How do you save money?

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Last week, Kroger had whole, bone-in turkey breast on sale for 99 cents/lb. I bought 8. I thawed two out and they are now baking away in the oven. They will be sliced for sandwiches, packages up and frozen. I'll use the carcass to make stock for the freezer and then give the scraps to the cats.

Another grocery store had scrawny looking chicken tenders on sale for $1.25/lb. They weren't big enough to use for "chicken tenders" but they are great for soups, stir-fry, chicken and dumplins and casseroles. Bought about 30 lbs. and packaged them up into meal sized packages.

I try not to buy anything that is not on sale.

So, how do you save money?
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
When it comes to food price isn't as important to me as the quality especially with meats and vegetables. So I probably don't save much there though my wife does shop for other things on sale such as can goods, pasta, cleaning supplies and paper products. We do only buy certain brands in those too but they are also often on sale or coupon discounted. As for the rest we have no over head as we don't use credit cards, buy on time and haven't for the last 30 years. Our only over head is car and life insurance, the rest is covered under the business including rent and utilities.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
All my credit cards have a zero balance too. If I use them at all it's for the cash back bonus and then I pay it off at the end of the month.
 

jkath

New member
I feel like since I don't work outside the home, it's my job to save money. I plan out each week's menu, after seeing which meats are on the best sales. Then I go to my favorite grocery site which tells me what specials are running, in conjunction to which manufacturer's coupons (from the Sunday papers) are still active. Then I go online and get coupons for those items I need, that I don't have coupons for (it's amazing how many printables are online!)
On Tuesday I did the week's shopping (for a family of 4) and I paid $92. My coupon/store savings was $94.

I also save by turning down the thermostat (nothing wrong with wearing a sweater inside!) and turning off lights when they're not in use. I'm also the water police when the boys take their showers.

And, I don't use credit cards!
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I do what you do Mama. I buy in bulk and then divide it into servings for two (there is only two of us) and freeze them in vacuum freezer bags. I rarely buy chicken parts, but instead buy 3-4 whole chickens at a time and then break them down my self. Doing this, I get several packs of leg quarters, 1 pack of wings, several packs of boneless and skinless breasts, and I also cut the tenders off the breast and freeze those separately. The backs get wrapped in foil and placed in a large freezer bag to be used for stocks, soups, etc.

I also love buying whole pork loins and then cutting my own loin chops. And of course, buying in bulk at Sams is always helpful. And DW can sniff out a clearance isle no matter how well hidden it is!! :lol:

I was at Publix once, and they had pork loins on sale. I was picking one up, and two lady's were also there looking at the loins, but they didn't know what they were. One of them asked me, "what is that huge thing"? Just to the left of the whole loins where packs of loin chops. I said this is the whole version of those and pointed to the cut chops. I told them that you get a whole loin and then cut your own. Not only can you control the thickness (I like 'em thick!) but it is cheaper! I pointed out that the loin chops were selling for 5.99/lb, and the whole loin was on sale at 1.99/lb.

They bought two of them! :thumb:
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
Cut up the wife's credit cards

similar to what i was going to say..lol

i hide the cards and dont let her go into any pet stores... we always manage come out with a "cute" outift that the dog really needs..lol

as for food, we buy when on sale and shop around.. i dont mind paying a little more for quality though

i also like to make anything that will save me money. DIY'er here
 

Lefty

Yank
First we do an inventory to see what we have. Then we look at the weekly flier to see if something can be made between what we have and whats on sale. I like to cook 2 big meals for the week to take leftovers for work. Dinners could be anything we throw together from our staples. We like to shop at Sam's Club and by staples in bulk.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
I do what you do Mama. I buy in bulk and then divide it into servings for two (there is only two of us) and freeze them in vacuum freezer bags. I rarely buy chicken parts, but instead buy 3-4 whole chickens at a time and then break them down my self. Doing this, I get several packs of leg quarters, 1 pack of wings, several packs of boneless and skinless breasts, and I also cut the tenders off the breast and freeze those separately. The backs get wrapped in foil and placed in a large freezer bag to be used for stocks, soups, etc.

I also love buying whole pork loins and then cutting my own loin chops. And of course, buying in bulk at Sams is always helpful. And DW can sniff out a clearance isle no matter how well hidden it is!! :lol:

I was at Publix once, and they had pork loins on sale. I was picking one up, and two lady's were also there looking at the loins, but they didn't know what they were. One of them asked me, "what is that huge thing"? Just to the left of the whole loins where packs of loin chops. I said this is the whole version of those and pointed to the cut chops. I told them that you get a whole loin and then cut your own. Not only can you control the thickness (I like 'em thick!) but it is cheaper! I pointed out that the loin chops were selling for 5.99/lb, and the whole loin was on sale at 1.99/lb.

