Here are some money saving tips that my husband and I have learned over the years that have saved us a lot of money and continues to help us to live within our means. Keep in mind that we live in the suburbs of a medium sized town in the south. We have a 3-bedroom ranch style home that is paid for, 2 cars that are paid for. We take care of elderly parents (who don't live with us). We have an adult child that requires support (I won't go into to that). I just want to share with you that we are typical middle class people with everyday issues like everyone else.
1. In the 1970's we purchased a fireplace insert...Buck Stove. We gather wood that has been put on the side of the street for the garbage man to pick up. People trim trees all the time and are pleased for us to pick it up. It even saves them money, because they don't have to pay the Waste Management Center to pick it up. Once or twice a year, my husband rents a log splitter for the bigger pieces. A half day rental is around $40. So for $40 a year or maybe $80, we have free heat (not counting the work involved). Note that most of the wood does not require splitting. My husband only has to cut it with his chain saw to the right length. Also, note that one should hire someone every 2 or 3 years to clean your chimney to remove built up creosote. You should clean it once a year yourself with a chimney sweep brush. You do the math. We save a bundle on this plus our house is very warm in the winter. The only down side to this is that you have to dust your house more ofter and clean you floors, because the furnace isn't running and will not filter out the dust. Also, more dirt and sawdust and leaves are tracked into the house when bringing in the wood. In our opinion, this is a small price to pay. Be sure to only burn hard wood and NEVER burn pine as pine will definitely cause chimney fires.
2. My husband is a deer hunter. He loves to hunt. Therefore, our freezer is full of venison. It is very good. We have it processed into hamburger, cube steak, tenderloins, and sausage. The cost involved: a) about $500 to $600 a year for a hunt club membership b) hunting gear c) $45 per deer to process. When my husband fills up a freezer but still wants to hunt, he asks people at work or friends if they want the next deer he shoots. They pay for the processing. So if you don't hunt, you may find someone willing to do this for you that does hunt. Also, you can go to a wildlife processor and ask if they have a deer that someone did not pick up and will they sell it to you. I know they will be glad to sell it to you. This is especially true at the end of the season. To take the sting out of paying $600 club membership, he saves his change and rolls it up every Spring just before the dues are to be paid. He generally saves almost $300.
3. Since noone wants to eat only venison, I make menus for every week and shop at the grocery store based on that week's menus. I might buy a large pack of chicken thighs and divide it into 2 meals. Lately, I have discovered that a large pack of Whiting fish fillets only costs $3.99 per package. It will make 1 and 1/2 meals. Therefore, I buy 2 and I have another meal for the following week.
3. I shop at the general dollar store for paper goods, can goods, shampoo, vitamins, etc. They have large cans of asparagus for $1.50 per can. I've even found canned crab for $1.00 a can! It's interesting that recently I found a name brand line of clothing there. I spluged and bought 3 pair of capris pants and 3 blouses for $47. I say spluge, because I also shop at a Goodwill store or thrift store for clothing...some are new and all are as good as new.
4. I also shop and sell on eBay.
5. We use a credit card to pay for general everyday items and pay it off within the grace period and therefore, we have the use of the money and pay no interest. We earn airline mileage this way and are able to take vacations. Sometimes, we earn free nights in hotels and are able to combine these. You must be careful and be sure to keep track of your credit card spending. I go online often to update my check book with the latest charges.
6. For big expenses, repairs etc., we shop around and get estimates. For instance, we have some pine trees that need to come down and are too large for my husband to handle and too close to the house. We found a company that will take them down for free if you have at least 20 trees. Guess what! we have exactly 20 trees. The catch is that they will not take the slash (limbs, etc.), so we will have a big mess. Now we are researching how much it will cost to have someone to haul them off. We may haul it off ourselves. Someone sold my husband an old utility trailer for $40, so he can haul them if necessary. He's a busy man and he may find it easier to pay someone to haul them. However, if it costs too much, he'll haul them himself.
7. We had our house and car insurance deductibles increased to $1000. We figured the money savings would break even after 2 years even if we had to pay $1000 to pay for fixing up a car or the house after an accident. We did that 10 years ago. We have only had to put out about $700 to repair a dented car in 10 years.
8. We buy automobiles that have been previously owned, but with low mileage or a demonstration model car, or one that has never been owned, but did not sell and the newer models are coming out.
I could go on and on. I hoped this helps someone.
