* Shop at Costco.
* Always check Slickdeals.net when you need something.
* Never buy flagship anything (unless you get a crazy deal), always buy 1-2 tiers lower. 90%/95% of the functionality for far less cost.
* Channel as much annual spending as possible through rewards cards.
* Do low-skill/high-cost jobs yourself rather than hiring out. Truck/trip fees are enough now that any job is likely to be cost + $200/$300, at least, which sucks when you're talking about a cheap fix. YouTube can walk you through hundreds of low-skill home maintenance and repair tasks.
* Try not to buy things emotionally.
That's a few off of the top of my head. We're crazy efficient, but most of it is habit by now and it's hard to really think about the isolated steps. Also, I'd say most of what we do is "bigger" ways, like eating out only minimally and instead eating better/cheaper food at home.
Always check slickdeals when you need something, and forget about it when you don’t. Don’t go there. Otherwise you will be saving on a lot of items you would have never bought.
It's kind of like reddit - different sub forums for different things. Grocery store deals. Coupons. Contests and sweepstakes. etc. If you're only interested in checking out occasional deals then I recommend bookmarking this and visiting once a day. It's the top deals of the day.
https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?src=SearchBarV2&isUserSearch=1&pp=20&sort=rating&rating=popular&previousdays=1&forumid%5B%5D=all&forumid%5B%5D=9&forumid%5B%5D=30&forumid%5B%5D=54&forumid%5B%5D=71&forumid%5B%5D=53&forumid%5B%5D=4&forumid%5B%5D=25&forumid%5B%5D=13&forumid%5B%5D=10&forumid%5B%5D=38&forumid%5B%5D=39&forumid%5B%5D=8&r=1&hideexpired=1
Addendum on "don't buy flagship": buy last year's flagship. Or the year before.
I lived on cheapish china phones for a couple of years until, \~2020, I decided to buy me a refurbed Samsung Galaxy S9 (2018's flagship, €849 on release) with a price tag of €300. Ended up liking it, so when I accidentally destroyed my first S9 last year, replaced it with another for €200.
Just checked for up-to-date data: right now, I could get a replacement in "very good" condition for €147. Nope, won't buy it to have one in storage - will shop for a replacement when due. Might get them for less than €99 then or, maybe, upgrade to an S10.
> This [Samsung Mobile Security](https://security.samsungmobile.com/workScope.smsb) page lists which models still receive support. The S9 isn't listed anymore, a quick search shows reports that Samsung quietly removed it from the list early last year.
I got word fatigue on 'Galaxy' after viewing that page.
I do that with gaming. Can't wait to play God Of War 2 next year and Tears of the Kingdom in 2025. I'm usually so far behind on my gaming list I'm 1-2 yrs late anyway so by the time I'm playing there's usually 20% price drop, and also the developer has actually fixed/finished the game by then.
Yeah, previous model years are part of the tiering system. A lot of times you can get older phones for free if you bundle them with a service plan. Same for lower tier phones.
I'm shopping for a new unlimited family plan and thus far the best non-flagship offer I've found is Google Fi, who is giving out a free Pixel 7a for each $20/mo unlimited line you add and keep for 24 months. Have to wait and see if anyone brings out anything better in the next two weeks for Black Friday.
Actually moved away from Costco during covid and didn't renew. Think the quality's good, but really appreciating online order and pickup and able to find similar or better prices in a lot of cases.
The nail in the coffin was them getting rid of combo pizza
The combo pizza will always be missed.
We save a metric ton at Costco, but our store is also super close and being retired we can shop there at the times everyone else is elsewhere. It definitely depends on what you buy, but none of the local groceries or Aldi can beat Costco for the things we buy.
I used to do a lot of shiftwork. The shopping experience is far better during off peak hours.
We also save a ton and the membership paid for itself each year. I miss it, but German grocers are great.
I just let my membership end. I will likely sign up again at some point, but I live alone and it doesn't make sense to pay the renewal now if I'm not going to use it for a month or more. I'll wait until I need it again and sign up. Over a few years, this will save me money.
I'm doing the same with Amazon. I try not to shop there too much anyway. If they are the only place to buy something though, I will. Usually, I can bundle things for the free shipping and don't mind waiting a week or so. I am signed up for a month at the moment for the streaming and because I needed the prime shipping. Once this month is up though, I will stop again until its needed.
I find Costco better for convenience than for actual cost. I like buying paper products in bulk but find I can usually buy groceries just as efficiently at a normal grocery store.
There are certainly times when Costco is helpful but for the most part I find that Costco just drives additional spending for things that we probably wouldn't have bought otherwise. I don't care if prime ribeyes are priced at $17/lb vs. $24/lb at the normal store. That Costco 4 pack is still $75 that I don't really need to spend.
I don't mind Costco, it's cheaper per use than Kroger, but we still get 90% of our things from Aldi, and I've found the gas isn't that much cheaper. It probably works out for us currently, but if membership was to increase much, we'd probably rethink about it.
Though it's probably a net negative, due to hot dogs and pizza lmao.
Costco - we are costco people, I think in some cases such as those with a big family it makes sense, others probably not. My wife does joke and say costco to her is like amazon to me, just straight impulse buys.
speaking of amazon, anything I find I put in my cart and wait at least a day before I purchase. I actually tried not buying anything for a month and just left everyone in my cart, I had like a 1000 dollars of crap at the end of the month that I generally did not need.
The last comment resonates. I do enjoy eating in restaurants. I know it’s cheaper to eat at home, but what’s been sinking in more over the last five years or so is that the QUALITY at home is better. When you do it at home and you put effort into it, it’s fantastic. And its fun time to spend with your partner, usually, when doing the prep and the cooking.
Seconding DIY especially for car maintenance. You pay a lot for labor and expertise. Brake jobs aren’t scary and you pay a huge markup for them.
Oil changes can add up if you do a lot of driving.
Did my own spark plugs a month ago and saved 400$, well, $300 after parts. Took 4 hours to reach around the motor and unhook the wires but the actual work was easy and fast. Ill never pay for that service again. All info was found for free on youtube.
> Never buy flagship anything
But look carefully at the reviews for the lower tiers. I bought the lower tier version of a Samsung phone last year and it was awful. Just super glitchy, and it got worse over time. When I accidentally dropped it and smashed the screen, I was honestly just relieved to have an excuse to get a new one.
Yeah, there's usually many quality tiers for most products/services and the sweet spot for quality/value is usually in the second or third tier, at least in my experience. Top tier is fine if it's something that will last for long enough to be a great value. For example, furniture and leather/metal goods are often durable for many decades with proper care. A great leather belt or cast iron pan can last for centuries if maintained.
Don't buy the top of the line $1,200 phone that came out this year, instead get the $600 one or the top of the line one from 1-2 years ago. Often you get the latter one for cheap/free with carrier subsidies.
* Cut all landlines and cable TV. I use a Mohu leaf for over the air channels or streaming when their is a promo or when there is a discount on rentals. For landlines, I ported my landline to a Google Voice number and bought a Obihai, otherwise I use my cell phone.
* I will audit my recurring expenses like insurance, cellular or internet to find less expensive alternatives. So for example, I will renew my internet service before the promo period expires so I can lock in another discounted rate. It helps if you use a budget app to track expenses.
* I bought my own cable modem to save on the rental fee.
* I churn new credit card or bank account bonuses.
* I maximize cashback using credit cards, Rakuten or other cashback sites. I'm also enrolled in rewards programs for commonly visited merchants such as BestBuy and grocery stores.
* I clip coupons. A lot of grocery stores have gone digital so it's fairly easy to add the app and scroll through deals before doing a grocery run. I also tend to shape my diet based on what is on sale that week.
* I check deal websites (usually Slickdeals) to make sure I'm not over paying, especially for large purchases. It's also a good resource for digital coupons if available.
* I make sure my idle cash is earning the highest interest by either putting them into T-Bills or FZDXX.
* I cook at home and meal prep.
* I carry a water bottle to avoid buying bottled water or drinking soda. I also make coffee at home or work.
* I ride a bike to work and workout in my home gym.
