What Are Your Tips For Keeping Pace With Inflation

[edjerider*]

I just got out of the bathroom here, my hair was getting a little shaggy so I ran the Wahl trimmer over my head, saving myself $15 in the process. That's $15 every two weeks, or $390 a year.... The trimmer is a good one, cost $100+ but has paid for itself :hmmmm: over 16 times by now I guess. I also save the time and fuel it would take to go up to the hairdressers.

Another of my favorites is to fill up when gas drops, as it does every week here for some odd reason? A saving of 10-12 cents a Liter, and cause I buy up to 100L per week when work is hot that can save me $10 or more bucks a week... $500 a year!

I love chocolate bars too but since all the big confectioners are globally controlled the price has skyrocketed up to $2 for one measly little bar. :mad:
But I found a warehouse that sells the "slightly out of date" ones in boxes of 48 for 15-20 dollars, depending on the type. $15 for the Crunchie bar and $20 for a Snickers and it's not like chocolate can ever go off hey! THAT'S 41 CENTS A SNICKERS BAR!!! :woohoo:
And that is a saving of about $580 a year.

So just on haircuts, fuel and snickers bars I'm ahead... $1470 every year. Not bad for an Aussie hey

So how do the rest of you crowd keep the white-ants at bay, so to speak.

I stopped buying the limes for my corona beers.
Oh Ya, I moved from San Diego, Ca. To a small town in New Mexico. Wow what a savings!

[goldbugger]

I only go to Europe twice a year instead of three and Asia twice a year instead of four and have cut out the Celebrity Millenium cruises to the Mediterranean once a year.
Since I now just trade and manage my investments from home or anywhere in the world I can plug in a laptop,my former business wardrobe of Brooks Brothers,Armani,Dior,Ferragamo,etc.,are all in storage,and I now dress in sweats and shorts at home.Didn't realize how much I had to spend on just clothes to do business in the corporate world.No more commuting and power lunch and golf club expenses,and now just drive a Honda Pilot instead of my former BMW.
I make more money now than before with a lot less expenses,except for my travelling,which I justify as making foreign investments on my trips abroad.

[Ponce Cuba]

Giving myself my own hair cuts for the past twenty five years.......$????????

Paid in advance for 1,000 gallons of gas at $1.69 and still have 496 gallons to my credit.........$?????????

Buy my Nestle choc by the case at (can't say) for 0.12 cents per bar.....$???

Drink only milk and water, no alcohol, cigarretes or drugs.......$??????

No longer travel overseas but do take a lot of walks in my woods and mountains, keeps me in shape.........$?????????

But for insurance and taxes, Net Zero and so on I don't own anything to anyone and no credit cards bills........$??????????

So, what keeps me "rich" is not what I have but what I don't have, I found the hole where I fit and I am happy as a bug in a rug. talk to my hand.

[demosfen]

Originally Posted by Ponce Cuba

Giving myself my own hair cuts.

How do you do that? :albertein

[shades2]

Originally Posted by edjerider*

I just got out of the bathroom here, my hair was getting a little shaggy so I ran the Wahl trimmer over my head, saving myself $15 in the process. That's $15 every two weeks, or $390 a year.... The trimmer is a good one, cost $100+ but has paid for itself :hmmmm: over 16 times by now I guess. I also save the time and fuel it would take to go up to the hairdressers.

Another of my favorites is to fill up when gas drops, as it does every week here for some odd reason? A saving of 10-12 cents a Liter, and cause I buy up to 100L per week when work is hot that can save me $10 or more bucks a week... $500 a year!

I love chocolate bars too but since all the big confectioners are globally controlled the price has skyrocketed up to $2 for one measly little bar. :mad:
But I found a warehouse that sells the "slightly out of date" ones in boxes of 48 for 15-20 dollars, depending on the type. $15 for the Crunchie bar and $20 for a Snickers and it's not like chocolate can ever go off hey! THAT'S 41 CENTS A SNICKERS BAR!!! :woohoo:
And that is a saving of about $580 a year.

So just on haircuts, fuel and snickers bars I'm ahead... $1470 every year. Not bad for an Aussie hey

So how do the rest of you crowd keep the white-ants at bay, so to speak.

