What have you done to cut costs this year?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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investor1
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What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

Well, I know this is a board filled with multi-millionares that come here to discuss tax/fee avoidance strategies :), but for those of us not quite there yet, what are the things you have done in the past year or so to cut costs? What did you do with the difference?

Things that I have done are:
* I moved. Not for finanical reasons, but it saved me $25/month on overall housing costs and around $50/month on gas. The extra money is going into a savings account for a down payment on a house.
* I got more into couch surfing when traveling. I've tried it in the past, but I did it about a half a dozen times this year. It meant I didn't spend any money on a hotel. Sure, I did nice things for my hosts that had some costs associated, but no where near what a hotel room costs. I probably saved around $1500. About half of that is still in the vacation fund for next year. The other half was spent having more fun on this year's vacation :)

That's all I can think of for now. Fortunately, my regular savings/spending was already pretty low cost. I think next year, I'll spend less eating out and put the savings in an HSA for more health care savings and a healthier diet.
Last edited by investor1 on Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:27 am, edited 3 times in total.
Boglemama
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Boglemama »

Appeal property taxes
Meal planning
Packing lunches and snacks
No cable. Just high speed internet for $20 monthly and Hulu for $8 monthly.
Question every bill! Caught a $50 error in a medical bill.
Skipped an extra week in mowing the lawn
Bought all clothes, except undies and socks, at thrift shops.
Kept organized. It's amazing how much you have that you don't know you have if you aren't organized.
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LadyGeek
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (how you spend your money and your time).
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Sidney
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Sidney »

investor1 wrote:Well, I know this is a board filled with multi-millionares that come here to discuss tax/fee evasion strategies
With respect to taxes, perhaps you mean "avoidance" instead of "evasion" which is illegal :P .
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

Boglemama wrote:Appeal property taxes
Meal planning
Packing lunches and snacks
No cable. Just high speed internet for $20 monthly and Hulu for $8 monthly.
Question every bill! Caught a $50 error in a medical bill.
Skipped an extra week in mowing the lawn
Bought all clothes, except undies and socks, at thrift shops.
Kept organized. It's amazing how much you have that you don't know you have if you aren't organized.
Nice! The meal planning and packing lunches should help with my next goal of eating out less.

I always get an itemized bill for medical expenses and compare that online.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

Sidney wrote:
investor1 wrote:Well, I know this is a board filled with multi-millionares that come here to discuss tax/fee evasion strategies
With respect to taxes, perhaps you mean "avoidance" instead of "evasion" which is illegal :P .
Fixed!
ieee488
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by ieee488 »

Boglemama wrote: Appeal property taxes
+1

Apparently, last year when I was out of town, the assessor came by.
Since I wasn't home, the default was finished basement. :shock:
Good thing I went to find out more about my assessed value.
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mickeyvee
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by mickeyvee »

Refinanced Mortgage- saved $290/month
Dropped Life insurance - Saved $120/month
Dropped Cable - Saved $75/month

Yea! I have extra $500/month to put in ROTH! (Already max out 401K ...cut taxes because of 401K maxed 8-) )
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toto238
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by toto238 »

Dropped my cable this month, and I'm actually super excited. I would watch about 1 hour of TV per week for the last 3 months, and before that I barely watched anymore. Since getting rid of it, I find myself and my wife spending more time with each other. We play music together. We'll snuggle and watch Netflix.

My cable company charged me $120 to cut the cable, but having just internet saves me about $70 a month. I'll make up that one-time fee in just two months. Worth it.
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TxAg
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by TxAg »

We had a kiddo. Outlay of an extra $1000/month. But we spend less on eating out/drinks. Maybe a negative of $800/ month compared to this time last year....whoops :(


We love our little nugget, though :)!!!!!!!


