Tag Archives: Frugal Living

The Financial Decisions That Have Saved Us $54,000 in the Past Two Years

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 19, 2013 3 comments

Almost two years ago my boyfriend and I moved in together. We are currently choosing to live on less income so that we both can go back to school for graduate degrees. I decided to compile a list of the financial decisions we have made in the past two years that have saved us the most money. After writing this list I have to say that I’m really proud of us!

1. Buying Our Cars With Cash– I drive a Chevy Cavalier that I bought for $2,000 and B drives a Nissan Sentra that he bought for $5,000 we could have easily spent at least $25,000 for these cars USED and that doesn’t even include interest on a car loan (See Our Experience as a One Car Household) Savings- $25,000

2. Renting a House in Our Original Target Price Range– When we were looking for a house to rent we originally decided we could spend $700 to $900 a month but quickly found that it would be very, very difficult to find a very nice home in that price range but we ended up picking out the house we are living in at $900 a month over houses in the $1200 price range Savings- $300 a month or $3,600 a Year

3. Renting a House With Free Water/Sewer/Trash Bill– We have a water well so we don’t pay for water but my sister and her fiancé used to pay $60 a month at their house (see Having a Water Well) Savings- $60 a Month or $720 a year

4. Working Jobs Close to Home– When I worked full time I commuted an hour each way to work. At one point I paid $100 a month just in tolls and I paid about $200 a month in gas Savings- $250 a month or $3,000 a year

5. Working Jobs Where We Don’t Have To Wear Dress Clothes– Dress clothes are expensive, there is nothing else to say! Savings- $50 a month or $600 a Year

6. Negotiating With the Cable/Internet Company- Our current rate would be $130 a month for a smaller package but instead we negotiated to $85 a month for a DVR/HD Channels/Internet/More Channels (See- How One Phone Call Saved Us $343) Savings $45 a month or $540 a year

7. Buying My Treadmill for $30– I had budgeted to spend $200 on a used treadmill but none came along then I got lucky and got mine for $30 (see How I Got a Treadmill for $30) Saved- $670

8. Buying Our 46 in Flatscreen TV for $150– We wanted a nice TV after we moved into our new house so we were able to price shop and use gift cards (See How We got a 46in TV for $150) Saved- $400

9. Getting Our Furniture Secondhand– Almost all of our furniture is high quality but second hand. We could have spent thousands on new furniture but we bought used and saved and our house still looks great. Saved- $3,000

10. Having a $200 a Month Grocery Budget– We try to eat healthy so we can easily spend a huge amount of money on groceries. I’m going to conservatively say that we save at least $200 a month by sticking to our budget. (See More About Our Grocery Budget) Saved- $200 a Month or $2,400 a year

11. Buying Groceries and Household Items with Coupons– We save thousands of dollars by using coupons so I’m going to conservatively say that we saved a couple of thousand dollars in the past two years. (See More About Our Couponing) Saved- $4,000

TOTAL- $54,000 We Saved Ourselves in 2 Years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was really surprised when I calculated that total! The best part of this is that NONE of these are crazy things. These are regular every day things that with a little bit of extra time and effort saved us a substantial amount of money!

Doing My Taxes for Free

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 18, 2013 None comments

So this year for the first time ever, I thought I might owe money on my taxes. This was because of a stream of income from last year that had no taxes taken out of it and in addition I am no longer a student so I can’t claim that as a deduction. I tried asking various people what percentage of someone’s income goes towards taxes and I received various different answers that led me to the conclusion that it’s not that simple.

So for the first time ever, I decided to run my tax information through two different free tax services. Turbo Tax and HR Block. This took me less than an hour to do and to my relief, while I do owe money on my taxes, I owe less than $100 and both programs told me that I owe the exact same amount. While it is a little disappointing not to get a check back from filing my taxes for the first time, it is also a huge relief that I won’t have to take money out of my savings to pay my taxes either. Next year I will be back in school and I will likely qualify for a tax refund again so I can’t be too disappointed.

Note- I am in no way associated with any tax program. This article is simply meant to share my own personal experiences.

Too Many Newspapers and Publix $5 off of $50 Purchase Coupons

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 16, 2013 None comments

This is what my couch looked like Saturday morning when I started trying to organize my coupons from the past few weeks. Do any of you other couponers have this problem??? Sometimes I am so busy that I’m not able to go through my 4 Sunday Paper subscriptions to get the coupons out for longer than I would like. So after a vacation and a packed work schedule I ended up with three weeks worth of coupons to sort through before I would be getting even more the next day.

