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Posted (edited)

Well... you know, for some weird reason, some of us might be looking to save money lately.  No reason.

So, what are you doing to try to save money?

I'll start...

I've been with the same auto insurance provider for a long ass time.  I stuck with them for years.  Apparently they had been sticking it to me for years.

Well, my homeowner's insurance broker reached out and said, "hey, do you want us to help you with an auto policy?" and I said, sure... why not.  Well, sure enough, they were absolutely raking me over the coals.  So, I switched to Progressive and my premium dropped about 45% which is ludicrous.  

Anyway, that's one. 

Also... damn we have too many streaming services.  I'm going to ask the family to pick at least one to axe.  All that crap adds up.

Leaning Forward: Let's tighten your belt

Edited by texasdago
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Posted
Just now, David Dennison said:

One of the best ways to save money is to stop drinking.

/ducks

Certainly cutting back when going out.  I could have a cocktail but I could also have a Lone Star.

Posted

I got serious about fitness as I am on the backside of my 40s and want my 50s and 60s to be as active as possible and still do the stuff I love (certain types of hunting, wade fishing, hiking, snow skiing, etc.).  So I quit drinking a few years ago.  And now I meal prep lunches exclusively.  Eating healthier has never been cheaper.  People who claim eating healthy is expensive are full of shit. I make a protein shake for breakfast and pre-workout in blender.  Meal prepped lunch (usually wild game and veggies).  Protein shake for snack.  Normal dinner.

Quitting drinking saves a ton.  Now instead of getting pre-dinner cocktails and then splitting a bottle of wine and often two, my wife will just order her a glass.  We often just split a salad or app and entree also. Restaurant portions are huge. Also no need to uber any more since I am all time DD.  Nights out are much, much cheaper.   

Meal prepping lunches instead of eating out or just grabbing a sandwich, drinks and chips saves a minimum of $50 a week.

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Posted

In all seriousness, I'm probably going to cut going out to eat/ordering in.  We cook dinner at home most nights, but a lunch or dinner out here and there or a Favor order on a Friday night when we don't feel like being in the kitchen adds to the monthly nut.

I might also have to eliminate a summer trip.  I already have two planned. 

I say this recognizing that while I feel far from wealthy, I'm absolutely privileged, and on the grander scale in the upper percentages.  There are so many other individuals and small businesses that are going to feel a lot of unnecessary pain.  Forget vacations.  They have problems with college funding, payrolls, near-term retirement planning . . . .

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Posted

I got rid of YouTube TV last month. Paying $90 a month to watch like 3 sporting events doesn't seem like a great deal, although will have to re-up during FB season. I bring lunch to work every day, although I don't have access to "wild game" on a regular basis. Leftovers from last night's dinner typically do the trick. I cut back on THC consumption - mostly for health reasons and overall well being, but it saves a decent amount of money a week as well.

My issue, that I can never seem to solve, is that there are typically months in which I know spending is going to be higher - summer travel, holidays, etc., and I tell myself that I'll save a lot more during the down times. Of course that's when the fridge needs replacing, the car insurance bills comes due, or the dog has to have some sort of random 1k medical procedure. 

I'm also guilty of allowing lifestyle creep to run unchecked. I'm making more than double what I was 8-10 years ago and you'd never know it based on my bank account.

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Posted (edited)

I used to only buy Louis Vuitton handbags but now I mix in a Prada every once in awhile. 

Edited by ztejas
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Posted
10 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

That leaves a bunch of ones for me.

Father?

I'm already insinuating to my family that we will be eating more at home.  They'll have to learn to get adventurous and cope with my better-than-average cooking.   And y'all know I love traveling.  I had previously booked a trip to Hawaii for the family after deferring for 25 years.  Well, I booked two weeks but damn the cost so I lopped a week off.  Half of too much is better than still too much!

Next up... I really like Lifetime but it costs an assload.  Time to look at Crunch! :D

 

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Posted

We as a family are cutting way back on travel.  Discretionary spending was already down otherwise.  I am trying to convince my wife she does not need a Live TV app ( Hulu right now but YT is similar priced).  Canceled Netflix years ago, ready to cancel prime as well.
 

We are lucky in that we live where we want to be, we have everything we need, and don’t need to travel.  We have some future  remodeling plans that can wait. 
 

