Money saving tips you don't have to think about?

[allison8033]

I also have a Disney Visa, but it takes a break until the $2000 is charged, since the $2000 nets me $734 in airfare, and it would only get me $20 in Disney rewards. $2000 is pretty easy in 3 months, with groceries, utitlities, insurance, etc so it is still a very good deal for a lot of people.

$2000=$734 in airfare? Is that on a Southwest card? I've been using mine & paying off, and I have a lot of points, but when I'm looking at tickets with dollars vs. points I don't think my points are near that dollar amount. Am I missing something?

 

[elgerber]

$2000=$734 in airfare? Is that on a Southwest card? I've been using mine & paying off, and I have a lot of points, but when I'm looking at tickets with dollars vs. points I don't think my points are near that dollar amount. Am I missing something?

No, the $2000 is what you spend to get the 50000 sign up bonus points. That is worth $833 on airfare, - the $99 fee.

 

[QVCshopper]

What is a frequent buyer card?

Lots of smaller chains offer them. Usually buy 9 coffees, get 1 free, etc. Some are better than others, and I just keep a pile in my wallet. I have ones for McD coffee, pretzel factory, Auntie Ann's, Kiwi Yogurt, and many more.

 

[gorkt]

Like another poster said, I direct deposit $200 every pay period into a savings account. If I don't see it in the checking account I don't spend it.

I also recently got one of the Chase Freedom cards which gives you 1% back plus 5% on certain things every quarter. This quarter is restaurants so I have been charging all restaurant purchases and paying them back on the card. It is not a lot but better than nothing.

 

[Keishag]

Our Kroger does anywhere from 2-4X gas reward points when you buy gift cards there. Buy gift cards for things you are already buying/using and then save mega bucks at the pump! We bought $1500 in Disney gift cards for instance, to pay for our dining plan this past trip. That got us $1 off per gallon of gas for about 4 fill ups. Small savings, but it was literally effortless and it adds up.

 

[DSNY4ever]

To be honest I just stopped before every purchase and thought do I really NEED this? Am I buying it just because it is on sale? Is this an impulse purchase? Etc. I always consider price, but I also started considering quality. If something breaks/ falls apart/ or fades after not much time then you end up spending more than if you bought a quality product in the first place.

And ask for Disney gift cards for birthdays and Christmas and put that toward your treat/souvenirs budget

 

[inkedupmomma]

WOW guys! Thanks for all the tips! Seems that I am doing quite a bit of what you guys do, so I seem to be on the right track!
I put money from check right to savings, but that is for a house.. yeah, we're saving for that and a car too..oh and we are expecting another child LOL

However, any cash tips I get from clients I put directly into my own piggy bank and that is nothing but Disney money! Same with change! Tax money goes towards Disney, camp, summer trips, bigger bills, etc... Christmas time bonuses from clients were a HUGE help for this last trip! Paid for all gas, souvenirs and misc.

We also got Disney GC's for everything. Well the kids and I that is, and I will ask for the same this year.

I think my biggest, and I do mean BIGGEST saving FAIL is going out to eat. I'm embarrassed to even say what we spend a month! With that said I have been able to put away up to 2k a month in savings, and never less than 1k a month. That I have to do if we truly want a house, as that is what it will realistically look like once we own a home n our area and then I'll have nothing to save.. That is a whole other thread though, isn't it! ha!

Thank you all so much! I may look into some iphone apps, and ebates, I'm just always SO bad at remembering to start online searching from those apps!

Thank you to whoever mentioned the pampers on amazon! GREAT to know with baby on the way.. although I may cloth diaper... but I may not at all!

I'm still all ears and appreciate how quick yall replied!

 

[DSNY4ever]

Thank you to whoever mentioned the pampers on amazon! GREAT to know with baby on the way.. although I may cloth diaper... but I may not at all!