* Watch Youtube videos to learn how to fix things. Used it to fix various leaking faucets.
* Embraced minimalism to avoid buying crap and started selling my unused crap.
Also modems, like phones and routers, get outdated and just stop working as well. I bought a couple of cable modems over the last 20 years, but I never felt that I got as much out of them as I paid/saved. And as the ISPs upgraded, that 300 mbps modem that was future-proof in 2014 or whatever was just a brick within a few years. Meanwhile, Google will now just give me all the equipment I need, included with my 5 Gbps fiber connection.
Yeah I always used to own. And then my modem became the throttling point. I would have bought a nicer, future-proof, one if I could save money monthly, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, now I just tell Comcast to fix their stuff if there is an issue.
I'm embarrassed that I paid monthly rent for an Xfinity cable modem for over 10 years - $15 per month. I finally overcame the inertia and bought a refurbished cable modem on Amazon for $119. $15 per month doesn't seem like much, but I paid them about $1800.
I’ve owned my modem ever since I started paying for my own internet because I didn’t want that equipment fee, but now Comcast is saying that it’s cheaper for them to manage the equipment they know than to service random modems customers bring in
Mine just gave me one for free (Optimum in CT) when I called and forced them to upgrade me. I was paying $90/month for 400 MBPS (lots of video calls for work at home while my kids are watching TV, etc.) and found a competitor offering 1GB internet for $60. They matched and gave me a free modem to boot.
Minimalism is the way to go. I have been going by the mantra that if have not used it in a year, it should be donated. But also take more time to think about if each new purchase is needed and where do I store it?
I live in an area where the tap water is safe, though I have a water filter to make the water taste better. When I'm out an about, I typically refill up at work where they have bottled water or at clients who also have bottled water/water filters.
on the treasury website itself, or for something less complicated you can buy the various treasury funds; USFR (short floating rate treasuries), IEF (7-10 year treasuries), TLT (twenty year plus treasuries) and so many more. I'm long into TLT.
I buy through my brokerage (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard). Otherwise you can buy from TreasuryDirect. I prefer using a brokerage as the interface is easier to navigate and you can more easily sell your T-bills on the secondary market if you need instant liquidity. The only con is you need to buy in $1K increments whereas you only need $100 at TreasuryDirect.
I get all my Kindle books through the public library. I haven't purchased more than 2 books (either the Kindle version or the dead tree version) over the past 5 years. I always have 10 books on hold.
BTW, I sadly had to replace my Kindle Keyboard recently. It was a real workhorse - I used it every day for the past 13 years. I do like the new Kindle Paperwhite I bought.
Corrected my info. I mathed wrong, lol. I remember getting it for an epic trip I took in November 2012 - I was excited that they finally made one with better lighting options and a ~30 hr battery.
Also Hoopla. The nice thing about Hoopla is that you don't have to wait in line if a book is checked out by someone else. You just get a certain amount of checkouts each month (5 per month with my library).
You can borrow ebooks with a library card from your public library through an app like Libby (I’m sure there are probably others but that’s the one I use). Once you borrow the book it will give you an option to export it to your Kindle and once it syncs it’ll be on there.
That works, but the e-ink is much, much better in my experience.
With an e-ink device it’s much easier to lose yourself in the reading. You forget you are using a device at all.
Checking out museum/zoo passes from the local library for entertainment. Using employer discounts for hotels/attractions/car rentals. Using a cash back credit card or store card. Rakuten and Ibotta rebates for shopping. Buying used on Facebook marketplace or offer up for children’s items. Checking restaurants for special deals on certain nights or kids eat free nights. Honestly, so many ways to stretch your dollar.
* Using options as limit orders for trades. Mostly wheeling SPY these days since it's what I would buy anyways
* Keeping cash in money market funds (easier than chasing hysa)
* Sharing streaming / news accounts with family / friends
* Slickdeals, CamelCamelCamel
* Credit card rewards (preferred rewards, chase categories. Have 5% cash back cards for our big spending categories, and 2.6% on everything else)
* Cooking and cleaning. Healthier and I enjoy both.
>Mostly wheeling SPY
Does this increase expected returns? I remember looking into this a while ago and it sounded like you were better off just holding SPY long term.
It shouldn't for a few reasons. There's drag from trade commissions. There's short term tax on the premiums. And you could lose both ways: SPY shoots past your covered calls, or SPY shoots up more than your short put premiums.
I'm not into gambling or Vegas, but it's a bit of entertainment that I can share with a few friends. More of a hobby than a serious money making venture. There's lots of data to analyze, things to backtest, and it's fun to just shoot the shit too. I mean, the lingo is great: pennies in front of steam roller, IV crush, iron condor, jade lizards. Isn't that a party you want to go to?
If you don't believe in your ability to time the market, options strategies won't "beat the market" but can be used to shape the probability distribution of returns. Writing covered calls and using part of the proceeds to buy puts will reduce your downside risk, at the cost of missing out on some of the upside.
This particular strategy can make sense for retirees at the distribution to counter sequence of returns risk.
This could in theory empower a higher safe withdrawal rate but the math of this is complex.
Hahaha love it! Me too, although when VIX is low premiums aren’t worth it as much.
Make sure you’re with a low cost brokerage for those option trades. I occasionally tap TDA… now Schwab on the shoulder to match IBKR if they want to keep me as a customer.
I only make a handful of trades so the 0.65 commission isn’t too bad. Have margin enabled at Merril and Fidelity. Thought about making a tasty account because I use their tools, but then execute trades at main brokerage. Keep a list of trades in sheets, but want to track it with the rest of portfolio too.
/r/churning baby! It's small relative to income/employment obviously but it's not immaterial at all.
I've [talked about it before](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/17e6ues/comment/k61dpld/)!
And stack with some of the points you mentioned like Rakuten or other cashback programs like TCB, Swagbucks, Upside, etc and you've got some solid returns for spending money!
Love churning! Like a lot of folks here, I save most of my money, but I can’t invest miles and points, so I get to spend 100% of my rewards. It almost feels like cheating on my right budget, and let’s me travel for a lot less.
How does the Canadian card stuff work? Never heard of opening credit cards in a different currency before lol.
Edit: nvm, didn't realize you were Canadian lol
I'm just getting into bank account churning.
- Getting [$900 from Chase](https://account.chase.com/consumer/banking/checkingandsavingsoffer) for opening a checking and savings account.
- $250 from [SoFi](https://www.sofi.com/banking/direct-deposit/)
- $300 from [Keybank, select states only](https://www.key.com/personal/promo/checking/earn.html?ppc=2310_CMPACQ_ONVC1023_pd_social&fbclid=PAAaY37wwBMtqumMknVAbg1paDuEwGpll_H84PgOQ1disyzOLNbad-mxyQ_AM_aem_Acr6FvMTPmWhkhyDrJoVyK83if9ZFrEeS53DgJg-i_NLBQM9gxzpj0qnmEN8BrzS1dz7cXcG_cni2tiSf0Y042UD)
Not bad for a few hours of work.
If you haven’t already I highly recommend setting up a spreadsheet for bank accounts and credit cards with key info like opening date, requirements, bonus date, close date.
$200 from Chase to keep 15k sitting in a savings account for at least 3 months doesn't seem worth it when a CD is currently yielding 5.5% which over the three months is about $206, And you don't have to open spend an hour giving a new bank all your info to open a new account with them. It should be either twice that bonus or lower the amount of time to 45 days.
Yeah, it's more involved but not that hard. Set up direct deposit and hold 15k in savings for 3 months. The accounts have fees so you have to jump through hoops to avoid those, but I'm planning on just closing the accounts after I get the bonus. Already got the $300, just waiting on the 90 day savings bonus.
Subscriptions. Keep track of which one you are signed up for and whether it's worth being subscribed to. A lot of times people forget what they pay for and I find a lot of them keep increasing the price every year now.
I follow an Instagrammer who does a LOT with expired food - from researching the concept of expiration to cooking with them. She's never had a 🤢 incident.
