Hey Pandas, What Are Your Best Money Saving Tips? (Closed)

Don't have kids.

Learn to repair things, re-purpose junk, and not care about fashion.

Find a long-lasting, high quality product. Now find a second-hand version of it. Now you saved money, AND have a quality product that will last for years. CAUTION: May involve refurbishment.

delete your amazon app

Always ask your self:
"Do I need it or do I want it?"

When purchasing technology, never buy the "latest" thing. The price is usually inflated and if it's something like a computer or a smart phone it'll have bugs that need to be worked out. Buying one generation back is always a smart way to go!

Change the way you give gifts. My husband and I like to gift homemade treats (candy, preserves, sweet breads, etc.) It is always less expensive and people love it. It's also a great way to spend time together. There is way too much pressure to spend $$$ for holidays and birthdays.

Keep your eyes out for stuff on trash day. I just found a Honda lawn mower that only needs a throttle lever handle and the blades sharpened. Saw it at Lowe's for $699.
7 bucks for the handle lever and 30 minutes of my time. Thing starts right up and runs great.

Have an set amount of money automatically transferred to your savings each pay check. You won't miss it and it adds up rather quickly as long as you don't constantly dip into it.

Learn to cook different styles of meals. Making food yourself instead of takeout safes so much money, especially if you make enough to have lunch the next day.
A good water bottle that can be refilled also pays off very quickly (if you live in an area with drinkable tap water)

I was wasting food... half open packages were getting lost in my freezer, and only resurfacing when they were beyond use. I got the biggest freezer bag I could find, and whenever I open any package, I put the part I didn't use in the bag, right in the front, on the top shelf. Every time I open the freezer, I look at the bag and see if there is anything I can use up... maybe put the peas in a stir fry, or make vegetable soup. I don't have to use the open packages, but just looking at them keeps me from letting them go to waste.

If you are running up too much credit card debt, freeze your card, literally in a block of ice (this won't work if you've memorized or written down the number. By the time the block melts, you'll have had time to think about it. I do all my shopping online, and I have a 24 hour rule... put it in the cart and sleep on it. If I still want it next day, fine, otherwise, delete or save for later.

Keep your $5 bills back - or the equivalent in your currency. When you get home at the end of the day and pull your money out take all the 5's you have left from the day and save them. Those save up a whole heck of a lot faster than ones.

Also - keep your change and save it. I have three containers one has quarters, one nickels and dimes, the last pennies. I've always held my change back and it's saved me when times get strapped.

If you find yourself shopping online out of boredom, go ahead and add those impulse items into a shopping cart. Then do nothing and log out. Your brain will give you the satisfaction of having “shopped” and you will thank yourself the next day when you empty the cart and count the savings you almost squandered.

cars are expensive if you can invest in a high-quality bike do it, deck it out with an electric motor and back tire bags. it will save you a lot of money.

From the USA perspective, it is way cheaper to vacation abroad than in our own country. A simple trip to Disney will run you over 2K for 2 people. While you can go to abroad with same money and have an excellent time, save money and get to know other cultures.

Live somewhere you have free healthcare and human job laws ( if you can choose, I was born here, so I'm lucky).

I save a lot of money by bringing my own food for breakfast, lunch or coffee break at work. My company provides hot and cold water for free, so I bring a bowl with my oatmeal, a bagged lunch and a nice quality instant coffee and a reusable mug. I also have a reusable water bottle that I fill up, so I don't have to buy water. I don't know how much I'm saving by bringing these things from home and just using their water dispenser, but I think it's reasonable to assume something like $5 for breakfast, $1.50 for a bottle of water, $3 for coffee and $5-10 for lunch. And I'm eating healthier for it, too, which is important for people my age/health situation. My company doesn't mind providing the hot/cold water dispenser, either--it's cheaper than a company coffee maker or cafeteria. They provide a microwave too, if I ever want hot food instead of my typical sandwich & veggies.

I know this goes a little deeper but once my husband and I stopped focusing on lack and digging into the concept of abundance we have been so much happier and richer (double meaning). Some principles of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace and the envelope system turned absolutely everything around for us.

A bargain is something you don't need, at a price you can't resist.