STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

honey · Gucci

cutting corners?

Christine · Coach

Helpful post! I use grocery coupons (yep, they still come in the Sunday paper), combine errands into one trip to save on gas, pack my lunch, make big batches of some meals and freeze some for later (sometimes it's cheaper to buy a big package of ground beef, etc), avoid eating out too often, avoid getting takeout (MUCH cheaper to cook, especially if you are able to plan your meals out for the week and stick to your grocery list!), save my change in a jar, sometimes I'll invite friends over to party at our place b/c bars in Boston are so expensive....I'll keep thinking of other things!

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I don't have any real tips right now because I'm still trying to learn how to save and budget on a real salary!!

I do tend to buy store brand cleaners, paper products. etc. A cleaning lady friend of my moms said the stuff at Dollar tree is just as good as the name brand stuff plus dollar tree is only a dollar.

I have been checking the grocery ad papers and seeing what was on sale and planned out meals/food that way. It sometimes helps.

I also park a few blocks away from my client site when I'm at my regular client - its on the very edge of down town so the parking is $2 vs. $8 to be in downtown and only a block from the building. I also park in surface lots vs. garages because garages tend to be more expensive and they aren't any more secure.

Edit to add:

I always bring my leftovers home even if its on the firm's dollar - some people don't. That's at least one more meal. If its a lot of left overs - like cheesecake factory - I freeze half and eat half the next day. Also I never eat in at Jason's or Souper Salad type places because you get more when you do take out. So I eat the salad for 2 days and freeze the soup(s) for later. Especially with Souper Salad where you get 2 soup containers and a huge salad. I just add some new lettuce on top of the salad & croutons and it makes the left overs fresher.

-- Edited by lsubatgirl at 15:19, 2005-10-20

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

I also clip coupons . But I always make a list of what I need after I look through the sale papers. I always buy the brand that is on sale or the cheapest. I don't eat generic stuff or anything, but sometimes certain brands are cheaper then others and still taste great. I also have a "savings card" at Jewel, which is where I shop and that thing saves me a ton. Also, Jewel, and I think Dominick's have 10 for 10 sales, you wouldn't believe the kind of stuff I get for $1 and I stock up when it is. Example: Big bottles of juice, pretzles, kleenex, etc.

Also, when I am shopping or looking for something I like from a store or online, I wait for or search for coupons. I am really good at not impulse buying and most of the time wait for a coupon so I can go back and get it cheaper.

Places that I can count on getting a coupon every month if you sign up online or in the store:

Bed Bath and Beyond (these come in the papers too)

Bath and Body Works

JC Penny

Kohls

New York and Company (GREAT coupons!)

NCshopper · Hermes

I love hearing how people save money! I think it's so interesting!

I am not a coupon clipper. Never have been and never will be. We never buy prepackaged foods anyway, so coupons really don't do me any good. I do have one of the little keychain savings cards and I use that religiously, so with all the points I earn on that I can get stuff like free butter, flour, sugar, milk, eggs, etc.

I buy generic at the grocery store. Cereals especially. I use Suave too. I know it's probably not great for my hair, but honestly I can't tell the difference.

We get the El Cheapo cable. I'm not talking 99 channels--I'm talking 20 channels. It's $13 a month and randomly enough the Food Network and HGTV are both included, so we're set. I don't need to pay an additional $30 a month to get to waste my time watching E! and MTV (which is exactly what I'd do, even though I hate to admit it!)

We rarely go out to eat. We're such foodies anyway that we love to cook and find that cooking is more enjoyable than eating out anyway. If we do eat out its at this super cheap great place around the block from our house, so it's nothing fancy. And we always pack our lunches and bring our own caffeine supply to work (green tea for me, coffee for him) instead of stopping at Starbucks.

We see matinees instead of going out for a night show. And I've been known to sneak "outside" candy in. (Shhh! Don't tell or the movie police will come get me! )

We get most of our home stuff exclusively at places like Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens N Things, and Home Goods instead of at Pottery Barn. I always get the PB catalogs, rip out the pages I like and then can replicate the look using stuff from cheaper places.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Sometimes coupons don't save you money. In fact, they just get you to spend money that you weren't going to in the first place. Especially coupons to clothing stores.

