Easy ways to save money

[rakkoon]

We've had a look at our finances and decided that we're spending a lot of money each month. Some things we changed this month

Switched supermarkets
Changed energy supplier
Going to install new water heater that is way more energy efficient


This will actually save us a lot of money. What are other easy things that you can think of?

And no we are not putting a bucket in the shower to reuse the water later :smallwink:

[Ravens_cry]

Walk or bike more for short hops that really don't require a car. Be sure to wear a helmet and invest in a good lock, or this could get expensive fast if your biking.
Buy stuff on sale. This doesn't mean buy it just because it is on sale, but stock up on certain non-perishables when you do.
Buy ingredients rather then meals. Convenience food often isn't that great for you anyway.
Learn to cook. A good home cooked dinner is more special, better, and cheaper the eating at a restaurant.
Cut down on meat. While damn tasty, that's stuffs expensive.
When you do buy meat, look for slow cooking, but really flavourful meats, like pot roast or chuck.
Well, that's my ideas anyway.

[InaVegt]

A helmet ain't necessary when biking (assuming bicycles, not motorbikes), honest.

Here in the Netherlands, biking is quite the common method of transportation, and nobody wears a helmet.

[Ravens_cry]

A helmet ain't necessary when biking (assuming bicycles, not motorbikes), honest.

Here in the Netherlands, biking is quite the common method of transportation, and nobody wears a helmet.
I have been in my share of biking accidents on a bike (that's what I get for singing belting Frank Sinatra songs while riding downhill after visiting family for Christmas) and I do believe my helmet protected me from serious injury at least once.

[Killer Angel]

Make two lists: income and outcome.
Sign everything you spend money for, eventually dividing them for cathegories (house, health care, taxes, telephone, dinner/lunch outside, etc).
This way, you control the way you spend money and how much this surpasses your income.
From this, it's easiest to focus the objectives (where can I cut expenses?)

[InaVegt]

I have been in my share of biking accidents on a bike (that's what I get for singing belting Frank Sinatra songs while riding downhill after visiting family for Christmas) and I do believe my helmet protected me from serious injury at least once.

I've had my share of bike accidents, never had my head anywhere near close to danger. Broke some bones, had some big open wounds, but never anywhere but arms and legs.

[Lev]

Easiest way: Don't buy things, earn more money.
Realize that need is an invention and just a word, now understand that you only want things. What do you want more than the money you would spend it on? Write a list of those things then re-read them.

Ways around buying things? Freecycle.
Yes, this means dumpster dive. Go down to a local market when they close up and they usually throw out tons of perfectly good food, bakeries especially throw away or leave out literally bags full of edible baked goods. Some bakeries try to sell these and are labeled as "day olds" and are a decent alternative to freecycling before you know your routes.
Biking allows you to cycle through alleys on your journey from destination to destination, get a waste management city section-to-day chart to see what bins are emptied and when and be sure to map your bike routes to the bins that are either due to be emptied later that day or bins empties the next day as you usually find lots of useful things in residential and industrial like furniture and more stuff like that. I've found stuff from $1-$500 in worth, some things are broken and unions are supposed to throw them out when they break under contract and don't even bother to fix them. Once you fix something you can sell or trade it, if you cant fix it you can always just leave it outside your bin for someone more skilled or lucky.

Best way I've found to save money so far is to raise your Cha and go move in with someone in a coop. Here apartments for 2 people cost 1500/mo but sharing a room in a coop costs each person 150/mo, and it's smarter and more efficient to combine resources... if you have the Cha to do so.

[rakkoon]

Even the advice that doesn't apply to me is good advice. Cool.

We made a list of our incoming/outgoing expenses. This lead to the conclusion that we spend waay to much money without really feeling it. And a large part of expenses went to food and such (take away meals, small supermarkets, expensive supermarkets,...) so that was prio 1. A lot of money goes to water and electricity, hence our two other priorities. We are paying for our house (me, wife, two kids), hard to cut costs there.

Taking a bike more often is an option (weather permitting). Stocking up is also a good option.