We did decide to prolong our new car purchase. We also prolonged any big trips/vacations. We're just gwtting along to get along for the time being.
TRC
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by TRC »

Finally started tracking our spending and "telling our money where to go" with You Need A Budget. My "impulse spending" is now in check, big time.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

TRC wrote:Finally started tracking our spending and "telling our money where to go" with You Need A Budget. My "impulse spending" is now in check, big time.
I did this in the past. It was one of the best financial moves ever! I still spend a bit too much on things like food/entertainment, but everything else is MUCH more in check :)
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LowER
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by LowER »

.....
Last edited by LowER on Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
JDDS
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by JDDS »

I let my unlimited cell phone data plan go. I was using ridiculously low amounts of data anyways.
When my credit card account number changed I failed to let the hoster of an old website know, thus terminating my service--I hadn't used it in some time.
colganc
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by colganc »

After a car accident (everyone was ok), I replaced my vehicle with a relatively inexpensive electric vehicle. I previously worked on lowering my electric bill by 25%. With the combination of the two I was able get a solar system that covers my entire electricity needs with an easy under 5 year payback once subsidies are factored in and not counting money saved from using electricity instead of gas to power my vehicle. 10% reduction in expenses.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I can repeat this feat next year. :)
Compound
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Compound »

We dropped cable leading to savings of about $100/mo. I'm so glad we made the change as we rarely watch TV. Only drawback for me is not being able to watch the sporting events that I previously enjoyed watching (which typically are aired on cable channels nowadays).
tim1999
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by tim1999 »

Joined a less expensive private golf course than the one I had been at.
Dropped Netflix during the warmer months since I wasn't watching it then.
Switched auto insurance companies and raised collision deductibles.
Got rid of the few remaining work pants I had that needed dry cleaning, now all are iron-free and can be washed at home.
LeeMKE
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by LeeMKE »

Sold one of our two cars. I'm fine using bus and ZipCar with an occasional rental car.

With my used car, insurance, garage, gas, license and service, I was spending about $6300.00 each year. Now I'm coming in at about $3600.00 for the year.

I replaced our three thermostats with Nest Thermostats. Wasn't expecting a very fast payback since we have three in a place just under 1600 sq. ft. So I was surprised to find that they are on track to pay for themselves in about 14 months, maybe less. Even modest changes in thermostat controls can have big savings, and being able to set them to aggressive savings when we leave is a bonus.
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topper1296
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by topper1296 »

I'm switching cable/internet providers since my intro rate ran out. They usually extend it when I threaten to cancel, but for the first times in years they didn't budge. It will save me $100/month for the next 2 years to make the switch to a different provider.
poker27
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by poker27 »

Paid down my house to have PMI taken off. Thats really all I can brag about.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

poker27 wrote:Paid down my house to have PMI taken off. Thats really all I can brag about.
That must feel good! Is the difference going toward the principle?
Afty
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Afty »

Minor victory #1: I switched from a ~$55/mo AT&T smartphone plan to a $30/mo T-Mobile plan. Not only is it cheaper, but I get much more data. Next step will be to switch my wife off when her contract expires.

Minor victory #2: I convinced my wife to stop buying coffee every day. I got her a fancy Zojirushi vacuum mug that keeps her coffee cold or hot all day, and I make her cold brew iced coffee to take. I figure we're saving $20-25/week on coffee now.
Small Change
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Small Change »

My partner and I sold one of our two cars (big savings) and dropped Netflix (small savings).
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by White Coat Investor »

investor1 wrote:Well, I know this is a board filled with multi-millionares that come here to discuss tax/fee avoidance strategies :), but for those of us not quite there yet,
One of my goals is to never have to cut my costs. I hope to increase my standard of living every year of my life. It helps if you start really low and grow into your income very slowly.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
d0gerz
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by d0gerz »

With the help of kind Bogleheads and the wonderful wiki, completely revamped my investments. Steps that are saving me money:
- Looked at asset allocation across all accounts, and moved things to lower cost mutual funds.
- Barring 401k, moved everything to Vanguard so don't pay monthly brokerage fees anymore.

Other things:
- Got married. Technically this was last year but the effect was felt this year when I got a nice break on taxes. OTOH I now support an extra person. So overall this is probably neutral to losing me money!
- Changed gym membership from nights and weekends to nights-only as I was never going on weekends anyway.
- No more eating out on weekdays. Home-cooked meals for dinner and leftovers for lunch.
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Riceman
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Riceman »

-Started an HSA. Unclear exactly what the final tally will be until the year is up, but we're probably saving 1,500 dollars even after a decent number of medical expenses.

-First full year using 100 dollar per month discretionary allowances for my wife and me. This was my wife's idea to make her feel empowered to spend money and not worry about using "our" money for "her" spending. But tracking the expenses and knowing that any amount I spend hurts my ability to save for big ticket items has caused me to skip small purchases I didn't need anyway.

