Frugal Living: 10 ways we saved hundreds

So, the foundational post was said. And now onto how WE (again, there are TONS of other ways) saved hundreds of dollars every month.

I know there are TONS of blogs out there that talk about this. I read some of them and mostly I won't have the time to and I feel most of them are MUCH MUCH more in depth and comprehensive than what I can offer.

Here is just a post on what WE did as a family and also in the context of the expensive NYC living.

1. Budgetting
I think this is the most important way how we save. We make sure we have a budget and we track them. Ok, we have a budget. We need more work on tracking. Still, we are able to do a financial report when we need to.

Right now, we use about $60 (our budget is a little higher) on the average per week for grocery and maybe less than $50 for household?

2. Planning ahead/Stocking up
We use the stocking up mentality. Buy when the value is good so that we don't need to pay for them at usual price when needed. We have ample stock of toothbrushes, toothpastes, shampoo, soap, razors, personal items, cereal, diapers and wipes. Most of these (except diapers, wipes and sometimes cereal) we get them for free/earn.

We also plan ahead for gifts. We buy them when good deals come. So it's good to have a gift list on hand to think about gifts. For eg, I bought my Christmas gifts for friends in the beginning of this year!

3. Limit/delay purchases
One BIG way we learnt to save was to limit or delay purchases. We often wait to see if there are deals. or coupons. or sales. Or to see if we REALLY do need what we wanted to buy. This is a great way to make sure the things that come into our home have their uses.

4. Coupons/coupon codes

Manufacturers' coupons
You can clip them from newspapers (Sun), the circulars that come on Wed/Thu (in some NYC areas) and also get them from samples you ordered online. Sometimes you see them along the aisles in supermarkets.

Some supermarkets (like Stop and Shop here) double coupons. Which means as long as I use a coupon under a dollar in SnS (e.g. $0.75) they take off $1.50. They often have dollar double days which is real yummy.

Sign up at the websites of products you use (like Huggies, Pampers, etc) and you get sent coupons too.

Internet Manufacturers' coupons
My favorite site: coupons.com
or smartsource
or you just get the links from the kind souls who link them in their frugal blogs.

Usually you can print 2 per computer. DO NOT photocopy cos they have unique codes.

Not every store takes IP. So, ask first.

Store coupons
Many stores have their own coupons. E.g. target, or CVS (printed on the receipts) and Walgreens (on their ads or booklets) Usually you can stack them with manufacturers' coupons. The usual practice: Use MQ (Manufacturers' coupons) first, then store.

Coupon codes
You can often search for coupon codes if you're buying things online. These help a lot!

It is wise to always check on coupon policies before using them.

5. Menu planning/grocery lists
To start off, we have to plan menu (plan every meal if possible). For me, I plan dinners (lunch are usually leftovers). This will turn into grocery lists.

This prevents impulse buying.

What I do every week is, on Wed the circulars come, I browse them (esp Stop and Shop and the drugstores) and the coupons that come with them. Then I plan my meals according to the sale items, the things left in my fridge and other things (like what my hubby is craving for). The I write the grocery list to-buy. On Friday when the sale week begins darling hubby takes my list and coupons and makes a grocery run.

6. Drugstore Runs
The drugstore runs were what started us off on this journey. Never knew they can be so "lucrative". Here are some intro to how things work in these drugstores and how we do it in NYC.

We are at a point I don't usually buy things (even if they are free) unless they earn. (Or unless we need them of course). Yes we actually get TONS of things FREE.

The frugal community online has given me SO much in this. They often write about the deals so that it's easy for me to look and follow.

My favorite site is moneysavingmom. I love her values and I trust her deals.

I also go to hotcouponworld to preview deals/coupons. This is a great forum!

CVS

This is possibly my favorite store. They are great with coupons and I like the way ECBs are used.

Basic idea: Buy things from CVS that give ECBs (almost like CVS cash). Use the ECBs earned for next purchases. Whenever possible, use a $/$$ coupon (eg $5 off $20). Stack with MQs and get more returns.

Read Moneysavingmom's CVS 101 here. She gives a clear teaching on it.

Rite Aid
I like Rite Aid, cos they use a rebate system. You pay first and they pay you back in a form of check. But our Rite Aid are often poorly stocked.