Keep 'em coming boys and girls

[Kobold-Bard]

Stop buying D&RPG stuff. I know a guy who spends about 1/2 his income on it.

:smalltongue:

[rakkoon]

Actually I also made the decision not to buy through Amazon for while, went to a special (free) event this weekend where everything is 1/5 the price and stocked up :smallbiggrin:

[Hazkali]

If you drink, cut down on buying alcohol, and perhaps alternate between soft and hard drinks when you're out. You're not going to save a large amount of money, but depending on how often and how seriously you go out, I imagine you could save about £20-40 /month.

[Ravens_cry]

I've had my share of bike accidents, never had my head anywhere near close to danger. Broke some bones, had some big open wounds, but never anywhere but arms and legs.
It only has to happen once. Besides, unless you got a shocking hair colour, a bike allows you to stand out more and be more visible on the road.
***
Back on topic.
Thrift stores, depending on your area, can be really helpful. You would be surprised what people are willing to give away and they can be far cheaper then any retail store.
See if there is a Freecycle group (http://www.freecycle.org/) in your area. Again, you would be surprised what people give away.

[Savannah]

Your local library should have music and movies in addition to a good selection of books. Use it instead of the movie theater (huge money sink between the tickets and snacks) or buying books/movies/music.

(My library has a decent selection of D&D books, and the OOTS books. You'd be surprised what random things libraries will have...)

[Pika...]

Don't be a gamer...

[Serpentine]

I've had my share of bike accidents, never had my head anywhere near close to danger. Broke some bones, had some big open wounds, but never anywhere but arms and legs.Then you were very lucky, congratulations. It's like saying "don't bother wearing a seatbelt in your car, I've never hit my head on a windscreen once in a crash". It might be true, for you, because of luck, but that doesn't make it anywhere close to good advice.

You could try your hand at a vegetable garden.
I have a cook book called something along the lines of "The More With Less Cookbook". It has a whole lot of bits and pieces of advice, as well as recipes, for saving money in the kitchen.
Turn electrical stuff off at the wall, turn things off when you don't need them, that sort of thing...

[Quincunx]

Learn that "weather permitting" does not apply to bikes nearly as much as you think it does. That has been my hardest lesson to date. Consult the motorcycle shops for protection against the weather.

Kids and a small garden mix well even if they won't eat what comes out of it. (Even so, kids playing outside near a garden that get hungry seem to overcome their objections to veggies. There will be crop loss, but heck, if it gets into them in any form you've succeeded.) Sunflowers are the classic kid's project for an outdoor garden.

How does your country fare in terms of mobile phones and phone contracts? My family in the U.S. has it cheaper by relying on their land line and "emergency only" mobiles; I, in Europe, have a pay-as-you-go mobile far cheaper than a land line. Skype and a laptop would be better than either, but not yet quite as portable. Does portability matter?

[Killer Angel]

Organization is the key.
FOr example: food. Make a list of what you've got, plan the dinner for the whole week, go to buy what you need, following sales, offers, and so on.
Never go to the supermarket only with a vague idea that you need to buy some pasta and some meat for the next day. This, especially if you're hungry, brings to disaster: it ends buying a lot of things you don't really need, and sometime you discover you already had in your basement...

[KjeldorMage]

Here's what I do (and yes with an addendum because gaming is involved)

-Shop at a bulk shopping center (costco, bj's, sam's club, etc...). Freezing and buying large quantities of non-perishable staples helps to cut down the spending (including beer)
-Counter to what some may say, cooking for less than 3 people actually might not save money over going out to a restaurant. This being said keeping meals simple for home cooking is a must. If you want something fancy either, a. budget for it to make it b. go get it at a resturant.
-Make sure that if you take lunches that you either, eat leftovers or limit yourself to a lunch budget. Even making pb and j can lead to almost $4 a day (us) for lunch.
-Netflix streaming. 10 dollars a month and you don't even have to drive, walk to movie store. Saved a lot of money on entertainment expenses. Being able to watch a new movie that came out during a snow storm= instant win.
-Coughifyoudontwanttobuydandbookstorrentthemcoughco ugh
-keep a lot of common ingridients around ex: I keep a bag of baby spinach in my fridge for an impromptu salad or to add as a sandwich dresser.