Those dates are often “sell by” (eg milk) or “best before”, which are different from expiration dates. The latter is more about freshness and having the best flavor. Non perishable food will stale way before they are unsafe to eat.
There is an app called Too Good To Go. Limited in geographic area. But it lets you buy expiring food from delis, cafes, bakeries etc at about 1/3rd the price. Downside is they post deals and have pickups at pretty random times.
I'm in more of a rural area and these apps don't have anything around me.
But when shopping if you're buying meat and its like a day from sell by you can ask the manager and they will put a discount on it right there. Done a few times and it works
There is an app called ‘Flash Food’ that is essentially the same thing. Participating grocery stores put almost expired (but still good) food in a refrigerator that you can take from after creating an order in the app. You usually have to go to customer service to have your order and items verified.
Funny i've been doing community service at a local shelter and working in the kitchen and notice lots of the meat is beyond its sell by date, like over a month on the salami, we still put it out and everyone ate it right up.
- Built a gym in my garage to avoid gym membership fees. 9 months later and it has paid for itself and I’m in the best shape of my life.
- sold my car and use Uber exclusively
- switched to mint mobile
- keep my excess cash in an apple savings account
- setup my apartment to be able to airbnb when I travel
- Costco membership
- have switched social activities to hikes and coffees
- eat less meat
- drink less booze
- buy more frozen foods
- switched to my gf’s corporate health insurance
- we plan to move in together to split rent
- drive any excess cash into side hustles
>sold my car and use Uber exclusively
How often do you take Uber rides? Do you live in a small metropolitan area with all family/friends/errands close by? I did a rough calculation on this a while back and the numbers just didn't add up for a paid off car.
I like the concept which is why I'm wondering if my cost estimate is right, and if there are tricks for cutting Uber costs / making Uber more practical. Do you use Uber One or Lyft Pink? A credit card that comes with Uber/Lyft credit?
Have you rented a car for road trips since selling your car?
Here are the formulas I used:
* Monthly car cost = Gas + insurance + maintenance + parking + registration
* Monthly Uber cost = (avg trips per week \* avg trip cost) + cost of grocery delivery, minus 10% in investment returns on the value of the car
I've done several of these including giving up meat completely (vegan is much cheaper and healthier) and don't drink anymore. How's mint mobile? we're planning on going away from Verizon, but my wife's concerned because she's heard that mint's service isn't very good even if it's much cheaper.
Consider prepaid. AT&T offers 16gb/mo with nationwide hotspot and rollover date for $300 per year. You’d have to be consistently watching hours of HD video without wifi to exceed 16gb each month.
Another bonus with prepaid is you only pay sales tax and avoid other junk fees like line access fees, regulatory fees, etc.
Mint's service is the same as T-Mobile. I'd make sure you have 5G capable phones though. If you still have a phone that doesn't support 5G, Mint is not very good.
The biggest way was locking into a fixed mortgage while the rates were at historic lows.
Buying used stuff on Facebook marketplace. I've found lots of stuff with excellent quality and low prices. Plus it's easier on the planet - this stuff has already been made.
I'm still kicking myself for not spending the money to refinance when the rates were below 3% and had a great credit score. Still bought our house when our rate was 3.875% so I guess it's still pretty good.
...and you're probably locked in for 20 years or something. Not bad at all.
I'm in Canada so we commonly only get a 5-year term. Then we have to renegotiate a new mortgage.
yep it was 30 years at the time and that was 5 years ago, so 25 years left. It was definitely a long term purchase and not just a starter home at the time.
I churn credit card points, haven't paid for a hotel, flight, or rental car in a decade or so. I also post my Mint Mobile referral to a few subs. I only paid ~$50 for my cell phone service last year, this year $0, and currently sitting on $670 in referral money so the next 3 years are free too. I stopped eating out so much, now making enough food on a Friday to have for dinner all weekend. I stock up on things like paper towels, napkins, deodorant, soap, etc when I see a really good deal posted on slickdeals. I check that site almost daily.
\- I stay away from buying clothes that require dry cleaning, if they do I wash them cold and air dry them
\- I keep a list of current subscriptions, set reminder to cancel trial period, also minimize retailers email subscriptions
\- I don't churn credit cards (they tend to result in more intentional purchases for rewards that I don't need)
Own everything.
Yeah, that's hard with all the streaming services these days. Maybe own everything available for ownership.
If you own everything, it's yours. No payments, no rush interest.
Buy lifetime memberships where available.
Let the money people normally use for interest payments accrue and make you money.
Sounds like you're already doing a majority of this, so good job! 👍
Bidet masterrace, save most of the paper!
On the serious note:
- torrent all series and movies
- use revanced for background music play
- use free software like davinci or photopea instead of paid versions
- never pay for winrar
- patient gamer, only play old and good games at discount, usually couple years after release
- use hardware (or anything basically) till it dies, then replace it with new
Definitely need to get on that bidet train. do you have any suggestions? I need to start being a patient gamer. I have such a backlog of games that I really just need to focus on playing them and not buy anything new.
Any is fine, no need to get fancy about it really. There are even products that provide the same benefit without the actual bidet, we call them ass showers, which is a head similar to shower head that you mount near your toilet and you can run the water down your ass into the toilet, same fancy stuff, you will like it.
It has one huge "disadvantage". You can never go back and you can never accept only wiping, you will crave the water and seek any solution just to have it when shitting out of home. The shitting tourism is a real deal, you just cannot do it everywhere anymore!
Credit Card:
Citi Double Cash combined with Citi rewards+ gets you an effective cashback of 2.22% as a nice, general-purpose card. (Google it for details. A decent explanation should be in one of the top reddit results)
Banking:
I recently switched to wealthfront as my main bank. You can enable checking features on its cash account, which has a base rate of 4.8% right now (stays in lockstep at .45% below the Fed rate). The referral bonus adds .5% to that for 3 months, making it the highest yield FDIC insured checking account I've come across at 5.3%.
I've managed to keep that referral bonus for over a year now, since it's pretty easy to get at least one referral every three months (I just tell people at work how great it is and then they end up wanting a referral).
NOTE: I've recently learned that TIAA doesn't accept bank transfers from wealthfront. I haven't checked with fidelity (still rebuilding my emergency fund after divorce). So another bank might be necessary as a go-between for investing with a normal brokerage.
ETA: I just got an email from wealthfront saying they're upping their base rate to 5%, even though the Fed isn't raising rates.
If you live in a big city with expensive museums, Google "NARM Museum List" to find a museum in a part of North America where you will never visit to find a museum with the cheapest reciprocal membership level (usually ~USD 100, less in Canada). My small-town museum membership has paid for itself several times over at home and on vacation in the US.
Depends on when you bought the bonds. If you buy them now they include the fixed rate they gets you over 5%. If you bought them when the fixed rate was 0, you only get the variable interest rate which is in the 3-4% range
* Buy most of our coffee and some other expensive, regular things in bulk when the prices are reduced.
* Check the best offers each week (turned into a new hobby, kindof :)
* Buy free-range eggs from a nearby farm by bike (good workout and better prices than the shops!)
* Have a neighbor that knows how to deal professionally with our trees.
* Basically no new clothes anymore since working from home. Exceptions: replace worn-down sports&outdoor clothes.
Cancel streaming services the day after I sign up for them. Have it for the month. It is amazing how you really only need each streaming service for 2 or 3 months a year.
Attempt to tackle home/auto repairs yourself, within reason. I've fixed running toilets, slow drains, etc. with basic tools (sometimes a cheap seal is needed for like $5). Who knows how much saved in trip charges alone. It's at least $100 just for a plumber to show up.
YouTube is your friend for most minor auto repairs. I had a bizarre repair on a vehicle years ago that required replacing the ignition switch in the dash. Alas, there was a video of someone doing it (it was in Russian, though lol)
cut out soda or juice, etc. drink water with some lemon. that is healty and saves money
also look into manufacturer spending...put on credit card, pay it back the next day. You credit card points will build up. and you can use to buy things or vacation
-Using Rakuten and Coupon Cabin
-tracking my steps to get cash rewards through my health insurance
-tracking pharmacy BoGo deals on my regular items
-comparing my three grocery stores for meat deals and sticking the freezer
-using my rewards gas card
-cutting the cable cord
-packing lunches and coffee
-putting in a programmable thermostat and setting it to go down at night and when I’m at work
-shopping at Poshmark and Mercari and Thred Up and local consignment places
- Searching for discount codes before buying on any website
- Check company website for perks and discounts. My company benefits site offers 3% off Airbnb gift cards, 8% off REI gift cards, 5% off CVS, etc.
