Frugal changes that save more than $100 per month
Too_Many_Tools
nickel there.
Well what frugal changes have you made that save at least a $100 a
month?
TMT
Evelyn Leeper
It's hard to make changes to save that much when you've been frugal all
along. :-)
--
Evelyn C. Leeper
I know you can't live on hope alone but without hope
life is not worth living. -Harvey Milk
skar...@gmail.com
changes that have saved us $100 per month.
Most recent changes:
Switched the cell phone to pay-as-you-go service.
Eat out less often. (Less than once a week.)
Never started:
Buying breakfast
Buying lunch
Eating out more than twice a week
Smoking
Starbucks
Buying a car when the old car is still running fine
Borrowing / Paying interest on credit
Ball games, concerts, movies, etc.
Living beyond our means
h
"Evelyn Leeper" <ele...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:496e3e2d$0$14297$607e...@cv.net...
> Too_Many_Tools wrote:
>> We all see suggestions that others offer that save a dime here, a
>> nickel there.
>>
>> Well what frugal changes have you made that save at least a $100 a
>> month?
>
> It's hard to make changes to save that much when you've been frugal all
> along. :-)
>
Agreed. I was reading an article in the local fishwrap about how to "be more
frugal". They offered 20 things you could either cut out or cut back on to
save money. We don't have/do/spend money on any of them. They also suggested
dropping the thermostat to 65 in winter and 80 in summer. I laughed out
loud. I've never set it above 55 in my life and we've never had AC in the
house.
We're at a loss as to what else we can cut.
Rod Speed
> We all see suggestions that others offer that save a dime here, a nickel there.
> Well what frugal changes have you made that save at least a $100 a month?
None, zero, nada, ziltch. Dont need to.
clams_casino
Significantly reducing travel (motels) and eating out significantly less
cut several thousand from our 2008 expenditures.
Otherwise, we practice being frugal on a daily basis, so the big
reductions were made years ago. I'm pleased that our 2008 grocery
expenses were only 1% above 2007 (primarily because an Aldie's moved
into our area).
clams_casino
>TMT, out lifestyle is frugal. We haven't made many recent frugal
>changes that have saved us $100 per month.
>
>Most recent changes:
>Switched the cell phone to pay-as-you-go service.
>Eat out less often. (Less than once a week.)
>
>Never started:
>Buying breakfast
>
>
>
We started eating out breakfast vs. lunch or supper a few years ago. We
enjoy it much more, plus a breakfast is a typically much lower priced
than a typical night time meal.
We now have almost no desire to eat out at night - typically too much
food, too costly, don't sleep all that well on a full stomach & have
come to just not enjoying it..
Too_Many_Tools
Well I am cheap...err...frugal too.
But it is a journey, not a destination, so I am always looking to
improve my lifestyle.
TMT
Bill
Or 50 frugal changes which save $2 a month each.
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
m...@privacy.net
using Quicken on the computer?
use an online service like mint.com?
What?
John A. Weeks III
wrote:
> I'm curious how many of you are TRACKING your finances
> using Quicken on the computer?
> use an online service like mint.com?
Unless you have a mega-corporation to manage, why not just
do it in a small spreadsheet? Or a yellow note pad? How
complex could this be? You have a couple of bank accounts,
a small stack of bills, a few credit cards, and a 401K
statement. If you are doing more than that, then you are
really over-thinking the process.
-john-
--
======================================================================
John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 jo...@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
======================================================================
JonquilJan
news:gklooq$t9r$1...@adenine.netfront.net...
weeks) and being disabled, have had to bump it up gradually over the past
few years due to increased problems with mobility. Never had AC -
occasionally a fan in the hotest days.
Don't smoke or drink or eat out or have a cell phone.. Use coupons at the
grocery, have a garden in the summer. My social entertainment is going to
Physical Therapy 3 times a week. Never had a new car. Use the libarary
instead of buying books.
JonquilJan
Learn something new every day
As long as you are learning, you are living
When you stop learning, you start dying
JonquilJan
separate for medical records (changes) and food intake (calories, fiber,
sodium).
Spreadsheets are fun - but thats just me.