They bought two of them! :thumb:

What are you...my brother from another mother? :huh: I've noticed we think an awful lot alike. I just bought a couple of whole pork loins a week or so ago at Sam's for $1.97/lb. and cut one up into 3 roasts and the other into chops! :biggrin:
 

bowlingshirt

New member
I was at Publix once, and they had pork loins on sale. I was picking one up, and two lady's were also there looking at the loins, but they didn't know what they were. One of them asked me, "what is that huge thing"? Just to the left of the whole loins where packs of loin chops. I said this is the whole version of those and pointed to the cut chops. I told them that you get a whole loin and then cut your own. Not only can you control the thickness (I like 'em thick!) but it is cheaper! I pointed out that the loin chops were selling for 5.99/lb, and the whole loin was on sale at 1.99/lb.

I did that exact same thing just a couple of weeks ago...except for the part about the ladies asking me about my loins :huh:
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
What are you...my brother from another mother? :huh: I've noticed we think an awful lot alike. I just bought a couple of whole pork loins a week or so ago at Sam's for $1.97/lb. and cut one up into 3 roasts and the other into chops! :biggrin:


As they say, great minds think alike! :biggrin:

I also end up making a roast out of the loin! Usually one side is a bit "pointy" and more narrow, so I use that end for a roast or even cut it up for stir fry.
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
As they say, great minds think alike! :biggrin:

I also end up making a roast out of the loin! Usually one side is a bit "pointy" and more narrow, so I use that end for a roast or even cut it up for stir fry.

i buy those loins all the time..so many choices to prepare them

i inject & marinate them, throw into smoker or oven and make a roast. when cool i slice thinly and make smoke pork loin sammies.

cut them into thick chops so i can stuff them with sausage and bake or grill them.

i also make canadian bacon with them... much cheaper than paying $10/lb for already prepared c.bacon

and lastly i make taco's al pastor with them..:heart:
 

PanchoHambre

New member
until recently food was probably the one area where I spent freely

no more

Like others I buy meats that are on sale or inexpensive like whole chickens or pork loins.

I try too cook things that portion out well and transport well so that I can bag lunch

I try to find ways to use up pretty much everything I have before I go grocery shopping again otherwise I find I end up with waste

I also cook much more with common ingredients and try to save the use premium ingredients for when they are most necessary. I used to rely more on starting with top-shelf everything.

I always look at the cost and compare... if I think its outrageous I put it back
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
Itry to buy in bulk, specials andreduced items.

We have mostly low wattage bulbs, and I try to ensure lights are turned off.
 

PieSusan

Tortes Are Us
Super Site Supporter
I have a freezer that I use to keep me in baking supplies and will buy things and store them in rubbermaid in there. I just am careful to rotate the items.

I have been trying to justify a food saver to buy in bulk but have not because I am just one small person at home.

I think the biggest way that I save is that I try to eat in season, buy what I need when it is on sale and not waste.

It is amazing how wasteful we are but coming from an Eastern Eurpean background, I learned early on not to waste.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Susan a food saver is justified even if you are just one person. When I bought the turkey breast the other day, I cooked 2 of them today, sliced them and bagged them in food saver bags. I'm cooking up some stock now to bag up for the freezer. I ended up with 6 good sized bags (2 to 2.5 lbs each) of turkey lunch meat ...total cost, bags and all was less than $20. You can't buy that quality in the deli at the grocery store and you certainly can't get roast turkey breast for less than $1.50/lb. In a food saver bag, it will last up to a couple of years...not at my house...but...
 

PieSusan

Tortes Are Us
Super Site Supporter
Well, it has been on my wish list for some time. I will get around to it eventually. I always do but I really love to have things to aspire towards. I don't like to have all my wishes fulfilled. lol
 

Maverick2272

Stewed Monkey
Super Site Supporter
We take inventory of what we have, and plan meals around that. Then, we run thru the fliers for specials and sales. Anything we can't get there, we finish up at ALDI and Tony's. In the summer we can augment with Farmers Markets and some stuff from Whole Foods, but that is when the budget is not as strict.
We basically shoot for around $150 a week, oh and don't forget the coupons! The other day we saw spaghetti sauce on sale for .99 a jar and pasta was also on sale. Using coupons we got the spaghetti sauce for .54 a jar and the pasta for .44 a package. That was a big help!
Every week Tony's has sales on meat cheap, we take advantage of that as much as possible. We buy no snacks or junk food or pop at all. During the winter we stick to cheap to make meals, and during the summer we might lighten up to do fancier meals but still not over $200 a week most times.
We also make our own laundry detergent to keep costs down there. We grow as much in our garden as is possible, and are expanding the veggie garden next year. Right now we do tomatoes, herbs, lettuce and watermellon in the garden. Next year we are adding in sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, and hopefully some carrots.
I also went around the house and sealed up every nook and cranny I could find. It has reduced our heating bill by around $75 a month, and we average about $100 less than our neighbors with the same houses.
I also replaced all the bulbs I could in the house with 10watt energy saver florescent bulbs, and the ones I couldn't have 40 wat bulbs in them.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
save money? what's that?

recently, my wallet was stolen with all of my credit cards. i didn't report it because the thief spends far less than my wife does...
 
