How do you guys save money around the home?

No restaurants, have a written budget and stick to it. Digital thermostat cut down my energy bills a lot, but that wouldn't be as big of a deal when there are people in the house all day like you'll have.
 
Find another baby the same sex as yours and about 6-12 months older - get the hand me downs.

you dont need expensive diapers, just the generic

Congratulations !
 
We have three :eek:

One is 3, one is 2, and one is 9 months old. We don't go out to eat that much. I cut my hair and our two oldest boys hair. My wife clips coupons when she has time.

Mmm I'm sure I can think of more stuff later. I can say the biggest thing for us has been hold very high standards. If your job is not paying enough, be on the lookout. Always believe in yourself, I can't tell you how many people do the same thing day in and day out for years and years complaining the whole time but never "do" anything about it.

We are at our jobs to climb the ladder. Higher up on the ladder equals more money (most of the time.) Sometimes you have to jump off your ladder and climb another.. just know that you be on top one way or another. Sorry for the rant :o I do not know what your job is... You may be a CEO. Just thinking out loud.

Kids are a lot of hard work. Kiss the old you good bye, welcome the new you. It's time to grow up.. Man up and do what you know you need to do (not that your not already :cool:) Maybe it might mean a part time job? Might mean cutting yards, peddle stuff on eBay???

Biggest thing is not going out eating/drinking. Cut the food/upkeep costs. Turn down you hot water heater, there is not need to keep water heated almost boiling hot at all times.

Congrats, being a dad is the best thing you have ever done. Your going to be a very proud pappa... :cool:
 
I keep hearing that it's a bad idea for one spouse to remain at home long-term, and there is good logic to it. Short term, even a few years until the kid's in school is one thing, but if anything were to happen to the breadwinner or even just hard circumstances for the family required more money and the other spouse has been out of the job market for 15 years it may be very difficult or impossible for that spouse to get a job, especially a decent one. Even intermittent part-time work could go a long way in terms of a record, skills, contacts, savings, and the possibility of returning or moving up to full-time.

I have a friend whose family is in this predicament. Her mother's lack of social skills from not working and not having regular social interaction for years greatly limit her, and although her family has been just getting by for years they have not done anything about it and are now facing bankruptcy following her dad (the earner) being hospitalized for almost 6 months. My friend's family is more irresponsible than most, but don't put your family at risk in this way.
 
2-Nissin_TR-C1ok.jpg

And I buy the cheap lighters instead of Bic.................
 
Heat the house with wood. With the cold weather in the -20's and -30's the wood furnace is busy and the oil furnace has not run in 4 weeks.

Use a 40lb propane tank instead of the 20lb tanks. They overcharge their prices on the standard 20lb tanks.

Cook from scratch, butcher my own meat instead of buying prepared foods. If you can raise your own and butcher your own, or make friends with local farmers and save big time.

The pick up truck is only 15 years old, and with regular preventitive maintenance including annual rust proofing from a reputable rust proofer the truck is still basically like new.

I do my own household repairs and renovations myself. However the big jobs like the roof I leave to proffessionals.

Use only rechargeable batteries, the performance of the new ones are just as good as a regular alkaline throw aways, besides the use once throw aways are inconvenient anyways.

Blow your nose using toilet paper, as it is much cheaper than kleenex.

Always regotiate price when buying big ticket items like appliances, electronics etc.
 
Best advice we ever got: don't spend money. It's really not that difficult. Just don't go to the store. When you do, don't buy stuff you don't need. You would be surprised at all of the things in your life that you don't really need to own, eat, have, do and still have a high standard of living filled with entertainment and pleasure.

There is a lot of peer pressure to spend but just don't do it.
 
Posters gave you some terrific ideas here! Pick the ones that you CAN do (not the one's you THINK you can do). I'd only add a few that I don't believe I saw above:

Don't shop for entertainment (stay away from malls, etc), "don't go to the store" as annr said.

Don't go near one of those places that charges $3+ for coffee. Brew/drink coffee at home.

Unplug appliances that are always on but don't need to be (TV, coffee maker, phone charger, etc)

Pay cash (or use a DEBIT card). My wife and I used envelopes. At the start of each month we'd put a budgeted amount in each envelope for food, entertainment, gas. Then we'd have a few bucks for each of us for personal money (without that, we found the 'envelope' thing wouldn't work). When an envelope was empty, it was gone for that month. Monitor the amount so they work (this can take a month or two). For example, food has gone up recently and gas has gone down. That sort of thing.


All the best,
Steve
 
Second best advice: buy what you can afford.

If you don't know if you can afford somthing or not, go back to first advice--don't buy it!!!

This doesn't mean don't go to the doctor or buy a smoke detector, etc. Health, safety and job security (which can include education and tools, not toys!!!!) are the core.
 
555 said:
Ever heard of Speed Beef? :D

oleynik_whitetail_deer.jpg
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That's a PA thing,I've lived a lot of winters on speed beef,it's better for your health than the regular stuff.Bufford has some very good advice if your in a part of the country that wood isn't ridiculously expensive,I've burnt wood for as long as I've had a house but I have 100acres of "free" fuel.
 
chipped said:
I keep hearing that it's a bad idea for one spouse to remain at home long-term, and there is good logic to it........Even intermittent part-time work could go a long way in terms of a record, skills, contacts, savings, and the possibility of returning or moving up to full-time.
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That is something my wife and I went through 6-7 years ago before we had our first child. She has a computer degree and makes quite good money, I have a couple years of college, but have worked a variety of different jobs over the last 20 years, and her income potential is much greater than mine.

