Money-Saving Tips from Tibs and Shell

[vorlon13]

and it's warmer in here than it is outdoors

[Shell B]

and it's warmer in here than it is outdoors

Damn right.

[vorlon13]

and despite their privations and protestations, they persist in clinging to life . . .

[Edwardo Piet]

So glad you're back on AF Shell!

Great idea for a thread too!

Also sorry about bickering about mindfulness before

I get an idea in my head and I get stuck sometimes

[Shell B]

So glad you're back on AF Shell!

Great idea for a thread too!

Also sorry about bickering about mindfulness before

I get an idea in my head and I get stuck sometimes

Thanks! I didn't think it would be for long, but I got sucked in. It's nice to have a place to chat while I'm working.

It was Tibby's idea to do this thread. I just implemented it while he was working and passed it off to him to add to when he came downstairs.

Oh, that's fine. I don't care about bickering. We have a difference of opinion. Trust me, I wish it worked better, quicker and more obviously. It's frustrating that there is no immediate cure for anxiety, but this is the life I've got. I'll put in the time to make it livable.

Preaching to the choir, mate. I spent the entire morning fixating on one physical sensation so much that I kept getting physically anxious about it. That's the third day in a row, same sensation. Panic disorder and OCD and really great for getting ideas stuck in your head. You've just got to learn to shuffle it around enough to see through the mist.

[Edwardo Piet]

Distracting myself is what works best for me. And taking things one day at a time.

And being an optimist.

[Brian37]

I don't have a credit card, precisely because I like treating my debit card like cash. Can't spend it if you don't have it. Coupons I never use, I always buy generic store brand or Dollar Store which usually costs far less.

Cloths, always second hand or donation stores for me.

Cell phone, I have a burner, very cheap. Bad thing is you can get fucked on the pre pay card, when trying to add money or if your phone breaks most companies wont let you transfer the balance of the past month to a new device. And these fuckers bump your cut off date back one day every month, all that extra money sits in their bank accounts. It may not seem that much to an individual, but if you add up the 10s of millions they rip people off doing that to, it adds up. Personally I think that shit should be against the law. If you pay for it you should be allowed to use it no matter how you paid for it. And your due date should be the same every month, not be bumped back a day every month.

Cable? That is a rip off too. I hate that you cant simply have internet or just phone or just cable.

[brewer]

Mega stores (i.e. Sams/Costco) are great if you have storage room. Well worth the cost of joining. 

Pay cash when you can for new automobiles. Paying interest on something that depreciates instantly, do the math. I drove a POS for 4 years while diligently saving the money to pay cash. Sometimes you get a lower price if you take the dealership loan and then pay the loan off in one lump sum. The dealerships get a kick back from the loan companies which they may negotiate into the final price. Also try to get free oil changes, tire rotation, routine checks,..... thrown in if not offered. Buy in the springtime, you get deals on the prior years left over models. For some, leasing is the better option and depends on your driving requirements. Buying used cars is a completely different discussion. 

Dental/vision/RX. Look into discount card plans. I have one called Carefree that covers all three for $15/month. It's a straight discount, no copay or deductible. My last $700 dental bill was cut to $350. Drawback is finding a provider that accepts the discount. You can find the provider lists on line for your area. The discounts on dental alone pay for the card with my wife's and my routine cleanings/x-rays alone. Have not tried it for RX, that is covered under our ACA plan. 

RX- check out Good RX. Gives you the prices in your zip code by provider and printable coupons if available.

I never buy extended warranties.

[Shell B]

I don't have a credit card, precisely because I like treating my debit card like cash. Can't spend it if you don't have it. Coupons I never use, I always buy generic store brand or Dollar Store which usually costs far less.

Our dollar store has some name brands you can use coupons for. I can get canned food for free/hella cheap. We definitely find stuff that is cheaper than store brand often. We always check to see if it's cheaper to buy something and toss the coupon. Of course, there are the one or two things we have a brand-specific taste for, but that's rare.

Cloths, always second hand or donation stores for me.

That definitely works. I've found some awesome clothes at consignment shops.

Cell phone, I have a burner, very cheap. Bad thing is you can get fucked on the pre pay card, when trying to add money or if your phone breaks most companies wont let you transfer the balance of the past month to a new device. And these fuckers bump your cut off date back one day every month, all that extra money sits in their bank accounts. It may not seem that much to an individual, but if you add up the 10s of millions they rip people off doing that to, it adds up. Personally I think that shit should be against the law. If you pay for it you should be allowed to use it no matter how you paid for it. And your due date should be the same every month, not be bumped back a day every month.

Yeah, that's some bullshit.

Cable? That is a rip off too. I hate that you cant simply have internet or just phone or just cable.

We never did it until very recently. You just can't wait until a show pops up online anymore. Every major show is spoiler city online. It's a total first-world problem, but we spend a lot of time watching films and shows together. It's a minor expense compared to our enjoyment of it. I still hate that we took the plunge, though.

---

Mega stores (i.e. Sams/Costco) are great if you have storage room. Well worth the cost of joining. 

Tibs would be in heaven. He loves stocking up. We simply don't have the storage space.

Pay cash when you can for new automobiles. Paying interest on something that depreciates instantly, do the math. I drove a POS for 4 years while diligently saving the money to pay cash. Sometimes you get a lower price if you take the dealership loan and then pay the loan off in one lump sum. The dealerships get a kick back from the loan companies which they may negotiate into the final price. Also try to get free oil changes, tire rotation, routine checks,..... thrown in if not offered. Buy in the springtime, you get deals on the prior years left over models. For some, leasing is the better option and depends on your driving requirements. Buying used cars is a completely different discussion. 

Ugh, I know. It's smart not to buy the first year a car comes out. Two or three years used is okay. We didn't pay cash, as we needed a car straight away, but we pay it off fast. In the future, I think we'll manage cash.

Dental/vision/RX. Look into discount card plans. I have one called Carefree that covers all three for $15/month. It's a straight discount, no copay or deductible. My last $700 dental bill was cut to $350. Drawback is finding a provider that accepts the discount. You can find the provider lists on line for your area. The discounts on dental alone pay for the card with my wife's and my routine cleanings/x-rays alone. Have not tried it for RX, that is covered under our ACA plan. 

RX- check out Good RX. Gives you the prices in your zip code by provider and printable coupons if available.

I never buy extended warranties.

Sweet. We just got our first health spending account, so we put in a set amount every year before taxes (they can't tax the HSA money) and buy our scripts, copays, etc. out of that.

[Tonus]

Pay cash when you can for new automobiles. Paying interest on something that depreciates instantly, do the math.

Another way to look at this: don't buy a car unless it's at least three years old. It will have lost considerable value within the first three/four years but should still be in good/great shape. For luxury cars that rule is more like six-to-eight years.

Also... I don't have a budget-- I keep a ledger. Instead of planning my spending beforehand, I track it as I go. Looking at my ledger tells me how much I'm actually spending on stuff, including stuff I need (food, mortgage, utilities) and stuff I can do without (entertainment, miscellaneous items). Knowing where my money is really going is a great help in figuring out where to cut back.