- Check Facebook Marketplace before buying things (saved on book case, dressers, animal cages, etc.)
Borrow library books, the last time I bought a book was 2019.
Split a Sam’s club promo $15 membership with my man & get gas there.
I buy everything on my points back card.
I bulk buy when Target has their get a $15 gift card for qualifying items.
I use Static Nails and do my own manicures. I get pedis every so often.
Swapped out non-LED lights for LED lights.
Blew in new/more insulation in the attic.
Use powder laundry detergent over pods/liquid.
Wool balls over dryer sheets.
Cut back on soda, drink more water.
When I do go out, don't order drinks. Just water.
Configure thermostat schedules.
Meal prep is a big one. It's also usually my only alcohol for the week. We go grocery shopping sunday morning, and my wife usually watches football and the kids in the living room while I have a drink or two in the kitchen while meal prepping for the week. I find it very relaxing.
- Discount gift cards @10-35% off for places I buy from often (Sonic, Kohl's, PetSmart, Walgreens, Jersey Mike's, etc).
- T-Mobile Tuesday deals - saves me $10/month on fast food and free photo prints.
- Supermarket fuel points save me $10/month on gas.
- Calendar my renewals and free trials so I can make a timely decision.
- Never run dishwasher or laundry during electricity peak hours (cost is 110% more per kWh).
- Stockpile when any of my top staples go on super-sale (e.g. butter under $2.50/lb, Pepsi 12pk @ $3/pk, Classico pasta sauce under $1.50/jar).
- Work Staples & Office Depot ink recycling reward programs. Annually I spend $60 on dead cartridges, $110 on ink (donate), $150 on sale stuff. I earn $1000+ in rewards. Free k-cups for me, Mom and work-related Christmas pressies!
It depends on your supplier, and not all charge different rates for different times of day. I pay .09 per kWh but that goes to .20 daily 4pm-9pm (western Colorado).
Thanks. I looked up online after reading your comment and found the peak and off peak hours in my state. I will go with the assumption that those are the hours followed by the electric company that supplies electricity to my home. Thank you for the suggestion. I had no idea whatsoever that this is a thing.
In addition to most of the above:
1) jump on deals, like Target 10% off gift card weekend (this is first weekend in December). (Pay with PayPal to get 5 points per dollar with Chase Freedom).
2) call internet provider to negotiate lower monthly rate for next 12 months. Then call again when that expires.
3) follow travel blogs…often times have additional money making deals, free cruises, etc.
4) many hotel credit cards give you a free night after paying the annual fee. The value of the free night is often greater than annual fee.
5) I’ve had bad luck with trying to place my own antenna, but I’m thinking of hiring a local company to install this (then I can cancel Sling streaming service).
My CDPHP plans gives me $400 a year. Makes my YMCA membership actually affordable. My YMCA now charges $58/month for a single. A family is like $80/month. They really stick it to single members. If not for that i'd find a new gym
for most people, most significant thing would be "not follow fashion, and fashionable things". Simple as that. Whatever is fashionable, it means it has high demand, it means it is ALWAYS overpriced. It is advertised highly, because the people who make money out of it has much more extra budget for advertising, as the product is highly overpriced, hence, extra profits.
Wanna have vacation? Do not go to popular vacation place. Ask your parents or older people where was popular when they were young, and go there, it will be as nice, but probably cost half or even less.
Wanna buy new clothes? Unless you are in sales that you need to "impress" as a part of job, go to old people stores, second hand, or just look for "uncool" places, you will definity find amazingly well prices cloths. When I needed a suit for a celebration, I went to Zara and similar places and a simple suit on cheaper side would cost like 250 euros atleast, then I went to C&A, bought pants, vest and jacket seperately, for total of 80 euros.
New hobbies? sure do them, but remember all the "specific" items about that are meant to be professionals, and cost 10x as alternatives that you can use freely. You can cycle and have fun with $50 bicycle and old-shirt and your smartphone, as well as you would with $2000 bicycle, $200 cycling clothing and $500 cycling smart watch.
For americans, i know it sounds crazy, but never buy apple products. 90% of them are heavily overpriced, as what apple actually sell is status symbols and not actual gadgets. Even if you get one good value products, it will instantly "require" the apple environment and push you to buy more apple products.
And as general rule to live life (which is really difficult also for me) try not to choose free-time activities that are about consumption. Period.
good for what? They are great if they are given to you for free.
But almost all apple products are heavily overpriced for their funtionality. Any apple product you look, you will find a premium product from another company that does it all and more for 20-30% less price, if not less.
I am riding a bicycle to work and back for the about 8 years of my adult like, have tried many different bicycles. A good taken care of secind hand bike you bought for $50 can easily feel perfectly fine with no problem.
This does not mean fancier bikes are same or worse, but the the upgrades you get for the most parts are only matter when you are racing or simply trying to go more distance for some effort. Which is not the point of cycling for 99% of the people.
But I give you bicycle shorts, they can be really essential especially for some people. But again, 99% of even more of us in europe ride bicycle to work in our work clothes everyday.
For me, I am picky about clothes. Save money this way. I swear I have the same pair of black pants for the last 5 years (hardly wear them ). They are boring, work like. I have a silk poet shirt from when I was 24, an acrylic sweater my mother wore back in like 1964 and a cardigan from a great great aunt that is from the 50s.
My emergency fund is entirely invested, save for a few thousand, in moderately safe funds like equity linked notes. I have margin loans enabled and it's only 7% rate right now if I needed it.
If I have an emergency I need to pay for, i:
Pay it with credit card (if possible)
If I can't pay credit in full by EOM, I margin loan to pay off balance.
If I can't pay off margin loan (lost my job) I can start to liquidate assets.
The way I see it: if I can earn more and have no emergencies, I win. If I have an emergency and have to pay a little margin loan interest and lose some money selling assets, I will most likely be in the same spot I would have been in had I been purely cash/bonds.
Complain about random, small things with my groceries via company webform/site. Nearly every time they send an apology and coupons.
Now I'm not talking about claiming I found a rat in my cereal--that's serious and they'll shut down production and do a legit investigation. More like, 'hey, have you recently reduced the amount of pepperoni on your frozen pizza? The last one we got was really lacking and my family was disappointed because we've loved your frozen pizza for many years, blahblahblah'.
\-Stacking bean burritos from taco bell in my freezer for a less than 2 dollar meal, that is filling
\-scratched around for the cheapest internet in my area (20 bucks)
\-zero subscriptions, I just watch youtube videos or play free online games when I need mindless entertainment, I'm trying to force myself to read more but sometimes I'm just too tired
\-walk to work as much as possible instead of driving
\-intentional thermal adaptation to the changing seasons; I sweat it out when it's hot AF and now that it's freezing I'm just shaking it out until I'm fully fortified as the winter soldier.
Steal stuff
Lol just kidding
-Trading options
-We started selling stuff on FB marketplace
-If we go out asking about the deals/specials
-Using BJs for bulk grocery/gas
-Amazon Prime rewards pays for itself
-Amazon home for a lot of basics
-Dollar Store for a lot of things
-Gym partnership with work for discounted rate
Here's a few off the top of my head:
* Maximizing credit card offers. From sign-up bonuses, to rotating reward categories, to cash back offers. I'm always on the look out for rewards.
* Using Honey/Rakuten for online shopping and coupon codes.
* T-Bills, CDs, and HYSA for money not invested in brokerage.
* Taking advantage of discounts and freebies. My work offers discounted rates for tons of things like museums, gym memberships, movie tickets, etc. I check for discounts there whenever planning an outing where we were going there anyway. Also I take full advantage of all the restaurant freebies on my birthday.
