Ways to save money

amother

Peachpuff

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 8:26 pm

amother OP wrote:

Wow! Great food for thought!
Some of these I would never do even though it can save me money - like washing my own wig, not having cleaning help, or not using papergoods.
Washing my wig costs about $200 per year.
Cleaning help is $20 weekly.
Papergoods I don't want to know!! Btw - is there any way to buy cheaper papergoods?

We started cutting down on paper goods recently and our grocery bill is at least $20 less a week.
We also buy tissues, trash bags, paper towels & other household items from target their own brand. It saves us quite afew dollars.
Another thing, don't buy coffee (or any drinks). Take water or your own coffee along with you when you go out.
Don't buy bagged checked lettuce, buy a head and check it yourself.
Install a filter in your sink and don't buy water at all.

amother

Yellow

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 9:04 pm

I am in school and work part time, DH is in kollel and tutors. We started our marriage with $2000 combined in our bank account and BH bli ayin hara, now have over $30,000 in savings/ investments. I feel like I have some great tips to share on this topic! (Disclaimer: we do get snap and wic so I don’t have food expenses and my parents kindly give us a few hundred dollars a month that we use towards rent)
1) we have auto save on Chase turned on and we automatically move $5 a day from checking to savings
2) I have my direct deposit at work set to automatically go 80%to checking, 10% maaser, 10% savings
3) I give DH haircuts
4) I wash my own shaitels
5) shop at Walmart not target
6) buy generics whenever possible
7) if I feel that I really need clothes/shoes I buy from SHEIN or Ali
8) I buy baby clothes from SHEIN too! And got my baby’s Purim costume on ali
9) We rarely use disposable anything, including pans
10) sign up for gas station rewards! Completely free and some places give 10 cents off if you have rewards
11) clip coupons and find promo codes
12) actually return the impulse buys that you realize you didn’t need
Hope these help!

amother

Hunter

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 10:18 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm trying to cut down on the budget a bit, but every time I think not to buy something, I feel like the $5 is not really going to make it or break it.

Where are some areas that I can really save money? I'm not referring to fixed expenses like my mortgage or tuition.

Don’t think why not it’s $5. Think why yes, is it important?

Try to limit going out shopping in general. Don’t run to every sale. Prepare a list before shopping for groceries and buy only what’s on the list. If that’s too difficult, have your husband or child do the grocery shopping from your prepared list. Or do phone order or online.
Takeout adds up very quickly without realizing.

Before each season write a list of everything you will need and stick to it. Try not to buy clothing/shoes throughout the year. Unless you know how to shop sales for next year and really end up using it.

amother

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 10:29 pm

amother Peachpuff wrote:

Great tips! I shop Walmart for many household products.

Regarding the water filter, I actually looked into it, and between the initial price of the filter, plus monthly filter refills/cleaning it was not cheaper than bottled water. What brand filter do you have that is so cheap?

amother

Clear

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 10:29 pm

amother Yellow wrote:

Re the bolded:
I hope you dont mind me asking, but I was under the impression that one is not eligible for food stamps/SNAP if one has more than about $3000 in savings. At least, I know that s the rule in my state. At one point we were eligible income-wise for SNAP, but we didnt apply for it becasue we had over $4000 in savings. Am I wrong? or did rules change? thanks

amother

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 10:31 pm

amother Yellow wrote:

Great ideas! I won't discuss the time I tried giving DH haircuts during covid. Not sure which emoji to use. Crying

How do you get gas station rewards?

lfab

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:12 pm

amother OP wrote:

The problem with finding areas where you can save significant money is that you're going to feel it much more. For example, if you're used to using a lit of disposables and you stop using all disposables at once or may feel very overwhelming and you may not be able to stick with it. But if you find multiple ways to save small amounts over the course of the month it can add up to the same amount of savings but you won't feel the pinch. So buying generic brand cereal may only save you $2-$3 dollars, which seems insignificant. But if you can save $20/week on groceries by shopping at a cheaper store/buying cheaper brands that's about $80 a month without really feeling a difference.
And by the way, all those small $5 impulse buys add up to more than you realize. Try for a month to keep track of how often you end up buying those small things when you think what's the difference, it's only a few dollars. If it happens even only twice a week that's $40 a month.

amother

Peachpuff

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

We spent around $2500 a year for water. A good filter is afew $100 & it lasts for years.

amother

Peachpuff

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:23 pm

amother Clear wrote:

We had food stamps many years ago and were never asked about savings.

amother

Clear

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:25 pm

amother Peachpuff wrote:

We had food stamps many years ago and were never asked about savings.

I dont know if they specifically ask you about savings. But the rules said you arent eligible if you have savings over $3000. do people just ignore that rule, or does it no longer exist?

amother

Seafoam

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

It depends where you live. In NYC, the water is clean enough to use just an ez filter. In other places, you may need a whole expensive filtration system

amother

Peachpuff

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:40 pm

amother Clear wrote:

I dont know if they specifically ask you about savings. But the rules said you arent eligible if you have savings over $3000. do people just ignore that rule, or does it no longer exist?

I never heard of this rule and there's no mention of it in the application.

amother

Clear

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:43 pm

amother Peachpuff wrote:

I never heard of this rule and there's no mention of it in the application.

thanks. and what about if one parent is not currently working, or is temprarily out of work. do you have to be actively looking for work to be eligible for snap?

amother

Violet

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 11:43 pm

The best way to save money is to pretend you can't afford it Smile

Take most of your credit cards out of your purse. Leave only one in a sealed envelope marked "FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY."

Use the envelope budgeting system - put cash in envelopes marked "food," "clothing," "entertainment," etc. You can only spend what's in there.

notshanarishona

Fri, Mar 10 2023, 12:48 am

amother Clear wrote:

I think this stopped with Covid, their site used to say something asking the maximum you have in your bank account but now they don’t.

notshanarishona

Fri, Mar 10 2023, 12:52 am

In addition to many good ideas mentioned earlier
- only shop In kosher grocery stores for items not found in regular stores, don’t ever buy eggs/ produce/ paper goods in Jewish stores
- don’t buy Jewish brand clothing (I get clothes online for a 1/4 of the cost)
- limit chicken/ meat/ expensive ingredients
- don’t eat out
- your kids don’t need a new wardrobe every season
- buy generic brands of everything you can