I was excited to find that last Sunday 3/10 there was a Publix $5 off of $50 Purchase Coupon. Usually we don’t get these in Volusia or Orange County, FL. So if you still have that paper you may want to look for it.

I filled an entire laundry basket with the newspapers. We will probably recycle them or burn them in our fire pit. It is a major frustration to me to try to decide what I will do with all of these newspapers. I give as many papers away as I can get people to take. We use them as pet bedding, as fire kindling, as drop cloths when painting, and as many other ways as I can come up with but most of them still end up getting recycled. If anyone has come up with any better ways to use old newspapers please let me know.

Why I Don’t Pay For Underwear and How I Get Free Underwear at Victoria’s Secret

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 16, 2013 52 comments

That’s right, you read that title correctly, I generally get all of my underwear for free at Victoria’s Secret! If you join Victoria’s Secret’s Mailing lists and e-mail lists they will send you coupons for free pairs of underwear no purchase necessary (like the ones in the picture above) and they send them out fairly frequently.

A couple of years ago I lived behind an outside shopping mall that had a Victoria’s Secret Store and I developed a system. I signed up for all of the Victoria’s Secret Mailing Lists and would collect all of the coupons I could for free underwear and other items. When I received a coupon for free underwear (no purchase necessary) I would go and pick it up. You won’t pay a cent and they are really nice about it. This was easier to do when I lived behind one of their stores but I still live close enough to our mall that I’m usually able to swing by the store to get my free items before the coupons expire. I do have a Victoria Secret Credit Card which will earn you more free offers but that isn’t necessary to get free stuff. I have also received free gift cards (like the one in the picture above), free perfume, and free $10 at the store. Their underwear really is high quality and lasts a long time.

I often think that frugal living is about figuring out how to get the things you need or want for free and this is a great and easy way to do that if you live near a Victoria’s Secret Store. You can also do this with their other store Bath & Body Works to get free candles, lotions, and hand sanitizers. Remember that this is a marketing strategy designed to get you into their stores in the hopes that you will pick up your free item and also buy something but it isn’t required. I do occasionally buy stuff from their stores when I find great deals.

If you follow the links below and sign up for their mailing lists you will start receiving communication from them about sales and events and also FREE items. Note- I do get a certain amount of e-mail and snail mail from them that doesn’t contain free offers but I find it worth sorting through.

Click HERE to join PINK Nation

Click HERE to join Victoria’s Secret E-mail List

Click HERE to join Victoria’s Secret Store Offers And Events E-mail List

Click HERE to join Victoria’s Secret Mailing List

Note- The information provided is meant to be helpful. These aren’t affiliate links, I am in no way affiliated with Victoria’s Secret and receive no compensation for mentioning them

You can check out my Victoria’s Secret category HERE were I only post about deals from them. Check back often to see when I receive Free Victoria’s Secret coupons.

I also post when I receive free coupons in the mail and e-mail as well as other things I get for free in my Free In The Mail category and you can find the link HERE.

Free MyCokeRewards.com Points = Free 20oz Soda

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 9, 2013 2 comments

A long time ago I wrote about mycokerewards.com HERE and said that I had started using it. However, I never got around to updating how it went. Well since I first started using the site, we have received Free subscriptions to People, All You, and Wired Magazines and also free soda. They also offer no points needed free deals from time to time. And we rarely drink soda! People give us their caps! We simply input the codes and redeem them for free stuff.

Currently, they are allowing everyone to enter the following three codes for 40 free points! This is enough to get a free 20oz Coke!

– 10099041542625 (10 points)

– 10099144423516 (10 points)

– 10099755715372 (20 points)

So if you haven’t yet joined mycokerewards.com then now is a good time to start. The site is easy and fun to use. Click HERE to check out the site. (This is not a referral link)

Thanks, moneysavingmom.com for this deal idea.

Free One Night DVD Rental from Redbox

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 3, 2013 None comments

Through March 6, 2013, use coupon code DVDNIGHT at checkout for a free one night DVD rental. Remember these codes work once per card!

Why I Have A College Degree and Choose to Be a Server

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 2, 2013 None comments

To make this article more interesting here are some things that you should know about me-

I graduated college in 2010 with a double major bachelor’s degree and a 4.0 GPA. And I did this with zero debt!

