pork shoulders-$8 off per package, worked out to just about $2.00 per pound. i'll have dh cook it up on the big green egg then we will portion it for multiple rounds of pulled pork

We are going to our local costco this Friday, but we live in the UK. that cost for the pork though is amazing.
Our Pork here is retailing at around £4.95 a kilo around $3.30 per pound.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

I have been kinda obsessed with the Panera half entree for free this summer. Panera is still an indulgence, of course, but the You Pick Two was getting up to $20 in some cases. I had kinda given up on them. Now the standard menu (not sure if the code works on Value Duets) is under $8 with tax for one You Pick Two.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

A cost cutting measure I found out about after the fact… better to order tires online, especially from a store like Walmart that also installs, because that saves serious cash. Kicking myself for not doing more research, as tire inflation is insane!

This is a great tip! Too bad you had to discover it after it was too late.

 

[DisneyTexan]

Scooter's Coffee (with 800 locations in 30 states) has a couple great deals for afternoon drinks.

• After 11 a.m. on the weekends, their XL iced drinks (not including coffee) are only $2.00.
• After 11 a.m. on weekdays, their medium drinks are only $3.00.

Both deals require ordering on the app with a code that will be emailed to you after you sign up for the app. The codes haven't changed since I signed up, and the app will save them codes for you. You also get a credit of $5.00 when you sign up, so you will get a couple drinks for free.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I've started paying closer attention to the "cash back" deals in the Wells Fargo app. I ignored them, because they seemed generic and/or useless (I don't shop at Gymboree or Ulta, thank you!). But then I got one for 7% cash back (up to $5.50) at Food Lion, for using my WF credit card (which already has 2% cash back on everything). I used that one, and got one for Domino's--10% cash back, up to $7.00. We haven't used that yet, but we do get Domino's occasionally, so we will. It's not huge amounts of money, but since they're places I would spend at anyway, why not?

Added bonus: for the Food Lion one, gift cards aren't excluded like they normally would be, because it's based on using a specific debit/credit card, and not based on just spending a certain amount (like those "free turkey is you spend $100" type promotions).

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I just found out my work has a perks program where they give e-coupons for businesses. Most of them seem pretty specific, lots of businesses we won't have where I live, but I found a couple that would apply. Obviously you're only saving money if you can use them for something you're already going to be buying, but it's another thing to check before I go to get something.

 

[bsmcneil]

That's cool. I don't think my work could do that.

I just found out my work has a perks program where they give e-coupons for businesses. Most of them seem pretty specific, lots of businesses we won't have where I live, but I found a couple that would apply. Obviously you're only saving money if you can use them for something you're already going to be buying, but it's another thing to check before I go to get something.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

That's cool. I don't think my work could do that.

I guess it's some 3rd party program that they signed up with. It definitely wasn't something I'd expected from them. There's also a local chamber of commerce thing that we get cards for where we can get discounts from local businesses. That's less to do with our company specifically, and more just that the businesses in the area have an arrangement.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I just finished prepping breakfast for Mon-Thu, which will save me scrambling and potentially wasting money or just eating complete garbage.

U-pick apples are "cheap" (cheaper than stores right now, and I took advantage of that as well as sales on berries and other things. So I made breakfast-in-a-jar, which is great for grab and go. When I do this they're enough food that I often don't need anything else to eat the rest of the workday. I put in 3/4C rolled oats, 3/4C milk, spices (I didn't really measure) - maybe 1tsp cinnamon, dash nutmeg, dash cloves, about a tbsp maple syrup, a few tablespoons strawberry yogurt. Then I chopped up a giant apple, put 1/4 in each jar, and topped some with blueberries and some with raspberries. In my experience, frozen blueberries/raspberries work fine. No idea how they'll turn out, I was just throwing in what was available. I haven't had anything taste awful with fruit and spices yet, and they can sit in the fridge all week.

I don't care for yogurt, but I'm told it's good for me. I don't notice it in these unless I go way too heavy with it. I also think chia seeds or something would be better for texture, but I usually don't have any on hand, and they're hard to find in my area.

There's tons of recipes online, and they're not all super sweet, if you're trying to avoid that.

