apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think the potluck dinner party sounds fun!

Hit up garage sales and flea markets, and keep an eye out for large yearly sales held by churches, schools, or other groups. Not only will you find things you can't get anywhere else, it will save you a ton of money. I go with a group of girlfriends every month, we get coffee and drive around spotting signs and we have a great time! Carpooling saves on gas and makes it an excuse to hang out and shop guilt free. I also recently went to a sample sale, where local gift shops unloaded their samples to make room for their new inventory. I stocked up on greeting cards and got Christmas gifts almost totally covered!

I'm all for cutting back, but I wouldn't cut back on basic food storage in times like these. Always a good idea to have the essentials stored up.

This is a great group of tips, especially the idea of stretching your scheduled spending by a few days. Times like these aren't just for thinking about spending less, it's also a chance to examine where that money is going. When you give up your house keeper or landscaper or stop eating out, think about what that costs the people in your area who depend on that income. You're saving money with potentially greater detriment to your local economy. Think about how you can keep your money in your wallet and in your community.

Pick one day a week that is "car-free." (For me it's Sundays.) Just combining errands when you're already out driving around will save you gas, time, and sanity!

i have a huge family and there is usually a birthday every two weeks and a family bbq when I'm home from college. we all do potluck(my mom always brings the dessert!)

my mom considered canceling cable but my dad works two jobs so his real time at home is spent working on the yard or catching up on all the sports channels!

& and I no idea you could rent tv episodes on itunes. I just assumed you could only rent movies. :)

Just an FYI. That whole "bundle" theory isn't entirely true anymore. Now that Time Warner Cable, Direct TV, and AT&T all offer "bundle packages," just because you have a bundle package doesn't mean that you're getting a deal.

Bulk, Bulk, Bulk. Not just things you tend to go through often, but also things that stay good for awhile. About 12 of us chipped in for a membership at a certain wholesale warehouse, and most of us split in on goods.

We also tend to prepare food in bulk and freeze it. Homemade sauces, soups, stocks, chili, breads, stuffed shells, preshaped cookies, I could go on. When you come home feeling tired and hungry they require little preparation and can easily be reheated. Plus your freezer is more efficient when it is full.

While we are in the kitchen, most leftovers make simple, cheap, and tasty lunches. That is if you don't mind eating the same thing the next day, we don't.

Line Dry if possible. It saves on electricity, and the environment. It prolongs the life of your dryer and your cloths... as does taking them off and neatly hanging them back up after work. If you are staying in throw on the cheap sweats, and that sweater with the bleach stain.

Most importantly waste not want not. Almost everytime you throw away something you are also throwing away money. Veggi scraps are perfect for soups or stocks or at least a rich compost. Old towels make great rags. Store bought glass food jars can almost always be reused for storing your own goods, from frozen soups, to leftover paint. The list goes on. Before you throw something away, think of what you can do with it first.

So, you lay off your housekeeper, and she has less to feed her family. Even in really tight times, I found a way to not inflict misery on people who'd come to count on me.

And for singles and couples, it doesn't make much sense to have lots of money tied up in bulk purchases. Buy the Sunday LAT, clip the coupons, and shop when things get marked down, using the coupons. Check those annoying grocery store flyers.

Take more deductions if you work a salaried job. The Feds can't make you pay more than you owe, and if you think you need the money every week, rather than a windfall when you pay in April (if you don't pay quarterly), up your deductions.

Keeping your house cooler makes you sleepy, rather than energized. Your body temp drops when you go to sleep. Need a good nights sleep? Take a really cold shower (sexual energy references not intended.)

BLASPHEMY!! Don't encourage people to get rid of their housekeeper! Some of us depend on other people wanting to KEEP their housekeeper so we can keep paying our rent! That is how I make my living! Cutting down on utility bills is one thing...taking my job away from me is quite another! SHEESH!