For $5 AUD each I went around and replaced as many of my globes as possible with the energy saving CF type. They have really dropped in price, I can remember when they were $12 a piece! Which was hardly economical. Now they are...

I turn off any lights that aren't in use. I stick to specific wash days to run the washing machine.

I have a UPS which has replaced my power filter at home, this has saved $5 a month ongoing. I also switch off the monitor, but leave the PC on (as it downloads etc.). This has saved a fair bit too.

I fill up the tank as little as possible, putting $10.02 in each time. I get .02 cents back out of the $10.02 with rounding. I don't believe in lugging lots of fuel around as it is wasteful in itself, and buying in small amounts means I can cherry pick any petrol bargains. I only buy high-octane premium as it gives more power, better efficiency, runs the engine better through combustion and cooler, is cleaner, so means fewer oil changes, and will prolong the engine life as it doesn't lend itself to "knocking".

I cancelled my rip-off mobile phone contract of $65 a month, of which I'd hardly use a fraction of anyway, I'm now pre-paid at $20 a month. This is a saving of $45 right there.

I changed my lender to a better lender with a better interest rate, which is locked in for another 2 years or so.

I'm buying an LPG gas dual-fuel vehicle and have a LPG card that saves me an additional 4c a LPG litre. I have worked out that this will save me a whopping $1700+ a year at present fuel prices! LPG also runs cleaner in the engine. I'm getting rid of the old gas guzzler to recoup my upgrade to the newer vehicle.

I headhunt the best and cheapest insurance. Admittedly this is getting harder but I have a good insurer that is far cheaper than most for comprehensive insurance.

I always pay off the credit card before it's due so I don't accrue interest.

I don't buy junk that will break on me, I always shop with quality in mind. These things also tend to have better resale value years down the track as they still work.

I have lots of other money saving methods. When you examine your budget you can find many ways to save, that's for sure. It's like giving yourself a pay rise each time you find a way to economise.

[johann02]

if it's an option, sell your car and ride a bike or take public transit... you'll stay in shape and save a ton of dough for your PM purchases..

pack a lunch to work..

roast your own coffee beans with a popcorn maker. green (raw) beans are a fraction of the cost of roasted beans, and they don't go stale until you roast them...

http://sweetmarias.com/tradition.html

:call:

[AuNuggets]

Originally Posted by Ponce Cuba

So, what keeps me "rich" is not what I have but what I don't have, I found the hole where I fit and I am happy as a bug in a rug.

Aaaaah So. Very wise grass-hoppa!

[goldissima]

btw a e-pal just sent me this... M3 increased by 172 billion in 8 weeks. No wonder we are closing the on-budget deficit as the 3rd largest rather than the first.
http://www.babylontoday.com/#chart_ms_vs_debt
http://www.babylontoday.com/#monetize_debt

[edjerider*]

I'll tell you guys one other trick I found lately that is invaluable, a spreadsheet to keep track of the income savings and expenditures, liberally dotted with pictures of the new bike I am saving for of course :proud:

I have been working on it for a month now, tweaking and reordering it. I based it on fortnightly costs but had adjacent columns of monthly yearly. I got a few shocks too when I saw what my major expenses looked like as yearly totals. Modern telecoms here have everything pay by the month, phone bills used to be paid by the quarter and I know why they went to monthly statements, it was to hide the big increases in home phones and the fact that mobiles are a total ripoff!!!! I need a mobile for work and I used to spend between 60 and 80 dollars per month on it. The plans are the con, they offer you $40 free calls on a $40 account but of course you go over that in your greed to "use up" the $40 and the bill runs to $80 or more. But I got the Bastards! I switched to a $10 plan and started using the home phone instead, since for me I never need to call out from the job, I just need it for clients to call me. Now I pay around $150 a year for the mobile instead of $840. The next challenge is the power bill but that will be a tough one IMO.

[GREENSILVERHORN]

The easiest way I have found to save money is to make more of it and keep your current lifestyle.

Find people and invest in a combined personal buisness plan with them doing most of the work, therefore you becoming the bank.:character

A good place to look is into alternative building and and advanced manuf. technologies, not just buying stock in the company but investing in the people that actually install or provide them from the factory. The middle men have always been overvalued and will continue to be.