What habits have you adopted to help save money?
Emily H
8 years ago
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Isabel Kanhenga
8 years agoTammy Maubane
8 years agoRelated Discussions
ok so......how did you save money this week ?
Comments (46)This week we had my son's 5th bday party. Instead of having the movie theater "package", I treated the guests to the movie and out to lunch at Wendy's (my son's fave restaurant, lol). The package at the theater would have been $300 plus I would have had to pay for any adults past the first 2 (dh & I). I would have had to supply the cake and they would supply popcorn, soda & candy and a souvenier (sp?) for my son and we would have had to tip the party hostess and pay 8.75% tax. Instead I spent a total of $225 and that included: the movie tix for 10 kids & 9 adults (plus 1 toddler), Cheez-its snack packs for during the movie (smuggled in, another 5 y.o. fave), lunch for all, cake (we called ahead and asked permission), party supplies (i.e. tablecloth, forks, candles, cake plates, etc), and favors for the kids. Everyone had so much fun and the whole party lasted 3 hours. The theater package would have been the 1.5 hr movie and 1/2 hour after for cake & play. I am in NY and childrens parties are big business. I have 2 sons and am proud that I have been able to come up with creative ways to celebrate, that are enjoyable and at a savings. I hope I never have to do a "package" party. My other great savings was I received a free vintage sink on freecycle.org. I am a member and frequently offer out and also frequently receive items. We are renovating in the summer and I have been shopping out fixtures. I had my heart set on an old white sink with attached drainboard, but could not find one anywhere feasible (except 200 miles away on ebay). This was free and was a 15 minute ride to pick up. It is in excellent condition and just needed a new home. I had found these new for sale online in England but the cost with shipping was beyond my budget. It would have been close to $800! I can't imagine paying that much for a sink, but I know many people do. I am just too frugal/cheap. Even if it fit my budget, I could not do it. I would rather use the money somewhere else or save it. That's my story for savings this week! I hope to have more to cheer about next week ;)...See MoreHelpful hints to save time and/or money
Comments (67)Not able to do too much in my current situation but---this thread reminded me that we (mostly my husband) did many things that were huge savings, He was knowledgeable about almost everything to do with keeping up a house. For instance-he completely rewired our home. The inspector said it was the best job of wiring he had seen. He also re-did our kitchen from top to bottom, built me a pantry I thought I didn't want, but learned to love. I was spoiled because everything in our home "worked" the way it should. He learned these skills from his father who was a civil engineer whose specialty was building bridges. Their big family moved often, usually to an old house needing work. My husband was in the Physics department of the Air Force Institute of Technology where these skills also came in handy....See MoreDoes putting your home in the "Parade of Homes" save you money
Comments (18)I think it depends massively on the rules for the particular parade, and how things are "done" in your area. Sometimes, if everybody is just throwing up a parade home, yes, they can be cheap. In other areas, parade homes are homes that were already being built that are opened up as a marketing tool for the builders and subs. In that case, you might not gain much. One local parade only allows advertisement within homes by companies who are members of the local HBA. (Meaning, if you used a kitchen company who isn't a member, they can't put out materials and likely won't discount.) Some parades are free to tour, but charge fees for the builder to put the home on the parade, others charge to view, but don't charge the builder. Our builder isn't too into it, as it's a huge time commitment for him and doesn't really gain him much in useful contracts. YMMV. It really depends on which segment of the market you're in, as well....See MoreWhat frugal habit do you have?
Comments (76)She'd said repeatedly that her "teaching" was at a food bank in her town. Not unlike evangelical missionary trips to impoverished locations with people needing help, in the hope that extreme messages might be more likely to be considered among an audience hoping for better things in their lives. But it didn't seem to be the case because she expressed frustration with it. I don't doubt but that she had few "converts" otherwise to the lifestyle she had and advocated others to follow. Not unlike the religiously motivated soup kitchens in poor urban districts where patrons need to listen to a sermon before being fed (about which it's been said homeless people avoid when there's a choice), people go to food banks for food, not for lectures. I sometimes questioned the practicality and need for her practices. Often suggesting that even people of limited financial means may not find her labor intensive, hours consuming practices to be of interest, or even have time for same if working and caring for children. Neither of which she did. As others have correctly mentioned in this thread, she was not tolerant of anyone questioning what she said or suggesting her practices were excessive, impractical or too time consuming to follow. I did some poking around and came upon a thread discussing her exit from this forum. In which one person speculated that I was the cause and, more humorously, that I had been banned from the site because of it and had reappeared using a different name. To repeat, I was not a participant in the thread with the silly frozen food suggestion that people pushed back on that caused her to blow her stack, call people names, and then disappear. Nor was I ever sanctioned for disagreeing with her. As I've said many times before, it was my own choice to change my name from one cartoon character (Snidely Whiplash) to another because of people childishly trying to taunt me about it. Not that it matters....See Moredecoenthusiaste
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