The Money Saver Thread

[Bloozcat]

Drink plain tap water instead of buying over-priced, environment-unfriendly bottled liquids.

An under the kitchen sink carbon filtration unit is great for this. Takes out any of the bad taste, even the chlorine from treated water. Then buy those stainless tote bottles to eliminate any toxic gas leaching as you get from plastic, and you're good to go.

[Katastrophe]

Eschew pants.

I would, and it would be comfortable in the 100 degree (F) heat, but I don't think my self esteem could handle all the pointing and laughing!

[Katastrophe]

So, where do you go for guitar consumables, like strings?

The local GAS station here is ridiculously high priced.

[poodlesrule]

Use a clothline to dry clothes.
I think I am the only freak on my street to do so, and I understand many/most HOAs prohibit it (along everything else!). I hate dryers almost as much as leaf blowers!

You should smell the laundry after a day in the sun... heavenly.

I started an collection of clothline pictures. on and off. Italy has the best ones, across narrow streets, with the workingman's jeans alongside the ladies unmentionables... delightful!

[Bloozcat]

So, where do you go for guitar consumables, like strings?

The local GAS station here is ridiculously high priced.

Musician's Friend or Music 123 always runs a Christmas special on 12 packs of D'Addario XL110's. It's a staple on my Christmas list every year...cheaper by the dozen.

[FrankenFretter***]

So, where do you go for guitar consumables, like strings?

The local GAS station here is ridiculously high priced.

I've bought some strings recently from Webstrings. They seem pretty decent, and they're pretty cheap ($2.99). Guitar Fetish also has strings, and Sumi says they're good. Those run $2.39 a set.

If you must have a name brand, buy in bulk. Good way to save money.

B stock items, factory blems and seconds are another good way to save. I also try to do as much shopping at the Grocery Outlet as possible. As mentioned a couple times already, the library is great. We "rent" quite a few movies from ours, which is only a block away.

Frankly I'm surprised Eric didn't start this thread a long time ago.

[sumitomo]

Drink plain tap water instead of buying over-priced, environment-unfriendly bottled liquids.

That could be deadly some places!Sumi

[sumitomo]

Yea a case of strings 25 bucks,now you CAN change your strings!Sumi

[sumitomo]

When you go out to eat,take a little toliet paper home with ya,stuff your pockets!,In Mexico and South America public toliets don't have TP you either buy in on your way in or bring it with you,if they insist on you paying to use THEIR toliet,I just drop my pants and start pissing at their feet,They ain't pullin no cons on this gringo,funny how you can hold of an attacker with a stream of piss.LOL!! Sumi

[kiteman]

So, where do you go for guitar consumables, like strings?

The local GAS station here is ridiculously high priced.

Yours too? Mine wants $20 for a set of Elixirs. Cheapest set-$8. I never went back and thanks god for MF online, I buy 'em by the 10 pack (for 3 guitars).

[Eric***]

Frankly I'm surprised Eric didn't start this thread a long time ago.

It's good to know that my reputation precedes me. I suppose putting my love of frugality in my user profile doesn't hurt...

[pes_laul]

Being a broke teenager Im the master at this!
Whenever I go out with friends i always buy the cheapest meals and when we go to the movies I smuggle my own snacks in I bought from the gas station for five bucks.

and whenever I work I always put 40% of what I make in savings and keep the rest for spending money

[kiteman]

I buy my food at the dollar store and that's big savings even over store brands. I have to find out what's good and what's not.

Of course there's a few things I have to get at a grocery store.

[M29]

You are off to a good start young PezK

[bcdon***]

Being a broke teenager Im the master at this!
Whenever I go out with friends i always buy the cheapest meals and when we go to the movies I smuggle my own snacks in I bought from the gas station for five bucks.

and whenever I work I always put 40% of what I make in savings and keep the rest for spending money

Good for you! It's nice to see young people acting like this.

[Spudman***]

Whenever I go out with friends i always buy the cheapest meals and when we go to the movies I smuggle my own snacks in I bought from the gas station for five bucks.

Buy your snacks from the grocery store and you'll save even more. Gas stations have a much higher mark up generally.

[deeaa*]

Hard as it is to accept, Internet & TV etc. are by far the largest expenditure one could live without. I easily spend something like 300-400 bucks a month just for those...we have four cell phones and six mobile data connections, ADSL+ and video-on-demand services etc, two PPC's, two laptops, two desktops, several online sites & domains...could do without most of them easy, if it came to that.

Including assorted PC hardware/upgrades and Xbox games and such adds up to a few hundred more. Which reminds me I'd need to buy another 1TB harddrive for the desktop...I could easily buy a very nice amp or guitar almost every month if I dropped all the computer etc. stuff and started reading instead. But instead a book or two I buy 2-3 Xbox/computer games a month.

Libraries...don't use no more. My time is so nonexistant these days, I simply have no time to read. Barely get to sleep 5-6 hours anyway although I'm supposed to be on holiday, can't spend any more time for reading. When I do, one book lasts me a month, and if I get one from library, I never have the time to finish it in due time & end up paying more for fines than a paperback copy would have cost, so I buy what I read most times.

Other than unnecessary technology, I could probably save another one or two hundred a month if I didn't use _any_ alcohol at all.

These are what my money goes to, besides mortgage&utility bills...other than that, I cycle to work, drive an old car as little as possible, never eat out or visit town really, or buy clothes etc. more than absolutely necessary. Often I don't eat real food at work to save a few bux, but buy those one-dollar 'coaster' pizzas to survive somehow (but that's good, keeps me thin.)

[pes_laul]

Buy your snacks from the grocery store and you'll save even more. Gas stations have a much higher mark up generally.

I usually try to go to a dollar store but when I go to the movies or something we usually never can find one :P

[marnold***]

Hard as it is to accept, Internet & TV etc. are by far the largest expenditure one could live without. I easily spend something like 300-400 bucks a month just for those...we have four cell phones and six mobile data connections, ADSL+ and video-on-demand services etc, two PPC's, two laptops, two desktops, several online sites & domains...could do without most of them easy, if it came to that.

Which is my concern about getting a smartphone to replace my aging Palm TX. That would add another $30 to my wireless bill because I have to get a data plan. Doesn't sound like much until you stop to think that that will be ~$400 over the course of a year. If I was constantly traveling, that would be one thing. I only pay ~$28/month for my 1.5 megabit cable connection.