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Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Yes! like that one! Here's one I go to each Sunday night: http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

MAVERICK! Excellent money saving!:idea: When you did the work on your house, did you also replace the windows? I know that saved us a lot when we put in a new double-paned sliding door, but to do the whole house - yikes!

Thanks jkath! I bookmarked it!

A couple of years ago, when we painted the house, DH caulked around every window and door. It really cut way down on both our heating and cooling costs.

I saw on tv a while back there was a woman who actually unplugged every appliance that was not in use. She claimed to save quite a bit of money on her electric bill every month because anything that's plugged in, whether it's in use or not is using electricity. I haven't tried it...I guess I'm just too lazy to move the furniture to plug in a lamp when I want to use it. :tongue:
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
save money? what's that?

recently, my wallet was stolen with all of my credit cards. i didn't report it because the thief spends far less than my wife does...

:lol: I'll bet you drove your teachers nuts when you were in school...or did you spend most of your time in the principal's office?
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I saw on tv a while back there was a woman who actually unplugged every appliance that was not in use. She claimed to save quite a bit of money on her electric bill every month because anything that's plugged in, whether it's in use or not is using electricity. I haven't tried it...I guess I'm just too lazy to move the furniture to plug in a lamp when I want to use it. :tongue:


Not everything will continue using power when it is off, but some things will.

Your oven, microwave, coffee pot.....anything with a clock. It is the clock and other display electronics that uses the power.

Your TV, VCR, DVD, game console, computer......anything with a stand-by mode. These devices continue to consume power when off to keep RAM, system clock and other internal registers refreshed and active.

Simple things like a lamp, old toaster, etc will not use any power. Think of them like a sprinkler in your yard that has an on/off valve. If you turn the sprinkler off, the hose leading to it is still full of water, but it is not flowing through and out of the sprinkler. Thus, there is no consumption of water even though the water is in the hose and ready to come out once you turn the sprinkler on. With a lamp, it is the same. The electricity (its potential) is in the cord and is at the lamp, but with the switch off, the circuit is open and there is no current flow. Without current flow, there is no consumption.

One thing that uses a lot of power that most over look is a water heater. Even if you aren’t using hot water, the water in the tank does cool. When the water drops below a certain temp, the water heater has to come on and bring it back up to temp. This happens several time a day even if you don’t use hot water. I’ve seen some put a timer on their water heater so that it only comes on a few hours before they wake up, shuts off while they are at work, then comes on again just before they come home, then goes off again when they go to bed. This does make a noticeable difference in your power bill.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
We have a natural gas hot water heater which is the only gas thing in the house and after comparing it with other electrics I find it a bit cheaper. Now as for electric when I got here ran about 2K per month, but keep in mind this is a storage facility not a private home. We have a rather large sign in the front of the property that is on a time to come on at sun down. Over the last 3 years I've replaced the outside flood lights about 36 double bulb units as well as 182 units with a single light in them with the energy efficient units from GE for a savings of about 1K per month. I've also cut our driving down to less than and average of 10 miles per week. I still have two computers on line 24/7 though they are on a APC power system that cuts the electricity used at the wall. I have my 2 TV's in the house on the same battery system as my computers as well as our access gate which is electronic. Security is on the office computer system so that is also covered for our cameras. I would say over all we are pretty green now compared to what I had when I came here but should also see some savings in the cooking area when I remodel later in the years going to a combination of induction cook top and electric oven. The AC/Furnace system was changed late last year to a new energy efficient system that has also help to lower our heating and cooling bills. All in all we figure we have saved 50% or more on energy use.
 

Wart

Banned
We got a new refrigerator with bottom freezer. Didn't gain much in the fridge section but gtot a whole lot more freezer room.

Buy bulk and freeze. A 12 oz pack of Birdseye is (?) $2~$3? A 5 pound sack is $7~$8.

I resist lighting the oven if for just one thing.


About leaving electronics plugged in being a waste of money, I read somewhere how 50% of some house holds electrical use are wall warts or items that are turned off. I bet the 5 transformers in the power strip are wasting a bit.

I should put a blanket on the water heater, it's gas and turned to MAX.
 
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