Not trying to disagree with you or anything Palmetto, but we are just a couple and there are plenty of things we buy in bulk that has saved us loads. Not to mention you could always try splitting some things with other couples, like we do.

Cold does just the opposite to me. When I come home to a cold house, even after a longs day at work I am bouncing around just to warm up until the temperature does. It's hard for me to fall asleep if I feel too cold. Often a hot drink like warm milk and a hot shower (warm on the inside and out) is the only thing that will do the trick. Nothing like the cold air in the morning after pulling off those warm blankets to kick the life into you.

That reminds me...I saw a sign today that disturbed and worried me...I was driving down a main thoroughfare in my area and saw a sign pointing down a road that is used less often, saying "Downtown Businesses Open!"...under the sign was a cartoon of a man drowning and reaching out for help and the sign said "Help us survive!" People cutting back on their spending is hurting small business owners tremendously. We need to figure out a balance between protecting ourselves AND our neighbors. I was ready to turn around and go back to shop those businesses, except it was raining..but I will make it a point to go to those Main Street businesses when I need something.

Don't encourage abandonment of your community, AT!

How about stop using your credit cards and commit to paying them down to a zero balance by a realistic date. I did it a few years ago and to this day, it is one of the best feelings ever.

Call your cable provider and threaten to leave if they don't lower your bill - works for telephone / DSL providers, too. You'll be amazed at the deals you can sometimes get.

As a Librarian, I fully support the suggestion to use the library. Don't forget they have movies and CDs as well as books and audiobooks. Think of the money you can save by not going to the movies every weekend! You can renew items, place holds, and manage your account all online. Libraries also often have used book sales that support things like Summer Reading Programs for children. Check them out when you're shopping for Christmas presents! Not only are you supporting underfunded organizations, but you're saving money as well.

It's interesting how people are getting excited at the idea of letting go of your housekeeping or encouraging patronage of local businesses. While it is sad for anyone to lose their job (or part of it) or a business to go under, all businesses are successful based on what the market can bear.

If you really value keeping jobs alive, then the more important move is to buy American-made goods rather than cheaply-produced Chinese, Malaysian, etc. goods (at places like, oh, Ikea). That keeps jobs in the U.S. which allows the people holding those jobs to patronize the people whose businesses and work you want to keep alive. Start from the top, not from the bottom.

As far as saving money goes, the most important thing to do is to pay off all your debts then live below your means. Interest on debt is by far the biggest waste of money most people indulge in. Consume, but consume at a level you can afford and ultimately you can save and buy more. If that means living with your ugly kitchen or dingy-looking but still functional and sanitary bath towels for a few more years, then so be it.

I'm not sure how Mortgages work in the states, but here in NZ we can have a small portion of our mortgage on a floating interest rate, we pay more interest on that part of our loan, but all of our pay goes into that account and we use it as a transactional account. We have a credit card which we pay for everything with during the month and when the bill comes around we pay it off straight away. No interest paid on the credit card, and because there is more money in our mortgage account for the duration of the month, we pay less interest. That and looking at how fast we're paying off our home makes us more reluctant to spend!

I love my local library. Being able to search which books are in the library right this minute and being able to to requests and holds saves gas. Unfortunately, borrowing DVDs isn't free there. It's $20 a year, which is still 12x cheaper than Blockbuster, AND they have Blu-rays.

But usually I use the Redbox machines in the supermarkets. I signed up at Redbox.com and they text message me a free rental code every Monday. The code can also be shared with friends and family! (Psssst...first time users can use the code "DVDONME" any day of the week!)

I'm also starting to sell on eBay. It's a pain, but I have too much stuff anyway.

What shall I save on? We don't own a TV, don't own a cellphone, rarely drive, grocery shopping in bulk every two weeks (except veggie shopping done by foot), no cleaning lady, no extra pairs of sheets, have netflix and library subscriptions, cook at home 99% of the time, buy most things second-hand. No magazine subscriptions.

