Unique advice on saving money

Can anyone here think of any tips or tricks that can be used to save money or get better value with certain regular experiences in life.. whether it be by avoiding impulse buying, being more away of certain taxes you can claim back, getting cheap gasoline, or by simply not tipping; whatever you can think of to help save money.

It took me a while to realise it, but everytime I get pissed off when I
lose money(due to being preoccupied), it's often the exact same mistake I make, or same thing I fail to anticipate.

Let's all share our experiences of how various services have tried to con us, and how you can possibly get around it. Hotels, parking lot payments, and so on.

As a side note, it's also interesting to see how when people think they're saving money, they're actually only either wasting time or making their life slightly more a miserable!

Please: no common sense advice!


My story:

Before staying in the hooters hotel and casino in Las Vegas, I confirmed a price over the phone. To avoid the frustration of any sales ploys, I asked "what's the final price, including all taxes?". She said $56. Little did I realise that there was an extra resorts fee of $13, agreed upon when signing. The next day, I complained, saying that the only reason I came all the way down here from a motel, was because I thought I was getting $56 for a room. I said the reason I specifically asked the total price over the phone was to avoid this confusion. I also said it was deliberately misleading. They waived the charge even though I had signed.

 

I try to save money by not paying taxes. I hope the Belastingdienst doesn't read the Hipfora though....

 

You must be self employed so??

 

How do I save money in what country?

When I lived in the USA, I

bought bulk whole foods from a coop store. For instance, one sack of winter wheat berries would last 6 months.

bought bulk store brands of nonperishables

I recycled and bought things at second-hard stores and yard sales.

I bought appliances from a used appliance store that delivered and also repaired them.

I bought out-of-season cloth on huge discount sale and made my own clothes, designed and made climbing and outdoor clothes the way I liked them-
sturdy, rolled seams, and plenty of pockets. Also designed and made my own ballroom gowns the way I liked them.
I even designed and made my own underwear that never rode up, bound me, and always so comfortable I could barely feel them.

I sprouted my own mung beans.

Since we lived in the country and the closest WalMart was a 25 minute drive away, I used WalMart online to order things
since they only charged $1 shipping and they'd be delivered to my door in 2 days.
The online store had more variety and lower prices than the actual store.

The library was a long, expensive drive, so I'd order any books I wanted on Kindle and read them on my PC-most classics are free,
and many of my favorite sci-fi books were only 99 cents

I avoided tipping by bringing my own food, eating at a Chinese buffet where food is cheap and tips low, or-BEST if all buying fresh food by the ounce at a grocery store buffet, and NO TIP AT ALL

:sunny:

 

vagas.. :smilielol5:

not touching this one..

 

Save money by avoiding impulse buys. And there's no way to save money if you save money in once instance and so justify making another impulse buy because "it's okay, I saved money by buying the cheap (something). Avoid big box retailers for items you can get in dollar stores. It is rude to not tip at all (even tho I don't think tipping should be necessary it is expected), I do not think you have to tip the expected 18%. Avoid services that expect a tip, if you cannot afford to give one.

If you must stay in a hotel, stay in the cheapest trashiest telly you can find. Usually the bed serves its purpose.

Be very weary of services that claim to save you money by participating in a special offer at no charge. There is always some agreement that will not be obviously stated that if you do not cancel after a said period of time you will be charged a buttload of money each month, and in my experience this is not worth the effort. In fact some of these services may be almost impossible to cancel. My personal experience with something like this was that it took literally HOURS on the phone holding listening to cancel. A real pain in the ass, and their idea is that you will run out of time to do this

Avoid parking in designated parking lots or garages, these are very expensive and they are quick to tow your vehicle if you exceed the time. Then you will have to pay for a cab to go pay to get your car back.

 

If you're making a purchase that you would normally have to tip on...you can save money by not making that purchase at all since it probably isn't a necessity.

 

I research absolutely everything to get the best deal possible and live fairly well on a very low budget.

