Thread of CHEAP

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by slammer111

1) When my sister goes home, as she walks up the alley she peers into people's blue bins. Maybe our neighbourhood is nicer but people around my area are too lazy to return empties to the liquor store. Each week we make about $5, which subsidizes my beer runs.

2) I do the same thing as my sister with electronics and computer equipment people junk. Some even stick a "Free" tag on their stuff. If I think I can do it, I flip the items on Craigslist. Free money. Sometimes the stuff they chuck is actually NICER (West Side ftw )than the stuff we are using at home, so we get free upgrades as well. Or sometimes a $200 item is junked because a $5 part broke. Again, easy money.

5)my computer is always 3-5 years behind the technological curve. In return I've only spent about $300 (compared to $3000+ for some of my friends) in computer equipment in the last 8 years. And my rig is fast enough to play Modern Warfare 2. My friends chuck so much computer stuff so often that I just offer to dump their junk for them, and take whatever parts I need along the way.

7) Make rich/spender friends. I hate to say it, but those are the people who make much of the list possible. You need friends who dump stuff all the time and don't mind you freeloading off them.


18) Owe as much credit as you can, then pay it off at the deadline. A good example is income tax. Anyone who wishes for a big return is a retard. That just means you gave the government an interest-free loan for the year! Of course, this only works if you're not an irresponsible douche. I love receiving letters from CRA saying I need to make a payment of a few grand at the end of a tax year.

19) If your job has benefits, spread them out over the years. For example, maybe fix your top teeth first, then do the bottom teeth the next year. Depending on your plan, that may mean you can claim dental TWICE, which is advantageous if you have a yearly limit. Sure your teeth might look wonky for another year but would it be worth it if you could save $3000 as a result?

excellent post, but i think 1 & 2 is too hobo-like and if your workplace can offer you more hours i rather take those time-consuming hours and work unless you find that to be a hobby.

I call BS on #5's example, #7 sounds like the people that annoy me, #18's controversial and #19 is lulz (and isn't claiming same thing twice insurance fruad?)

[godwin]

Use as much raw ingredients and in bulk as possible. The more processed the food you buy, the more expensive it is.

If you make a batch of lunch. You can freeze some like chilli, make subsequent batch of different types eg spag bol.. then you don't have to eat the same thing every time.

This thread about cheap, the theme to save money is by preplan and don't do things on impulse.

[Tapioca]

Something that everyone should do is create a basic spreadsheet for your daily expenses. Set amounts you should spend on various things (food, entertainment, car maintenance, etc.) If you're always finding that you're broke each month, a spreadsheet will at least give you a sense of where your money is going.

I find that if you're on RFD, you actually end up spending more money than saving because you end up making a lot impulse purchases.

I'm not a food snob or anything, but I rarely eat anything frozen unless it's frozen meat. I cook on a regular basis and I know my prices on produce and groceries and I still end up spending a lot on food and beverage.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Epic post man. Thanks.


My own contribution: Don't MOD your car! In reality, essentially pissing money away. But I guess if you enjoy it enough. Expensive hobby for sure.

disagree. you just have to be smart with the modding. buy USED, whatever you can get away with (do your research first, lots of it, so you know what to look out for), and buy below market value. there are ALWAYS idiots who buy new parts beyond their means and suddenly have to sell their shit because they're broke and can't make rent.

when you eventually sell, aim to break even or better.

[murd0c]

A big one I save cash on is movies, yes its "against" the law
And all but I used to rent a movie every couple of days then of
Course you forget to return it and by the time you know it you owe
Big cash, I now just split screen it with my computer so I don't
Have to waste dvds that I will only use once.

For food make sure you use all the food in your cupboards, its
So easy to buy something and toss it and forgot about it. I do
That with my freezer all the time I found a large safeway lasgana
Last week that was able to give me 3 lunchs for work as well.
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[RabidRat]

btw that "modded car" on topgear was only a POS because they were being idiots lol. it would've cost them about $400 for a set of used R compound tires which alone would've been good for a good 15 seconds faster lap times. throw in another $12 for ATE Superblue brake fluid, $100 for a mildly used front set of Hawk HT-10 or Carbotech XP-10 brake pads and that's probably another 15 seconds.

not all the bling rims and slotted drilled rotor garbage.