The results of the decision we reached haven't always been easy, but things have worked out. My wife stayed at her full-time job after the kids, but went to a 4 day work week (10 hour shifts) so she is home 3 days a week and sometimes works from home. I work part-time nights at UPS (about 20-25 hours a week) and watch the kids during the day when they aren't in school, they'll finally both be in school full days in the fall. My job provides some supplemental income, great health insurance, and a fall-back if something happens to my wife's job, as I could go full-time.
 
"spending money is wrapped up in emotions that most people don't use common sense all that much with their money"
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That's the truth.

Take time with you and the wife TOGETHER - examine the things that you routinely buy without thought and consider necessities.

Cable- we have an antenna and have 7 channels.
I have never known any different. I would love some channels like Discovery, History or Military channel but a lot of old shows are down loadable now anyway.

Coffee, Beer, Smokes, Booze, Candy, Soda, Snacks....
some people have huge $ there.
For quite a while here in Canada - Smokes were $10 a pack of 25
$3,650 a year per person/pack/day
(now lowered to reduce smuggled and Indian smokes)

It has become a common sales pitch "..for the price of only a cup of coffee a day..."
It tries to minimize the significance of spending by making the amount appear small.
ALL money is good money, especially if it is mine.

Simple economic principle
*scarcity*
ALL resources are limited and one choice is made at the expense of another.
What are you willing to give up to achieve something else?


1
Earn More

2
Spend Less

It is easier to save $1 by not spending a $, than it is to earn $1.5, pay tax and save the $1
 
Some more stuff I thought about that might help. You said you have a company cell, and eat out a lot? I'm guessing your in sales or something that has you on the road a lot.

I am also on the road a lot, I was buying cold drinks in the gas stations. A buck sometimes $2 for the energy drinks. :eek: Not only do they cost, they are very bad for you. So now I have a big jug (54oz?) with a sippie top and the night before work I put about two inches of water in it and put it in the freezer. Before I head out in the morning I fill it up the rest of the way. Bam... Ice cold water ALL day! This will also hold hunger off and it much better than soft drinks. You can eat when you get home, if you eat your lunch early... Like I eat it for breakfast. :D (I eat two times a day, lunch at 10am dinner around 5-6pm)

Pack your lunch, as you already said.

We also don't buy candy/ice cream/sweets. We do buy the cheap milk at the store, cows are all the same. (I'm sure 98% of us do this already, I'm sure you are :cool:)

I buy Dr Martens, they seem to be good for 2 years. Not bad IMHO

When I buy higher end knives I try to get rare ones. Something that would sell fast if needed.

I don't go shooting all though I would love to :o

Only buy soft drinks in the 2liter bottles, the cans are a lot more money per oz.

Only buy clothes if you can get a "good deal," or save that for Christmas gifts to ask for.

Don't carry credit cards, don't use them. Forget you even have any. (you might already do this already :cool:)

We take the kids out for walks, all kids even babys like going for walks and they are free. :D

Parks are more free fun, and kids love being outside. :cool:

I'm sure there are a lot more things. Really like a poster said above.. don't spend money. Sounds hard at first, but it's not. :cool:

Dad also gave me this little qoute one time, he said "if you have something that is worth (real worth.. What it would sell for) more than you would pay for it.

Sell it!"

This makes the knife hobby easy for me. If I have a XM or what ever and I would not pay the current going rate $550-$600 I need to sell it. It's really that easy.
 
So-Lo said:
I buy Dr Martens, they seem to be good for 2 years. Not bad IMHO
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Man, I got tired of my DM's lasting only 6 months. No way a hundred dollars worth of boots should wear out that quickly. I wonder what we do differently?:) Due to some weird stitching that they do, most places can't re-sole them, either.

I ended up spending a little more for some Danners and after two years they are still like new. Also, they're the most comfortable pair of boots I've ever owned, right out of the box - they just got better after a month or so.

Good call on the energy drinks by the way, I pretty much just drink water nowadays and like you said, it really keeps my appetite down :)
 
c00per said:
Man, I got tired of my DM's lasting only 6 months. No way a hundred dollars worth of boots should wear out that quickly. I wonder what we do differently?:) Due to some weird stitching that they do, most places can't re-sole them, either.

I ended up spending a little more for some Danners and after two years they are still like new. Also, they're the most comfortable pair of boots I've ever owned, right out of the box - they just got better after a month or so.

Good call on the energy drinks by the way, I pretty much just drink water nowadays and like you said, it really keeps my appetite down :)
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I have the shoe type DMs maybe different than the boots? The Mrs. had a pair go three years in a restaurant setting.

I will look into Danners. :cool:
 
Shop ethnic markets near you. The hispanic market near me has great produce at even greater prices and the asian market has great prices on meat and fish.
 
So-Lo said:
I have the shoe type DMs maybe different than the boots? The Mrs. had a pair go three years in a restaurant setting.

I will look into Danners. :cool:
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If you walk a lot of miles on tarmac, 6-9 months is about right for Doc's. If you wear them mostly indoors, they will last for years.

Andy
 
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