 

[barkley]

tomorrow i'm doing my big grocery shopping trip for october. dh will be busy with a cost savings project when we get home-there's a sale on roasts at one store $3.99 per pound. he can set up the kitchenaid meat grinder and make me some ground beef at half the cost of the going rate around us for much higher fat content ground beef.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

So now that Christmas is over I'm trying to decide on some little items to make for next year. In previous years I've made some knit/crochet items, jewelry, keychain tags, jams, etc. Often I can make things with supplies I have on hand or I can get supplies on sale, but I have to start now in order to have them finished on time for next year. Just a suggestion for anyone who's crafty and tends to pick up small gifts for a lot of people.

 

[QueenIsabella]

So now that Christmas is over I'm trying to decide on some little items to make for next year. In previous years I've made some knit/crochet items, jewelry, keychain tags, jams, etc. Often I can make things with supplies I have on hand or I can get supplies on sale, but I have to start now in order to have them finished on time for next year. Just a suggestion for anyone who's crafty and tends to pick up small gifts for a lot of people.

I already have my eye on something for my husband's birthday (Halloween, so I have some time). I'll pick up the kit on sale, then work on it while he's away on business. I also like to do yarn work while watching TV--unfortunately, there's no real winter where we live, so no need for mittens or sweaters. Poor DD29, she lives in Boston, she tends to get scarves upon scarves! But, I'll look around for ideas.

I think it's the Hobby Lobby gift card that I got for Christmas, burning a hole in my pocket. That, and the Amazon gift card. "Free" craft supplies!

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I already have my eye on something for my husband's birthday (Halloween, so I have some time). I'll pick up the kit on sale, then work on it while he's away on business. I also like to do yarn work while watching TV--unfortunately, there's no real winter where we live, so no need for mittens or sweaters. Poor DD29, she lives in Boston, she tends to get scarves upon scarves! But, I'll look around for ideas.

I think it's the Hobby Lobby gift card that I got for Christmas, burning a hole in my pocket. That, and the Amazon gift card. "Free" craft supplies!

I love how we get "free" craft supplies that we use to make gifts for other people

I'm in Canada, so hats/mitts/etc are staples here. I have some wood slices and blank wooden bookmarks here, so I'm considering artwork on those...

 

[QueenIsabella]

I love how we get "free" craft supplies that we use to make gifts for other people

I'm in Canada, so hats/mitts/etc are staples here. I have some wood slices and blank wooden bookmarks here, so I'm considering artwork on those...

Yeah, living in upstate NY, I never had a shortage of "warm" projects to work on! Now, (coastal North Carolina) we literally have one week of winter--not worth buying a winter coat for.

On the good side, I have a knitting bowl, that my younger daughter made (inadvertently) in art class (they had a kiln). The rim has a big divot in it--perfect, I told her, for a knitting bowl. She graduates college in May, and I still proudly use that knitting bowl!

 

[LoveDaisy]

So now that Christmas is over I'm trying to decide on some little items to make for next year. In previous years I've made some knit/crochet items, jewelry, keychain tags, jams, etc. Often I can make things with supplies I have on hand or I can get supplies on sale, but I have to start now in order to have them finished on time for next year. Just a suggestion for anyone who's crafty and tends to pick up small gifts for a lot of people.

I am not crafty so these are food gifts I make. Homemade jam, apple butter, pear butter, pie filing with a pie plate (I have bought the pie plates at thrifts stores and end of season clearances), infused vodka (for the holidays I infuse with candy canes and give homemade hot chocolate mix with it), homemade hot chocolate mix with homemade marshmallows, and vanilla (you need to start this early it will take at least 6 months).

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I am not crafty so these are food gifts I make. Homemade jam, apple butter, pear butter, pie filing with a pie plate (I have bought the pie plates at thrifts stores and end of season clearances), infused vodka (for the holidays I infuse with candy canes and give homemade hot chocolate mix with it), homemade hot chocolate mix with homemade marshmallows, and vanilla (you need to start this early it will take at least 6 months).

Those sound like wonderful gifts!

I've been interested in trying to make my own vanilla but I'd have to order vanilla beans, and I'm worried about ruining it. The candy cane vodka also sounds really good. Do you make full sized bottles of these things and then pour them into smaller bottles for gifting when they're ready?

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Yeah, living in upstate NY, I never had a shortage of "warm" projects to work on! Now, (coastal North Carolina) we literally have one week of winter--not worth buying a winter coat for.

On the good side, I have a knitting bowl, that my younger daughter made (inadvertently) in art class (they had a kiln). The rim has a big divot in it--perfect, I told her, for a knitting bowl. She graduates college in May, and I still proudly use that knitting bowl!

I'd gladly live in a place without winter!

But the knitting bowl sounds nice!