[RenoMan]

Originally Posted by slammer111

^ Damn, you beat me by a few minutes. Many places you can eat for cheap.

Boys and girls, if you want to save money, you have go after the big fish. No point trying to save $2 when you're bleeding $300 elsewhere.

My family does several things to save a few bucks. The trick is consistency. Let's see if I can get my mind rolling. Our family has a reputation amongst our inner circle but honestly I don't think we're even that hardcore.

1) When my sister goes home, as she walks up the alley she peers into people's blue bins. Maybe our neighbourhood is nicer but people around my area are too lazy to return empties to the liquor store. Each week we make about $5, which subsidizes my beer runs.

2) I do the same thing as my sister with electronics and computer equipment people junk. Some even stick a "Free" tag on their stuff. If I think I can do it, I flip the items on Craigslist. Free money. Sometimes the stuff they chuck is actually NICER (West Side ftw )than the stuff we are using at home, so we get free upgrades as well. Or sometimes a $200 item is junked because a $5 part broke. Again, easy money.

3) Don't drive like an ass. Never use more than 1/4 throttle, look far down the road to anticipate stops, and time your speeds so you avoid red lights. This is known as "hypermiling". By consistently doing this (it's now a habit) I can easily get 50-100km more per tank than my buddies who have the exact same car. That's probably another $20/mo right there. And of course my brakes and tires last WAY longer too! Oh, and you save a tree or two.

4) Speaking of cars, DIY your oil and brakes. Sure you get your hands a bit dirty but that can easily save $100-400 a year depending on what car you have. Example, buddy had his brakes done for $2000 at the dealer; I had mine done (same car) for $700 in parts and a couple of hours of elbow grease.

5) Buy depreciating items used. A 1 year old computer probably cost only 40% as much as the new one. I'm even more extreme; my computer is always 3-5 years behind the technological curve. In return I've only spent about $300 (compared to $3000+ for some of my friends) in computer equipment in the last 8 years. And my rig is fast enough to play Modern Warfare 2. My friends chuck so much computer stuff so often that I just offer to dump their junk for them, and take whatever parts I need along the way.

6) Eat all the damn food on your plate. Why people piss away food money is completely beyond me. Pack it up in a doggy bag if you can't finish the portion!

7) Make rich/spender friends. I hate to say it, but those are the people who make much of the list possible. You need friends who dump stuff all the time and don't mind you freeloading off them.

8) Cut your data plan. I noticed recently that 90% of my friends have data. If I ever need something looked up, I can just ask one of them to do it for me, and they don't mind at all. $45/mo saved. In fact, I didn't even bother picking up a smartphone for the exact same reason. Of course this assumes you have friends that don't suck.

9) Turn your lights off when not needed, and lower your heating by a couple of degrees. Sounds like common sense, but tons of people I know leave 80% of their lights on 24 hours a day for some stupid reason. This is probably $400/mo saved for our household. You get used to the colder temp after a couple of weeks anyways. Our house is 17C on average and I still sit around in a T-shirt. It's actually not bad at all. If you feel cold and don't want to put on a sweater, use a small space heater instead and close your door. Heating up a room is way faster/cheaper than heating your entire house.

10) Cut your cable packages. Do you really need all 500 channels when 50 will do? Everything I want to see (ie Top Gear) is on YouTube anyways, with no commercials Easily $30-50 saved a month.

11) When you travel, go backpacking or live in a 3-star hotel instead of 5-star. I can easily go on vacation for 1/3 the price of my friends who do the whole "packaged tour" crap, AND see more stuff AND have more random fun.

12) Carpool with your buddies to go hang out. I have a good friend 3 mins away; we take turns driving out. Cuts your non-essential fuel consumption by half. Same with errands; string them together by location. Why go out to get 1 thing done when u can do 4.

