Ways To Save Money

[Starise]

On 9/21/2021 at 1:46 AM, Faith-Not-Fear said:

What has saved me money? I love to shop in a multitude of discount stores where I have paid pennies on the dollar for groceries, makeup, pet food, hardware, appliances and home items. I've found very nice clothing at thrift stores.

LED bulbs use less electricity.  My front load washer uses less water. I switched auto insurance from American Family to State Farm.

I too have bought glasses from Zenni, but be careful on colored metal frames when you clean them because the color can chip off. 

I have a shower head that has a water-saving option I use when shampooing,  conditioning,  and combing my hair.

I have never paid anyone to paint my fingernails or toenails. I haven't paid anyone to cut or color my hair in about 3 decades. I color it myself (Sally's) and trim it myself-the bangs in front and the waist length part also in back.

Glad to see some women here commenting on saving in ways I obviously am unaware of due to my lack of use of these things.

It seems to be getting more and more difficult to buy things inexpensively. Most of the used cars around here are high miles ( over 150,000) and they want way too much money for them.

For cars and other items craigslist can be a place to look . From my experience on that site 90% of it is either junk or over priced for what it is. The other 10% requires diligence to jump on the deal FAST because 20 other people are interested too. I was surprised when I needed to get rid of some old HVAC scrap and advertised it for free. I was inundated with emails to the point where I was getting them confused. The scrap take might have been 100.00 which was a fair trade for someone to come to my house load it and take it away for me.

Another thing I have seen  on craigslist is a larger company will bombard the site with multiple duplicate ads to throw the smaller seller into oblivion, push his or her ad to page 10 because they hope that maybe you will get tired of looking through the pages to find the better deals by private sellers.

When shopping for local skilled work to be done a person can often do better using a smaller company since a larger company has a larger overhead to maintain. This isn't always true but sometimes it is. Sometimes the person running the smaller company isn't as experienced or qualified to do some jobs, however that person might be capable to do your job just fine. This is where I think some discretion and feeling it out are helpful. I like to at least make sure they are insured and maybe have a few references.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Everyone...

   Hmmm,how do I save money? Honestly,I dunno-I think I just have some very good habits such as putting money up & not touching it when it set aside for something in particular.You see,I don't purchase anything unless I can afford it,I spend cash-no credit(ever).If something costs a little more than I have then I wait until I have it

   Many people will say"What about an emergency" for example: car repair,refrigerator,hot water heater etc... Well,I'm a saver so I have little "savings funds for emergency" set aside & when my frig broke my church donated a used one for me to use until I saved up enough to buy one...a year later a bought a really nice energy saver frig & a stove(my oven was broken for 2 yrs) and a brand new dishwasher! The frig was not an emergency<I received a temporary one,the stove was not an emergency because I used the toaster oven....now when my transmission went I used emergency fund!

   I can't tell you how much you can accumulate if you are a diligent saver-save whatever is possible & you'll be surprised how much you can buy....

   My husband always says I'm the woman with the jar of oil that never runs out,lol   Well,thats another thing & probably the most important thing.....be charitable & be obedient to God     When you see a need,GIVE,give as much as you can    If you cannot(or you think you shpuldnt)yet God tells you to give to someone-GIVE,He'll take care of you,simply obey      Oh,now don't go giving thinking you are going to get double for your troubles or something like that BUT give because you know it all belongs to God and He is Provider   We are Blessed to Bless! Glory to God     

   I may not always have what I want when I want it but I always have whatever I need whenever I need it......and I must say there is absolutely nothing that I want......God is Good,all the time!

                                Much love-in Christ,Kwik

Edited October 21, 2021 by kwikphilly

[Starise]

This is a great way to live @kwikphilly

On saving money- I have the amounts I want to save automatically deducted from my income every so often. That way I never see it go into my savings account. It's amazing how that can build up over time.

I can recollect back to when I was younger and I struggled a lot more with a young family, so I think I can hopefully understand the plight of a few who are presently having more difficulty in saving. Our government isn't making it any easier for the hard working industrious person. Yet, God can bless in the midst of the worst of times.

You comments about giving when we can and saving really struck a chord with me. In my own life I have found that things come back to me as blessings from the Lord if I am faithful to Him. I am really in need of nothing right now which is a blessing in itself. I don't get 'hung' about money hardly ever any more. I neither think about having too much or too little of it. I just do with it the best I can.

What might seem to some like little things are really blessings from the Lord. As an example, my brother in law was getting rid of a perfectly functioning refrigerator and we needed an extra fridge for when we go to places like BJ's and buy in bulk. The extra fridge also comes in handy if we invite people over and buy a bunch gallon sized tea and lemonade. The fridge burns a little more electricity however the cost does not outweigh the benefits. God seems to bless us like this often in those little ways. With some things it doesn't take much for me to feel blessed. An added advantage of the fridge in the winter time is it helps to warm the garage it is in which helps to warm to cold car we just pulled into it.

While I never give to receive and while I never follow the so called prosperity gospel. I have seen that God truly does take good care of us! God blesses the generous heart.

[kwikphilly]

9 minutes ago, Starise said:

While I never give to receive and while I never follow the so called prosperity gospel. I have seen that God truly does take good care of us! God blesses the generous heart.

Blessings Starise

     Me too & yes,He Most assuredly does-ALWAYS!!! Thats my only rational explanation for my hubby calling me the woman with the oil......it's Gods Provision for me "to Bless" ....I mean I'll save $500 for car ins(due every 6 mo) and then I go to pay it & its $100 less.....So,go have a nice lunch,buy a new purse,get my nails done or put it towards next payment? Nah,someone probably needs it & then the Lord Shows me who & wouldn't you know---they need $100 bucks!!! LOL

[Starise]

10 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Blessings Starise

     Me too & yes,He Most assuredly does-ALWAYS!!! Thats my only rational explanation for my hubby calling me the woman with the oil......it's Gods Provision for me "to Bless" ....I mean I'll save $500 for car ins(due every 6 mo) and then I go to pay it & its $100 less.....So,go have a nice lunch,buy a new purse,get my nails done or put it towards next payment? Nah,someone probably needs it & then the Lord Shows me who & wouldn't you know---they need $100 bucks!!! LOL

Praise God!

I recently had an Amish neighbor who periodically will ask for a ride since I go right by where he needs to go. He pays me 10.00 each way. On those days, there's my gas money. One week he wanted a ride all week. That's 100.00 for dropping someone off.

My help often tends to be more help centered than monetary, but I have been known to help in that way occasionally. The thing there is I need to be so careful I know the person. I don't want to be enabling someone's drug habit. I'll buy them a meal though.