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Creatively Frugal Ways to Save
Do you ever use creatively frugal, absolutely sneaky ways to ‘trick’
yourself or your family into saving money? If so, what tricks do you use
to save even small amounts of money fairly painlessly?
"I wanted a way to
save our loose change, but most of our purchases are
made using debit or checks so we don’t have much
actual change around the house. So, I came up with a new
'savings' plan. I opened a second free, no-minimum
savings account (called 'special savings') at my bank
and linked it to my checking account. After making a
purchase or paying a bill, I go online to my bank and
transfer the 'loose change' from checking to the special
savings account. I started this about six months ago and
at first I was just rounding up to the next whole dollar
and transferring the difference (i.e. if I paid $25.75
for groceries, I transferred $0.25 from checking to
special savings). About 2 months ago, I realized that I
wasn’t missing the change at all, so I started
rounding up to the next 5 and transferring the
difference (i.e. if I spend $25.75 on groceries, I now
transfer $4.25 from checking to special savings). I find
I still am not missing the change and it is accumulating
pretty quickly. I have saved almost $200 in the last 2
months just by doing this!" ~ Jen
"In our family's
case it was entirely a matter of necessity for Mom to be
sneaky. I am one of six children and growing up there
was not any money to spare so Mom cut corners wherever
she could. When I was about 14, I happened by the
kitchen where I caught her mixing powdered milk into a
half-full gallon of regular (whole) milk. I was stunned!
Apparently she had been doing this on the sly for years
knowing that we kids would be less likely to drink the
milk if it was strictly powdered." ~ Melissa
"My
way to sneak into saving money comes in a couple of
forms with one specific item. I like to store my
Christmas decorations in the decorative tins, especially
the large ones that popcorn comes in during the
holidays. This not only protects them from critters
during the year , but they also stack nicely in the
attic. Several years ago I noticed I had collected many
different designs as well as sizes and shapes and
decided to 'wrap' our children's gifts in them as they
look so nice under the tree. This is not only
economical, saving us money and the environment but
keeps the gift receiver from guessing the contents so
easily." ~ Sandy in California
"I have a 'piggy bank' that I keep pennies and
dimes in. When the bank is full, I roll the coins.
Depending on how much I've saved, I'll either deposit
the money into a savings account at the bank or treat
my family to dinner or a fun family activity.
I'm not a smoker so I
save nickels in the ashtray in my car. This is my car
savings. When I need gas, a car wash, parking meter
money, toll money, etc. and I don't have any cash
there's always the ashtray. This has come in handy
quite a few times over the years. Especially when I
was a student in college, money would be tight and I
didn't have enough gas to get to school and back
home." ~ Wanda
"When
I receive a pay raise I figure out how much it
will increase my two-week check. I take half of
that amount and increase the automatic deposit
into savings by that much and I’m still able
to enjoy the other half of the raise as a boost
to my budget. Since I never get used to
the pay being there I don’t miss it. When our
company allows us to sell back PTO twice a year
I fill out a new form and reduce my tax
withholding for that check only. It keeps
more money in my pocket and has not caused me
any problems of owing taxes when I figure my
yearly taxes.
I mix sugared cereal with cheaper unsugared
cereal, such as bagged frosted flakes with corn
flakes or plain rice krispies with bagged cocoa
krispies. My children never knew you could
buy the really sugary cereal until they were
older. Pop, potato chips, candy, pop tarts and
other luxuries were treats that the grandmas
brought when they came to visit. They could
easily find out what the kids wanted and since I
did not usually stock these items they were
always eagerly received. This also was a
way for the grandmas to easily purchase
something the kids really enjoyed for only a
little money.
I use TVP (textured vegetable protein-available
at most health food stores or co-ops) in my
meatballs, meatloaf and other hamburger type
dishes. It adds protein, reduces the fat and is
cheaper per pound than hamburger. If you check
the wrapper of many frozen burritos and similar
convenience foods you will see TVP listed as an
ingredient because these companies also know how
to save money on ingredients. Be sure to
add extra moisture so the food will not be dried
out. You will need to experiment to find out the
proportions that work for your family.
I know about what it would cost me per hour to
workout at a local health club based on how
often I got there when I had could afford a
membership. After a session of weeding the
garden, mowing the lawn or heavy cleaning I
reward myself mentally by figuring out how much
it would have cost me to do a workout at the
club vs. working out for free at home and also
accomplishing an unpleasant task.