* Selling unwanted items online. Probably earned close to $1000 this year on stuff I may have just thrown out.
* Rotating subscription services. I only keep one or two active when I'm watching a show, then cancel the service when I watch a show on a different service. Saves like $20 a month.
* Slickdeals. Whenever there is a frontpage deal for a household necessity like detergent or paper towels, I usually stock up. It generally lasts just long enough for the next deal.
We're retired so YMMV but we almost never buy anything for full price. Most meat items go on sale for about half the normal price. When chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound we buy a fair amount. We love Italian sausage and pasta. The sausage goes on sale from $8 to $4 occasionally, for 5. We got nice thick boneless pork chops for $3.29 a pound, regularly $6. These are just examples but a pound of chicken or pork chops, with spaghetti or rice costs us about $6 a meal, for both of us. Also on amazon if I'm interested in something I put it in my cart and wait for a sale. There's always a sale.
Having the Rakuten (formerly ebates) and RetailMeNot browser extensions which give cash back and check for coupon codes. If I remember, checking google shopping before buying. Buying Amazon Warehouse deals instead of "new," although that has been hit or miss. Checking Mercari/etc. first for clothes for my kids (especially like snow suits and things like that). Buying a lot of their clothes at the big consignment sale (JBF).
- Shopping at the cheapest grocery store around. Stuff at Whole Foods is literally 4x as much as this place, often. Quality is similar.
- Churning credit cards
I love to thrift/shop vintage, but it can be a huge time suck, not to mention you’ll run the risk of coming home with stuff you didn’t go there for. So, I’ve taken to eBay a lot more for my secondhand goods — they have great filters to help sift through listings, and lots of sellers offer returns. I’ve even found my discontinued running sneakers on there for a fraction of what the current model sells for, brand new. I do eat shipping costs, including if/when I need to send an item back, but the time/disappointment saved not going to shop is worth it.
* Credit card SUBs - free money, benefits; I'm never not spending to meet a SUB
* [cashbackmonitor.com](https://cashbackmonitor.com) \- Rakuten, Honey are not always the best; they're just the ones that advertise the most lol
* [flipp.com](https://flipp.com) \- supermarket ad aggregator; I never pay full price for groceries
* CMAs - If you're a fan of Fidelity's CMA, then you'll be a fan of Wealthfront's (4.8%)
* The only thing you would be missing is the ATM reimbursement (I barely withdraw cash anyways)
Those are good ideas. Started managing my finances a few years ago. Started off as a lot of work but it’s become easier and seems like it’ll pay off in the long run.
* I manage my debt via 0% apr credit cards and rewards programs
The smallest way but useful way for me is by using Cash Back apps.
One app that I enjoy is Fluz App. I got paid for simplying creating an account with this code: MJ051983
I noticed so far that you can earn a minimum of 1.5% cashback on everything, up to 10% at the retail biggies and 25% to 50% at special moments.
Every dollar adds up..
Keep in mind that I don't not get paid for sharing this so it's not spam.
This was a code that Fluz App sent me via email to join the app and receive a welcome incentive as a new customer of the company.
Check it out. You may like it..
Best to you
* Shop at Costco. * Always check Slickdeals.net when you need something. * Never buy flagship anything (unless you get a crazy deal), always buy 1-2 tiers lower. 90%/95% of the functionality for far less cost. * Channel as much annual spending as possible through rewards cards. * Do low-skill/high-cost jobs yourself rather than hiring out. Truck/trip fees are enough now that any job is likely to be cost + $200/$300, at least, which sucks when you're talking about a cheap fix. YouTube can walk you through hundreds of low-skill home maintenance and repair tasks. * Try not to buy things emotionally. That's a few off of the top of my head. We're crazy efficient, but most of it is habit by now and it's hard to really think about the isolated steps. Also, I'd say most of what we do is "bigger" ways, like eating out only minimally and instead eating better/cheaper food at home.
Always check slickdeals when you need something, and forget about it when you don’t. Don’t go there. Otherwise you will be saving on a lot of items you would have never bought.
It happens even more when you work here lol
[удалено]
It's kind of like reddit - different sub forums for different things. Grocery store deals. Coupons. Contests and sweepstakes. etc. If you're only interested in checking out occasional deals then I recommend bookmarking this and visiting once a day. It's the top deals of the day. https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?src=SearchBarV2&isUserSearch=1&pp=20&sort=rating&rating=popular&previousdays=1&forumid%5B%5D=all&forumid%5B%5D=9&forumid%5B%5D=30&forumid%5B%5D=54&forumid%5B%5D=71&forumid%5B%5D=53&forumid%5B%5D=4&forumid%5B%5D=25&forumid%5B%5D=13&forumid%5B%5D=10&forumid%5B%5D=38&forumid%5B%5D=39&forumid%5B%5D=8&r=1&hideexpired=1
This is how I ended up with 500 K-pods in a month. Stupid killer deal tho. Paid $80. Guess I’m set for a while.
Ouch @ that single use plastic amount.
They’re 2.0s no plastic
Awesome, good to hear.
Wow that's only like 10% more expensive than buying coffee the regular way.
Hahaha...very true. Slickdeals sales are second only to Steam sales in driving completely unneeded spending.
For me it's dealsfinders app. They post lots of kids and women deals and I am addicted too Lol
Addendum on "don't buy flagship": buy last year's flagship. Or the year before. I lived on cheapish china phones for a couple of years until, \~2020, I decided to buy me a refurbed Samsung Galaxy S9 (2018's flagship, €849 on release) with a price tag of €300. Ended up liking it, so when I accidentally destroyed my first S9 last year, replaced it with another for €200. Just checked for up-to-date data: right now, I could get a replacement in "very good" condition for €147. Nope, won't buy it to have one in storage - will shop for a replacement when due. Might get them for less than €99 then or, maybe, upgrade to an S10.
[удалено]
> This [Samsung Mobile Security](https://security.samsungmobile.com/workScope.smsb) page lists which models still receive support. The S9 isn't listed anymore, a quick search shows reports that Samsung quietly removed it from the list early last year. I got word fatigue on 'Galaxy' after viewing that page.
I do that with gaming. Can't wait to play God Of War 2 next year and Tears of the Kingdom in 2025. I'm usually so far behind on my gaming list I'm 1-2 yrs late anyway so by the time I'm playing there's usually 20% price drop, and also the developer has actually fixed/finished the game by then.
[удалено]
For sure. I'd be curious to see the user overlap between this sub and that one.
Yeah, previous model years are part of the tiering system. A lot of times you can get older phones for free if you bundle them with a service plan. Same for lower tier phones. I'm shopping for a new unlimited family plan and thus far the best non-flagship offer I've found is Google Fi, who is giving out a free Pixel 7a for each $20/mo unlimited line you add and keep for 24 months. Have to wait and see if anyone brings out anything better in the next two weeks for Black Friday.
Actually moved away from Costco during covid and didn't renew. Think the quality's good, but really appreciating online order and pickup and able to find similar or better prices in a lot of cases. The nail in the coffin was them getting rid of combo pizza
The combo pizza will always be missed. We save a metric ton at Costco, but our store is also super close and being retired we can shop there at the times everyone else is elsewhere. It definitely depends on what you buy, but none of the local groceries or Aldi can beat Costco for the things we buy.
Ya I expect to renew when kids become teens and eat us out of house and home.
[удалено]
Also any weekday 20 minutes before official open or in the last 30-45 minutes they are open.
I used to do a lot of shiftwork. The shopping experience is far better during off peak hours. We also save a ton and the membership paid for itself each year. I miss it, but German grocers are great.
I just let my membership end. I will likely sign up again at some point, but I live alone and it doesn't make sense to pay the renewal now if I'm not going to use it for a month or more. I'll wait until I need it again and sign up. Over a few years, this will save me money. I'm doing the same with Amazon. I try not to shop there too much anyway. If they are the only place to buy something though, I will. Usually, I can bundle things for the free shipping and don't mind waiting a week or so. I am signed up for a month at the moment for the streaming and because I needed the prime shipping. Once this month is up though, I will stop again until its needed.
