Looking for tips: How can we live well without spending a lot?

[trujillo33]

I think the you could save a lot of money by not eating out...instead just cook at home!! This will save a lot of money!!

[abstract1er]

by sharing our goods and looking after our utilities, cant spend too much.

[kilophkadamas]

I will agree to everyone that says don't eat out as much. I used to eat out all the time, & just recently I took it upon myself to check out all the receipts.

It's amazing how much we pay for fountain drinks in resturants, It's probably 5x the amount of just buying a 2-liter from the store. But I guess that's the price of convenience, in this case, a "cold" drink.

[Sohcahtoa]

Yeah I went to one restaurant once you spent $2.50 for a cup of soda and we didn't find out until we got the check that they didn't give free refills.  Pretty ridiculous.  I mean, what sit-down restaurant doesn't give refills nowadays?  We didn't leave a tip and will never be going back again.

Seriously though...a $9 dinner at an inexpensive restaurant will easily run you at least $15 once you add your drink and tip.  Its just not worth it.

[Sohcahtoa]

I'll be honest, I have had my fill of cutting corners because we were broke. Now I am in a race to see if I can spend everything I can earn before I die. I go on trips 3 or 4 times a year, go out to eat every time we feel like it, and buy whatever I want so the kids have to get me peanuts when they need a gift to give me. There are two ends to the pipeline that constitutes a family budget, so you can reduce your spending or increase your income and I like the last option best. Fusioncash is just ONE way to do that.

At first, I saw this post as was appalled at your suggestion to just spend spend spend, but then I took note of the idea of increasing income.  Of course, people act like its so hard to do that, but really, you can do it with only three words.

STAY.
IN.
SCHOOL.

Don't drop out of high school.  Go through with it.  But don't stop after high school.  Figure out what you want to do with your life and earn the degree you need to do it.  Is it easy?  No.  Is it expensive?  Yes.  Will it pay off in the end?  Definitely.

I've learned the hard way.  I slacked off in high school so bad I spent a 5th year there and STILL didn't graduate.  I gave it a big round of "*bleep* it" and did nothing.  It took almost 10 years for the wake-up call to occur.  I'm 27 now, still living paycheck-to-paycheck on a $20,000 a year income level.  I decided I was tired of it.  I got my GED (I scored in the top 2 percentile!) and started taking classes at the local community college.  In about two years, I'll be transferring to a state university and completing my Bachelor's in Computer Science.  I knew in my teenage years that I wanted to be a programmer.  I still DO want to be a programmer.  A job like that requires hardcore education, but you can make a lot of money doing it.

My dad works at Intel, inside the fabrication units where CPUs are made.  He makes about $80k a year and has incredible benefits.  Two weeks paid vacation, one week paid sick every year, and then every 7 years he works, he gets a sabbatical, which is SIX CONSECUTIVE WEEKS of PAID vacation!  That's of course all in addition to a very generous health/dental/Rx plan.

College pays off.  It really does.  You just gotta go for it.  Turning off lights and all that might save you a few dollars a month on your electric bill, but that's pennies compared to the extra thousands you could be making with a good education.

[debraleesparks]

  I closed up all the rooms of my house that I don't use. I live in my bedroom, with my comp., t.v., and a space heater..I also grow fruit and nuts, and have a veggie garden.. I can fruit in the summer, and make a lot of jelly. I dry some veggies , and freeze a lot too. I seem to be able to make it by depending on myself.

[Sohcahtoa]

Thought of another...

Buy in bulk, especially for things that don't expire!  For example, why buy a package of 20 trash bags for $4 when you can get a package of 80 for $10?  Its not like trash bags go bad after awhile.  Yeah, its more to spend at once, but you won't have to buy trash bags again for a long time!

[strumcat]

I also put away what I save at the grocery store and with coupons, which I admit, I never used much before and I thought I was a tightwad then...