13) If you're a good driver, crank up your deductibles! Autoplan buddy taught me this. My deductibles are $2500 for comprehensive. Back then I (stupidly) left them at $300 and never used them in 10 years. $4000 (probably more) in extra premiums pissed away. Even if I had been in an at-fault accident during this period, it still would've been way cheaper to pay the larger deductible. Hit and Run deductibles stay at a maximum of $750 at ICBC, so that's what you'll pay even if your comprehensive is higher than that amount.

14) Use calling cards/Skype for long distance. Apparently some people out there still pay 5c/minute or whatever. It can add up if you have relatives in a different city.

15) Use rechargeable batteries. I know some people who go to 7-11 and buy 2(!) batteries for $11!? I can get a box (no-name alkalines) of 40 for the same price. For items that drain batteries regularly (such as my mp3 player), using rechargeables has already paid for itself several times.

16) Go cheapo on movies. Those $8 tickets people sell here and there are awesome. Eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory with that Movie combo is even better. $40 for the 2 of you includes the 2 movies. White Spot downtown also has a similar awesome deal. Of course there's also BitTorrent but we're keeping things legal in this post.

17) Pack your own lunch. This can easily save you $200/month. Usually my sister and I make a big batch, then put them into 5 containers each.

18) Owe as much credit as you can, then pay it off at the deadline. A good example is income tax. Anyone who wishes for a big return is a retard. That just means you gave the government an interest-free loan for the year! Of course, this only works if you're not an irresponsible douche. I love receiving letters from CRA saying I need to make a payment of a few grand at the end of a tax year.

19) If your job has benefits, spread them out over the years. For example, maybe fix your top teeth first, then do the bottom teeth the next year. Depending on your plan, that may mean you can claim dental TWICE, which is advantageous if you have a yearly limit. Sure your teeth might look wonky for another year but would it be worth it if you could save $3000 as a result?

You must have a proud father

[Noizz]

Originally Posted by nns

Eating sounds must save you quite a bit.

Omfg I literally made an ass of myself laughing out loud in class just now... Hahahhaa
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[hotjoint]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Something that everyone should do is create a basic spreadsheet for your daily expenses. Set amounts you should spend on various things (food, entertainment, car maintenance, etc.) If you're always finding that you're broke each month, a spreadsheet will at least give you a sense of where your money is going.

I find that if you're on RFD, you actually end up spending more money than saving because you end up making a lot impulse purchases.

I'm not a food snob or anything, but I rarely eat anything frozen unless it's frozen meat. I cook on a regular basis and I know my prices on produce and groceries and I still end up spending a lot on food and beverage.

I have a spread sheet, its hardcore, has my income, expenses and luxuries on it, its updated daily. I like to know exactly how much money I have saved up at all times.

[Stevie P]

Take napkins from everywhere and use them as toilet paper.

[Roach]

There are some very good points here. However, why not use that time and energy to focus on ways to earn more money? Whether it be a second job, investments, a side business or furthering your education. So be it.

I believe in living my life the way I want and finding a means to support that lifestyle. I'm not rolling in Mercedes but I'm also not going through my neighbour's blue bin.

Finally, in the case of mooching off friends, I'd never sacrifice my self-respect nor treat my friends as a tool in the name of a buck. Weak.

Kev

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

disagree. you just have to be smart with the modding. buy USED, whatever you can get away with (do your research first, lots of it, so you know what to look out for), and buy below market value. there are ALWAYS idiots who buy new parts beyond their means and suddenly have to sell their shit because they're broke and can't make rent.

when you eventually sell, aim to break even or better.

Congrats, you are like.. 1% of the modding community. At least you don't shop at AJR

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by Roach

There are some very good points here. However, why not use that time and energy to focus on ways to earn more money? Whether it be a second job, investments, a side business or furthering your education. So be it.

I believe in living my life the way I want and finding a means to support that lifestyle. I'm not rolling in Mercedes but I'm also not going through my neighbour's blue bin.

Finally, in the case of mooching off friends, I'd never sacrifice my self-respect nor treat my friends as a tool in the name of a buck. Weak.