Keeping the home cold is emphatically not an option; frugal but sick miserable doesn't quite work.

So, any fresh exciting ideas for me?

Make a budget. Look at where your money is really going. I mean, really look. It may be interest for your credit card debt, it may be the car payment, etc. And then question which things you really need. Most likely your home and vehicle(s) will be your largest source of outflow.

Do you need access to a vehicle 24/7, or could you be better served using a car-sharing services (e.g. Zipcar - www.zipcar.com) and a transit pass (I sure am - i love the idea of car-sharing).

Look for simple ways to reduce your energy consumption in your home (check out your local energy provider's website for tips e.g. bchydro.com). These are things that can really add up month to month, especially things that reduce space and water heating (combined they account for approx. 80% of your energy use).

Most of the time these are actions that are going to save you coin, and save the planet a kilo of carbon!

Great ideas but not the light bulbs I hate them.

to firebird

I'm in your boat.

I started looking at bank fees. Home phone line fees. Home loan interest rates and fees. We even looked into getting a new electricity provider to get a better deal. You've probably already done that, but I'm a newbie to living out of the parental home. You could look into starting a vegie patch/container garden. I dont know you situation but we have free dirt so maybe a bit too expensive to start if you have to buy the soil. Um... if you don't rent then you could look at your water useage as well. Something else that might help as well. Find another group of people and buy everything in bulk. I mean everything and split the costs. That way you can buy 20kg of steak if you want and only have to put up with 10kg in your freezer and only pay for half. We get our eggs free from family with free range chickens (we live in semi-rural Australia, the beef centre) and we usually buy an entire bull, sheep, deer or pig and my very clever father butchers it for the family to share up. Just an idea. Sorry if I didn't help at all. I tried. :)

I've saved money by learning to be a more generous giver and a gracious recipient.

I recently purchased a spiral ham for less than $20. It fed four adults and three kids on the first meal. I sent enough home with each visitor to feed two or three people. We still had enough left over for a huge breakfast the next day. Plus I have a hambone for northern beans. That means there were 13 good meals and nobody had to eat the same thing over and over again just to get rid of it.

Here's the catch; I knew I could give food to both sets of guests before I purchased the ham. There are people who -because of distance or (ahem) tastes - will not take food home.

Taking home leftovers and putting them to good use has been difficult. I used to let them die in the fridge before throwing them away. Now, I force myself use them for lunch or dinner the next day.

Ever since my boyfriend and I have gone back to school, our home has become the spot for all our friends to get together for potluck meals. I love it because it motivates us (i.e. HIM, *cough*) to really clean the house properly before our guests come over. At this point we all know everyone's favorite dishes so all our guests come with food we all like and can enjoy together.

I really like the newspapers with brunch idea - perfect for our non-cook friends to bring along with them!

Also, we recently signed up to get veggies from a local CSA and they get delivered to us once a week. We pay a little more for them, but it motivates us to make sure we use up everything we get and thus we throw away less food and also make fewer trips to the grocery store... so in the end we actually save money.

We just signed up for a weekly produce and dairy pickup from a local Organic farmer. We pay a flat rate for the year and you pick up every weekend. This helps the farms stay in business "up front capital" not to mention gets you the freshest produce sans the long lines at the grocer.
Another take on how to "save" money: markets are low it might seem erroneous but look in to opening a Roth IRA, or if you have a 401k plan utilize it. Cut back on some things, and start saving. These are long term investments so even though the economy is below par now these work on a slow and steady growth so there is not a lot of risk and now especially is a good time.

Hmm, I've done all that stuff already. But that means I actually have some money now that nobody else does. Guess I should go get my Roth...

Agree with the visiting at home bit, but not with letting go of quarterly visits from my housekeeper (who's a he, BTW), nor with extending time between shopping trips to the grocery store - when I run too low on supplies, am more likely to wind up spending money on take out lunches. Spending enough to keep my home functioning smoothly pays off in the long run by keeping my stress level down; when I'm overstressed, that's when I'm likely to overspend to compensate and make poor decisions.

