Extreme Saving
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We spend a lot of time talking to Emily about finances and the importance of living within your means and given the current state of the economy it doesn’t hurt to think seriously about frugality. We discovered an article on Extreme Ways to Save. Hmmm… now let’s not go crazy. Keeping your eye on the pennies and ignoring the big picture is often a big mistake. But let’s see what they say:
Turn your car off — while it’s moving
Ummm….no. Not only do I think this is extremely dangerous but I am about as coordinated as a tap-dancing giraffe. I can only see smoke, fire, broken engines.
Reuse plastic sandwich bags
Although I actually laughed out loud at my frugal husband when I caught him doing this, I will admit that it is definitely environmentally friendly. It’s worth the hassle for the environment. Worth the hassle for $30 a year? What do you think?
Stop saving money
I think the article needs to be MUCH clearer on this one. If you read carefully there is a tiny mention of not saving so you can avoid credit cards… OK - I agree with that one. No one wants to be earning 3% on their savings in the bank while spending 20% on credit card interest. This article though seems to be giving carte blanche to not save “if you can’t afford it”. Everyone can afford to save something even if it is only a $1. I think saving is a discipline and once you get out of the habit it is easy to let go.
Make your own cleaning supplies
This one seems simple enough and a good money saving piece of advice. Who needs a $12 bottle of pine-sol if vinegar really works just as well.
Stop drinking soda (or another beverage of choice)
Excellent piece of advice. Soda is full of sugar and a ton of empty calories. It’s expensive. Once it’s gone I’ll bet you won’t miss it and neither will your kids. I’d like to add bottled water to this tip. There’s nothing wrong with water out of the tap - in fact most bottled water is tap water anyway!
Move back home with your parents, at any age
Ummm…no. Do I need to elaborate?
Get rid of your carpet
This one make me scratch my head a bit. Get rid of your carpet and do what? Have a concrete floor? It would take an awful long time for $200 a year to pay back the investment of a couple of thousand dollars in tiles or hardwood.
Hold a no-spend month
Very interesting concept. I am off to read about it on Small Notebook and would love to hear from anyone who has tried it.
Tune in later this week for some saving ideas from us and our readers - anyone have something to suggest?
I don’t think we do anything “extreme” but a bunch of smaller things do add up. For example, we use the library to get movies instead of paying rental fees. Sure, sometimes we wait a month or two to see one, but is life REALLY going to end if you don’t catch it sooner? And the movies we want to buy I make sure I pick up on the day they are released — they are ALWAYS cheaper on that day.
The kids grow REALLY fast so most of their clothes come from thrift stores and clearance racks. As one of my favorite ads say “$60 designer dress, $20 at the resale shop, identical outfits, which one do you want your darling precious to refuse to wear?” We get a lot of our clothes there also.
I also buy clothes off-season. I’ll be picking up summer clothes on clearance for next year now that the winter clothes are coming out. You need a little storage space to do this and an ability to take a tuck in a waistband or hem a pair of pants if the kids don’t grow as much as you anticipate. But if you can do these simple sewing things, you can have clothes last a lot longer as they grow. They like keeping their favorites around longer also.
A safer way to save on gas is the slow start, slow stop method. I can’t remember the name for this (it was on the Weather Channel), but you anticipate what the car needs to do. For example, if you are approaching a red light, you take your foot off the gas and coast up to it. I drive this way and my husband does the method of “I’m in a hurry and have to get there as soon as possible” and he seems to always be flooring it and braking hard. I’ve noticed that when he borrows my car, the gas in the tank doesn’t last as long as when I’ve driven it all week!
I don’t get their anti-saving stance. Yes, it’s critical to get rid of high interest credit card debt, but not to put money into your 401K retirement account is a VERY bad idea. I suggest trying yard sales and rummage sales for baby equipment and clothing, and buying only what you REALLY need. They grow fast, do you really need 30 newborn size onesies?
My other favorite saving method is buying items ON SALE. Comparison shop on the web. That’s how I found Emily Rose. MUCH cheaper prices than American Girl and beautiful clothing. Name brand isn’t always better brand.
I also have a closet where I can store Christmas toys. NEVER buy toys in December unless absolutely necessary. The prices skyrocket then. I try to get pre-Thanksgiving, August is usually the best time. This depends on your child. Mine usually have broad interests — any Matchbox will do, not necessarily the one hyped that Christmas season. If you have a child who will die unless they get the latest toy, this won’t work for you. But if you can do this, you also save a fortune!
We do a lot of free things with the kids — parks, community events. Our local art museum has a free night and that’s when we go and visit. Our bigger expense items are done through Girls Scouts where they get a group discount ticket. Or we volunteer to work an event for a couple of hours and get free admission. For places you go to a LOT check out a membership. For our family, 3 trips to the zoo was the same as a year’s membership and we take the kids a lot more than that!
Another way to save money with kids is eating out at places that offer a free kids meal when you purchase an adult meal. And NEVER buy pizza without a coupon.
The scary part for me and my husband is that whenever we read the lists of ways to save money, they usually list things we already do, so what do WE do to cut back and save??
Looking forward to other posts for more ideas! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
I do consider bottled water a vast marketing conspiracy by corporations to make us spend money on something that is free. And we’ve fallen for it!
Ever read The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn? She offers similar advice in that some of it is really useful and some of it is just crazy - I REFUSE to wash and reuse plastic sandwich bags.
After all, my time is worth SOME money.
I completely agree with you — I don’t like to save pennies at the expense of time and dollars. I think it’s easy to get so wrapped up in the small ways to save money, and people feel like they’re really doing something, but then they’re distracted and miss opportunities that can make a big impact on their finances.