The Sunday paper coupons save a lot of money. I used to cut them all out and organize them in my coupon book. It would give me ideas on what to buy for meals. I get a cart full of groceries and hand them my 10 or so coupons and save like $18 extra!

When I have to wash dishes by hand, I don't fill up the sink with water. Instead I will take the largest dish or pot and fill that with some water and wash the other dishes in it. Saves water.

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

NCshopper wrote:

And I've been known to sneak "outside" candy in. (Shhh! Don't tell or the movie police will come get me! ) We get most of our home stuff exclusively at places like Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens N Things, and Home Goods instead of at Pottery Barn. I always get the PB catalogs, rip out the pages I like and then can replicate the look using stuff from cheaper places.

OMG I totally take candy and even pop into movies!! lol Just pop the can at a really loud part!

I also get ideas from expensive catalogs (mostly Ballard Designs) And then find the stuff elsewhere for way cheaper. Whevever I need furniture that I can't find in stores I look for it on overstock.com and wait for them to do their $1 shipping. (Shipping for furniture can sometimes be $30 and up!)

NCShopper What card do you have where you earn points and get free stuff as a reward?

I also use like the cheapest shampoos and hair products I can find! lol

-- Edited by Luv2Shop at 15:53, 2005-10-20

bumblebee · Coach

this is such a bachelorette response, but...i like to have my friends meet up at my house (or someone else's) before going out and have a glass of wine or cocktails and maybe a snack. it's fun to get the night started off that way, and you don't end up buying as many drinks at the bar.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I just read through the other post and those were some good tips!!

I love buying movies so I only get them used from Amazon.com or Half.com for $5 or less. Its cheaper than going to blockbuster and renting also.

I also do online surveys through the keynote panel -> $10 gc to amazon for each survey and also surveydirect.com usually $2 paid per survey in your paypal account.

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

Well, after reading this, I may also start dumping all my change into a change bank, and see what happens! LOL But seriously, I use to eat out ALLL THE TIME, at least 3-4 days out of the work week, and well, that got REALLY costly, so now I bring my lunch, I may buy a 'snack' from the cafe, but that's UNDER $1.00; and I order or eat out on Fridays ONLY! Might not be much, but is sure does save me money. LOL

luckylily · Gucci

I love all these little savings tips. Here are some things that I do...

- Make my own coffee and breakfast.

- Bring my lunch and snacks to work. This really adds up in savings for me.

- If I need tickets to a game or show, I go to the venue and by directly from the box office to avoid paying the ordering fees. Ticketmaster fees are nearly $15 on a $30 ticket these days! I also look through Craigslist a lot for cheap tickets. A lot of people try to get rid of Mariners, Seahawks or hockey tickets at the last minute, if you are flexible you can get some good deals.

- We get a pack of coupons for business in our neighborhood in the mail every two weeks. I always go through it and keep coupons we can use, like getting the car oil changed.

- My husband and I love going out to eat, it is one of our biggest spending weaknesses. We try to save costs by searching out "buy one dinner, get one free" coupons. We also eat early to take advantage of happy hour menus. There are a lot of great resaurants in town that have 1/2 price appetizers before 6, and in many cases the appetizers are full meals. I also rarely buy drinks when we are out to dinner. Instead, I'll keep a nice bottle of wine and a few different liquors in the house in case we want a drink before or after dinner.

- Shop for Christmas and birthday gifts early. If I see something I know someone would like (particularly on sale) I'll buy it right then and save it for the holiday. When I wait until the last minute I always spend more than I want to.

- Use the library. We have a great library system here, I can't remember the last time I bought a book.

That's all I can think of right now. I love savings tips!

NCshopper · Hermes

Luv2Shop wrote:

NCShopper What card do you have where you earn points and get free stuff as a reward?

I use my Lowe's Foods card. They have a Greenpoints thing where you get one point for each $ you spend (or something like that) and then you can spend your Points on Lowe's brand things...usually staples like eggs, cheese, milk, bread, flour, sugar, etc. I swear, that card saves me a ton! I get all of our groceries for a week for about $60, which generally includes wine.

tara t · Marc Jacobs

i try to drink at home.

i buy wine by the case.

i save my change.

most of the time, bring my lunch.

i'm a big time saver, so i write lists of what i need from which store, and plan my route accordingly. so i guess that saves gas.

