Great 'ways To Cut Back' Hunt

HowISaveMoney

I love my morning cup of joe. But, I won't pay for it anywhere. I buy my coffee beans at Costco and I grind them myself. It works out to about 27 cents per cup of coffee if you add in the creamer and sweatner.

Now, if you buy that same cup at a coffee store you will spend $3 to $4.

Save Money - Make your own java! This simple act can save you $1000 per year -- 365 days x $3 per day = $1095 per year! Please make your own coffee!

Rob
HowISaveMoney.com

bennyvdb

Thanks Bud but the coffee shops here don't take dollars, so I guess I've saved an awful lot, eh?
:beer:

Teacher2301

fingerman wrote: »

If reading the forum on a Laptop (which I am) do it using the batteries - should be good for 2 hours or more (depending on machine) must save a few pennies a year!

Just make sure you recharge the batteries at work first eh!

chocolatechipcookies

I started shopping at FarmFoods for frozen food. Things like frozen veggies, potato products and other frozen goods.

I use the local butcher, they often have minced beef packs which cost £1 and tastes so much better than the grocery store meat. They do great 2/3 for £5. You can also get lunch meat from there, which is about 100% cheaper than the grocery store.

I need to really get back to the market for fresh veggies. We've gotten a bag full of fresh veg for as little as £5 and they're much better quality than grocery stores.

Buy Smartprice/value bread. Last time I bought bread, I looked at the ingredients and hey guess what!? The 30p Tesco value bread had the EXACT same ingredients (minus one which was vinegar) as the £1.10 Kingsmill bread. I never get through a loaf so I freeze the loaf and take out as many slices as I need.

Smartprice/value beans instead of expensive beans. They are the same things and taste the same. I usually buy value beans, but got some Branston's beans at FarmFoods and I can't tell the difference.

More Smartprice/value food. Some you can tell, but most taste just like the brand name. Most are probably made in the same factory. Cheap sweetcorn tastes just like Green Giant. Snacks taste the same too. Especially crisps. Think about it, what are they? Fried potatoes all made the same way. Don't believe any shortbread can be luxury. It's just flour, butter and water/milk. You can't many any of those ingredients luxurious.

Instead of going to the gym, ride your bike or walk. You could go to a free museum for the day. Loads of walking and you learn at the same time! You could also join a local sports club, or find a free one in your area. If you have friends with kids, spend the day with them. Playing with little ones is great exercise! Gyms are expensive and if you don't go every day, it's not worth it. If you want to swim, use a public swimming pool.

I agree with the comments suggesting making extra food to freeze. You can eat them at work for lunch or when you're too tired/lazy too cook. Making a huge lasagne is cheap, and it goes far.

chocolatechipcookies

HowISaveMoney wrote: »

I love my morning cup of joe. But, I won't pay for it anywhere. I buy my coffee beans at Costco and I grind them myself. It works out to about 27 cents per cup of coffee if you add in the creamer and sweatner.

Now, if you buy that same cup at a coffee store you will spend $3 to $4.

Save Money - Make your own java! This simple act can save you $1000 per year -- 365 days x $3 per day = $1095 per year! Please make your own coffee!

Rob
HowISaveMoney.com

Funny thing is. You spend $3 on a cup of coffee and it only costs them about 50 cents to make. When I worked at a coffee shop, during training they told us we could practice by making as many coffees as we want because it costs the company peanuts.

Also, freezing your coffee gives you a few months, too. (so I've heard)

chocolatechipcookies

thumperstewart wrote: »

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! always carry cash in your pocket it has more impact than handing over a plastic card and you will value what you spend cash on.

You can budget with cash, cards are just to easy!

If you don't carry cash or cards then your Right:rotfl:

I agree with you so much! When I have, say a £5 note in my wallet, I am so much more careful with what I buy. I buy what I need, not what I want. But when I use my debit card, I don't think about how much I'm spending or what I'm buying. I suppose it's an, "If you can't see it, it won't hurt you attitude."

dawnylou

chocolatechipcookies wrote: »

I started shopping at FarmFoods for frozen food. Things like frozen veggies, potato products and other frozen goods.

I use the local butcher, they often have minced beef packs which cost £1 and tastes so much better than the grocery store meat. They do great 2/3 for £5. You can also get lunch meat from there, which is about 100% cheaper than the grocery store.

I need to really get back to the market for fresh veggies. We've gotten a bag full of fresh veg for as little as £5 and they're much better quality than grocery stores.

Buy Smartprice/value bread. Last time I bought bread, I looked at the ingredients and hey guess what!? The 30p Tesco value bread had the EXACT same ingredients (minus one which was vinegar) as the £1.10 Kingsmill bread. I never get through a loaf so I freeze the loaf and take out as many slices as I need.

Smartprice/value beans instead of expensive beans. They are the same things and taste the same. I usually buy value beans, but got some Branston's beans at FarmFoods and I can't tell the difference.

More Smartprice/value food. Some you can tell, but most taste just like the brand name. Most are probably made in the same factory. Cheap sweetcorn tastes just like Green Giant. Snacks taste the same too. Especially crisps. Think about it, what are they? Fried potatoes all made the same way. Don't believe any shortbread can be luxury. It's just flour, butter and water/milk. You can't many any of those ingredients luxurious.

Instead of going to the gym, ride your bike or walk. You could go to a free museum for the day. Loads of walking and you learn at the same time! You could also join a local sports club, or find a free one in your area. If you have friends with kids, spend the day with them. Playing with little ones is great exercise! Gyms are expensive and if you don't go every day, it's not worth it. If you want to swim, use a public swimming pool.

I agree with the comments suggesting making extra food to freeze. You can eat them at work for lunch or when you're too tired/lazy too cook. Making a huge lasagne is cheap, and it goes far.

If you cook from scratch how do you know if it is safe to freeze your meals??

chocolatechipcookies

dawnylou wrote: »

If you cook from scratch how do you know if it is safe to freeze your meals??

I've done it on more than one occasion, and I have never gotten sick. I don't keep any food I've made myself more than a week or so. I usually make a big lasagne and freeze it for later in the week.

Some info if you want to read up.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp#1

moanymoany

Don't say how much will I have left over this month that I can pay off my debts - say - right, this month I am going to pay £x off, put that money into an account separate from the rest,

then

live off what you have left. Nothing like it for making the meal planning bit of your mind go into overdrive. Whether it is £50 or £100 for the month, leaving yourself only that amount, well, you gotta do it, and you will.

However, if something happens out of the ordinary the cash is in the bank until the next month when it can be paid off the debts. This way of doing it worked for us and we started to leave less and less, sometimes it got a bit silly but we didn't half pay the money off the mortgage!:rotfl:

moanymoany

I've thought of a punchier way of saying it.

From your wages, take out the extra you want to pay off - and - live off of what you have left, you'll soon discover the cheapest options!

Get back to basics, housing, getting to work, food and utilities are essentials - gadgets, mobiles, sky, gym, eating and drinking out, holidays away, buying anything, are all luxuries.

Soap instead of shower stuff (on BOGOF) save £18 pa

Use homemade washable sanpro and save £7/8 pa