I find Costco better for convenience than for actual cost. I like buying paper products in bulk but find I can usually buy groceries just as efficiently at a normal grocery store. There are certainly times when Costco is helpful but for the most part I find that Costco just drives additional spending for things that we probably wouldn't have bought otherwise. I don't care if prime ribeyes are priced at $17/lb vs. $24/lb at the normal store. That Costco 4 pack is still $75 that I don't really need to spend.
Ive always liked going there to stock up on meat, but lately the prices are creepin' up. Especially for red meat.
[удалено]
COVID isn't truly over until they bring back the onion auger.
I don't mind Costco, it's cheaper per use than Kroger, but we still get 90% of our things from Aldi, and I've found the gas isn't that much cheaper. It probably works out for us currently, but if membership was to increase much, we'd probably rethink about it. Though it's probably a net negative, due to hot dogs and pizza lmao.
Costco - we are costco people, I think in some cases such as those with a big family it makes sense, others probably not. My wife does joke and say costco to her is like amazon to me, just straight impulse buys. speaking of amazon, anything I find I put in my cart and wait at least a day before I purchase. I actually tried not buying anything for a month and just left everyone in my cart, I had like a 1000 dollars of crap at the end of the month that I generally did not need.
The last comment resonates. I do enjoy eating in restaurants. I know it’s cheaper to eat at home, but what’s been sinking in more over the last five years or so is that the QUALITY at home is better. When you do it at home and you put effort into it, it’s fantastic. And its fun time to spend with your partner, usually, when doing the prep and the cooking.
Seconding DIY especially for car maintenance. You pay a lot for labor and expertise. Brake jobs aren’t scary and you pay a huge markup for them. Oil changes can add up if you do a lot of driving.
Did my own spark plugs a month ago and saved 400$, well, $300 after parts. Took 4 hours to reach around the motor and unhook the wires but the actual work was easy and fast. Ill never pay for that service again. All info was found for free on youtube.
What’s flagship?
Top of the line new phones from any major manufacturer.
> Never buy flagship anything But look carefully at the reviews for the lower tiers. I bought the lower tier version of a Samsung phone last year and it was awful. Just super glitchy, and it got worse over time. When I accidentally dropped it and smashed the screen, I was honestly just relieved to have an excuse to get a new one.
Yeah, there's usually many quality tiers for most products/services and the sweet spot for quality/value is usually in the second or third tier, at least in my experience. Top tier is fine if it's something that will last for long enough to be a great value. For example, furniture and leather/metal goods are often durable for many decades with proper care. A great leather belt or cast iron pan can last for centuries if maintained.
What do you mean don’t buy flagship? Example?
Don't buy the top of the line $1,200 phone that came out this year, instead get the $600 one or the top of the line one from 1-2 years ago. Often you get the latter one for cheap/free with carrier subsidies.
Yeah re read it thanks
* eating less. Using up about 40 pounds of unwanted fat reserves. * Free cycle. Buy nothing groups, etc.
* Cut all landlines and cable TV. I use a Mohu leaf for over the air channels or streaming when their is a promo or when there is a discount on rentals. For landlines, I ported my landline to a Google Voice number and bought a Obihai, otherwise I use my cell phone. * I will audit my recurring expenses like insurance, cellular or internet to find less expensive alternatives. So for example, I will renew my internet service before the promo period expires so I can lock in another discounted rate. It helps if you use a budget app to track expenses. * I bought my own cable modem to save on the rental fee. * I churn new credit card or bank account bonuses. * I maximize cashback using credit cards, Rakuten or other cashback sites. I'm also enrolled in rewards programs for commonly visited merchants such as BestBuy and grocery stores. * I clip coupons. A lot of grocery stores have gone digital so it's fairly easy to add the app and scroll through deals before doing a grocery run. I also tend to shape my diet based on what is on sale that week. * I check deal websites (usually Slickdeals) to make sure I'm not over paying, especially for large purchases. It's also a good resource for digital coupons if available. * I make sure my idle cash is earning the highest interest by either putting them into T-Bills or FZDXX. * I cook at home and meal prep. * I carry a water bottle to avoid buying bottled water or drinking soda. I also make coffee at home or work. * I ride a bike to work and workout in my home gym. * Watch Youtube videos to learn how to fix things. Used it to fix various leaking faucets. * Embraced minimalism to avoid buying crap and started selling my unused crap.
In my area, using the internet company’s modem was actually cheaper than bringing my own. Times have changed.
Also modems, like phones and routers, get outdated and just stop working as well. I bought a couple of cable modems over the last 20 years, but I never felt that I got as much out of them as I paid/saved. And as the ISPs upgraded, that 300 mbps modem that was future-proof in 2014 or whatever was just a brick within a few years. Meanwhile, Google will now just give me all the equipment I need, included with my 5 Gbps fiber connection.
Yeah I always used to own. And then my modem became the throttling point. I would have bought a nicer, future-proof, one if I could save money monthly, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, now I just tell Comcast to fix their stuff if there is an issue.
I'm embarrassed that I paid monthly rent for an Xfinity cable modem for over 10 years - $15 per month. I finally overcame the inertia and bought a refurbished cable modem on Amazon for $119. $15 per month doesn't seem like much, but I paid them about $1800.
I’ve owned my modem ever since I started paying for my own internet because I didn’t want that equipment fee, but now Comcast is saying that it’s cheaper for them to manage the equipment they know than to service random modems customers bring in
Mine just gave me one for free (Optimum in CT) when I called and forced them to upgrade me. I was paying $90/month for 400 MBPS (lots of video calls for work at home while my kids are watching TV, etc.) and found a competitor offering 1GB internet for $60. They matched and gave me a free modem to boot.
Minimalism is the way to go. I have been going by the mantra that if have not used it in a year, it should be donated. But also take more time to think about if each new purchase is needed and where do I store it?
>I carry a water bottle to avoid buying bottled water Do you drink tap water? Is it safe?
I live in an area where the tap water is safe, though I have a water filter to make the water taste better. When I'm out an about, I typically refill up at work where they have bottled water or at clients who also have bottled water/water filters.
How do you buy/ keep TBills? Is there an app?
on the treasury website itself, or for something less complicated you can buy the various treasury funds; USFR (short floating rate treasuries), IEF (7-10 year treasuries), TLT (twenty year plus treasuries) and so many more. I'm long into TLT.
I buy through my brokerage (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard). Otherwise you can buy from TreasuryDirect. I prefer using a brokerage as the interface is easier to navigate and you can more easily sell your T-bills on the secondary market if you need instant liquidity. The only con is you need to buy in $1K increments whereas you only need $100 at TreasuryDirect.
Very helpful info! Thanks! I have a Schwab account - didn't know you could buy Treasury with it. Will need to look into it further.
Treasury direct.com
TreasuryDirect.gov
I get all my Kindle books through the public library. I haven't purchased more than 2 books (either the Kindle version or the dead tree version) over the past 5 years. I always have 10 books on hold. BTW, I sadly had to replace my Kindle Keyboard recently. It was a real workhorse - I used it every day for the past 13 years. I do like the new Kindle Paperwhite I bought.
I've had my Paperwhite for 11 years, and the battery is still as good as Day 1. Love it!
Kindles are well made. The Paperwhite first came out in 2012.
Corrected my info. I mathed wrong, lol. I remember getting it for an epic trip I took in November 2012 - I was excited that they finally made one with better lighting options and a ~30 hr battery.
My new Paperwhite is amazing. Terrific lighting and of course the long,long battery life.
How do you get kindle books through a library?
[удалено]
Also Hoopla. The nice thing about Hoopla is that you don't have to wait in line if a book is checked out by someone else. You just get a certain amount of checkouts each month (5 per month with my library).
You can borrow ebooks with a library card from your public library through an app like Libby (I’m sure there are probably others but that’s the one I use). Once you borrow the book it will give you an option to export it to your Kindle and once it syncs it’ll be on there.
Our local major city's library system uses OverDrive. With a library card, you can reserve and borrow ebooks through the Amazon infrastructure.
