There are lots of ways one can save money but you can save even more money if you are willing to make some sacrifices. For example, if you don't go out often [for dinners, drink with friends, watch a movie, etc] you can save a decent amount of money by the end of the month depending on how much money you spend on entertainment. What other tiny sacrifices do you guys make to save money?
I haven't done any of those things you listed for years - dinner out, drinking with friends or watching a movie at the cinema. I don't have a car either, and pay a small amount to friends and family to take me along too when they're going somewhere I need to go, for example if someone is going through the town near me I'll ask them to drop me off on the way and pick me up on the way back. It was on their route anyway so it was just a matter of me taking up a seat in their vehicle, and I'll give them a little money for taking me. If they have to go out of their way I'd give them a little more though. I don't have cable TV to save money, although here you have to pay a license fee just to have a TV or radio so I still pay for it in a round about way, but I have less channels to save on any extra fees.
I won't compromise on social life to save money, because life is for living, and there's no point in missing out on fun just to save money. So I will always go out. However, I won't buy expensive drinks, because for me there is no pleasure at all in getting drunk. I will be designated driver and in return for that they will buy me a drink each during the night - so the only money I have to spend is on fuel, which costs less than if I had bought my own drinks. So on nights out, I actually profit from it in a way!
I haven't ever had cable TV and that's saved a bundle over the years. It started for random reasons (not being able to get off of work to have the cable man come and connect the cable), and then I just got used to it. Eventually when I started getting Netflix it seemed unnecessary. Then, with Netflix streaming it was completely a moot point. So many great cable shows are on streaming that it's just not even an afterthought. Especially since neither my husband nor I watch/follow sports so it's really of no use. I also buy things in bulk - sugar, flour, grains, pastas, breadcrumbs. I moved to an area where almost every store sells bulk items and it's a wonderful savings.
I save money by purchasing the majority of my clothes from the second hand store or make them myself. I can have a very nice wardrobe at a good price just by purchasing the main pieces I need from the store and filing in with stuff I get secondhand or make myself.
Aside from trying to walk instead of taking a public transportation if the distance is quite near, I have shunned dating even if there were people interested in me because the thought of making me spend more on phone calls, texting, going out on dates, etc. and the getting to know part eating up my time and spending money in general because of them makes me feel irritated lol. I don't need attention anyway, so I will happily keep my money for my future, thank you.
I don't drive either so I save a ton of money on gas, insurance and just any other maintenance fee required. I haven't gone to Starbucks in over 6 months and when I do go I usually go because I won a free gift card online. I also haven't gone to the movies in years because ticket prices are so high.
I used to go the movies alot when I had the money. And now it is more like once or twice a year. I have to really want to see the movie to go to the theater. Otherwise I will wait for it to come out on video or cable TV. I just can not be forking out 7 to 10 dollars to see a movie every few weeks.
I stop myself from eating out a lot of the time because I want to save money. Sometimes I will crave a certain food but I will try and stop myself the best I can because I want to save money and I think to myself that I can also use the opportunity to maintain my weight a lot easier too, which helps a lot to save because it provides an additional reason and motivation to do so.
Second hand stores are terrific if you manage to find a great one. I live in a town with several wonderful second hand stores where really quality clothes are donated. I'd been so used to goodwill type stores that I wasn't too keen on shopping there at first, but once I went in and saw what they had I was astonished at some of the things - designer label items, 'gently used' - some hardly worn at all! I think it's just a place which curates well in order to have a good reputation. Regardless, it's changed my mind forever on buying 2nd hand clothes. Additionally, my washing machine has a "sanitize" feature. Therefore I'm able to give everything a truly thorough washing the first time just to ease my mind about wearing 2nd hand clothing. This is definitely a money saver.
We don't buy coffee out any more, I buy instant coffee on sale and we have travel mugs we use to take a coffee with us to our kids sports or work. I find doing this has saved us over $30 a month. My husband and I do not own cell phones. This isn't really a sacrifice since we aren't giving up anything. We had cell phones over 20 year ago which was great when we lived in different cities. 17 years ago we got married and gave up our cell phones. I figure we have saved well over $20000 not having cell phones. It just makes us communicate more in person which I like. My other saving money trick is to turn down our thermostat at night and when we leave for work. We don't even notice it but I turn it down about 3 degrees and I know I'm saving money on my heating costs.