I feel bad for people trying to buy a house, a car, or with little kids who will be needing clothes and diapers; they are going to be squeezed hard.  

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Posted
11 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Father?

I'm already insinuating to my family that we will be eating more at home.  They'll have to learn to get adventurous and cope with my better-than-average cooking.   And y'all know I love traveling.  I had previously booked a trip to Hawaii for the family after deferring for 25 years.  Well, I booked two weeks but damn the cost so I lopped a week off.  Half of too much is better than still too much!

Next up... I really like Lifetime but it costs an assload.  Time to look at Crunch! :D

 

Check out the Steel Shank thread for delicious, money saving recipes.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

Check out the Steel Shank thread for delicious, money saving recipes.

Yep.  My mom had this in her "when we were young and poor" stash:

71klTjliSpL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

As I'm cleaning out their house, I hope to find it.  Seems it'll come in handy these days.

Just now, Deej said:

I will no longer pay for any OnlyFans content over $5. 

That's just good thinking.  Because when you look at the content that'll go for $5 or less, well, your price-per-pound is going to be FANTASTIC.

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Posted

 

Just cut the cable a few days ago. Also nixed a couple of streaming services. 

We have two trips planned this summer, probably going to bag one. 

Daughter had two summer camps planned, might see if we can get our deposit back on one of them. 

 

Posted
4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That's just good thinking.  Because when you look at the content that'll go for $5 or less, well, your price-per-pound is going to be FANTASTIC.

Think About It GIF by Identity

Posted

Did the YouTubeTV/ drop cable thing and haven't looked back.  zero ragrets

Utilities- I am miserly on electricity/ water use, but that's just my nature, not a product of any recent events. every time we have moved, our usage rates YOY have been drastically lower than previous occupants.

Food- we haven't really changed except wife knows I'm gonna gripe if we waste food.  Buy what you want/ think we need, but let's make sure it gets used.

Clothes-  I don't buy shit until I have to.  Exception would be shoes, but everything else gets worn until it wears the fuck out, even if it's 12 years later.  Wife keeps Amazon West Texas afloat.

Travel- no big trips except to see our kids/ grands.  Any extra income is allocated there.( kids on both coasts)

Posted

All insurance with exception of life is more risk on. 

Lawn has more weeds and I have more DIY chemicals in the garage. Cut out Emerald Lawns when they sold out to private equity. 

Still eating out too much, but opening the freezer a bit more to work through the game stock. 

Actually thinking about what I am buying at the grocery store.

Me and the boys also piss in the backyard instead of the bathroom to save on the flushes. 

Posted (edited)
31 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yep.  My mom had this in her "when we were young and poor" stash:

71klTjliSpL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

 

This is an actual book, and I bought an old copy of Amazon for a friend as a gag birthday present.

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Amazon link

The reviews are outstanding:

Quote

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2012

 
I originally purchased this book as a part of my suicide plans. Each microwaved meal was prepared in order from the beginning to the end of the book without regard to course type. Some days it was nothing but main dishes, others just desserts, but I did not want to leave this world without enjoying the kind of culinary adventure my intense fear of pavement and obtuse angles (makes it difficult to read books properly!) prevented me from embarking on. After cooking, eating, and cleaning up after the last recipe in the book, I had planned on hanging myself from a cross beam in the basement. However, as I sat there, bloated with what I believed to be an impacted colon owing to the book's cheese-based meals, I had what can only be described as a gastronomic revelation. With a few tweaks here and there to the otherwise masterful recipes in this sacred (yes, sacred!) cookbook, I could open my own restaurant. Yet my phobias kept me confined to my (assumed) dead grandmother's basement and only after exhaustive research on the Lycos, I discovered that various bleaching and coloring chemicals applied to the face and scalp dulled my senses just enough to mask the pavement and angles that had plagued me since I was a little boy. With unsteady gait, squinted eyes, and slurred speech, I emerged from my hermitage and stumbled to the local B of A, whose wise loan agents recognized the genius of my vision. Sure enough, my plan worked beyond all of my expectations, and my one restaurant built on this little cookbook, became a media and culinary empire! I still suffer the side effects of my anti-anxiety treatments daily, and the impacted colon is yet unresolved, but I am now hailed as one of my generation's greatest chefs and entrepreneurs. Marie: If I didn't (secretly) love men, I would make sweet, sweet love to you on a dining room table laden with dishes from pages 10-22 in your masterful, Bible-esque tome.