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

Ohhhhh! I forgot, I belong to a thing called Upromise, I am sure some of you have heard of it. When I buy certain things with credit cards I register, they give me a small percentage of it and put it into an account. You can register as many credit cards as you want, and grocery savings cards. When you buy certain brands or eat at certain restaurants you get a percent, also when you shop online, if you do it through their website they also donate to your account. Also, you can have friends and family register their cards as well and it all goes into one account.

After you accumulate $ you can invest it and they help you. It's designed to create college funds. I am saving for my future kids.

But it's free money, so I'll take it!!! www.upromise.com

-- Edited by Luv2Shop at 16:33, 2005-10-20

wicked · Coach

I keep a change jar, but I put all of my $1 bills into it as well-it really adds up! I also have a citi card where you get points that you can redeem for giftcards from target, best buy, banana republic, gap, barnes and noble and other places. After 3 mos. of using the card only for necessities (gas, groceries, toiletries) I earned $225 worth of gift cards.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

my bf and i share a (his) car (i live in chicago so i take the el...cheaper than gas now) so i left my car at my parents house (for over a year now).

i cook my own meals, bring my own coffee

i subscribe to magazines (through those cheapo services) instead of buy them from the stand

i do the overstock route, love $1 shipping

i use ebay for a lot of things

i do the idine thing where you get airline miles for dining out

i ride my bike a lot (to friends, etc...) for exercise and to save $$

i know when my wine store has their big sales and stock up

i do those marketing focus groups last one was $80 for 2 hours.

i stock up on my favorite soup, etc. when it's on sale

i'm not a movie person, but when i would go, i would bring candy in too.

that's all that i can think of.

JMR · Dooney & Bourke

I was never much of a coupon girl until I had a baby! I save every single coupon I get and swap with other moms - I always find someone that needs I coupon I don't and vice versa (Anyone have any similac coupons?? hehe)

laken1 · Hermes

I clip coupons from the Sunday paper

I do price match ads at Walmart

I buy my makeup from ebay

I use cheapy shampoo & conditioner

I never splurge on body lotion, etc - I ask for that as gifts & have BBW stuff than I think i'll ever be able to use

We go out to eat sometimes, but mostly we dine in. My FIL takes us to really really nice dinners when he is in town so I don't feel deprived. I mystery shop for some restaurants so it's very hit or miss, but sometimes can get our meal paid for (maybe 9 times this past year?). If we drink at dinner we only have one drink.

We steam lobster at home - when I want a treat - it is only about $40 & I'd much rather do that than go out to eat.

OMG - my most embarassing confession - I drink wine in the box at home - so much cheaper & it's really not bad. I promise. Not the best of course, but so cheap.

I run my errands all on one day & in the shortest route possible

If we go to a movie I most definately bring candy in - buy movie popcorn though!

I always use a coupon from a weekly mailer when i go to the dry cleaners.

JMR - if you pm me your address I'll mail you my baby related coupons from the Sunday paper. It always breaks my heart to throw them away - I used to give them to my sister but now her kids are older. Sometimes I cut them out and put them by the product in the store to hopefully cut a mom a break. I'm so pitiful!

BargainQueen · Marc Jacobs

JMR wrote:

I was never much of a coupon girl until I had a baby! I save every single coupon I get and swap with other moms - I always find someone that needs I coupon I don't and vice versa (Anyone have any similac coupons?? hehe)

OMG JMR, I did that same thing! I signed up for mailing lists for Enfamil, Similac & Good Start. I also signed my mom, BFF and mother in law. Then I traded them on BabyCenter and CouponForum. I didn't spend a dime on formula for 3 months!

blink · Coach

grocery coupons from the paper, not really for food though on occasion there will be one dairy, condiments, juice or canned soup...I use them mostly for cleaning and paper products, toilet paper, diapers....

cooking at home, today I had bacon, eggs and oatmeal for my "brunch"

doing all my errands in a "chain," which means trying to get everything done on a warm engine to save gas rather than going back and forth to the home.

no dessert or alcohol when I dine out, this makes a huge difference.

limit Starbucks to once a week (that's HARD for me).

-- Edited by lorelei at 18:34, 2005-10-20