-Most of all: get a fuel efficient car. The savings add up.

[rakkoon]

Freezing large quantities of non-perishable beer?

Sounds like a plan....:smallwink:

[KjeldorMage]

It's the wave of the future! (facepalm)

I GRAMAMAR WELL DIS MORNINGZZ!

[rakkoon]

Your suggestions are excellent though.
Some takeout is indeed cheaper than making food yourself but then we would all gain 5 pounds a week in weight so that's not a viable solution in the long run. Now if you're going to a take-out anyway, the type does influence your bill.

[Serpentine]

Looking into big recipes (e.g. pasta sauces and things that can be frozen for another day) can help, as can the aforementioned buying in bulk then dividing it up into single dinners.

[EmeraldRose]

- avoid purchasing pre-processed food items. They actually tend to cost more than buying fresh or frozen and making your own.

-do what you can to limit water and electric usage. Don't worry about spending time watering your grass, even if it turns brown, it'll still come back, and you won't up your water bill.

- take lunches to work/school. I don't know about your kids school, but it's $2 a meal for our son for lunch every day. This may not seem like much, but I feel like we send another lunch check every other week.

- don't eat out. This really does cost way too much.

- also limit alcohol. No sense in drinking up your money...

We do these things, and it has helped the last couple of months. Hope some work for you too! Good luck saving money. :smallsmile:

[Bouregard]

Buy costly high quality stuff. Yes, on the long run it won't matter if you buy 4 chairs in 10 years or one good one for the same price. But if you buy the good one you will be way more comfortable.

Sounds stupid... but works for me.

Make a shopping list before you buy stuff and buy exactly what you have planed. Nothing more.

Golden rule: Nothing is for free. If something apparently good is not as expensive as it should be... there will be a reason somewhere.

Don't borrow money in any way. No creditcards, no bankloans nothing. Not always practical, sometimes difficult but generally keeps you out of financial problems, however you need a stable income.

If you want to buy something: Do you need it now? If yes consider buying it, if not: Will it be more expensive next time? (Keep in mind fuel is not for free) If not, then there is no reason to buy it now. At least think about it a day. If you can't remember it tomorrow it wasn't worth spending.

Learn to make a simple sandwich. If you leave the home for more then an hour take one with you. If you get hungry eat one.

[thubby]

don't buy on impulse. if it can wait, let it. if you still want it in a month, then consider buying it.
this is particularly useful for games/movies etc.

if your toilet is old, get a new one. if you can't, put a brick (or other heavy object) in plastic and put it in the back. old toilets are needlessly inefficient.

processed meats get surprisingly expensive.
meatloaf, chicken, turkey, corned beef, etc. make excellent sandwiches and can be from last night's dinner. they're also more healthy and aren't boring, all while saving you money.

if you don't have one already, i recommend a clock in the bathroom.

edit: in all seriousness, you can use grey water in the garden or in the toilet.

[Helanna]

When you go to the store, make sure you're not impulse buying. It doesn't help that a lot of stores are specifically laid out to make you want to buy random things, but resist the urge. If you don't really, really need it, don't buy it. Even if - maybe even especially if - it's "only a couple of bucks". That's how they get you!

Also, bring a calculator, set a price goal for yourself depending on how much you think you absolutely need to spend, and try to beat it.

Overall, I can buy food for my family for a week for about $40, while it sometimes takes my mom anywhere from $100-$200. That's why I like to go shopping now.

[monomer]

Cut-off Cable TV; most shows are available over-the-air, or legally through the Web at sites such as Hulu.

Other people have mentioned bring lunch to work/school. If you spend $10 /day at lunch, for 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, that is $2500 per year. Cook enough the night for dinner so that you will have food to bring for lunch the next day.

Use cold water for your laundry.

Don't take baths, shower instead.