Basic idea: Buy things from RA that gives SCR (Single Check Rebate) and use MQ whenever possible. RA has been giving out $/$$ coupons which are GREAT.

RA are not exactly supposed to take IP (internet coupons), but I think it depends on cashier/store. Mine does.

Walgreens
This has become my least favorite store because I don't like the Register Reward (RR) system.

Basic idea: Buy things from Walgreens that gives RRs (like Walgreens coupons). Use ONE RR in next transaction, but it counts as ONE MQ.

Read Moneysavingmom's Walgreens 101 here.

7. Swagbucks
On top of saving (reducing expenses), we are earning through very easy means. (easy not meaning we earn a lot, but meaning it does not take too much of our time)

Our favorite at the moment is Swagbucks. You search the web through SB every day and most of the time you can get at least 1 buck. Accumulate 45 and you can snag an Amazon $5 giftcard. This is VERY significant if you think of the things you can buy from Amazon. From gifts to books... And often Amazon has free shipping after $25.

I really don't spend over 5 mins everyday on this and I think it's a GREAT way to earn a little money but makes a huge difference when you buy things you usually need to.

Sign up here!

8. Ebates
When you buy things online, always look out for a middle man by which you go through so that you earn some cash backs (maybe like 3% or 5%?). There are lots of them. I stick with eBates cos it's easier to accumulate through one site instead of multiple. You get sign up bonuses. After you accumulate $5 they send you the money (I opt for paypal so it's easier)

9. Free samples, instant wins, giveaways
I sign up for free samples we would need at our household. They often come with coupons so they are great. But always remember, sign up for a "spamable" email account first and use that for all these.

I also do some instant wins (like Huggies) but I don't do it A LOT cos it wastes time.

Last thing we do here are giveaways. In the frugal blogs every week there will be giveaway lists (from baby items to coupons). You can browse through them and sign up for the ones you think your family need. I used to do this quite a lot, but now I only signed up maybe once a month or when I have more time on hand. But I won quite a bit of giveaways!!

10. Eat out deals
There are often eat out deals (restaurant deals, birthday deals) so we still are able to have some eat out! We got a couple of restaurant.com certs (they are often $2 for a $25 cert), which means you spent about $15 for a really good meal for 2 (or more) with the certs.

Frugal living: the lessons I learnt

This blogpost comes about because more of my friends in church are starting drugstore-deals and wanting to learn more about frugal living. I'm absolutely fired up about this because I believe good money management is a blessing to the breadwinner (mostly husbands in this case) and will teach us about contented living.


Since Mission R.I.C.E started last August, these are the biggest lessons I have learnt from our attempt at frugal living.


1. Focus: Relationships over Frugality!

In the beginning, it is SO easy to get overboard and carried away. With the wonderful resources of the frugal blogs, we can get SOOOOO many deals, save SOOOO much money and get TONS of freebies. I remembered when I was quite hooked, reading and searching. I remembered when I was quite affected, utterly crushed with every "bad deal" (no stock? won't take coupon? didn't calculate right?). I remembered when I was quite agitated, wanting the family move fast/change schedule so that we can do our "runs"!


Then I realize, what is the point of frugality (and saving money FOR the family) when I'm "away" from the family? So, God helped me to let deals go (even the REALLY good ones), and relax when deals don't turn out or stocks are gone. In return we had a more balanced family life. My children have more of my time and my hubby doesn't HAVE to do the runs every week. And since we're saving, we also do not forget to give and to celebrate (there are many frugal ways to celebrate, but if there are some special things we really love to do as a family, I'll think it's still worth some splurging!)


Now I clip coupons (only from the Wed circulars and only the ones I think I might need) and I don't even organize them (egad!). Lots of time saved.


Now I do the "runs" maybe once or at most twice a month?


I wrote another blog here before about this.

2. Benefit: Training over Results


Discipline is more important. True, saving hundreds of grocery/household money and thus increasing savings is so captivating. But I also realize the discipline of menu-planning, grocery list-writing, thinking through every purchases is better! Such discipline trains my character than my pocket.


