I watch all my TV & movies on the internet (Graboid.com) per month. Cost of my TV/movie habit now: $14.95/month (cancelled Netflix, too). Amount of TV watched when I had cable: 40 to 50 hours a week (at least! I was a committed channel surfer!). Amount of precious time spent watching ONLY the shows I really like: about 10 hours per week. I’ve always been a voracious reader but have read twice as many books this year than ever before (I’m over 60).

I will never go back! Total that I pay for my “entertainment” is $44.95 compared to that $120 or so a month (and that was when I avoided pay-per-view-which wasn’t often!). And it’s inspired me to start making cuts elsewhere (why drive the one mile to work when I can walk?).

Once into savings,it becomes capital and I never touch it. I never use credit for anything. I use my debit card only.

I always increase my annual savings target by the amount of my raise. I also always feel great joy in banking my bonus. I might buy something small and celebratory, but the reward is being able to bank it.

I paid cash for my car, my condo, and holidays. Credit is something I avoid at all costs. I find it very ironic that I do not show up on any credit reports and Banks frown on this. IF I wanted a loan I would face problems. The thrifty are not recognized very well by the loan industry.

I have always “saved up” for anything I wanted to buy. My Mother was orphaned during the great depression and getting value for money was instilled into me at early age. I am so grateful for these values. By following these “rules”, I have avoided debt and seen my networth grow considerably.

I invest in index funds, annuities and cd’s. I do not believe in real estate as an Investment. It is shelter. I do all my net worth calculations excluding my home.

I shop only at outlets for clothes. And for entertainment, I go manage to go out several times a month on “business dinners” which are free. Otherwise I prepare my own meals from scratch. packaged prepared meals are costly and home cooked tastes better.

I think the “secret” is to love saving more then spending, and to live on less then you earn, bank the surplus, retain and protect it.

~I make my own scouring powder from vinegar, baking soda and dish detergent to clean the stove, cabinets, tub, etc. This helps alot since I’m pregnant again and the fumes are really harmful.
~Knowing how to sew is priceless. I make my toddlers play clothes.
~Everything gets used at least once. The plastic grocery bags are our trash bags. Our empty water bottles are refilled from the sink. Old clothes are either cut up for cleaning rags. If they can be fixed, I patch them up.
~I plan our meals 2 weeks in advance. I make sure to cook at least twice what we need and freeze all leftovers. This also means we rarely eat out.
~I clip coupons religiously. And I only clip the ones we use. I’m more apt to buy something I don’t need if I have a coupon for it.
~I check the local groceries ad papers on Wednesdays. I try to find what is on sale based on what I have down for the menu. If I see a better deal on something, I revise the menu to accomidate the sale.
~I buy frozen vegetables instead of canned. I’ve heard that the frozen is better for you because no nutrients are lost from being precooked. Also, there is more in the bag than the can because the can contains so much liquid.
~I know what days the local grocery puts out it’s reduced meat. I can find REALLY nice steaks and roasts for about $3 a piece. It’s nice to have a little treat once in a while.
~I use what coupons I can at Kroger because they double and triple a lot of them.
~I go to the discount bread store for a loaf of bread. It may be a day old, but it won’t last long enough to go bad.
~My dad grows a huge garden every year and gives us what he doesn’t use. He also raises rabbits to butcher. We get lots of lean protien from rabbit from him as well.

I think I will end this here. I could go on, but I might put some of you to sleep. I just figured some of this might help someone later down the line.

In direct costs (cigarettes, smoker’s surcharge on health and life insurance premiums) and indirect costs (clothes cleaning and wear, extra teeth cleaning, breath mints, repainting smoke-stained walls, damage to and extra cleaning of carpets and upholstery, time loss and medical bills from more frequent respiratory infections, transportation to buy cigarettes), not to mention the big ticket items like lung cancer or heart disease treatment, emphysema supplies, burning the house down, or the like, this has to have saved me well over $100,000, and it took less than two seconds to do. Pretty darned good pay rate!

My best tip = watch out for leeches. Anything that regularly siphons money out of your pocket, especially if it seems small enough to be tagged “harmless.” I find them in several categories.

1. Paying for stuff you don’t have to (LATE fees on credit cards, out-of-network ATM fees)

2. Paying for stuff you can get for free (your Library suggestion! ditch cable TV for broadcast + download your must-see episodes on the internet)

3. Daily Habit Leeches (even if you drop from the $4 Starbucks to the $1.19 gas station cappucinno, that still adds up to real money after six months)

4. Rewarding Myself Regularly Leeches (you had a great post on how buying 2-3 books and 1-2 DVDs every week just for getting through was blowing a hole in the budget, and to seriously think about commercial/material rewards).

5. Collections (sure, all those whimsical dragon figurines or Franklin Mint plates are sweet, but very few retain resale value, and they DO start hitting you at an emotional level where your craving can outweigh your budget sense.)

I will continue to buy on ebay… but just not as much.

Happy Holidays everyone!
Ginai

- Moving out of the city into the deep suburbs has saved tons on rent, city prices for groceries, and the vast array of fun expensive (but ephemeral) things to do in the city. That, and…

- … still not purchasing a car. The town I moved to has a commuter rail station, and lots of necessities within walking distance. So, even with winter approaching, I find myself playing a game of put-off, relying on my bike for anything I can’t walk to. So far it’s working, and it’s also keeping me healthy.

- Believe it or not: Target. Although the bane of many people’s budgetary discipline, it’s helpful to have one store where you can get everything you need in one shot. The Target in my town has a supermarket in it, so I just pedal up to it with two constraints: a dollar amount to spend, and the size of the large canvas backpack that everything will go home in.

And the big thing I have yet to work out:

- Keeping my aging parents financially independent: Neither of my (separated) parents has anything in savings, and the years are a-passin’. At some point, I’m going to be catching some of the fallout, so I’m putting thought and energy into finding ways for them to earn more, save more, and keep physically healthy. Some investment now will save a ton of effort later.

But really, how many degrees would I have gotten? So maybe the real biggest saver has been to realize how great used cars can be. My first car was a two-year-old car in a model with average reliability. My second car was a ten-year-old car in a model with excellent reliability. That second car lasted more years and more miles, broke down less often and costed less when it broke down. Also, I don’t have to buy collision insurance because I can always pay cash (I save $50/month towards my next car). Another benefit is that I have no incentive to be paranoid about little dings or about people eating in my car!

Or maybe I save more by having a paying roommate. This wasn’t a change, though–I like coming home to someone without having to make an appointment first. I just kept doing it long after the college years were over. (And it’s really only a housemate, not a roommate.) I understand that I’ve been really lucky with roommates though–no crazies or dangerous people or people who ruin stuff or who never pay their rent for 2.5 decades now.