My best advice:

Don't get caught up in mindless consumerism! You don't need a new car, or new furniture, or new clothing just because yours is old! If it works, if it isn't full of holes, if you can do it yourself: don't pay for a new one!

Our society thrives off of selling us crap! Don't buy into it!

Read about "Planned Obsolescence": http://www.economist.com/node/13354332



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkA59e2_yU"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkA59e2_yU

 

yeah but it's bad for the economy to not buy stuff

Carlin nails it! :2thumbsup:

 

I saw on tv that there is actually a Family Dollar Grocery store. Like a full-on grocery store with meats and everything. I wish I could shop there. I just can't seem to find a way to save money on food.

 

"save a lot" stores around the northeast have good deals.( the best place i found)

did ya ever try gardening? peppers, onions grow on there own for the most part.
leaf lettuce, tomatos, broccile, corn, i grow all kinds of stuff that saves me money.
feeding a family of 4 takes some cash. i feel ya laprincipessa

 

I tried to grow some peppers last year and they made flowers, I pollinated them and everything but it never made peppers, just a nice plant. I know off topic but why didn't they make?

 

Becoming a vegetarian has saved me a lot of money over the years. Meat costs a fortune, especially if you care where your meat came from. Dollar store meat is a little bit intimidating. A respectable alternative to that would be raising your own chickens or hunting deer. Bigger upfront investment but I bet you save a lot of money in the long term. Gardening is cheap, too.

Bell peppers can be a little complicated. Some crops are just more difficult to grow like bell peppers, carrots (for me), corn (unless you can grow a LOT). Anaheim peppers and jalapenos are easier to grow. I would also recommend prolific and stable crops like tomatoes, summer squash, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, lettuces, herbs. A lot of it depends on your soil content and quality.

 

I don't really see much logic in saving money.

 

I lived 22 years in eastern Kentucky and most people in my area (Rowan County) have large family properties, most of it wooded,
where people hunt their own meat-venison, squirrel, 'possom, rabbits, and fish.
Everyone in the family can shoot the eyelashes off a dragonfly-from the little kids to grannies in their 80s.

Most families also usually run several dozen head of mixed-breed cattle on part of the land, including the wooded areas.
Most people have small gardens and can their produce,
have fruit trees, a section of tobacco, and a small plot of pot hidden somewhere in the corn.

People live in clans on family land-married children typically install a used trailer behind the main farmhouse.
Each family keeps a few 'coon hounds and Beagles-hunting is a favorite form of entertainment.
People buy many of their clothes and tools at on-going informal yard sales that avoid taxes.

They make very little money in their jobs but most people eat well and breed some of the best racking horses in the world on their hill farms.
Entire clans go on 20 mile all-night rides, from granny to 7-year olds.
Those horses move fast but are so smooth, riders can carry a glass of water without spilling it.

I don't eat meat and avoid frozen vegetables (I sprouted organic mung beans) so these are frugal ideas I don't use.

:sunny:

 

I've thought about it. I really want to. I use a lot of onions, tomatoes, and garlic. It'd be helpful if I could grow them instead of buying them. I live in Florida so I'm not really sure what grows well here.

I wish I could buy less meat. I have no desire to be a vegetarian but I never used to eat this much meat before living with my fiance and his grandmother. If I try to cook her something that doesn't have meat in it, she'll act like it's an incomplete meal (like lasagna. It doesn't need meat, there's protein in the cheese!) And she wonders why we have to spend so much money on groceries. When I'm watching the cashier ring up my stuff I think it's not so bad until I realize she didn't ring up any of the meats yet and I'm just like...ugh kill me now

 

They have ground beef for 99cents a pound at one of the grocery stores around here. I thought that was a good deal

 

i just wanna add, don't skip the tip. being frugal is one thing but being an asshole is another. people work for tips and skimping on a tip is just being an asshole.

 

That would depend on what color it is...

 

Oh please do not eat 99 cent per lb hamburger, it could be a mix of pink slime and facial trimmings crap from up to 15 different countrys.

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/r14/2003/0414/p17s01-wmcn.html