Saving Money

this is a great thread. we use cloth napkins, dumpster dive, bicycle, eat vegan.......

 

yeah meat from a dumpster is a bit SCARY~!!
i'm about veggies and bagels from dumpsters..........

 

The only meat I'd ever take while dumpster diving is the pre-cooked stuff [Starbucks coldcut sandwiches, hotdogs, pepperoni, pre-cooked meals from grocery stores, etc.] The best thing to do is just to throw anything back that even MIGHT be unsafe. There's no need to take everything that you find, there's no shortage of "trash" in our wasteful country/world. A good resource is http://freegan.info.

 

Some tips I knew, some I didn't. Thanks for the great info!


Beside some of the tips already mentioned, me and my girlfriend go in the street on national moving day (july 1st). Lots of people throw away good stuff (like furniture) they don't need anymore. Last year, we found a really cool chair.

We also make our own gifts. Last christmas, my girlfriend and I made homemade flavored truffles. There was 5 or 6 flavors in the boxes and they (the boxes) were made from scratch using cardbox paper, paper and glue. Everyone went crazy about it! They liked it a lot and found the gift thoughtful. Granted, it was more thoughtful to spend over 10 hours making a less-than-10 dollars gift than 2 minutes buying anything.

We also don't buy into this "high-tech" society. We don't have any credit card, no ipods (discman works just fine), and no fucking cell phone! And we keep what works; like a t.v. that doesn't have a flat screen, my crappy computer, ect...

 

A book I read that changed the way I looked at money was " Stop working, start living How I retired at 36 without winning the lottery" by Dianne Nahirny

Making your own alcohol, be it wine beer or spirits is fun, saves you money and gives you something to do (if you dont already have enough to do)

 

That depends where you are. For years I drank the filtered water. A few months ago I found out what it is really like. For the time being I am buying bottled water for cooking and drinking until I get a rainwater tank organised. The problemis that years go I painted the roof of my house with a paint that is not to be used for collecting drinking water,but did not see the warning on the paint tins until it arrived. I had specially ordered and it was too late to return it. Some palces rainwater may not be so good, it depends where you are.

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I am not surprised that it is much cheaper as it contains far less nutrients. It is a by product of cream and butter production.
When it comes to buying food , think in terms of nutrients for your money. In the case of most breakfast cereals you get very little for your money. Porridge or home made muesli is ok.

http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticl...=100378&tid=100008&p=1&title=Home-made+muesli

 

If you cook with curry powder or paprika try to buy bulk amounts from asian grocery stores.

 

If left to myself, I'll eat block cheese, loaf bread from the sale racks at Wally, fresh veggies, and I'll B.S. a meat product. I have a weakness for fish, and anemia. Little bitty beef steaks can fox that. Lipton Tea will give me my caffeine fix, and I'd like to be able to break that.

 

Did your partner and extended family help you out?

 

From my local supermarket I buy caterer's 300M roll of cling film - aka glad wrap fro $8.80. The standard 30m roll in just under $3. I order in a 6kg of frozen shatterpack nile pearch. The odd thing is that it is cheaper than buying it straight from the wholesaler.

When dealing with engineering suppliers, builders merchants, stock & station agents, you can often get a discount for cash as their prices are based on farmers and builders taking a long time to pay their bills.

 

leave the house with the amount of money you are willing to spend

i guess this tip always helps me

 

I know this seems really ludicrous and riduculous, but when we were strapped for money, my parents told me to go to the local rec centre and use their showers whenever possible.

 

-save all the spare change you have and put it in a jar, and count it up at the end of the month. You'll be suprised how much you saved.​

-learn to make your own clothes, or at least learn to repair old clothes​

-don't order in or buy fast food. It adds up quickly​

-cut back on alcohal/smokes/marijuana(or find someone to buy it for you )​

-stop using disposable items when possible(ex:napkins,plates,menstral pads,etc)​

-turn off tv/lights when not in room, and don't leave taps running​

-the dollar store is your friend. Get acquainted with it.​

-dumpster dive for clothing/furniture/houswares, etc.​

-visit flea markets, thrift stores, second hand stores, garage sales, etc​

-don't buy brand name stuff. No name brand tissue is just as good as Kleenex​

-if you can, grow your own veggies and make your own bread​

-if you don't need to commute far, walk or use the bus​

-get magazines/newspapers from library instead of getting subsciptions​

-go awhile without cutting hair, or, if you're brave, cut it yourself​

-cut back on garbage, and recycle, reduce, reuse and composte as much as possible​

-"if it's yellow, let it mellow.."​

-go to clothing/toy swaps for things you don't need anymore​

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i save my salary and i spend carefully.heheh

 

At my work (Coles) if you use a reusable paper bag instead of a plastic one you get 2 cents off your grocery bill (the bags cost 13 cents each) for each bag used. It may not seem like a lot but every cent counts. It's a pity they don't do the same for green bags. But anyhoo, the bags will have paid for themselves and more eventually. If the Green Bags had a rebate as well maybe more people would remember them... About time... *shakes fist threateningly at no-one in particular*.

 

I just found this site... Kind of interesting...

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=shopsmart/shop.inc