Part of how I accomplished this was by being very frugal and also by being a server in a restaurant. Most of my pay (servers make less than minimum wage hourly) was in tips which can vary but I’ve always had more good nights than bad so the pay isn’t really that inconsistent. After graduating from college I was hired for a full time job. I could write a book about how horrible that job was but for the sake of time I’ll just say that they wanted us to work a huge amount of unpaid overtime and also there were safety concerns including gun violence and arson. In addition, I felt suffocated by commuting an hour each way to work and working around 50 hours a week.

Making the decision to return to serving wasn’t an easy one.

Americans are taught that we should always be progressing and moving forward. Going back to serving after receiving my college degree felt like going backwards. However, for many reasons I was very unhappy working 9 to 5 which was really more like 8 to 7.

I started really considering what I wanted out of a job. This should be a requirement before choosing a college major but I assure you it is not.

Here are the things I decided I wanted in a job right now-

– A job that I could enjoy

– A job with a flexible schedule

– A job where I made at least enough money to pay my bills and save a little

– A job where I make a maximum amount of money in a minimum of time

– A job where I could take off if I was sick

– A job where I got to interact with people

– A job with a reasonable commute

Here are the things I want in a job in the future-

– All of the above things I want in a job now

– A job where I make a lot more money

– A job where I will use my education

– A job where I can help people

– A job where I am challenged intellectually

– A job where I am treated with respect

Even for an educated person the job market isn’t great right now. In our area, many full time jobs pay less than I make serving. I realized that going back to serving would meet the requirements on my wish list of things I wanted in a job right now. Yes, there are disadvantages to serving including being treated badly by customers, slightly inconsistent pay, and it can be a high stress job (People want their food and people want it now!) but I feel that the advantages outweigh them. In addition, serving allows me the flexibility to go back to school for my Master’s degree which will qualify me to teach at college level which is what I really want to do for a career.

However, when I made the decision to go back to waiting tables I hadn’t yet decided to go back for my M.A. I decided that I would rather have a job with a flexible schedule that I actually like (at least most of the time) rather than a full time job that paid a little more (in the area we live in it’s really not that much) even if I was miserable. In addition, I would rather work less and spend my time doing things that save me money rather than spend all of my time working. For now, the advantages of serving far outweigh the disadvantages and I’m really happy with my decisions.

What reasons do you have for choosing your current profession?

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on February 28, 2013 None comments

Today, I made a double batch today of homemade taco seasoning! A neighbor was kind enough to give me huge containers of Chili Powder and Garlic Powder and the main ingredient is Chili Powder so this has made making my homemade seasoning even cheaper. I also love not having to run to the store because I forgot a taco seasoning packet. If we run out, I simply whip up another batch. Click HERE to see my original post on this and to see the recipe.

What to Do With Shampoo and Conditioner Samples

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on February 27, 2013 None comments

I always seem to end up with more flatish shaped shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and hand cream samples than I can remember to use up. We do use these on the off chance that we run out of something and we could try using them instead of our regular products. However, we are going out of town soon with a group of people and I decided to bring this sample stash with me. Everyone will have their choice of toiletries to use while we are out of town, they are almost entirely flat so they won’t take up room in my suitcase, our hosts won’t have to supply any, I won’t have to buy or pack other toiletry bottles, and I won’t have to remember to take them home with me. Overall, I think this is a good money, time and energy saving plan.

Do You Have a Fruit Tree That You’re Not Using?

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on February 25, 2013 None comments

We live in Florida where fruit trees are everywhere. In fact, people often get so much fruit from them that you can see beautiful oranges, grapes fruits, lemons, etc. dying on tree branches in their owners yard. We have three orange trees in our back yard that for some reason haven’t produced any oranges this year but they did last year (see- Waking Up to Cold Florida Air and Oranges).

My Mother was actually the one to point out that she has the huge Loquat tree you see in the picture above in her front lawn. Every year as kids we would pick some to eat and some to throw at each other but we never really ate a substantial amount of them. This year, my mother decided that she was going to try to learn more about them. She found out that they are also called Japanese Plums and that they are jam packed full of vitamins and minerals. She has been faithfully giving us bags full of them every since.

It occurred to me that especially since I am trying to eat healthy I like to keep small fruits like grapes and cherries in the house to snack on which can also be expensive. Why don’t I just eat Loquats instead? They are just as healthy, they are free and they are also going to waste. Waste not, want not. It’s never too late to start taking advantage of an overlooked resource.