Cloth diapering is AMAZING. We have saved a boatload. It seems scary at first and I honestly thought it would be really hard and we'd be counting the days till he was potty trained, but it is so easy and really no big deal at all. I love not wasting money on wipes and diapers. It helps that our daycare is on board and cloth diapers for us during the day too because I was not going to switch back and forth. Surprisingly most day cares we talked to were open to it (we just give them a wet bag and take them home to be washed and bring them back).

We eat out maybe once a month, so that is a big savings for us (this is how we were before kids too). I imagine with a baby on the way you will be forced to cut back your eating out, so get ready to save

 

[allison8033]

No, the $2000 is what you spend to get the 50000 sign up bonus points. That is worth $833 on airfare, - the $99 fee.

Thanks--I was thinking I had missed something. I just got my SW card in March and I only got the card with 20000 points & the lower fee. Oh well...

 

[jenseib]

Thanks--I was thinking I had missed something. I just got my SW card in March and I only got the card with 20000 points & the lower fee. Oh well...

I am so glad I did this a year ago. I only have like a $59 fee and I got 50,000 points after making 1 purchase. I wonder why it went up so drastically with lower points.

 

[TLuvsD]

See if you can cut back on the eating out...even if you buy the prepared meals at the grocery store, it would be less than eating out. Or use a crock pot or freezer meals.

I use ebates, it saves a lot of money. And I've been doing Viggle lately. That doesn't seem to be adding up very quickly, but I don't watch a lot of TV (you put the Viggle app on your smartphone and you get points for watching TV). If you use Disney GC, can you buy them at Target with a red card? That would save 5%...

 

[AntePrincess]

To be honest I just stopped before every purchase and thought do I really NEED this? Am I buying it just because it is on sale? Is this an impulse purchase? Etc. I always consider price, but I also started considering quality. If something breaks/ falls apart/ or fades after not much time then you end up spending more than if you bought a quality product in the first place.

Yep, that's what we do, only it's become such second nature we just don't shop at all. We don't shop IRL, we don't shop online, we don't ever browse or window shop. We pretty much get our groceries, always from a planned menu and a list, pick up any worn out necessities while we're doing that, and back home we go. We shop once or once every other week.

I think my biggest, and I do mean BIGGEST saving FAIL is going out to eat. I'm embarrassed to even say what we spend a month! With that said I have been able to put away up to 2k a month in savings, and never less than 1k a month. That I have to do if we truly want a house, as that is what it will realistically look like once we own a home n our area and then I'll have nothing to save.. That is a whole other thread though, isn't it! ha!

That was my big pit fall, but we've traded it for a picnic once a week in summer and a homemade pizza and movie night at home in bad weather. I time my picnics for a local farmer's market (so long as the weather cooperates) and we take our goodies over to a park. It's a good change of pace like dining out, without the tab.

If it's just the need for a special meal once in a while, how about starting a Sunday dinner tradition?

 

[travelgirl06]

Cloth diapering is AMAZING. We have saved a boatload. It seems scary at first and I honestly thought it would be really hard and we'd be counting the days till he was potty trained, but it is so easy and really no big deal at all. I love not wasting money on wipes and diapers. It helps that our daycare is on board and cloth diapers for us during the day too because I was not going to switch back and forth. Surprisingly most day cares we talked to were open to it (we just give them a wet bag and take them home to be washed and bring them back).

We eat out maybe once a month, so that is a big savings for us (this is how we were before kids too). I imagine with a baby on the way you will be forced to cut back your eating out, so get ready to save

I agree with the cloth diapering! The upfront costs can be a little intimidating, but its very little extra effort (buying used or "seconds" saves a ton up front). A few extra loads of laundry a week is easy. We use disposables when we are travelling and I always cringe at the cost

Otherwise, I use ebates, try to avoid things we don't need, drive an older car, and look for deals - I get my hair done at the beauty school and they do a great job, low-cost clinic for dog vaccinations/meds, limited extracurriculars, and primarily only shopping sales at the grocer (other than lots of fresh produce, which is surprisingly affordable)