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Please, please someone out there tell me how in the world I can save money. No credit cards. Bad credit. If I want something bad enough i want to be able to sve the money and buy it outright. My husband gets a disability check for heart disease and I am only able to work a couple of days at Walmart because of all the walking, lifting and standing for an 8 hour shift. How do you save money on eating, buying paper products, gas. Please teach me.
Use a budget spreadsheet and see where your money goes.
I am sure there are things you need to buy, and those you buy but not really need. Some could be substituted. Then make adjustments and necessary cuts.
Here is one very easy to use budget sheet to download: www.carbuyingtips.com/download/budget.xls
If I were in your shoes (and I was, 13 years ago, when our income was reduced 55%), I would cut down on on every necessary expense and eliminate the things I can live without.
What I can live without is the TV and its expensive cable package, so we sold the TV and have lived without it for many years now. In fact, the last time I watched a program, a show, or a movie on TV was 12 years ago, but it took longer for my husband to follow suit, for he loves war and Western movies. In the years the TV was gone, he used Netflix instead. Six months ago, he decided he could live without Netflix so he cancelled it and replaced it with books. If you do the same as we did, the cable and TV expense would be your regular monthly saving.
We sold one car and changed insurance company. With only one car and fewer miles in driving, our insurance has been ridiculously low. Since only one of you is working, and part-time at that, I don't imagine you would need two cars (assuming you have two cars now.) The saving in car insurance, car maintenance, and gasoline would add another chunk in your monthly saving.
Unplugging the appliances (for washer and dryer, turning off the selected levels in the fuse box) between uses saved us $22/month on electricity bill. Whatever the amount you save in your electricity bill, add it to your saving.
Installing VoIP costs a $50 one time for the equipment and get a free "landline" every month. We have used Google Voice for five years now without any monthly expense. As far as cell phone goes, we used a prepaid one the first year we returned to the States, and only used it for emergency so $25 worth of cell phone minutes lasted us that entire year. We used VoIP 99% of the time, and that cost us nothing. BTW, the computer does not have to be on when you use the phone, and if you have a walkabout phone (ours cost $13 from Kmart), you can use it in other rooms or outside, as long as the phone is within the modem's covered perimeter. Eliminating cell phone plan is another addition to your monthly saving.
With only two supermarkets in town, we don't have much choices in grocery shopping unless we wish to drive 45 miles one way down the mountain and 45 miles back, so we joined the supermarket's saving program. With Vons' card and its Just for U program, we save on the average of $23 per shopping trip over Stater Bros, the only other supermarket. Anytime we are in the areas that offer a wide array of markets, we shop at ethnic markets. For instance, Mexican markets offer excellent produce at very low price, while Asian markets offer quality fruits, produce, and meat, also at very low price. We would buy as much as we could afford, and I would spend a day or two cooking with the fresh ingredients, box them up in meal's size (for both saving and convenience purposes, I use containers instead of aluminum foil or freezer bags), and freeze them. That way, we never throw anything out because of spoilage. The saving showed at the bottom of the receipt is the amount you could add to your saving every week.
My husband has to take four different kinds of heart medication daily and we don't have prescription drug coverage. We compared prescription prices and decided to use Walmart because they have a substantial discount for cash/debit card/credit card paying customers. We paid $33/month at Walmart for the same prescriptions that would cost us $260 at Walgreens and almost $400 at CVS. We were happy enough with the saving until we talked to my husband's cardiologist about the experience. Instead of congratulating us, he immediately sent a request to the pharmaceutical companies and since then, my husband has been receiving all but one medication free of charge, sent to our address via priority mail every three months. It sounds to me you do have medical insurance, but if you have a substantial co-pay for your husband's heart medications, I suggest that you talk with your doctor to find out whether he could do the same thing and get the meds free for you. The free heart medication is not a tax-subsidized program, but a not-widely-advertised program from the pharmaceutical companies. According to my husband's cardiologist, the cost to the companies are very insignificant and since the meds would have to be produced and discarded regularly, they do not care one way or another about the freebies they offer. If you save anything from the meds, add it to your saving.