Don't drink alcohol, or if you really want to drink, don't drink at a bar.

Don't buy bottled water, unless you really need to.

[Corlindale]

I think there's a lot of potential for saving money in most people's food budget. At least for me that's the case, as a poor student the majority of my money goes to food.

My advice would be to plan/coordinate your meals - make sure nothing bought goes bad or is wasted by buying ingredients that either keep for a long time, or can be used in various different meals throughout the week.

Save leftovers and use them in interesting ways. That rice-pilaf which was a main dish yesterday might turn into a salad on the side for today's evening meal, or the bit of meat-sauce left in the pot after the big pasta meal might turn into a pizza-topping the day after.

I also cook for several days pretty much whenever I cook, though this is mostly because I live alone and it is extremely inefficient to cook a full meal for one every day. So this advice is probably less applicable for a family of four, though it can still be helpful if you've got some days where you'll be home late and might not have the time or energy to cook a proper meal from the ground up.

Eating less meat can also help. While some forms of meat are very cheap, those will often be the kinds with low nutritional value - quality meat tends to be expensive (this may also depend on where you live). Becoming almost-vegetarian has certainly done a lot of good for my food budget lately.

Become good/better at cooking. Learn a couple of staple recipes that are easy to prepare and use inexpensive ingredients. It's a bonus if they also taste good. This can be a major factor in avoiding take-out meals and other easy solutions.
There are a ton of specialized cookbooks out there focusing on cheap, yet good, recipes. The Internet is usually quite helpful in this regard too.

[KuReshtin]

I'm trying to save up for a trip somwehere nice/interesting and right now, the best way to get money put away for that is to have a separate account where I've forgot the PIN code for the bank card, so the only way fr me to get money out from that account is to go to the bank, which I'm too lazy for. :smallbiggrin:

[Manga Shoggoth]

And no we are not putting a bucket in the shower to reuse the water later :smallwink:

Bucket? Just set up a syphon to a water butt outside.

If - like me - you pay water rates by volume, reusing bath water for watering the garden gives a significant return.

Others:


Save a small amount every month (ie, put in a savings account).
If possible set up a double account (current and savings) so that when the current account goes above a given point the excess is automatcally transferred to the savings account.
Turn equipment off when it is not in use (even standby uses some power, although devices are supposed to be getting better).
Use rechargable batteries (extra effort in recharging them, thought)

[TheThan]

On food:

Don’t go shopping while your hungry, impulse buying is the worst thing you can do
Try to not bring the little ones, its easy to cave into pressure (mommy I want!), and they can pull things off the shelf and into your basket while your back is turned.
Shop around for better values, don’t be afraid to shop at a different grocery store
Coupons are nice
Don’t be afraid to buy off brand products, many of them are just as good as name brand stuff
Limit alcohol consumption, its expensive and usually not that good for you anyway.
Don’t eat out as much,
Buy as fresh as you can, boxed goods are over priced.
Make a grocery list, and stick to it. Buying extra stuff costs you extra money.
if you have the time and the space, grow some of your own food.


Energy and water

Don’t water your lawns so much. Brown lawns aren’t a big deal unless there’s city statutes about it
Take shorter and cooler showers
Cut down the temperature of the water heater, water takes a quite a bit of heat to warm up.
Don’t run the air conditioning or heater unless you have to
Unplug unused electronics like that old VCR you’re not really using.
Keep electronics that you use off when not in use like computers and TVs.
Got cable or satellite? Turn it off, it’s a huge money sink, and there’s not really anything on anyway. Instead you could learn and instrument, read books, or spend time with family (board games works here)
Keep lights off and buy energy efficient lights.
If you have a wood burning stove or fire place, use it, they work wonders (besides fire provides a lot of additional benefits), just be sure to check with local laws about burning things. This is not the same as gas fireplaces. If you can provide your own firewood, this is a huge money saver.