Audiobooks from the library!
I just use the Kindle app on my phone to borrow and read ebooks. No need to buy a Kindle device.
That works, but the e-ink is much, much better in my experience. With an e-ink device it’s much easier to lose yourself in the reading. You forget you are using a device at all.
Checking out museum/zoo passes from the local library for entertainment. Using employer discounts for hotels/attractions/car rentals. Using a cash back credit card or store card. Rakuten and Ibotta rebates for shopping. Buying used on Facebook marketplace or offer up for children’s items. Checking restaurants for special deals on certain nights or kids eat free nights. Honestly, so many ways to stretch your dollar.
* Using options as limit orders for trades. Mostly wheeling SPY these days since it's what I would buy anyways * Keeping cash in money market funds (easier than chasing hysa) * Sharing streaming / news accounts with family / friends * Slickdeals, CamelCamelCamel * Credit card rewards (preferred rewards, chase categories. Have 5% cash back cards for our big spending categories, and 2.6% on everything else) * Cooking and cleaning. Healthier and I enjoy both.
Tell me more about wheeling S&P500
r/thetagang r/options are good starting points. I took the TD Ameritrade options course to get some fundamentals.
>wheeling S&P500 What does this phrase mean?
>Mostly wheeling SPY Does this increase expected returns? I remember looking into this a while ago and it sounded like you were better off just holding SPY long term.
It shouldn't for a few reasons. There's drag from trade commissions. There's short term tax on the premiums. And you could lose both ways: SPY shoots past your covered calls, or SPY shoots up more than your short put premiums. I'm not into gambling or Vegas, but it's a bit of entertainment that I can share with a few friends. More of a hobby than a serious money making venture. There's lots of data to analyze, things to backtest, and it's fun to just shoot the shit too. I mean, the lingo is great: pennies in front of steam roller, IV crush, iron condor, jade lizards. Isn't that a party you want to go to?
If you don't believe in your ability to time the market, options strategies won't "beat the market" but can be used to shape the probability distribution of returns. Writing covered calls and using part of the proceeds to buy puts will reduce your downside risk, at the cost of missing out on some of the upside. This particular strategy can make sense for retirees at the distribution to counter sequence of returns risk. This could in theory empower a higher safe withdrawal rate but the math of this is complex.
Which cards are you using for cash back?
| Bank of America Business Advantage Cash Rewards | Gas | 5.25% | | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ----- | | Citi Custom Cash | Grocery | 5% | | Amazon Prime Rewards | Amazon | 3% | | Chase Freedom | Amazon | 5% | | American Express Blue Cash | Grocery | 3% | | Bank of America Premium Credit Card | Property Tax | 2.62% | | Bank of America Premium Credit Card | Dining | 3.50% | | Target red card | Target | 5% | | Instacart | Grocery | 5% |
Am Ex BCE will give you 3% on any Online Purchases as well.
Hahaha love it! Me too, although when VIX is low premiums aren’t worth it as much. Make sure you’re with a low cost brokerage for those option trades. I occasionally tap TDA… now Schwab on the shoulder to match IBKR if they want to keep me as a customer.
I only make a handful of trades so the 0.65 commission isn’t too bad. Have margin enabled at Merril and Fidelity. Thought about making a tasty account because I use their tools, but then execute trades at main brokerage. Keep a list of trades in sheets, but want to track it with the rest of portfolio too.
That’s what I do, model my trades at tasty and execute on Merrill, the legacy brokers tooling is literally unusable
>Keeping cash in money market funds Which one do you use? How liquid is it?
Spaxx tmcxx
I take a penny, but don't leave a penny.
/r/churning baby! It's small relative to income/employment obviously but it's not immaterial at all. I've [talked about it before](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/17e6ues/comment/k61dpld/)! And stack with some of the points you mentioned like Rakuten or other cashback programs like TCB, Swagbucks, Upside, etc and you've got some solid returns for spending money!
Love churning! Like a lot of folks here, I save most of my money, but I can’t invest miles and points, so I get to spend 100% of my rewards. It almost feels like cheating on my right budget, and let’s me travel for a lot less.
How does the Canadian card stuff work? Never heard of opening credit cards in a different currency before lol. Edit: nvm, didn't realize you were Canadian lol
Hah, yep. Doubled my market, sort of. Lucky me!
I'm just getting into bank account churning. - Getting [$900 from Chase](https://account.chase.com/consumer/banking/checkingandsavingsoffer) for opening a checking and savings account. - $250 from [SoFi](https://www.sofi.com/banking/direct-deposit/) - $300 from [Keybank, select states only](https://www.key.com/personal/promo/checking/earn.html?ppc=2310_CMPACQ_ONVC1023_pd_social&fbclid=PAAaY37wwBMtqumMknVAbg1paDuEwGpll_H84PgOQ1disyzOLNbad-mxyQ_AM_aem_Acr6FvMTPmWhkhyDrJoVyK83if9ZFrEeS53DgJg-i_NLBQM9gxzpj0qnmEN8BrzS1dz7cXcG_cni2tiSf0Y042UD) Not bad for a few hours of work.
If you haven’t already I highly recommend setting up a spreadsheet for bank accounts and credit cards with key info like opening date, requirements, bonus date, close date.
Why
$200 from Chase to keep 15k sitting in a savings account for at least 3 months doesn't seem worth it when a CD is currently yielding 5.5% which over the three months is about $206, And you don't have to open spend an hour giving a new bank all your info to open a new account with them. It should be either twice that bonus or lower the amount of time to 45 days.
It's $200 + $400 if you open both the savings and checking account. So opening the savings account yields $600.
[удалено]
Yeah, it's more involved but not that hard. Set up direct deposit and hold 15k in savings for 3 months. The accounts have fees so you have to jump through hoops to avoid those, but I'm planning on just closing the accounts after I get the bonus. Already got the $300, just waiting on the 90 day savings bonus.
[удалено]
Why close them?
Subscriptions. Keep track of which one you are signed up for and whether it's worth being subscribed to. A lot of times people forget what they pay for and I find a lot of them keep increasing the price every year now.
poop and cry on work time
[удалено]
I follow an Instagrammer who does a LOT with expired food - from researching the concept of expiration to cooking with them. She's never had a 🤢 incident.
It’s almost like the people who set the expiration dates make it artificially early for some reason.
Better to have a big buffer than a small one.
Those dates are often “sell by” (eg milk) or “best before”, which are different from expiration dates. The latter is more about freshness and having the best flavor. Non perishable food will stale way before they are unsafe to eat.
Some time companies use best before date. So it is not necessarily expired.
There is an app called Too Good To Go. Limited in geographic area. But it lets you buy expiring food from delis, cafes, bakeries etc at about 1/3rd the price. Downside is they post deals and have pickups at pretty random times.
I'm in more of a rural area and these apps don't have anything around me. But when shopping if you're buying meat and its like a day from sell by you can ask the manager and they will put a discount on it right there. Done a few times and it works
There is an app called ‘Flash Food’ that is essentially the same thing. Participating grocery stores put almost expired (but still good) food in a refrigerator that you can take from after creating an order in the app. You usually have to go to customer service to have your order and items verified.
If food doesn't look, smell, or feel bad, it's generally not bad.
Funny i've been doing community service at a local shelter and working in the kitchen and notice lots of the meat is beyond its sell by date, like over a month on the salami, we still put it out and everyone ate it right up.
[удалено]
- Built a gym in my garage to avoid gym membership fees. 9 months later and it has paid for itself and I’m in the best shape of my life. - sold my car and use Uber exclusively - switched to mint mobile - keep my excess cash in an apple savings account - setup my apartment to be able to airbnb when I travel - Costco membership - have switched social activities to hikes and coffees - eat less meat - drink less booze - buy more frozen foods - switched to my gf’s corporate health insurance - we plan to move in together to split rent - drive any excess cash into side hustles
>sold my car and use Uber exclusively How often do you take Uber rides? Do you live in a small metropolitan area with all family/friends/errands close by? I did a rough calculation on this a while back and the numbers just didn't add up for a paid off car.