-Got the amazon auto 5% back store card. We use amazon a lot, so this is significant.
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avenger
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by avenger »

Paid off a $117k student loan ... Last payment was 3 days ago. Decreases my monthly expenses by $1178. 8-)
cheers ... -Mark | "Our life is frittered away with detail. Simplify. Simplify." -Henry David Thoreau | [VTI, VXUS, BND, VTEB, SV fund]
crg11
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by crg11 »

A few things:
  • Started using YNAB.
  • Paid ourselves (increasing retirement and emergency fund contributions) before paying for other things.
  • Wife switched from Keurig coffee to bagged coffee and stopped going to the coffee shop every morning, significantly reducing our cost per cup.
  • I'm eating breakfast at home now instead of picking it up every day at work, making it dimes per morning instead of several dollars per morning.
  • We eat far more home cooked meals for dinner.
  • Reduced our cost for my wife's cell phone plan twice, once based on usage and once from Verizon lowering the cost for the same plan.
  • Cut our cable bill by dropping channels we rarely watch and *sniff* my beloved local sports channels but going from 20/Mbit to 104/Mbit internet (saving $40/month).
  • Really focused on shopping at the local Market Basket (minus the crazy 2 month period this summer) instead of other local supermarkets that are far more expensive.
Probably a few others, but this is a good start. Next up: figuring out how to get me to make and bring lunch to work every day.
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Tyrobi »

Keep lifestyle inflation under control.
Last edited by Tyrobi on Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by mickeyvee »

Compound wrote...
We dropped cable leading to savings of about $100/mo. I'm so glad we made the change as we rarely watch TV. Only drawback for me is not being able to watch the sporting events that I previously enjoyed watching (which typically are aired on cable channels nowadays).
I bought a digital antennae for $70 at Best Buy. I watch Bears game for free. (Although, the way they're playing, it costs me in a lot of "heartache" ...LOL :oops: )
Life - Can't live with it...can't live without it!
larryinnewyork
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by larryinnewyork »

NEVER go to a Casino
Buy Caulk & Insulation to weather proof the house better
Cut my own lawn
Do my own electrical and plumbing repairs / upgrades
Change vehicle oil/filter myself
Reshingled the shed myself
Rebuilt snow-blower instead of buying new

Taking my "time" into consideration, it could be cheaper to hire someone, but,
I enjoy doing the work and know that it's done the way I want it done.
And when I'm finished, I still say "I just saved $ xxx.xx"
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

EmergDoc wrote:
investor1 wrote:Well, I know this is a board filled with multi-millionares that come here to discuss tax/fee avoidance strategies :), but for those of us not quite there yet,
One of my goals is to never have to cut my costs. I hope to increase my standard of living every year of my life. It helps if you start really low and grow into your income very slowly.
Cutting costs is not the same as lowering your standard of living. In fact, many things lists already can increase it by finding lowering cost ways to accomplish the same thing which leaves extra money for something else. Some people don't start lean and mean and have to trim the fat.
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Barefootgirl »

I'm planning to retire early in a few years, in part due to performing this exercise 20 years ago. After a couple years of trial and error, I arrived at my comfort zone, then it just became auto pilot.

I'm just hear to tell you that it works...I'm now financially independent.

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munemaker
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by munemaker »

Have not done too many things to cut costs this year, but overall we live fairly conservatively.
- Churning some credit card offers and taking advantage of other reward cards I already had. I expect to have 2 free round trip air tickets and 1 free week in a hotel, so we can spend a free week someplace warm this winter. This is along with a lot of other cc perks (cash, restaurant gift cards, etc.).
- Dropped collision and comprehensive from my 2 cars, both 2009 models.
- Planning to completely drop all insurance from my 2 motorcycles during the winter off season; previously I kept them insured year round, even though I can't ride them in the snow.
- Replaced incandescent bulbs in two outside lights (on all night) with LEDs. Most of the interior lighting is already CFL.
- Bought a dorm size refrigerator for my office to eliminate buying food and drinks from the vending machines at work.
- I put on a lot of miles and have been trying to drive closer to the speed limit and avoid quick acceleration/deceleration, mainly to reduce consumption of gasoline. I can consistently increase my mileage by 30% by doing this, and there are other benefits (safety, less risk of encountering the police, less wear on the car, etc.). I am so used to driving fast though, that it is tough to do. It is a work in process.