Other things:

Own a dog or cat? Consider getting rid of it, they cost a lot of money to take care of.
Have an SUV? Never seem to take people in it? Consider trading it in for a more fuel-efficient car (doesn’t have to be a hybrid)
Walk or ride a bike if you’re going a fairly short distance.
Pay off credit card bills and cancel them. Use cash or write checks. It’s very, very easy to run up credit card bills. If you have to have a credit card for some reason, keep it small and try to not use it.
Don’t go clothes shopping unless you need new clothes. I know women like to shop, but your buying clothes you don’t really need.
Have kids? Consider what sort of extra curricular activities they have, and how much it’s costing you.

[amuletts]

Golden rule: Nothing is for free.

Nonsense! Lots of things are free... in the monetary sense. But I suppose it might cost a bit of time/effort?

Foraging can get you a ton of food at this time of year. When the berrys arrive you can pot yourself a years supply of jam! (Ask neighbors for empty jamjars). That plus an allotment (£5 a year where I sm - unbelievable!) and you need to spend very little on food. Ask for veg. seeds for your b-day/christmas and you won't even have to buy those! From then onwards save your seed each year. I wish I could keep chickens too :(

Freecycle FTW! Also house clearances and, yeah, rubbish. But if you can use it it's not rubbish any more! Free, the owner didn't want it, but perfectly good. I suppose what you loose is choice... and matchingness (is that a word?)

Eat food you have, even if you don't like it. Okay, there are limits but a meal's a meal, not eating it would be wasteful. And loads of people throw away cheese because it's moldy - for goodness sake scrape the mold off. And stale bread can be eaten, no harm to you at all (tastes better used in cooking).

[onthetown]

Unless you're very busy, only allow yourself to use the car a certain number of times per day. My car was broken down all last week and I didn't spend a cent simply because I wasn't motivated to go anywhere that I didn't absolutely have to.




Have kids? Consider what sort of extra curricular activities they have, and how much it’s costing you.


I almost read that as, "Have kids? Consider getting rid of them." :smalltongue:

[Partof1]

A good cookbook or the right recipes could help. I'm in a foods class, and we use the cheapest imaginable ingredients (budget tub of margarine, for example), and because we have good recipes, the food still tastes good.

[thubby]

be careful with shopping around. you can actually cost yourself more thanks to gas prices.

[Savannah]

Own a dog or cat? Consider getting rid of it, they cost a lot of money to take care of.

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!! It is incredibly irresponsible pet ownership and sets a terrible example to your children of the value of pets. In addition, it is absolutely devastating emotionaly to anyone in the family attached to the pet and to the pet itself.

[THAC0]

First, do a budget. Figure out how much you spend each month on necessities. Necessities are not high speed internet. Necessities are food, rent, utilities, savings, things like that.

Yes, savings. Budget for that before any "wants." Always always always!

Next, figure out how much you can afford to spend on luxuries like eating out, high speed internet, random purchases, etc. Give yourself a cash allowance - each week, take out the cash. When it's gone, it's gone. Don't swipe that plastic!

Speaking of plastic, if you have a credit card that you cannot pay off every month, you are doing something wrong. Rework your budget, cut things out. You should be paying that card off every month.

Here's an easy way to save money: every time you get a promotion, bonus, cash windfall, win the lottery... take 50% of that and sock it straight into savings. Then spend the other 50% on bettering your lifestyle in whatever manner you prefer.

[Pocketa]

Buy things according to how much you need them. i.e. a dress to wear once? Pay maximum $10. A dress you'll want to wear for the rest of your life? $150 so you don't have to keep buying dresses.
Look at the price per ounce vs. price per container.
Wait for things to go on sale.
Buy generic.
Stop eating out.
Stop going to the movies.
Sell your things.
Move to a less costly area.