Process is more important. In fact, one of the greatest phrases I learnt about money-management and kids was "don't say 'we can't afford it' or 'it's too expensive for us'". Cos that means IF you can afford it one day, you can buy it. Then the child has the wrong teaching: earn as much as I can so that I can "afford". But say more "we don't need this. or this is not of good value"


Integrity is more important. I learnt through some hard lessons that it's better to "lose" some money than lose your integrity. If the deal doesn't smell right, or the coupon is not legitimate, DON'T go near it.


3. Emphasis: Values over Deals

It's not about getting the deals. It's about the lifestyle change. The willingness to live on less and to give up more. We may not get the snacks/peripherals/eat outs as much as we used to (then again, we had more potato chips/cereal than before! haha), but we can really save and still eat great food. We may not be able to get that particular shampoo we dearly love, but we get to choose from 5 different other brands that come free. When mentality/values are altered, then we really can make a significant financial difference.

Reminders on couponing, frugal living and drugstore deals

Recently more and more of my friends caught the "coupons" and "drugstore" fever. I cannot tell you how elated and excited I am to hear about the deals they snagged and the money they saved. It really pumped me up.

Yet, I have this tingling concern at the base of my tummy...

I started this couponing/frugal/drugstore journey with the blessing and full involvement of my husband (he does the runs too). We talked about it, sometimes I run through my deals by him (because of my HORRIBLE math), laughed about it and celebrated together when we snatched some awesome deals.

However, I know I'm very blessed. Not all the sisters I know have that luxury. (I probably wouldn't have too, if not for my hubby starting to be CFO) So, I'm concerned if this frugal journey will cause dissensions among the couples which will be a BIGGEST loss!

OR...I was concerned that some of my friends would have to learn the hard way about drugstoring like me and suffer some losses (monetarily and time). I wish they can be spared of that.

So I thought of sharing some articles/blogs I read that was helpful and interesting (I'll post more when I read more) and also some of my learnings while on the journey.

Deal-seeking mom lately has some good blogs like:

Are you really saving? here

To print and clip or not print and clip here

Moneysavingmom (my favorite of all for she always keeps my values in check)! had some good archives:

Simple living here

A good deal gone bad here

And I read about this really really funny post: "I married a couponholic" here

Alright. SOME of my learnings:

1. Discuss with hubby and make sure he at least gives you the blessing (MOST hubbies will not be able to participate and that's ok). OR let him give you the blessing with his "parameters". Every marriage is different too...how you discuss and come to decisions about things. But every marriage should be more important than how much you earn/save.

2. Get your priorities right. Set time and budget aside for deals/couponing etc. Everyone has different needs and capacity. What's yours? I have 2 young kids and I realized when I first started I needed to learn about this and I need to get better. So I spent a lot of time. This year, one of my resolution is to cut down time to plan/strategize/etc on couponing/drugstoring to 15-20 mins a day. Do you have work? family? studies? hubby? hobby? ministry? Give those who deserve your attention the deserving attention. Also, remember this is about living simpler (yet I realized we're getting WAY MORE STUFF than we ever gotten, with much less money). Still to be willing to live simpler, eat simpler, use simpler is the key to saving (not the deals!!).

3. Remember your goals, never be greedy and be totally honest. It's SUPER hard esp when you start getting TONS of free stuff. But with some bad experiences, I realize, greed just doesn't get you anywhere. I always remember moneysavingmom's advice to pray about the deals (that makes me conscious to put God in all that I do in this journey). There are lots of ways to get free/cheap stuff but not all are honest. That's why I love moneysavingmom. When there are deals, I usually check her blog to see if she endorses it. She's on the journey for a much longer time than I do and I need her wisdom. I respect her values totally. That's also why I steer away from those online offers, special earning opportunities etc.

4. God knows what you need. My SIL loves to say this when we talked about deals (that we got or missed) and I think it's a wonderful reminder! God knows exactly what's good for you at this time, thus the deals you got/missed. In that light I no longer am anxious about "what if there is no stock??!!" "what if the coupon doesn't ring", etc etc...it's ok. Also, because of that I'm more willing to let go of good deals, $5/25 coupons and even some other great value coupons that I've printed (oh gosh, no!) but can't do the deal (no stock, no time, etc)

5. Never forget about giving. At this point in our journey, we have lots of household stuff stocked up, we are getting great deals (and many times I won't even do the deals unless it's overage or really free, or I can give away) and we are saving lots more. To the more God demands more. So we try to remember it's important to give to others. That keeps us in check.