The above suggestions are just a few from the top of my head and taken from our own experience. There are plenty of ways to save money, but most of them are so small you might have overlooked them. Pay close attention to every bill and every expense to find a way to lower them, and whatever amount you save from the effort, no matter if it's only a dollar or two, add it to your saving.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 03-16-2013 at 03:32 PM..
Some folks, I guess just happen to be in a position they never thought they would be in. How many of us have ever considered that we would not be able to earn a living wage?
Really... $22 / month saved from unplugging appliances between uses?? I thought it's more like $2 or 3 a month. But thanks for the tip about turning off the W/D at the fuse box. I don't even use the dryer in the winter since the humidity is so low. Hanging up the laundry close to a vent only takes a few hrs for it to air dry.
How much you save on electric or other costs would probably be dependent on your location. Our electric rates are around forty four cents per kilowatt hour, so unplugging appliances would save a significant sum here. Don't know how well it would work for the OP, though.
For saving money, I'd recommend (as has already been mentioned) making a budget. Then once you know how much you need each month for expenses, put the entire check into a SAVINGS account and then just take out what you need for the upcoming expenses and put them in a checking account. Writing checks for everything will let you see how the money is spent. Try to live on what's in the checking account and ignore the savings account. Eventually, there should be money saved in the savings account to be used as you need it but try to ignore it as much as possible.
Please, please someone out there tell me how in the world I can save money. No credit cards. Bad credit. If I want something bad enough i want to be able to sve the money and buy it outright. My husband gets a disability check for heart disease and I am only able to work a couple of days at Walmart because of all the walking, lifting and standing for an 8 hour shift. How do you save money on eating, buying paper products, gas. Please teach me.
What is your housing situation like? That's one place where potentially some people can, if they're able, make a big change. Of course if you're already living in a well-priced one-bedroom apartment in a walkable neighborhood then there's not much you can do. But if you own or rent a house too big for the two of your and a long commute from work or other destinations then maybe it's time to think of moving, or taking in a roommate. Since housing is usually the biggest, or one of the biggest, items in any budget, in desperate times it's worth taking a close look at even radical options.
Are there other work options where you live? Could you take on more hours (and maybe get a better salary) if you could find a job where you could sit?
We've shaved a lot of money off of our groceries by cooking primarily from scratch. We are also vegetarian, and while we're not vegetarian for money reasons, vegetarian proteins like beans have the benefit of being really cheap (and healthy!). Get to know all your local grocery options, including cheap stores like Aldi or Trader Joe's, as well as any local ethnic markets (which often have great deals!). If you have produce markets where you live check them out, too; you can often find great deals on fresh produce that needs to be eaten right away. (not to mention just good prices in general) Don't overlook places like dollar stores; in California, places like the 99 cent only store sold some food.
Cars are another place to cut; I assume you only have one car, but if you have more, get down to one. And I know that this isn't realistic everywhere, but you'll save even more if you can live without any car. Even if you budget for some taxis from time to time you'll still come out ahead. If that's not possible, you'll at least save money on gas if do what you can on foot or by bus (if available where you are; people with disabilities can usually get really cheap transit passes, too) or bike.
My husband gets a disability check for heart disease and I am only able to work a couple of days at Walmart because of all the walking, lifting and standing for an 8 hour shift. How do you save money on eating, buying paper products, gas. Please teach me.
Simple - whatever you earn, take 20% of it immediately and stash it in a piggybank/under the mattress or in a savings account.
Please, please someone out there tell me how in the world I can save money. No credit cards. Bad credit. If I want something bad enough i want to be able to sve the money and buy it outright. My husband gets a disability check for heart disease and I am only able to work a couple of days at Walmart because of all the walking, lifting and standing for an 8 hour shift. How do you save money on eating, buying paper products, gas. Please teach me.
No one said saving money is easy.. a better frame of mind is to "get the most bang out of your buck".
Ask yourself, among the things that you spend money on, what brings you the most happiness? And among your most expensive things and/or recurring items (i.e. rent), can you be just as happy cutting them back?
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