-Guy F.
Quote

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2010

 
Alone in my dark apartment, having worn my 3 Wolf Moon T-Shirt as well for countless weeks, found this book to be my bible. I sit at my dining room table, playing World of Warcraft night after night, sobbing silently for want of notice by another human being. Pizza boxes piling up, chinese food leftovers filling my fridge, I was beginning to run out of options. I recently lost my job as a Custodial Consultant for sniffing the amonia in the utility closet. My funding for my gourmet meals from such world reknown chefs as Boyardi and Uncle Ben had begun running low. Stumbling in a drunken daze through the local bookstore, my elbow carelessly knocked a book onto the floor as I turned a corner. As I peered down, I saw the title, "Microwave Cooking for One."

Curiously, I picked it up and decided to have a a quick read. As I began flipping through the pages, I began to see that this was no ordinary cookbook. No my friends, this was a book passed down from the Gods themselves, displaying the infinite beauty of their messenger Marie T Smith on the cover. I knew at that moment, that this book would change my life. I purchased it with the last few dollars to my name and brought it home. Because of this book, I now eat like a King. Filet Mignon? Chicken Alfredo? Caviar? Its all in there. Not only do you never need to buy another cookbook, there will never be a book so beautifully written ever again. From that point, I ahve divided my life into two different categories, life before Microwave Cooking for One and life after, much like the Old and New Testament.

From this book I have made more friends than I can count, gained 30 pounds of rock hard muscle, and have a new job as VP of a major financial holdings company. This book worked for me, and I am sure it will work for you.
Quote

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2016

When I come home to my apartment, I turn on the microwave as my main source of heat. The cats hate the microwave and scurry whenever I turn it on, all seven of them. My greatest joy is choosing what frozen meal I get to fire up for my dinner. Then I discovered this book and things changed. Instead of only eating pre-made meals, I can now put my artisan skills to the test. I do recall being somewhat of a rock star in my home ec classes.

I am now making delicious spare ribs and seafood muffins (see page 141) and having a banquet with my cats. The other day I made a wonderful Rhubarb Pudding Cake (see page 211) and had a birthday party for Mr. Pawly Shore. I don’t know when his birthday actually is so I just go by the date that I got him from the shelter. I’ve learned to double-up and even triple-up on the ingredients so that I can make extra servings for myself the next day. When you know you’re going to be eating alone tomorrow again…might as well make extra.
Quote

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2016

I found I had to cut back on the amount of salt in any given recipe because my tears of loneliness often over-seasoned whatever dish I happened to be heating.
Quote

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2015

 
Of the two books gifted me since my emotional breakdown, the other being Suicide and You: Putting Down the Shaving-Blade, Microwave Cooking for One was the more practical. These days, my hands are so full of microwave eggs, bacon and Christmas-cakes-for-one that I just don't have time to go up the highway on my wrists. Hell, I don't even have time to go across the street!

 

Edited by South Austin
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Posted (edited)

I ain’t cutting shit but our dog for damn sure isn’t getting farmers dog anymore. Shit rolls down hill yo. 
 

(Jax and Jax’s momma - I kid, I kid)

Edited by troph
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Posted
  • Tesla is almost paid off, so I'm going to hold onto it for a few more years rather than trade it in and buy a new vehicle.  I can't stomach the interest rate and a new car payment now.  I can deal with the internet side-eye.
  • Will stick with my current paid off iPhone rather than upgrading after three years like I've done in the past.
  • No travel planned for the year other than a wedding in San Diego at the end of this month.  We usually take at least one big vacation trip every year.
  • Did not switch back to DirecTV Stream for baseball season to get regional sports networks.  Consolidated streaming services and shifted to a Hulu bundle in November that's $40/ month less than DTV Stream.
  • Putting off back porch addition and other home improvements for another year.   
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Posted
3 hours ago, David Dennison said:

One of the best ways to save money is to stop drinking.