[742]

every adult should know how to cook; and not just how to make servicable pasta or follow instructions out of a book, but how to make a crappy recipe work; i find everything seems more filling when its taste and texture are good

having a good improvised chef in the house or even being one yourself is always nice too for using up the last of everything. "cinnamon sugar top ramen grapefruit and basil you say? i can already taste it!"

if you have momentary extra cash do not celebrate by going out and doing something you couldnt normally afford; raise your standard of living long term or invest/conserve

[Lycan 01]

Ramen Noodles. Easy to cook, a weeks worth of meals for less than two bucks, and they mix great with other dishes. Leftover meat + can of corn or other vegies you like + pot full of Ramen = amazing dinner for almost nothing! :smallbiggrin:


Generic food is good food. 3 dollar box of pop-tarts vs 1.50 dollar box of breakfast pastries. They're the same thing, but the name-brand box is prettier and costs more, basically. And I honestly prefer the generic pop-tarts from Wal-mart. :smalltongue:


Buy in bulk. If you compare the "regular" cans to the "wumbo" cans, you realize the massive one is dollars cheaper than the amount of smaller cans it would take to equal it. Do you like peanut butter? Get the several-pound uber-cans. The amount of regular PB jars it would take to equal the bulk container is almost twice the price of the big can! :smalleek: And they last. Like Ravioli? Get the uber-tub, make it for a big meal or party, and put whatever is left in the fridge. Microwave and enjoy the leftovers for the rest of the week...


On that note, if you cook too much of something, don't throw it out. If you cook chicken nuggets and can't eat them all, wrap the leftovers in tin-foil and leave them the (OFF) oven. They'll keep for a few hours, and you can just reheat the oven at a low temperature for a few minutes to warm them back up as a snack. Make something in a boiler on the stove? Just stick the boiler in the fridge and reheat it later. Saves food, and it also saves water since you aren't putting the food in another container or trying to wash it down the disposal...



My family's electrical bill has actually gone down since I got home from college, since I turn off all the lights they (my brother) leave on. :smallcool:

[valadil]

Stop buying D&RPG stuff. I know a guy who spends about 1/2 his income on it.

:smalltongue:

RPGs are actually one of the cheaper hobbies you can have. All you really ever need are the core books and free time. It's easy to over accessorize though.

Regarding bike stuff, I have landed on my head before. I recommend helmets to all.

Cooking is awesome and cheap. For $4 my girlfr wife (gonna take some time to get used to that :-) ) and I can have steak for dinner. In a restaurant that would be at least $15 each. Yeah, it's a cheap steak but I'm a damn fine cook.

Bring your leftovers with you instead of buying food later.

Try new foods when they go on sale.

[Lycan 01]

RPGs are actually one of the cheaper hobbies you can have. All you really ever need are the core books and free time. It's easy to over accessorize though.

Regarding bike stuff, I have landed on my head before. I recommend helmets to all.

Cooking is awesome and cheap. For $4 my girlfr wife (gonna take some time to get used to that :-) ) and I can have steak for dinner. In a restaurant that would be at least $15 each. Yeah, it's a cheap steak but I'm a damn fine cook.

Bring your leftovers with you instead of buying food later.

Try new foods when they go on sale.


I love that RPGs are cheaper than sports and video games. My little bro spent 300+ dollars at the start of one baseball season, and most of my friends spend 100+ dollars a month on video games. Myself? I buy only core rulebooks, and get my money's worth out of my RPG books. Cheapest hobby I've ever had, to be honest.

Now, Warhammer 40K... THAT is where your hobbies bite back. :smalltongue:


Also, congrats on the marriage! :smallbiggrin:

[Coidzor]

If you have the freezer space to do it, buying manager's special/uber sale meats and then freezing them for storage works.

Though if you're really wanting to save money, reducing meat consumption can help to a certain extent. Lowering the amount of meat to veggies/potatoes in stews for example, can stretch out what would be one meal/cooking event's worth of meat into two or more.

Buying bulk beans and rice and pasta in advance and using them as the basis for meals. Red beans and rice can make up the protein and starch component of a meal by themselves, leaving one free to have a vegetable of some sort and call it a simple meal. Or with a bit of meat it improves the flavor without having to have a primarily meat dinner.

Saving plastic containers from cottage cheese or yogurt and washing them so that they can be used to store dry goods such as rice, beans, powdered milk, flour, sugar, or smaller-sized pastas.