We do a lot of other things to cut costs, but they are ongoing. I only mentioned the things that are new this year.

Addressing another poster's point, I don't look at any of these cost saving measures as reducing my standard of living. Quite the contrary!
sailfish2
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by sailfish2 »

investor1 wrote:
TRC wrote:Finally started tracking our spending and "telling our money where to go" with You Need A Budget. My "impulse spending" is now in check, big time.
I did this in the past. It was one of the best financial moves ever! I still spend a bit too much on things like food/entertainment, but everything else is MUCH more in check :)

Yes - YNAB is great for this. Well worth the price and I recommend it highly.

Moving itself is expensive. However - I moved to a less expensive area, away from friends who were big spenders, now I am around more down to earth people and temptation to impulse spend is much less. Housing costs in new area are such that home ownership in the near future is finally feasible. New job pays a bit more and has better/cheaper benefits.

I buy a lot of clothing and shoes on Ebay (even nice designer brands) for way less than at the store.
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VictoriaF
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by VictoriaF »

investor1 wrote:* I got more into couch surfing when traveling. I've tried it in the past, but I did it about a half a dozen times this year. It meant I didn't spend any money on a hotel. Sure, I did nice things for my hosts that had some costs associated, but no where near what a hotel room costs.
Could you please share your couch surfing experiences, in this thread or a separate one if you prefer? I want to try couch surfing, but I don't know how to get started. I'd like to surf other coaches but I am not ready to offer mine to other surfers. It sounds terribly selfish, but perhaps, there is a way to reconcile my wishes, e.g., by doing nice things for hosts. I am curious what are some nice things I can do for coach owners?

Thanks,

Victoria
Last edited by VictoriaF on Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

sailfish2 wrote:Moving itself is expensive.
I was fortunate enough to keep my moving expenses down to $30 (U-haul rental) + one day of my time :)
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

VictoriaF wrote:
investor1 wrote:* I got more into couch surfing when traveling. I've tried it in the past, but I did it about a half a dozen times this year. It meant I didn't spend any money on a hotel. Sure, I did nice things for my hosts that had some costs associated, but no where near what a hotel room costs.
Could you please share your couch surfing experiences, in this thread or a separate one if you prefer? I want to try couch surfing, but I don't know how to get started. I'd like to surf other coaches but I am not ready to offer mine to other surfers. It sounds terribly selfish, but perhaps, there is a way to reconcile it, e.g., by doing nice things for hosts. But I am curious what are some nice things I can do for coach owners?

Thanks,

Victoria
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cheese_breath
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by cheese_breath »

Nothing. But I did some tax gain harvesting in the 15% bracket which might provide TLH opportunities next year if the market declines continue.
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toto238
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by toto238 »

We didn't take any vacations this year. I'm getting 5 days of vacation time paid back to me in cash at the end of the year. The remainder of my vacation days will be used for a "staycation" where I'll mostky be catching up on sleep.

Kinda tough seeing all my peers going on vacations across the world. But they don't have student loans.

Speaking of student loans, I switched all my loans to 25 years, then redirected my savings in monthly payments to the highest interest rate loans. While the monthly costs are the same, I calculate that my loans will be laid off a few months earlier due to this move.
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investor1
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by investor1 »

investor1 wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
investor1 wrote:* I got more into couch surfing when traveling. I've tried it in the past, but I did it about a half a dozen times this year. It meant I didn't spend any money on a hotel. Sure, I did nice things for my hosts that had some costs associated, but no where near what a hotel room costs.
Could you please share your couch surfing experiences, in this thread or a separate one if you prefer? I want to try couch surfing, but I don't know how to get started. I'd like to surf other coaches but I am not ready to offer mine to other surfers. It sounds terribly selfish, but perhaps, there is a way to reconcile it, e.g., by doing nice things for hosts. But I am curious what are some nice things I can do for coach owners?

Thanks,

Victoria
Sure, I gotta run right now, but I'll respond later!
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=148542
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

I'm restricting myself to one trip to the supermarket per week, maybe one every ten days. A lot less impulse buying of prepared foods that way.