But I do my own taxes as well. Have to use that Accounting degree for
something.
clams_casino
>In article <anvum45kfta1gv4l4...@4ax.com>, m...@privacy.net
>wrote:
>
>
>
>>I'm curious how many of you are TRACKING your finances
>>using Quicken on the computer?
>>use an online service like mint.com?
>>
>>
>
>Unless you have a mega-corporation to manage, why not just
>do it in a small spreadsheet? Or a yellow note pad? How
>complex could this be? You have a couple of bank accounts,
>a small stack of bills, a few credit cards, and a 401K
>statement. If you are doing more than that, then you are
>really over-thinking the process.
>
>-john-
>
>
>
Agree - We've tracked all expenses via a budget book - simply noting all
expenses in about ten categories on a daily basis & adding the figures
monthly. It takes so little time that I'm not sure how a computer
program would be faster, except perhaps in adding the columns. It would
certainly be more time consuming to enter the numbers. I use one column
to track all charges to compare with the bill when it arrives, although
I've not had more than a couple of minor discrepancies over many years..
It's basically a spreadsheet done manually that comes in handy at the
end of the year for taxes as well as having an understanding of where
all the money goes (by general category, not specific to place)..
tween...@mypacks.net
>
> >Unless you have a mega-corporation to manage, why not just
> >do it in a small spreadsheet? Or a yellow note pad? How
> >complex could this be? You have a couple of bank accounts,
> >a small stack of bills, a few credit cards, and a 401K
> >statement. If you are doing more than that, then you are
> >really over-thinking the process.
Quicken lets you answer questions like ..."What was the name of that
plumber we used in 1993?" "What did I pay for gas in 1999?"" Where
was that nice Greek resto we ate at on the way to Aunt Sue's in 1995?"
Beats poring over spreadsheets which probably won't have all the facts
Quicken can store. Dynamite come tax time. Indispensible if you wanna
really know how you're spending your money. You can even track cash
if you are diligent about recording it.
Balancing your checkbook takes only a few minutes. I'd hate to
lose my Quicken.
clams_casino
Sounds like a lot more work than I'd care to do. Who really cares what
it cost to have lunch on 6/3/98?
Of course, a lot depends on the type / deductions one needs to track.
Dave Garland
It's not hard to track cash, if you are diligent about recording it.
Therein lies the rub. For most of us, diligence lasts several hours,
maybe even a day or two.
But y'know, that plumber I used in 1993, he's probably dead by now, he
was pretty old and very overweight (his bit of wisdom was that to keep
your drains in good order, put some coffee grounds in them every once
in a while; I have no idea if that actually accomplishes anything or
not, my drains work pretty well even though I don't do it). Last I
heard, my roofer (who did a fine job at a reasonable price) was
driving a UPS truck. So I don't have any great reason to keep that
kind of track.
Dave
h
"JonquilJan" <war...@imcnet.net> wrote in message
news:496fa240$0$2832$38ce...@news.westelcom.com...
>I made my own spread sheets. Expenditurs, income, propane usage - and
> separate for medical records (changes) and food intake (calories, fiber,
> sodium).
>
> Spreadsheets are fun - but thats just me.
>
> But I do my own taxes as well. Have to use that Accounting degree for
> something.
>
well. I have a local CPA do my taxes, but that's because of the business. He
runs the numbers through a bunch of different options to see which saves me
the most. He only charges me $75 to do all the schedules, and he's saved me
a ton over what the "tax professionals" (H&R Block, etc.) told me I owed. My
taxes are still outrageous, but $75 a year to save a few thousand is
definitely worth it.
Side note - how on earth did our tax code get so screwed up that it's even
possible to come out with different amounts of tax owed based on how you
process the same amount of deductions?
JonquilJan
<tmc...@searchmachine.com> wrote in message
news:gkq830$30m2$1...@adenine.netfront.net...
Tax code is a sore issue with almost everyone. I think some people stay up
late figuring out how to confuse the rest of the people. Luckily my taxes
are very simple, a small work income and Social Security (SS not taxable in
my situation). But even I am surprised at some things. Such as Earned
Income Credit not being applicable when I got to be 65. For those who
continue to work after age 65 - because they need to financially - that EIC
would be handy.
Only once have I ever had someone else do my taxes - and it wasn't worth the
time. I saw what was done and realized it could have easily done it myself.