Best tips to stretch money?

my cable and net are basically free from work, only pay like 17 a month, so I am super lucky there

I deff need to do the resale and unplugging! Nowhere really to fish around here. but if hubby doesnt get a job soon, may have to find him somewhere to do so, lol

@Jessicalynnt It does get scary sometimes wondering if I am going to have enough for the month. I hate taking from my savings account but I find more and more I am doing just that.

@ramapo17 we dont have anything we can take from, hadn't gotten to that point, were still dumping every extra cent we had to get out from under some old debts

@Jessicalynnt yep another thing I do is make all my calls with skype, that cuts out a lot of my mobile phone bills, and cancel my landline. That basically has my "phone" related cost down to $5 a month

I think I have some bulbs not swapped to the efficient ones yet, will have to check that out! And yeah, I need to figure out the local grocery stores markdown day and start making that my shopping day.

@Drosophila That's a good one, I never thought of that.

@Jessicalynnt Eggs are great (protein but not a lot of carbs). Look up low carb things like cloud bread (low carb) or fathead pizza. Not sure if you have an Aldi near you, but they can save you about 30-40% off regular grocery stores. You've cut the Kindle unlimited, but you can get free Kindle books with it, or go to the library. Can you sell extra things around the house? You can sell in local Facebook yardsale groups. Check your thermostat-not sure what the temps are where you are, but can you leave it between 66 and 68 daily, and pile on the sweaters and blankets instead? Make sure the furnace (if you have one) has a new filter each season. Check your water heater temperature-you can save money if it is at 120 degrees. Any higher, you're not only wasting money, but risking scalding. Ask the utility company if they offer a free energy audit. Check for air leaks-caulk or weatherstripping helps. Sit down with the family and find things that you can all eat. No more junk food-instead of potato chips, make kale chips; instead of Cheez Its, cut slices of cheddar into 1" squares, but them on a baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes at 350 (watch time carefully-could be less). Store in air tight container. Meal plan. Buy family packs of things-it's just my husband & I, so we were purchasing smaller cuts of meat, and were spending $20 for 4 meals. We spent $12 for 4 pounds of ground beef-we're make burgers, tacos, & meatballs that will last several meals. We use crushed pork rinds with seasoning instead of bread crumbs-low carb alternative. I'm sure I'll think of more-we've gone through many of these (or I did, before I was married). Best of luck!

I can't eat these things, I get ill with too many carbs, HOWEVER hubby can, so great idea to help!

@Jessicalynnt cut out absolutely everything that is not necessary. For awhile don't shop for more than just food items and always look for savings and coupon a lot and when you do have some extra money which you would otherwise have spent on something not really necessary put aside in a special piggy bank and see how much you have after awhile.

I have tried to coupon, and found I was getting stuff I didnt need so yeah I saved, but on things I had no intent on buying. I will have to look at this again, think I was doing things wrong

@Jessicalynnt I did the same thing in the beginning. One week I saved $95 but when I went home and looked at what I bought I saw I didn't need most of it. Since then I only take coupons of things I use. We all have to learn things the hard way.

@Susan2015 Right you are as long as we don't get caught up in all the things we do not need. I think the first time I started doing this I printed out lots of coupons and after I was at the store I realized I never buy these things so I wasted a lot of ink, paper and time.

that's not a bad idea, will have to look at trying that

@Jessicalynnt Of course you can give it a shot and I am sure that it will be of some help in your budget and planning.

@Jessicalynnt Look at the unit price on the tag on the shelf-sometimes what you're planning to use a coupon on isn't always the best deal, sometimes it is. Look at the shelves above and below eye level-the highest priced items are ALWAYS at eye level. Shop the loss leaders-items on the front page of the flyer are often tremendously discounted-and only purchase those items on sale. Stack manufacturer and store coupons if you can, but make sure you read the fine print (CVS is the best to do this at!). You might need to travel to several stores, but make a list and organize your coupons in the order of use. It can be done!