Keep tabs on your spending through something like Mint.com (no affiliation). You enter your credit card info, and it sorts your spending habits into categories. It's easier to cut down on spending when you know what you're spending on. I had no idea I spent as much $$$ on groceries as I do, especially since I don't cook. I don't have the patience to set a budget, but this is a good substitute.

I feel ya firebird.
Read some MFK Fisher for inspiration. How to Cook a Wolf, etc. Good wartime, rationing stuff. War cake!

Hi Firebird,

A couple suggestions from someone who loves her tv and cellphone but likes to save money other ways...

- try eating meat only 2 or 3 times a week. there are plenty of other great dishes out there (homemade pizza, veggie stir-fry, pasta primavera, lasagna, salads, etc) that don't require meat or fancy veggies (though you can add some if you want). Eggs -- hard-boiled, fried, whatever -- are a great cheap protein to add to salads and other meals.

- if you have a dishwasher, wash the bigger pots and pans by hand, and only run the dishwasher once a week or less (though you have to rinse well), or not at all.

- instead of sending suits/sweaters to the dry cleaner every time you wear them, febreeze them and hang them in a steamy bathroom for a while... you can stretch suits out to 5 or 6 wears that way (sweaters about 3). In the same vein, hand-wash sweaters rather than dry cleaning them.

- see if you can share wireless internet with your neighbors, if you live in an apartment building. If your next door neighbor has a wireless router and is already paying for the service, it makes no sense for you to do so too when you can share. Knock on his/her door and offer to split the costs if he/she will tell you the network password.

- buy the generic. Especially when it comes to things like painkillers and cough medecine. It's always, always the same stuff in there, and you pay 40% less most of the time. Also buy generic foods, unless there's a huge difference in taste.

- re-purpose old clothes and textiles. when I was little, old t-shirts became cleaning rags, old towels became packing material, old pillows became dog beds.

hope that's all helpful!

As per Weight Watchers and all nutrition experts, be mindful of serving size. With cereal approaching the $6 per box mark, you can get a lot more servings out of a box when you eat only the one suggested cup. This saves coins in your wallet and inches on your hips.

While I use the library, I still find myself buying books. When I finish something that isn't worth sharing with friends I always check Amazon to see if it is worth selling (I don't bother selling anything under $3, because Amazon takes a cut and I won't be left with much). I made about $600 a few years ago when I sold all the ancient textbooks I had stashed at my parents' house. Now I constantly have a pile going of finished books to list on amazon, sell at the local used book store or donate to the library.

I used to have a hard time getting rid of books, but 2 years of sharing books in the Peace Corps broke me of my book hoarding habits. I keep a list of all the books I read and I can refer to that when I need to reccommend books to friends.

Also, I live in Washington DC and I just learned that Pepco will send someone to do a free energy audit of my house. Other electric companies may have the same kind of service.

great stuff people. thanks.

My favorite affordable potluck party is a "pie party": everyone brings a pie, which is easy to buy or make. I do online invites and prep simple drinks and pies.

I also like hosting pancake brunches, which is cheap and better with more people (flour, eggs, syrup...).

I buy cereal at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods (their own 365 brand). It's never more than $3.49 for organic!

In college, I would collect up the unwanted textbooks that other people discarded and left behind. Those books in their current edition could sell for up to $50 or more on Amazon! I made some good pocket money that way. And when I first moved to NYC, I got close to 200 free books off craigslist and sold those on Amazon to make extra cash. But being a librarian too, I definitely advocate using your library. It helps to have such a good one like NYPL where I live!