[walksalone11]

I closed up all the rooms of my house that I don't use. I live in my bedroom, with my comp., t.v., and a space heater..I also grow fruit and nuts, and have a veggie garden.. I can fruit in the summer, and make a lot of jelly. I dry some veggies , and freeze a lot too. I seem to be able to make it by depending on myself.

I am almost tempted to propose to you ;0)

[mlbevins]

Another thing that we do is recycle cans.  The last time that it took them off I had two truck loads and got 30.00.  You can use your cans to buy more pop.

[irishlady1970]

These are all fantastic ideas. I also use coupons when grocery shopping every week. I buy things I need and avoid buying things I don't need based on promotions at the store. I don't eat out all the time only special occasions. Bag lunches, walk instead of using the car, and turn off electronics and lights when not in use. There are hundreds of great ways to save money without compromising your lifestyle.

[lancenweman1978]

Read

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Robert T. Kiyosaki

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Barbara Ehrenreich

[Sohcahtoa]

Another thing that we do is recycle cans.  The last time that it took them off I had two truck loads and got 30.00.  You can use your cans to buy more pop.

You can save a lot of money by not buying soda, not to mention saving a bit on your health.  The extremely high sugar content is pretty bad.  Also, don't fool yourself into thinking that you're OK because you're drinking diet.  While the harmful biological effects of artificial sweeteners are constantly being contested, the mental effects have been proven.  When you eat/drink something that tastes sweet, but doesn't actually have any sugar in it, it does wierd things to your head.  Your brain thinks you've taken in sugar, and so it does all the things it needs to do to handle that sugar intake.  But when it figures out there wasn't actually any sugar, it creates a craving for more sweets.  As a result, you might cut out the sugar from your soda, but you're likely to have a strong sweet tooth for something else.

A lot of people are suggesting coupons.  While you can certainly save money with coupons, you have to be careful that you only buy things on a coupon that you would normally buy without one.  In my case, I save money by never buying snack foods like large bags of chips.  If I get a $1 off coupon for a family size bag of Doritos, using it isn't saving me money.  Its COSTING me money because I'm buying something I wouldn't normally buy.

[angelchef80]

Some of the ways i save money is not eating out, trying the recycling cans thing let u know how that goes. If you have a Kroger's grocery store near you it is always double coupons, the coupons can't be over 50 cents though to get the double. when you wash clothes make sure it is a full load not a half save on water and electric. go to matinee movie instead of night time save about half on ticket. and sneek in snacks and drinks so you don't have to buy any . If you drink coke products do the rewards points online, we get our magazine subscriptions through that. Also there is a discover card called road access and you get cash back just for buying gas, as long as you pay after you charge then no finance fees. those are just a few that i can think of hope it helps

[mlbevins]

Another thing that we do is recycle cans.  The last time that it took them off I had two truck loads and got 30.00.  You can use your cans to buy more pop.

You can save a lot of money by not buying soda, not to mention saving a bit on your health.  The extremely high sugar content is pretty bad.  Also, don't fool yourself into thinking that you're OK because you're drinking diet.  While the harmful biological effects of artificial sweeteners are constantly being contested, the mental effects have been proven.  When you eat/drink something that tastes sweet, but doesn't actually have any sugar in it, it does wierd things to your head.  Your brain thinks you've taken in sugar, and so it does all the things it needs to do to handle that sugar intake.  But when it figures out there wasn't actually any sugar, it creates a craving for more sweets.  As a result, you might cut out the sugar from your soda, but you're likely to have a strong sweet tooth for something else.

A lot of people are suggesting coupons.  While you can certainly save money with coupons, you have to be careful that you only buy things on a coupon that you would normally buy without one.  In my case, I save money by never buying snack foods like large bags of chips.  If I get a $1 off coupon for a family size bag of Doritos, using it isn't saving me money.  Its COSTING me money because I'm buying something I wouldn't normally buy.

Why are you knocking about the pop.  This is not a thread advising people what they should eat or drink it is about how to save money.  If you buy pop that you can get some of the money back out of the cans.  By the way chips can make you fat.