Anyone Have Money Cutting Tips?

Need to write a monthly budget income minus all your expenses (food, clothing, housing, etc) and start cutting expenses from there. A written budget is good because it will show you where the money go and what you can cutback on.


I go to the Dollar store for a lot of household items and basic over the counter meds. I also cruise resale shops like the Salvation Army. There you can pick up a lot a good deals in resale shops.

wow, thanks for all the info, Brian!
I do actually shop on Salvation Army sometimes, when I'm in need of new clothes. I should probably start getting cleaning products from the Dollar General down the street...

i have a natural gas oven/stove and i try to make 2 meals or one meal and a baked dessert, at the same time. that way i dont have to turn the oven on twice and use the gas a second time. of course this only works if the things are at the same temperature, but i do 350 for just about everything lol

I don't buy anything that is NOT on sale, unless it is a necessity....and I use coupons when I can....and plan my meals based on what is on sale at the grocery store.

i also shop a lot at the .99 only stores near me. ive found some really cheap deals on things like hellmanns mayo with olive oil (about $4 in the store, .99 at the .99 only store lol). i also get some fresh produce there, mainly red and yellow bell peppers which i love to use for stuffed peppers but theyre $1.50 or more EACH at the grocery store. at the .99 store i get them 2 or 3 to a pack for .99 :)

our first thing to go when we didn't have money was the TV we have been TV free for 7 years, then eating out, then cutting back on how much we buy the kids. Usually this makes things ok until we can get back up and going again. I do have to say though with out the TV what my kids asked diminished by about 95% no lie. My 8 year old this year asked for Princess Dolls because she watches the Disney movies on Netflix. My 3 year old baby dolls, and kitchen stuff, my teens cameras and some makeup. Thats it although if money were of no issue we would have bought the older two laptops, and the little ones a outside playhouse, or playground center.

The biggest money saver is to not go shopping! If you don't go to the malls, you aren't as tempted. If you NEED something, that is different. But, most people shop as a hobby and buy stuff they don't need. I shop at Marshall's and TJ Maxx, usually from the clearance racks. I also agree w/ using coupons for items that you need. And, I buy the store brands. They are usually the same product as a name brand, they just cost less as there isn't money spent on advertising.

haha, I am SUCH a shop-a-holic. Unfortunately, since we're poor, I haven't been able to get my "shopping fix".... But it's okay, I will someday again haha

I have been only buying what is on sale, and I match coupons to it. If it is not on sale, and I don't have a coupon...I don't buy it.

I was going to say try and Shop at the Dollar Stores also, because I do and I have saved a great deal, because at the Grocery stores they are much higher in price.

Yeah, I think I'm going to start shopping at our local dollar store for cleaning products and such.

I use coupons as often as I can and try to buy things on sale. I unplug items that I am not using to help save on my electric bill.

Renita P, Marsha S, and Adelaide M. have a lot of money saving posts and such...you could check their profiles for them.

I will do so, thank you!

just the usual...using coupons, shopping sales, making sure lights are turned off when you aren't in the room...setting your thermostat lower in winter, higher in summer....re-use when ever possible, or make due. Check out movies from the public library instead of renting them....that's what we've been doing lately.

Since Feb. 2010 my family has been receiving Food from Angel Food Ministries. A family member has ordered this for us, as I have been out of work since 6/09. The food is great with loads of variety. They sell different food packages or you can order them to help provide for someone else. I priced the value of the products and it is at least double what it would cost in the store. $30 purchase will give you from $60 to $75 in value.

Just click HERE, and put in your town and state in the U.S. to see distributor in your area.

Cheers, Don
Hope that helps!

I have plenty of ideas for saving lots of money posted in the past two years, Let me know if anything clicks for you.

http://mjs911.gather.com/saving?resultType=Articles

Saving small here and there is OK, but I urge you to think big when saving money. You can really cut big dollars with my ideas...

Take advantage of CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid's weeky sales. You can usually buy things like toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. for little or free by using coupons and getting the money back in extra bucks (CVS) register rewards (Walgreens or UP's (Rite-Aid) to use on future purchases.

Good post Heather!

You're getting good tips.

Thanks for sharing this with us in Artistic Minds®.

