Saving Money? (mortgage, refinance, home)

[Yankeesfan]

I'm so sorry you went through that with your son. Praise God that he recuperated.

So many good suggestions here! Another is that if you're buying anything online, google "[Name of store] coupons". You'll get several sites that list coupon codes to use to save money on your order. I like retailmenot.com best, but sometimes one site will have a code that others don't, so it's worth checking several of them.

I almost never buy books, since I get them from the library. You can go to the library website to see if they have whatever books you'd like and then reserve them online.

If anyone in your family uses prescriptions, go to the company's website and see if you can sign up for coupons. One company sends me a coupon once a year for one month's suppply free. Another mails me coupons for $15.00 off each refill. Ask your doctors if they have any samples, too.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Also - haggle prices - you can get almost anyone down on price - you can haggle for special rates at camps or kids activities - you can even go to Macys and haggle - I have done it. Vendors are desperate to make a sale.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

I almost never buy books, since I get them from the library. You can go to the library website to see if they have whatever books you'd like and then reserve them online.

The library also has DVDs, CDs, sheet music... an amazing assortment of things for free.

[HarryLou]

Shop less; buy less; shop and buy second hand. Freecycle -- both offering and receiving.
Glad your child is okay... having ins is a good thing.

[housewatcher]

I have heard good things about Angel Food Ministries, which offers packages of food on a monthly basis at reasonable prices. I think there are a couple locations in the area where you can pick up the food.

[Legs1357]

Freecycle is great but I found it frustrating and I think it would be even more frustrating for someone with kids: the stuff gets taken extremely quickly, especially if it's good. I hunt on craigslist for everything, particularly furniture. The DC population is so transient that there's always people moving and half of them pretty much just want to get rid of their furniture so it's super cheap.

[athousandlogins]

Originally Posted by Legs1357

Freecycle is great but I found it frustrating and I think it would be even more frustrating for someone with kids: the stuff gets taken extremely quickly, especially if it's good. I hunt on craigslist for everything, particularly furniture. The DC population is so transient that there's always people moving and half of them pretty much just want to get rid of their furniture so it's super cheap.

Yeah, I agree. I've even had this problem with CL, never mind Freecycle. I just can't compete with people who sit in front of the computer *all day,* or those who have the flexibility to jump in the car and grab something at a moment's notice.

Still, they are great resources and you're right about the DC area and moving - you can find almost anything for sale used around here, usually with a note that it MUST GO right away...

[DC Oldtimer]

Am so sorry to hear about your son's troubles ... and so relieved to hear that he has recovered!! It must have been quite an ordeal and I hope you will be able to take some time to catch your breath before plunging into the job market.

As for saving, well, I guess I am blessed by having an unusual characteristic: I hate to shop. So I generally buy my clothes on eBay which no doubt saves money. I stick to things I know will fit: my size of Lee jeans and aerosole shoes, for example.

I also buy food coupons for items we use in quantity. I save 20-30% on the grocery bill . In fact I use so many I'm surprised Giant et al haven't kicked me out of the store. My strategy is to buy stuff that is on sale that I also have a coupon for. Example: on sale this week Eggo products. Usual price 3 bucks, on sale for $2. I have a pile of dollar off coupons from eBay. So each box is only a buck. Last week Turkey Hill ice cream was on sale. Usual price 4 bucks, on sale for $2.50. I have a wallet full of dollar off coupons. So I bought four half gallons at $1.50 each. Zoneperfect bars on sale for a buck. With the doubling of my 55 cent coupons, these are free. Dole Fruit Naturals, usually $1.67 each just on sale for $1 each. I have a bunch of coupons $1 off 2. So I made a couple trips and got a months supply for 50 cents each. We also get Pepperidge Farm bread products for the price of store brand this way.

We're not what you would call hard up for money but thrift is just a personality trait with me and I really am not sure I can stop myself.

To learn more check out www.afullcup.com, the hang-out for the foodcoupon-obsessed among us.

Also, go to the websites of food companies whose products you use. There are often online coupons there and if you join their mailing lists they send you more every month or so.

Check out this deal from Kraft: a $55 coupon booklet by mail: ($40 in rebates and $15 in coupons). Register at the site to get one.

http://www.kraftbacktoschool.com

This is a $10 rebate and $70 coupon toward a Dell computer but you have to buy all 10 Kellogg/Keebler products in one shopping trip. See box in lower right corner where it says $80 in savings, click on more. (You have to register first at the site.)

http://www2.kelloggs.com/FamilyFocus...a.aspx?id=1320

Online grocery coupons: www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com

[springfieldva]

I'm sorry your little one was in the hospital and I'm glad that he is better now.

As far as saving $ goes, like others have mentioned, we use the library for book rentals, as well as, videos and dvds.

We really pick and choose which kids activities/classes to enroll our children in. There are so many excellent ones out there it can be very difficult to decide (they want to do them all). But our rule is no more than one class/sport/activity at a time.

We enjoy doing free or low cost things around the area. We visit parks, nature centers, Old Town, etc. This year we got an annual membership at Mount Vernon - this will allow us to go multiple times throughout the year which will be well worth it for us.

Some parents save money by doing their own children's haircuts. I just have my boys' hair cut fairly short, that way the cut lasts longer.

When we need someone to watch the kids, house sit or pet sit for us we use neighbors and relatives instead of hiring someone. We then return the favor when they need help.

We shop in bulk at Costco every 5 or 6 weeks. I always bring a list of needed items and rarely buy anything that isn't on the list.

[Yankeesfan]

DCOldtimer,that's how I shop too, matching coupons with sales. For example yesterday at CVS they had dish detergent, normally $1.59, for 88 cents. I had a coupon for $1.00 off of two, so they each cost me 38 cents. I don't remember the original price but they had some shampoo on sale for $2.99, plus you got an extra buck, plus I had a dollar-off coupon, so the net cost was 99 cents. I do this at Giant too.