If milk is a common and quickly used up item, buying powdered milk and either buying a reusable container or rinsing out and reusing milk jugs and stretching the milk out by mixing it with milk reconstituted from powdered milk. Say, take whole milk and bump it down a notch or two using this method. My grandfather used to do this. Alternatively, it is sometimes cheaper to move down a milkfat grade. Othertimes they're all the same price.

[ninjaneer003]

Eating in more saves a lot of money and it's much healthier for you and your family

[rakkoon]

I've noticed that curries and pita are a lot cheaper than pizza's around here. Also fish & chips beats all other take-outs in quantity versus price.
Not the healthiest food though

[Ranna]

I just killed my boyfriend, much cheeper than having him around; meat eating shopping snob that he is.

*mutter mutter*

I kid, though I often think about hitting him with my penny purse.

oh that leads me to my tip btw, save you pennies!!!!

Love the pennies, and then if a bus driver is mean to you one day you can pay him in said pennies, (they don't like that) and it saves you spending your lovely pounds/dollars/euros whatevs

[Archonic Energy]

step 1: buy no food.
step 2: pay no bills
step 3: get REALLY good locks.

oh, you wanted actual practical advice....

[onthetown]

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!! It is incredibly irresponsible pet ownership and sets a terrible example to your children of the value of pets. In addition, it is absolutely devastating emotionaly to anyone in the family attached to the pet and to the pet itself.

It's actually more irresponsible to keep the pet despite not having enough money. You can sit the kids down and explain to them that it's necessary for Fluffy to have a good home where he's guaranteed to have somebody who is financially able to keep him happy. Additionally, if you can find a friend that wants a pet, whoever is attached to it can keep visiting it, and when you're stable again you might be able to get it back.

It's heartbreaking to have to sell or give away a pet, but you have to do what's best for them. The responsibility part is largely because of the reason you're giving it away. It's responsible to give away a pet because you're not financially stable enough to ensure that they'll be looked after -- it's irresponsible to give them away if you just get tired of them.

You can also buy the kids a cheaper pet that they can still play with and take care of (such as a mouse or a hamster -- I'm particularly fond of mice). I've had to consider a lot of options with my horse over the past few years depending on my situation (at one point I was so broke that I shared him with a girl who paid half his board to ride him a few times a week; I know I'm not taking my own advice, but as you said, it's hard to let go of them), but I've never had to consider giving away my mice.

[Tirian]

I've noticed that curries and pita are a lot cheaper than pizza's around here. Also fish & chips beats all other take-outs in quantity versus price.
Not the healthiest food though

Pizza is remarkably easy to make yourself, insanely inexpensive, and better quality than 95% of commercial pizza or frozen store-bought. (Having rethought this, I just realized that I am taking my Kitchenaid stand mixer for granted. Buy one, it is the best $300 you will ever spend in your life.)

I'm repeating some things here, but this is what is most important to me.

Learning to cook for yourself is huge. The step after that, which I"m on right now, is starting to grow your own spices and vegetables. I've got a tomato and green pepper plant outside making free food for me, and basil and thyme plants on the windowsill making me free spices. Very low buy-in, and while there is a little time expenditure (like with the cooking) it becomes fun enough that you don't spend so much time needing to go out for entertainment.

Take advantage of your local library. They have free books and probably free movies. I enjoy all the good television and movies a year late and it saves me a ton in cable and movie fees. (Okay, I do see a few movies a year because some films really need to be seen on a big screen, but largely using matinees and second-run theaters.)

Control your heating and cooling costs as much as you can stand. I live in an area with cold winters, and I made a game out of seeing how low I could keep my thermostat. Long underwear and sweaters are cheaper than natural gas. On the other side, cold showers are cheaper than air conditioning. (So is hanging out at the air-conditioned library, see above.) Replacing an old water heater is an amazingly good idea; I was shocked at how little it cost to get something that gave more reliable hot water less expensively.

If you have a car, then like people are saying it's a good idea to walk or bike where you can (which is both cost-effective, a pleasant way to burn leisure time, AND healthy). But for the times when you do have to drive, make sure that you replace your oil on schedule and keep your tires properly inflated. The effect on your fuel economy is remarkable.