I got rid of my Land Line telephone, not necessary, anymore. I actually dumped my cable company and cable TV, it has become a luxury I don't watch TV and Must See TV can be streamed now easily. I have even put my hot water tank and heater on time clocks so as not to be on at night and lower temps during the day, only during peak hours when I need them. Lots of stuff you can get creative with.

Few more ideas:
1. Increase your W-4 allowance number to take more money home if you receive big tax refunds every year.
2. Create a monthly budget for each couple, and promise to stick to it. Plan even for "Blow Money."
3. If you receive a windfall income (bonus, tax refund, lotto winning, etc.) spend 10% and pay down your debt with the remainder. If you have no debt, build up emergency fund.
4. Build up emergency fund so your emergencies don't turn into money problems too.
5. Spend less than you make.
6. Switch from credit card to debit card.
7. Don't ever buy a new car until you have a million dollars. Buy an economical reliable 3 to 4 year old used car and pay cash for it.
8. Stop spending on frivolous expenses like Starbucks, cable, monthly bank fees, penalties, fines, and things from vending machines.

My husband and I lost our home last year, our dependable car and had to go bankrupt. We are slowly building back to some kind of making ends meet. My husband was out of work for over a year and my dog business ended abruptly a year earlier.

I do alot of little things like definitely buying alot at Dollar Tree and 99 cent store, I use coupons, shop where the sales are and look for items like appliances that may break down, on Craigslist. I have done little things like leave my oven door open after using it to utilize the heat, we turn our heater down as low as we can handle it at night and bundle up with lots of blankets, I tear dryer sheets in half, use them in my closets and drawers to freshen things up as well as use them to dust my tv screen instead of cloths I have to wash. I wash in cold water always, use 13% or less electricity during peak time, I reuse baggies I can wash out and dry inside out, subscribe to Netflix which is excellent and get Redbox buck movies for entertainment, we carpool every chance we get, do not eat out, use Straight talk for our cell phones, go to hot spots for internet usage, drink alot of water when hungry in between meas, borrow library books or read free e-books and we shut of master controls off on all electronic gadgets through the night. We open window for fresh air, use fans when needed and use AC when it is too hot to bear, here in AZ that is for sure during the months of June through August.

We are doing better now, and I now have my own business (I borrowed the money to start it up) brokering services in 21 countries to help others save money as well. Energy in New York was just deregulated so I am contacting everyone I know and who knows someone else in New York to offer them electricity and natural gas who for approx. 35% less than what they are now paying. A BIG savings! This deregulating is heading south and all the way across the US. By April it will be deregulated in California, know anyone there? It would be worth your while to save your pennies, pawn, get a payday loan, borrow from a family member or friend to be able to offer reduces rates on energy, cell phones, satellite tv, wifi, internet home security, (not everyone we know is in the same boat as us right now), and help others save money while you earn cash back every time you and they pay a utility or service bill.

It has been a blessing to our family and might possibly be a blessing to yours as well. I am thankful a friend shared it with me and I was able to borrow the money to get on board. Deregulation of energy will be in history books and it is happening now for the first time in the United States. Ground floor opportunities do not last forever.

Donald Trump will be airing a 2 hour segment of this business opportunity on his Apprentice show on March 27th. Once you see this and you are ready to begin changing the direction of your families finances, please find me here, Denise Spooner, or email me at eternal_freedom_4u@yahoo.com You will not be disappointed and you owe it to yourself and to your family to check it out. :-)

I advise everyone to find other ways to make money. Getting a second job would be ideal but it hard for people to get a job at all. So, really research and try to make your own job. Start small and build up clients doing a service for a specific group. Think outside the box. It's going to take doing something completely different than what you're use to. Also, discipline to really just focus on real needs in hard times and avoid any want purchases.

I have a family of four on one income so I've had to find ways to cut back.

One of the major ways to save money that I've found is to cut out going out to eat and ordering out. A skill that will help with this and save you a huge amount of money is the ability to cook. We make anything from homemade cookies to pizza in this house and we save a ton of money.
Another way to save is to look around your house and figure out what you could make on your own. Laundry soap is another cost that we're cutting out. We're making our own laundry soap and save about twenty bucks a month now. I know it doesn't seem like much but it adds up.