Kev

You're missing the point. A lot of ppl get a kick out of spending time and energy to be cheap.

[choda]

Slammers post has some good points, but a few of them are acting like a hobo which I personally would never do (no offence Slammer) Some great tips though!

[Qmx323]

i take home food from staff lunch/dinners
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[winson604]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Something that everyone should do is create a basic spreadsheet for your daily expenses. Set amounts you should spend on various things (food, entertainment, car maintenance, etc.) If you're always finding that you're broke each month, a spreadsheet will at least give you a sense of where your money is going.

I find that if you're on RFD, you actually end up spending more money than saving because you end up making a lot impulse purchases.

Yea after watching that show with the fat women that helps people in debt. Writing down and knowing exactly how much you are spending sure helps.

That's also the reason I rarely go on RFD now due to some impulse purchases.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

disagree. you just have to be smart with the modding. buy USED, whatever you can get away with (do your research first, lots of it, so you know what to look out for), and buy below market value. there are ALWAYS idiots who buy new parts beyond their means and suddenly have to sell their shit because they're broke and can't make rent.

My father's friends have a similar approach to muscle cars. They spent endless amount of time/money building cars, now they'd rather just buy a car someone else put the time/money into, and often at far less than the original owner has invested.

[Roach]

And my thread contribution:

Buy MW2. You will lie to your friends and tell them you are busy just to race home and play for hours on end. The cost of the game will be recovered in just one night of not going out with friends for dinner/drinks.

Kev

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by slammer111

1) When my sister goes home, as she walks up the alley she peers into people's blue bins. Maybe our neighbourhood is nicer but people around my area are too lazy to return empties to the liquor store. Each week we make about $5, which subsidizes my beer runs.

I used to return all my emptys in Ontario, no way I'm doing it here. $5 isn't worth hanging out with the hobos.

Originally Posted by slammer111

3) Don't drive like an ass. Never use more than 1/4 throttle, look far down the road to anticipate stops, and time your speeds so you avoid red lights. This is known as "hypermiling".

This is known as boring and c'lai-ing. Please never drive like this, my grandma drove faster.

Originally Posted by slammer111

8) Cut your data plan.

14) Use calling cards/Skype for long distance. Apparently some people out there still pay 5c/minute or whatever. It can add up if you have relatives in a different city.

Cut your cell plan! I have a My5 plan and a separate $4 unlimited calling plan where you call one number, then the number you want to dial. I added the access number as one of my MY5 numbers, and programmed every number in my address book to: <access number><pause><pause><number> == unlimited calling 24/7.

Originally Posted by slammer111

17) Pack your own lunch. This can easily save you $200/month. Usually my sister and I make a big batch, then put them into 5 containers each.

This should be #1. This is often a person's worst monthly expense.

I make a big meal every Sun, and likewise package the leftover for lunches.

Originally Posted by slammer111

18) I love receiving letters from CRA saying I need to make a payment of a few grand at the end of a tax year.

For those with RRSPs, you can choose to get the taxes back every paycheque instead of waiting to file taxes. File form T1213.

[Onassis]

This is most likely a re-post but this woman is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQNvdKNTZUg

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by raygunpk

agreed. i have friends who always say they are broke but still go clubbing 3 or 4 times a month.

OH GOD I HATE THOSE PEOPLE.

my friend is a perfect example. He's in 10g's of debt yet he goes clubbing like 28228348328342 times a month.

[hotjoint]

^ some people have really fucked up priorities, its ok it'll catch up with them later in life

[Vansterdam]

preety much been eating out for 1.5 years straight since i moved out and am to lazy to cook for myself lol... there goes most of my paycheck next to booze :P

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by raygunpk

agreed. i have friends who always say they are broke but still go clubbing 3 or 4 times a month.

what i hate the most are people like this but also owe their friends money and don't pay them back b/c they're 'broke'

[raygunpk]

Originally Posted by GLOW

what i hate the most are people like this but also owe their friends money and don't pay them back b/c they're 'broke'

yea and the next time you see them they've got new designer shades or somethin