I've also found that just looking at fewer magazines and going to fewer stores makes me want to buy less. Whenever I go shopping or even window shopping, I usually see something I didn't know existed before then, but invariably will NEED. It's so funny how we feel we need something that the day before we got by perfectly fine without! And if you do feel you NEED to buy something, try waiting a few weeks before purchasing it and most likely you'll either forget about it or won't need it so badly anymore. Helps with those impulse buys!

Orchid64, I am assuming your post is aimed at me. Yes, it would be sad for me to lose my job! Then I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, which means defaulting on a car loan and student loans, which means not contributing in any meaningful way to the economy, which means there is a trickle up effect and because I can't spend, other companies go out of business which leads to more layoffs and unemployment. It's a vicious cycle. Don't be so heartless! It's community first, always. Buying a 6-pack of Pepsi might put a little money in PepsiCo's hands, but it isn't going to prevent the massive layoffs they are going through. Buying meat from my local butcher or bringing my kitties to a small groomer instead of PetSmart will make a greater impact by helping a small business owner keep their livelihood and feed their family, which allows them to continue contributing to the economy as a whole. You start from the bottom and work up. It's proven that the trickle-down effect doesn't work because anything useful gets filtered out before it hits the bottom. That just encourages big business and kills small business. I care less about corporate and more about the individual.

Soup! When the veggies in the fridge start looking a little tired throw them into a pot and boil them into veggie stock to freeze for later. During the winter mu husband and I eat tons of soup because it is cheap to make, warms the tummy on a cold day, and tastes cozy.

Also, think about hosting a Soup Swap party with friends. This is phenomenon that started in Seattle and is an amazing way to get together with friends and neighbors for good company, tasty soup, and recipe swapping.

http://www.soupswap.com/blog/

Great suggestions, everyone! Thank you! I am going to try buying in bulk and sharing with friends. As for car sharing, I wish this was an option where I live. There's no Zipcar or equivalent, public transportation is poor, and there aren't even sidewalks everywhere. I miss living in Northern California, I do.

As for monitoring my spending - I know where the proverbial "hole" is - it's debt repayment. Once I finish paying off my debts I will be fine, hopefully.

Also, SOUP is truly wonderful.

uh, I don't have money problems but I take the GOLD LINE to work. (I'm too angry to drive every day.) My gas expenses have been cut in half!

i carpool to work everyday. wish i could get rid of the car, but i am in south florida and the PT is horrible here.

i am participating in the $25 a week food challenge (i found it on the kitchn) for the whole month of october, perhaps longer.

my neighbor and i are also organizing a rag trade, where a group of women get together with their used, (but in good condition) clothing and swap. some people need business suits, sweaters to go up north, etc. no need to go out and buy new when you can trade old!

Some of us at work have started lunch sharing groups. Groups of 2 or 3 get together and take turns bringing lunch for the group. Groups with similar food preferences have grouped together. It motivates us to bring lunch instead of buy because we have an obligation to others, and only have to think about it a few times a week. Plus there is an element of surprise and you don't always end up eating your leftovers!

wow i can't believe so many people had a housekeeper to begin with? really? is that a popular thing?
i guess im out of my league.

honestly, want to save money? don't read AT.. it always makes me feel like i need to start a new project.. reminds me of something ive been wanting to buy for my place.. etc etc.
it's awful :D

share a nanny with a friend. it's also an instant playdate.
have dinner in, then go out for a beer or wine so you still get out.

Making your own lunch saves a lot of money and you control what you eat. I started doind it out of necessity for my husband who doesn't have any nice lunch places near his office in a drab office park in New Jersey. He is a contractor so the fact that he does not need to go out of the building to get food means he bills more time that way. Yeah!
He bought this japanese bento lunch jar that has 3 containers and is perfect for someone who commutes by train/bus. You can buy it on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-Classic-Stainless-Lunch-Metallic/dp/B000246GSO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1224777013&sr=8-1

Now I make my own lunch too because good lunch places where I work in NYC are scarce and I hate to spend $10 on a salad. And the money saved can go toward a nice dinner once a week.

