posted October 17, 2011 01:05 PM            

Obvious ones:
-Clip coupons (tedious but..)
-Shop at salvation army
-Public transit and/or biking > Car
-Speaking of which, get any kind of public transit card for whatever city you are in. In DC it is smartrip and saves .20 cents per metro trip! (.60 cents for me per day).
Speaking of which, learn if your city has peak and off peak public transit hours. example, rush hour (peak) between 3-6:59pm and 5-9:30 am is rush hour in the DC metro and thus "peak" and costs more. So, due to my very convienient work schedule, I can actually wait till 9:30 am AND 7:00 pm to take the metro. I actually arrive at the metro around 6:50 pm each day and wait 10 minutes (and people watch) for the fare to drop from something like 3.80 to 1.60 at 7 on the dot and laugh at the fools, every day, who rush in at 6:57..58...59, only to get on the same 7:02 train I do! Mine is cheaper, sucka! So, learn intricate details of your PT system.
-Shop store brand
-Cook >eating out
-Discarded pizza boxes are an excellent source of cheese
-tap water (with filter) > juices, soda, etc. but that is obvious.
-Convince friends that buying a six pack and drinking at home > going out to bars. Or, at least get pleasantly tipsy before going out and only carry a max. of 20 on you.
-Search your city for free events (online I mean)
-Dumpster dive, for serious
-Or at least, attend "events", at the very end. People have given away food to me because they had too much and were just going to throw it away anyway. Score!
-End of work function = scour the table of food for.. left over food. My colleuges jumped in on the action when they saw me packing away food that was just gonna be left there anyway and/or thrown away. I always ask if it is okay first if I take away some food, it is always okay. I always couldn't care less what others might think.
-reuse plastic forks and spoons and sporks
-reuse condoms ...no wait
-reuse paper plates, etc
-get together with tight knit group of friends, pool a little money and buy movie protector and desginate a different friends location and do movie night there instead of going out to movies..over the long haul I think this saves dough and sharing is caring
-Again, get a dang bike!

posted October 17, 2011 03:26 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by carl:
What are some less obvious ways to save money?

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I think living frugally requires a complete lifestyle change. From the clothes you buy, I stick to thrift stores, vintage stores, etc. Living in a town or city that is bike friendly as well as thrift friendly. To living in a rent manageable apartment or buying property that won't leave you financially depleted. Conserving everything, and buying in bulk makes it easier to conserve.

Going natural and organic, you'd be surprised how much you can save and not spend on extra junk food. (Only the basics, vegetables, fruits, rye and wheat, organic pasta, soy products, herbal tea, fruits bars and juices, fish etc.)

posted October 18, 2011 01:21 AM            

The Tightwad Gazette.