Finally, it helps a lot to have a goal that you're saving for. Then, when you're faced with some non-essential or other, you can say "would I rather have this or grow closer to my savings goal?" I'm not saying that the answer to that question is to never splurge, but it helps if you have a context for not spending money.

[thubby]

It's actually more irresponsible to keep the pet despite not having enough money. You can sit the kids down and explain to them that it's necessary for Fluffy to have a good home where he's guaranteed to have somebody who is financially able to keep him happy. Additionally, if you can find a friend that wants a pet, whoever is attached to it can keep visiting it, and when you're stable again you might be able to get it back.

It's heartbreaking to have to sell or give away a pet, but you have to do what's best for them. The responsibility part is largely because of the reason you're giving it away. It's responsible to give away a pet because you're not financially stable enough to ensure that they'll be looked after -- it's irresponsible to give them away if you just get tired of them.

You can also buy the kids a cheaper pet that they can still play with and take care of (such as a mouse or a hamster -- I'm particularly fond of mice). I've had to consider a lot of options with my horse over the past few years depending on my situation (at one point I was so broke that I shared him with a girl who paid half his board to ride him a few times a week; I know I'm not taking my own advice, but as you said, it's hard to let go of them), but I've never had to consider giving away my mice. spoiled for wall-o-text

well i don't think that's terribly applicable in this case. i don't get the impression that impending crushing poverty is the issue.

[Allan Surgite]

@onthetown; well, it depends. If you have sufficient "excess cash" to keep a pet, there's no reason to give it away just to cut back a few pounds on pet food (of course, it depends on the animal in question). I believe the "don't give it away" advice assumes that you can keep the pet at the moment.

Using the examples of horse versus mice, the horse might cost you... I don't know, £50 per month (that's probably way, way cheaper then it really costs to keep a horse, but bear with me), with the mice costing £5 per month. If you have £100 excess, you can quite safely keep the horse; however, you'd be slightly better off if you sold it, or gave it away to a charity which takes cares of animals. However, if you only had £45 excess per month, it's quite correct that one should look into either cutting down elsewhere or looking into getting that horse a better home.

As for saving advice: make sure you keep some money hidden away for a rainy day. To be safe, one should keep enough money in, say, a safe to keep themselves going for a week. It never hurts to have some money to hand, just in case something goes horribly wrong, e.g. your bank becomes bankrupt (like Northern Rock did, but that may just be a British example), your car breaks down and you can't get to a cash point. This doesn't help so much with saving as it does with being sensible. I'd also recommend keeping some low-value coins that still have a decent amount of worth (I'd recommend 5p/10p coins, but I don't know how those translate over to dollars); I've seen some happily throw away low-value coins (as in, happily giving them away just because of their value). Judging by my normal purchasing habits, I tend to obtain around £5 in 10p/5p pieces per week.

Forgive me if I gave some indiscernible statements in here, I'm not sure just how much some of these terms would apply to America. And some of the advice is things I've been recommend by grandparents, so I'm not sure as to the how valuable the advice itself is. My apologies for both of these.

[onthetown]

The mouse costs me nothing per month (I have a giant bag of food and bedding for him so I haven't bought much for him in ages) and the horse does cost me way more... But yeah, I meant if you were on the verge of breaking your bank account. If you have enough extra to keep a pet and you have impressionable kids around, I wouldn't just give it away so you could have more coffee money.

[Seffbasilisk]

When you buy something, especially tools, make sure it's quality. That way it'll last, and you won't have to buy it over and over again.

[rakkoon]

Shoes are interesting. I used to buy the cheapest pair so that I could buy new ones every year. However I had some problems with my tendons at my ankles and a decent pair of shoes seems to be the best thing to avoid this (that and not sprinting for 6 minutes on a bike to the station, you're supposed to warm up, sjeesh old age is fun :smallsmile:). But even there there are price ranges. Just glad I'm a bloke so clothes are less important.