@scorpiobabes I also need to be really proactive in watching, like right now I know I will need Tide soon, so need to be camping for coupons and such

I deff need to do more of this!

oh these are some good ones.

@celticeagle some of these are great and I will look into them for sure.

Some brilliant ideas here. Was thinking about wearing clothes longer while I was in bed!

@ramapo17 Our parliament is actually voting a law to forbid supermarkets to throw still eatable food away, and we have seen last year some politicians getting food in the dustbins to redistribute it.

That's interesting. It sounds like when I worked at the Out reach. Read my comment above.

@toffer what's a supermarket dustbin? I never heard of that.

yeah I need to get a good solid budget set out

yeah the food waste was a big thing I am still trying to get a handle on, I do buy meat in the big value packs, and then portion it out into freezer bags and freeze it. that helps some.

@Suzi76 lol, well I am not sure I could do that, BUT I can see the whole really working to cut out things not needed.

I think portions was a huge one for me. When I realized I was eating way more than I actually need that helped to reduce food costs with a side benefit of becoming healthier and weight loss. Also, I made a rule at the store for a long time (because I had to - no car) that I could only buy what I could carry in my arms or a cloth grocery bag. Although that varies for people depending on circumstances and family size, the idea has helped me to not put stuff in my cart that I don't need. Kinda hard to when there is no cart. ;)

pretty much, some things we just can't cut out, like the cells, we dont have home phones. I did cut the tablet off the plan though, that was ten less.

@Jessicalynnt Are there any local food pantries?

right? I have been working hard to eat and not dump leftovers, that's a thing. Hubby keeps making himself pots of beans and rice, both made from dried goods so really cheap there

@Jessicalynnt Our power is much cheaper at certain times of the day so we try to most the cheap times.

thankfully I had bought things in bulk, so I have some stashes of things like tooth paste and soap and such

@Jessicalynnt I do too. I have also bought tooth paste very cheap and they are the same brand I like. Smart shopping takes time and patience.

our income got cut in half, wont work atm. later this would be a great idea.

@else34 that is wise but being retired we really have to be careful.

@else34 that sounds like a good idea and a doable one.

lol my last few lists didnt have ten items on it. Right now all I think I need is more dried beans, milk, and cheese

@Inlemay cheese should be off my list, but it's a solid staple of my diet, I am however getting it in bigger blocks so as to be cheaper, and making sure it doesnt go bad. I am running into the issue with carbs, yeah I could eat super cheap, but I do that with pasta and stuff, I will gain 50+ pounds and feel aweful, and not fit my clothes. I am cutting where I can, and stretching where I can, but I can't go back to eating like that. not unless it's that or starve. It's a fine balance, that I hope I can manage.

@Jessicalynnt cheese is a luxury here and costs more than meat - so that would be off my list - Pasta is a good source of stretch foods with meatballs and sauce

@just4him pretty much, we lived with no stove for a couple of years once, and no fridge for a year.

I work for the cable company, so my net/tv bill a month is 18 bucks. Hulu I just turned off for awhile, since we get free tv can just watch that. The cells...I cut the tablet off, didnt need that, but I know I need to get it down more, just not sure what exactly yet.

@Jessicalynnt I hope you can. It's rough, but it's surprising the things we can live without.

sad thing is,I have to have solid protein or I dont feel well, but what I am doing is really making sure all leftovers get eaten, no waste

@Jessicalynnt That is a good thrifty practice. I also thought that to save energy, in cold times, turn radiator temp down and pull the curtains as soon as it gets dark In cold places, turn the air con to a lower setting and keep the sun out during the day with blinds or curtains

@Jessicalynnt This is one I need to work at harder too.

paigea that is smart. I am better shopping when I am alone as my husband always goes off on his own and puts things in the shopping cart we do not need. I lose my train of thought when anyone else is with me.

I like this idea. Sometimes we buy stuff when with a little thought we already have something that will do the job.

I say that too when my finances tanked awhile back. But I also love it because having only what I need saves me from having too much junk and stuff all over the place. It keeps the home easier to clean.