I do this at lunch sometimes - order for delivery or pick up from your local restaurant and pick it up later in the day just before they switch to dinner prices. With a little pre-planning you'll often get the same food for cheaper for dinner that night! Also, if you're prone to getting food delivered but it's within walking distance, get it take-out instead of delivery to avoid the delivery and/or tip charge.

If you order online, always check out sites like slickdeals.net or just type into your search engine the store you're buying from and the word "discount" or "coupon". These sites will often pull up all sorts of discounts. Buying on line can actually save you money if you get free shipping and if you make sure that there's a physical store nearby if you needed to make a return, plus it saves the car ride to the store. Also, keep in mind that many airlines (aa, delta, etc) and different companies (ie upromise.com) give you miles and/or money if you link to the online company through their website. Just always have in mind what you want to buy so you're not impulse spending.

If you pay off your credit card each month (I do!) then I find credit cards are great because it's essentially a free loan and I always use the rewards cards so every once in a while I'll get a free little perk out of it.

If you're in New York (and maybe other cities), with sites like www.myopenbar.com you can go onlline any day and it'll give you a listing of places which have open bars that day. Really, free alcohol and entertainment for the night (but be sure to tip your wait staff ;) New York is one of the best for free things and events, esp. in the summer, but many cities have festivals and events for low or no cost if you look for them!

Also, if you're planning on taking a trip (ie from NY to Washington DC or Philadelphia, etc), consider taking the bus. I've seen so many bus lines starting up recently, where you can get such inexpensive tickets (like megabus, bolt bus, etc). Also, if you're up for it, consider a housing swap for your vacation. Or, take trips with a group of people together and then you can rent a house through sites like vrbo.com or other house rental sites. These trips can be so much fun, and often it'll be much cheaper and you'll get more quality time together.

If it's convenient, consider bringing in your recycled cans to the supermarket. I mean, you pay for the deposit, you might as well get it back. I usually get lazy and just recycle through my building but why not bring them back yourself and get the money?

Also, don't forget about little things like double side printing your papers!

Hope this helps!

If you can, ditch the car and start car-sharing. I just read a study that equates owning a car to having a $135,000 mortgage. Once you get rid of the car, you'll suddenly discover you have a lot more cash. Also, we:

--- avoid all regular subscriptions that lock you into regular bills... that includes cable, newspapers, cellphones, magazines, housekeepers, the gym or anything else of that ilk.
--- speaking of the gym, we do exercise we can get for FREE including walking to run errands (because we don't own a car), biking or just going out for a run.

--- finding cheap ways to socialize. Instead of meeting friends for dinner, we now meet friends for a stroll around a nearby pond.

Like everyone else, we've cut back on eating out and watching movies in movie theatres, but I think giving up the car and cutting back on discretionary monthly subscriptions makes a tremendous difference.

Oh... and also, we rely on Trader Joe's for grocery shopping, and wine shopping (especially Charles Shaw!)

Regarding saving money by getting dvds at the library--I borrowed two dvds from my local library this summer. You only get them for a few days. I got sick, didn't watch them, and then had to catch a plane for my vacation. Forgot the videos in my car. I was charged $60 by the library for returning the videos late. One of them was Girl Interrupted, which you can find on Amazon for $9.99. The other was The Office.

It would have been considerably cheaper just to buy the blankety blank dvds.

From what I hear, the libraries are hard up and hitting people with big late fees to make up for budget costs.

I think the shop farther apart suggestion is exactly BACKWARDS. The farther ahead you shop, the more likely you are to buy things that will spoil before you use them up. Shop every couple days (walk or bike to the store, which is easier now that you're not buying so much), and buy just what you need for the next couple meals. Obviously you can buy some pantry items that don't spoil in bulk, but for the perishables, it's incredible how much gets wasted due to leftovers, or things you just didn't end up using.