/ducks

It is also one of the worst ways to live during the complete collapse of society. The Russians figured that much out. You can tolerate a lot so long as you can stay buzzed. 

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Posted

Less international travel

An easy one but hard to do especially when I'm feeling tired/lazy to cook is ordering takeout/delivery on the weekends. 

Posted
Just now, Dahobbs said:

It is also one of the worst ways to live during the complete collapse of society. The Russians figured that much out. You can tolerate a lot so long as you can stay buzzed. 

The family was on a trip to Santa Fe over Spring Break in 2020 - when the world was just starting to spin out of control.  First stop was the grocery store since we were staying at a VRBO.  Passed a lady with a cart completely full of large bottles and boxes of wine.  Absolutely nothing else in the cart.  

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Posted

I've instructed my servants to shop at Central Market rather than Whole Foods.

I mean, for themselves, not for me.  Because I'm cutting their paychecks.

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

The family was on a trip to Santa Fe over Spring Break in 2020 - when the world was just starting to spin out of control.  First stop was the grocery store since we were staying at a VRBO.  Passed a lady with a cart completely full of large bottles and boxes of wine.  Absolutely nothing else in the cart.  

Brother? I was there too. Ski Santa Fe. Meow Wolf. It was a great time...until it wasn't.

9 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Limiting my trips to the Bullet Farm and Gastown to once every other week.

I know you can infer via the rep you've been getting, but just want to say you've been really funny lately. Keep up the good work.

Posted

Buying a flowbee to cut my own hair.

Punching extra holes in my belt so I don't have to buy a smaller one.

Going to work barechested so my shirts don't wear out. Shirts from England are expensive.

 

In all seriousness, probably cooking at home more, downgrade to bourbons instead of Japanese whiskies or Scotch, stop drinking beer altogether. Re-evaluate our vacation plans... right now we go vacation 3 times per year. Figure those average out to $10K per trip. Buy stuff on the used market. 

 

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Posted
9 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

I know you can infer via the rep you've been getting, but just want to say you've been really funny lately. Keep up the good work.

Don't... don't encourage him.

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Posted

We were planning a month long trip to Spain and Portugal this Fall but that’s out now. Less about the money but more about potential issues with locals and other European tourists

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Posted

But actually just working on putting aside my lazy tendencies and increasing promotion.

It helps to just create more income when there's economic wackitude. Which is pretty much the entire history of earth.

Posted

Everyone talks about cutting out their television, but what do you all do if your world revolves around sports?  

I'm not following games on gamecast on my phone.  Fuck that.  I can definitely cut back on eating out and ordering in, though.

 

Posted
10 minutes ago, SameSame said:

Everyone talks about cutting out their television, but what do you all do if your world revolves around sports?  

I'm not following games on gamecast on my phone.  Fuck that.  I can definitely cut back on eating out and ordering in, though.

 

the karate kid balance GIF

Posted

Penny wise and pound foolish, the lot of you. 

I'm taking this opportunity to sell my wife, kids, pets, the house, the cars, and any depreciable assets lying around.  I'll then be grabbing a fly rod and tackle, a change of underwear, and a bottle or two of the good stuff and riding a Triumph Bonneville down Mexico way.   No half measures.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

Penny wise and pound foolish, the lot of you. 

I'm taking this opportunity to sell my wife, kids, pets, the house, the cars, and any depreciable assets lying around.  I'll then be grabbing a fly rod and tackle, a change of underwear, and a bottle or two of the good stuff and riding a Triumph Bonneville down Mexico way.   No half measures.

quest-for-love-romcom.gif

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

Penny wise and pound foolish, the lot of you. 

I'm taking this opportunity to sell my wife, kids, pets, the house, the cars, and any depreciable assets lying around.  I'll then be grabbing a fly rod and tackle, a change of underwear, and a bottle or two of the good stuff and riding a Triumph Bonneville down Mexico way.   No half measures.

Interesting, I’m a market contrarian.

image.gif.593812dbb620d148938b0b4b19d3fe6e.gif

Posted
27 minutes ago, msbesq said:

We were planning a month long trip to Spain and Portugal this Fall but that’s out now. Less about the money but more about potential issues with locals and other European tourists

If I go anywhere outside the US, I'm making Fuck Trump t-shirts for the family and wearing those everywhere we go.

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