I use the 3 sneaker system. I have a really
ratty pair that is for gardening/painting and
similar jobs, a medium-used pair for bumming
around and everyday tasks, and a nice pair for
when I’m out for casual events. When I get a
new pair of sneakers they all get rotated down a
notch and the bad pair get thrown out. It
almost seems like I got 3 new pairs because
I’ve improved the sneakers I have for each
need." ~ Christy
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"I *used to* put any
reimbursements straight into savings. If I spent money for work
or my 4-H club, the checks I received back went right
into a savings account that I don't touch. This brought to mind
again, I will strive to start that up again. With online
banking, I constantly move money into savings to earn a few more
pennies if I don't need the money right away for a bill. When I
need to pay the bill, the money can be moved with the click of
the mouse." ~ Anggie
"I found that by saving all
$5 bills I receive, my savings add up quickly and painlessly.
It has been a great saving experience for me and my family
reaps the rewards as I use this nest egg at gift giving time."
~ Janet
"I don't pay for cable television; therefore I get no
television at all. But I still like to watch some TV
series (Grey's Anatomy and House are two examples). I've got
myself on a weekly cash budget to avoid using credit cards.
When I pay for something in cash, I toss the change into my
purse. I try to use the change in my purse, but what I
don't use goes into a container. When the container is
full (it holds anywhere from $20 - $25 depending on the number
of quarters), I take it to a local store that has a Coinstar
machine and turn it in for an Amazon.com gift card (no
fee). If you spend at least $25 on Amazon. com there is
no charge for shipping. In my area, cable TV would cost
me $50 a month, or $600/year. This year, so far, I have
purchased DVDs for less than $200 and gotten as much
entertainment as I would have from subscribing to cable TV.
You just have to be sure that what you buy is something you
would watch again. (Or, you could resell it on half.com and
recoup some of your money). P. S. My library does not
have any TV series at all and Blockbuster does not allow
me four to five weeks to watch a TV series." ~ Kate
in Florida
"As part of their financial
education, my children are required to buy their own food
when we go on vacation. The older children have jobs and the
very young ones we (the parents) pay for but it is difficult for
a six year old to save enough money. An older lady at church
gave my daughter a plastic piggy bank with a few pennies in it
as a present. The whole family started giving her all their
pennies and by vacation time the bank was full. When we wrapped
them she ended up with almost $40! Now we have made it the rule
that when a child turns six they get the privilege of the piggy
bank and pennies." ~ Kathy
"My husband and I like to collect all of our loose
change, and sometimes a dollar bill or two, and save it up
through out the year. Occasionally, I will dip into it for
lunch money or a snack for the kids. Several years ago, we
haven't been as diligent since, we saved over two hundred
dollars and took ourselves on a mini-vacation. It paid for our
gas and hotel room and a nice dinner out for our family of
four. We had a great time and it was all the sweeter knowing
where the money came from." ~ Jennifer
"I learned a long
time ago to semi-flatten a roll of toilet paper before
putting it on the roller. With a crease in the
cardboard insert it can't be pulled hard and rolled fast.
It kind of, sort of, rolls in a loppy sort of way
causing the user to not get as much off the roll as usual
resulting in LOTS of savings!" ~ Gayle
"The sneakiest way to
save is to pay yourself , or rather your savings
account first after tithing. For over 22 years my
husband's paycheck has been deposited directly into our
account and we automatically invest in his 401K as well as
put some funds into our savings account. Our long-term
retirement funds have never been in our expendable funds so
we don't miss them and by putting something in savings each
paycheck we've always had a cushion to fall back on. The
Lord has been faithful and we have seen our investments
multiply." ~ Sherrie
"This is my way of
saving money....sneakily. At the bank, I always
remember to get coin wrappers. At the end of the day, I
wrap all money that totals a dollar. I put quarters,
pennies, dimes, or nickels in a wrapper as long as they
total one dollar. When I go back to the bank, I
trade in the money wrapped in coins for dollar bills. This
works for me every time.
Trust me, once you try this method, you think before
breaking a bill to buy something, which will only leave
you with change....again. Just a reminder: dollar
bills are lighter to carry than coins!" ~ Waltheria
"Our bank account
includes automatic online bill paying. One of the 'bills' always
paid is to an out-of-the-way credit union (across town
where you have to pay to park). We put in just $5 a
week, but by the end of the year, there is over $250 in the
account. This comes in very handy at Christmas time." ~
Jeanne
Editor's Note: Thanks to these readers for taking time to share
their ideas!
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