When we are on a cost-cutting situation, we always give importance to food so that item is not included. Our first impulse is to save on electricity because we use a lot of lights. At night, we leave 4 lights outside of the house and 1 at the terrace. With water, we also use a lot because our housemaid used to hose down the concrete garden instead of using the stickbroom. But most of all, we limit our luxuries particularly the travels.
Well, as for me I also do what @Pat does. I mostly look for personal clothes in second-hand stores. Sometimes I would buy brand new ones but only when they're on sale. Since I work from home, when I don't really have any business going out of the house, I mostly just stay home and just go out during weekends with my family for mass. During summer time, as long as I can take it I take a bath with cold water using a dipper to avoid consuming electricity for the hot shower.
Yes, I do save a lot of money on social events. However, I'm an introvert and don't like going out much so it's not a big problem for me. Another thing I save on is clothes. Some people change their wardrobe every season but I try not to buy new clothes too often. What I do is always ask myself "Is it something I really need or will I be perfeclt fine without this item?" I try not to buy anything that isn't necessary often. Treating yourself once in a while is fine, though.
I skip going to a fast food joint most of the time, because I'd rather go out someplace nicer to eat another time. I'm not a huge fan of fast food anyway, really but at times it would be more convenient. I'd much rather spend the money on a sit down dinner at a better restaurant though, so I usually dodge the urge to stop off for a burger. I make coffee at home rather than having it out, but I guess that's not really a sacrifice. Even though I'm saving money, the coffee I have is much better quality, in my opinion. It's freshly roasted whole bean coffee, prepared in small batches. It's excellent. The aroma is incredible. Enjoying that while saving money too? Win! *It's not actually cheaper than run of the mill coffee, but it is cheaper than going out for coffee.
Our family has a few 'sacrifices' we participate in to save money, however, I prefer to think of some of them as lifestyle choices. Life is simpler when you have less monetary distractions. Here are the little things we do to save money:We rarely go out to eat or out for drinks. When we do, it is a special occasion or we have a gift card that we earned online or were given as a gift. When we do go out, we usually order less expensive options, or go during happy hour when there are less expensive specials.We do not have cable or satellite. We user Netflix and a digital antenna. The only thing we miss is some of our favorite college football team's games, which we will sometimes watch at a friend's house.We drive older, small cars. Both of our vehicles are about 10 years old, and they are both small but fuel efficient!We buy very few packaged, pre-cut, prepared foods. Most of our meals are cooked from scratch. They taste better, have less chemicals, and cost less!Vacations are about once per year (not a sacrifice, that is plenty!) somewhere within driving distance, usually camping or a vacation rental to save money. We bring our own food to save money instead of eating out. We usually go to free or almost free attractions.We buy most of our clothing, furniture, and household items second hand. Garage sales and thrift stores offer great items for a fraction of what we would pay retail.We do not buy whatever sounds good when we go grocery shopping. Our grocery list is carefully planned out to accomodate a month of meals, incorporating the best sale prices and coupons for items we buy to supplement what we already have.No gym membership. We work out at home or jog on the nearby nature trail.Home improvements are a DIY affair.We do not have unlimited cell phone service. We have a data limit, and pay close attention to it so that we do not go over it.We do not buy movies or books. We love checking these out at the library or getting free Redbox rentals.Some of these 'sacrifices' may not seem like they save a lot of money on their own, but overtime they really do add up.
I think the main thing that we do is to not eat much outside food. The most is usually once or twice a month. This has saved us so much money it's unbelievable!
To save a little bit of money I buy a lot of my clothes from the thrift store and I have cut back on the amount of coffee I drink from espresso stands. I buy coffee and perk my own at home. I also make a lot of food from scratch and do not eat out very often. We go to restaurants as a treat now to get out of the house. Makes the meal much more special.
