What did you do to save $ today?

[AnnaRaven]

I started my grocery tracking spreadsheet. 1st step in saving big $ on groceries.

Do you have it on your computer or on googledocs? I love having mine online so I can access it with my phone at the store. That way I can see right there whether this is a good price compared to last time I bought it.

 

[tortoise]

I started my grocery tracking spreadsheet. 1st step in saving big $ on groceries.

Do you have it on your computer or on googledocs? I love having mine online so I can access it with my phone at the store. That way I can see right there whether this is a good price compared to last time I bought it.

On my computer. Simple Excell document. No smart phone for me!

 

[AnnaRaven]

Living the Simple Life!

We're on a freezer burn kick right now too. That and we're just too darn busy to get to the store!

Yeah - I'm working on "shopping the pantry" these days as well. FIRST I decide if it's something in my freezer or pantry, THEN I decide if I want to go buy other ingredients or just do something else.

Supercook.com has been really helpful for this.

 

[HEChicken]

I arranged to buy a whole hog from a local farmer and went to pick it up from the processor a few days ago. (Don't know if that SAVED me any money over buying the meat pieces, but I know how this pig was raised and I'm willing to spend money on GOOD food). While in the town where the processor is located, I happened on a bulk foods store. They were having a 15% off sale on several shelves so I stocked up on green and yellow split peas and two types of lentils at 92c/lb ($35 worth haha!) Even Walmart's price is $1/lb and they don't sell the yellow split peas.

Today I made a huge batch of split pea soup using the ham hock from the hog and the green split peas. And then I canned most of it (first try at canning). I am looking forward to stocking the pantry via the canner this year.

 

[AnnaRaven]

I had a "chat" with the guys doing my furnace.

They were going to install this horribly ugly vent above the garage door for the furnace. Now we live on a corner lot and EVERYONE driving by sees that sied of the house. It's like, VERY public. Lucky for *them* the guy working showed me the vent before he started makin' holes in the side of my house. So I said no they have to go through the roof. Then they wanted to have the roofer do the roof jack for it and the roofer was going to charge $600!!! for the roof jack because it was going through tile.

SOooooo, I had a little chat as I said, with the furnace guy.The guy tried to claim at first that going thru the side was what we agreed on and... and I stopped him right there and said "that was before I saw the piece of butt-ugly plastic crap you were gonna install!" When he first brought up the options of going through the side or through the roof, I asked about the pros and cons of each. He said "aesthetics" - and I asked for clarification and he said it was about having steam coming out the side. I said if that's all it was, I didn't mind that. He didn't say nothin about the vent being a butt-ugly plastic cheapo piece of crap that looks like it came from the dollar store.

So now they are:
a) changing the location to go thru the composite part of the roof instead of the tile part
b) covering the cost of the roof jack work - they're going to take it off the final cost of the project.

So I saved over $600 today. That way made up for my little shopping trip yesterday.

 

[AnnaRaven]

I arranged to buy a whole hog from a local farmer and went to pick it up from the processor a few days ago. (Don't know if that SAVED me any money over buying the meat pieces, but I know how this pig was raised and I'm willing to spend money on GOOD food).

You saved a whole lot of money over buying that quality of meat at say, the farmers market, by the piece. I've got a half-hog on order right now so I completely understand. I'm looking forward to getting my pig jowl and making homemade guanciale!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I need to do something that always saves me lots of money. About twice a year, I take everything out my deep freezer and organize it according to what food group it comes from or something like that and then defrost, if necessary and put everything back in, in an orderly fashion.
Afterwards I feel rich. I discover foods that I had forgotten I had and I make menus for the next few days to include meats and vegs that I can pull out of there.
Plus, its nice to have another corner of your house organized.
Well space is getting limited, so the writtings on the wall.

 

[goldenluver]

well occasionally I like an iced white chocolate latte, so now I make them at home since my new coffee pot has an espresso maker in it as well.
after making my espreso I add the used grounds to the used ones already in the coffee maker to make enough coffee to fill an ice cube tray to freeze for coffe cubes for my iced coffees.

I only drink one of these 2 to 3 times a week, so that saves 8 to 12 dollars a week.

 

[Sun and Sky]

One of my favorite ways to save money is to grow my own food (despite the fact that I live in an apartment) Plants don't need that much space to be super-productive, as long as you give them sufficient light, water, and nutrients

I usually have several plants of tomatoes, and go on a canning spree every summer. We only just used the last can of spaghetti sauce I made last year, we always seem to run out of that first oops. But I figure if a jar of tomato sauce costs around $2 (definitely more for organic, which is what mine mostly are) and we go through about 1 jar a week for 6 months, that's $50 saved right there, not to mention the barbecue sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and ketchup I also make from those tomatoes, PLUS not having to go to the grocery store more than every two weeks or less during the growing months, and all of the frozen zucchini, peas, beans, and more, that we stock up on from our garden. It adds up!

I just put my garden seeds into seedling pots a few days ago, and some are already coming up

 

[FarmerJamie]

One of my favorite ways to save money is to grow my own food (despite the fact that I live in an apartment) Plants don't need that much space to be super-productive, as long as you give them sufficient light, water, and nutrients

I usually have several plants of tomatoes, and go on a canning spree every summer. We only just used the last can of spaghetti sauce I made last year, we always seem to run out of that first oops. But I figure if a jar of tomato sauce costs around $2 (definitely more for organic, which is what mine mostly are) and we go through about 1 jar a week for 6 months, that's $50 saved right there, not to mention the barbecue sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and ketchup I also make from those tomatoes, PLUS not having to go to the grocery store more than every two weeks or less during the growing months, and all of the frozen zucchini, peas, beans, and more, that we stock up on from our garden. It adds up!

I just put my garden seeds into seedling pots a few days ago, and some are already coming up

Hey Sun and Sky, welcome -

Lot's a good folks around here! enjoy!