I have a semi-optional dentistry thing replacing a badly shaped uncomfortable bridge my old dentist put in. $10K estimate by a prosthodontist. I don't think I'm going to do it. until I've saved up for it by cutting back elsewhere. I probably would if I lived in my former state where I had a long time dentist, but major bucks, complex work, plus a new dentist, I dunno.
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VictoriaF
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by VictoriaF »

investor1 wrote:
investor1 wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
investor1 wrote:* I got more into couch surfing when traveling. I've tried it in the past, but I did it about a half a dozen times this year. It meant I didn't spend any money on a hotel. Sure, I did nice things for my hosts that had some costs associated, but no where near what a hotel room costs.
Could you please share your couch surfing experiences, in this thread or a separate one if you prefer? I want to try couch surfing, but I don't know how to get started. I'd like to surf other coaches but I am not ready to offer mine to other surfers. It sounds terribly selfish, but perhaps, there is a way to reconcile it, e.g., by doing nice things for hosts. But I am curious what are some nice things I can do for coach owners?

Thanks,

Victoria
Sure, I gotta run right now, but I'll respond later!
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=148542
Thank you, investor1, for a great review! I will post additional questions in your new couch-surfing thread.

Victoria
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Quickfoot
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Quickfoot »

I switched to Ting for mobile, got Geico to cut my vehicle insurance 30%, switched renter's insurance and saved 40% and leased a new car. My truck got 12 mpg, my Jetta TDI averages 48 (mixed city driving / highway) and gets 60 on the highway. The gas savings alone from not driving my truck pays the lease and a little more for the Jetta. I get to drive a new car and my truck will last essentially forever (10 years old with ~ 500 miles a year being put on it with 103K miles from prior driving).

Last year we cut the cable and use Netflix and Amazon prime for TV. On a real our cost of living has decreased and real income has increased each of the last three years.
Wellfleet
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Wellfleet »

Had a new baby so that has NOT been a cost cutter! But...

Wife requested monthly budget for shopping (clothes/toiletries) and I have complied.
Switched to wife's health insurance: 30% savings (Mine was cheaper for 2 persons, hers cheaper for family).
Switched renters/car insurance company: 35% savings
Selling 17 year old car I drive infrequently: will save $400 insurance+ maintenance. May be offset with taxis during awful weather.
Got two free umbrellas from family to replace my broken one.
Did not renew season tickets to alma mater football team.
Did not renew community supported agriculture membership.
Using Doctor Bronners soap for shower and shaving. Love it!

My only failure this year has been buying 2 suits and pants to replace my old ones with holes in awkward places.
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3CT_Paddler
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Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by 3CT_Paddler »

Last couple of years we have cut costs by cutting cable, going with Cricket (formerly AIO) for our smartphones, and keeping vacations cheap and simple.

This year we refinanced and are saving $300/month.
...


But we had another little bundle of joy this year and our older daughter started going to pre-K. So our costs are slightly up all things considered... but you cut what you can and make it work!
Grt2bOutdoors
Posts: 25625
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: New York

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Switched from oil to natural gas heating.
Reduced charitable contributions to organizations with high overhead.
Reduced water usage.
Installed more efficient lighting.
Drove less.
Spent less thus far overall.

Unfortunately, I can not say that vendors worked as hard at cutting costs as I did, instead my reductions were mostly offset by their increases - ie. property taxes. :annoyed
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
dolphinsaremammals
Posts: 2094
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2014 4:18 pm

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Wellfleet wrote: Got two free umbrellas from family to replace my broken one.
Did not renew community supported agriculture membership.
My only failure this year has been buying 2 suits and pants to replace my old ones with holes in awkward places.
I always buy coats with hoods, so I don't need an umbrella, one less thing to carry around and remember. Also more comfortable when shoveling snow. I suppose if I spent a lot of time in heavy rain this would not work.

I would love to participate in a CSA, but the prices are always staggering for a single person.

Periodically I have to remind myself to take a look at the condition of my clothes. Otherwise I just don't notice that they are fraying and developing holes :D
truenorth418
Posts: 637
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 6:38 am

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by truenorth418 »

-Cut cable down to high speed internet and basic channels only saving ~$80/mth
-Switched cell phone plan to Verizon Wireless pre-paid saving ~$20/mth
Lynette
Posts: 2407
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:47 am

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

Post by Lynette »

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Last edited by Lynette on Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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