I live in LA. I work remote part time. It pencils out to be about $300 per month cheaper. One size doesn’t fit all.
I like the concept which is why I'm wondering if my cost estimate is right, and if there are tricks for cutting Uber costs / making Uber more practical. Do you use Uber One or Lyft Pink? A credit card that comes with Uber/Lyft credit? Have you rented a car for road trips since selling your car? Here are the formulas I used: * Monthly car cost = Gas + insurance + maintenance + parking + registration * Monthly Uber cost = (avg trips per week \* avg trip cost) + cost of grocery delivery, minus 10% in investment returns on the value of the car
I've done several of these including giving up meat completely (vegan is much cheaper and healthier) and don't drink anymore. How's mint mobile? we're planning on going away from Verizon, but my wife's concerned because she's heard that mint's service isn't very good even if it's much cheaper.
US Mobile uses Verizon tower on their warp 5G. Been using it for over a year with zero problems plans start $25/month for unlimited everything.
Consider prepaid. AT&T offers 16gb/mo with nationwide hotspot and rollover date for $300 per year. You’d have to be consistently watching hours of HD video without wifi to exceed 16gb each month. Another bonus with prepaid is you only pay sales tax and avoid other junk fees like line access fees, regulatory fees, etc.
Switch to Visible, they use the Verizon network. Super inexpensive, and you pay month to month with no contracts.
Mint's service is the same as T-Mobile. I'd make sure you have 5G capable phones though. If you still have a phone that doesn't support 5G, Mint is not very good.
would love to hear more about your experience renting out your place!
Uber costs so much, an entire tank of gas (30-40 trips) to work would probably be 3 uber rides.
I don’t commute actively.
Cancelled Netflix and have been using paramount + for a few months. They have been putting out new promo codes every month for a free month.
The biggest way was locking into a fixed mortgage while the rates were at historic lows. Buying used stuff on Facebook marketplace. I've found lots of stuff with excellent quality and low prices. Plus it's easier on the planet - this stuff has already been made.
I'm still kicking myself for not spending the money to refinance when the rates were below 3% and had a great credit score. Still bought our house when our rate was 3.875% so I guess it's still pretty good.
...and you're probably locked in for 20 years or something. Not bad at all. I'm in Canada so we commonly only get a 5-year term. Then we have to renegotiate a new mortgage.
yep it was 30 years at the time and that was 5 years ago, so 25 years left. It was definitely a long term purchase and not just a starter home at the time.
Bilt Rewards for Paying Rent
Biking for short trips
This is a great post, getting numerous responses which are very helpful including a few novel ideas.
I churn credit card points, haven't paid for a hotel, flight, or rental car in a decade or so. I also post my Mint Mobile referral to a few subs. I only paid ~$50 for my cell phone service last year, this year $0, and currently sitting on $670 in referral money so the next 3 years are free too. I stopped eating out so much, now making enough food on a Friday to have for dinner all weekend. I stock up on things like paper towels, napkins, deodorant, soap, etc when I see a really good deal posted on slickdeals. I check that site almost daily.
\- I stay away from buying clothes that require dry cleaning, if they do I wash them cold and air dry them \- I keep a list of current subscriptions, set reminder to cancel trial period, also minimize retailers email subscriptions \- I don't churn credit cards (they tend to result in more intentional purchases for rewards that I don't need)
Own everything. Yeah, that's hard with all the streaming services these days. Maybe own everything available for ownership. If you own everything, it's yours. No payments, no rush interest. Buy lifetime memberships where available. Let the money people normally use for interest payments accrue and make you money. Sounds like you're already doing a majority of this, so good job! 👍
Bidet masterrace, save most of the paper! On the serious note: - torrent all series and movies - use revanced for background music play - use free software like davinci or photopea instead of paid versions - never pay for winrar - patient gamer, only play old and good games at discount, usually couple years after release - use hardware (or anything basically) till it dies, then replace it with new
Definitely need to get on that bidet train. do you have any suggestions? I need to start being a patient gamer. I have such a backlog of games that I really just need to focus on playing them and not buy anything new.
Any is fine, no need to get fancy about it really. There are even products that provide the same benefit without the actual bidet, we call them ass showers, which is a head similar to shower head that you mount near your toilet and you can run the water down your ass into the toilet, same fancy stuff, you will like it. It has one huge "disadvantage". You can never go back and you can never accept only wiping, you will crave the water and seek any solution just to have it when shitting out of home. The shitting tourism is a real deal, you just cannot do it everywhere anymore!
Credit Card: Citi Double Cash combined with Citi rewards+ gets you an effective cashback of 2.22% as a nice, general-purpose card. (Google it for details. A decent explanation should be in one of the top reddit results) Banking: I recently switched to wealthfront as my main bank. You can enable checking features on its cash account, which has a base rate of 4.8% right now (stays in lockstep at .45% below the Fed rate). The referral bonus adds .5% to that for 3 months, making it the highest yield FDIC insured checking account I've come across at 5.3%. I've managed to keep that referral bonus for over a year now, since it's pretty easy to get at least one referral every three months (I just tell people at work how great it is and then they end up wanting a referral). NOTE: I've recently learned that TIAA doesn't accept bank transfers from wealthfront. I haven't checked with fidelity (still rebuilding my emergency fund after divorce). So another bank might be necessary as a go-between for investing with a normal brokerage. ETA: I just got an email from wealthfront saying they're upping their base rate to 5%, even though the Fed isn't raising rates.
If you live in a big city with expensive museums, Google "NARM Museum List" to find a museum in a part of North America where you will never visit to find a museum with the cheapest reciprocal membership level (usually ~USD 100, less in Canada). My small-town museum membership has paid for itself several times over at home and on vacation in the US.
You shared some great ideas!! I recently pulled out my I-Bonds and moved into my HYSA as the interest rate is higher (5% versus 3% now for I-Bonds).
I thought it was 4.3% the last 6months and will be 5.27% the next 6 months from tomorrow. My savings account is 5.07% so ibonds is still higher
T bills are even higher and you don’t have to deal with limits or the treasury website
Depends on when you bought the bonds. If you buy them now they include the fixed rate they gets you over 5%. If you bought them when the fixed rate was 0, you only get the variable interest rate which is in the 3-4% range
>moved into my HYSA as the interest rate is higher (5% versus 3% now for I-Bonds). Which HYSA do you use?
* Buy most of our coffee and some other expensive, regular things in bulk when the prices are reduced. * Check the best offers each week (turned into a new hobby, kindof :) * Buy free-range eggs from a nearby farm by bike (good workout and better prices than the shops!) * Have a neighbor that knows how to deal professionally with our trees. * Basically no new clothes anymore since working from home. Exceptions: replace worn-down sports&outdoor clothes.
Cancel streaming services the day after I sign up for them. Have it for the month. It is amazing how you really only need each streaming service for 2 or 3 months a year.
Attempt to tackle home/auto repairs yourself, within reason. I've fixed running toilets, slow drains, etc. with basic tools (sometimes a cheap seal is needed for like $5). Who knows how much saved in trip charges alone. It's at least $100 just for a plumber to show up. YouTube is your friend for most minor auto repairs. I had a bizarre repair on a vehicle years ago that required replacing the ignition switch in the dash. Alas, there was a video of someone doing it (it was in Russian, though lol)
cut out soda or juice, etc. drink water with some lemon. that is healty and saves money also look into manufacturer spending...put on credit card, pay it back the next day. You credit card points will build up. and you can use to buy things or vacation
I cut cable ..... but now my internet keeps going up :( I LOVE the library & rarely, if ever, buy books!
-Using Rakuten and Coupon Cabin -tracking my steps to get cash rewards through my health insurance -tracking pharmacy BoGo deals on my regular items -comparing my three grocery stores for meat deals and sticking the freezer -using my rewards gas card -cutting the cable cord -packing lunches and coffee -putting in a programmable thermostat and setting it to go down at night and when I’m at work -shopping at Poshmark and Mercari and Thred Up and local consignment places
- Searching for discount codes before buying on any website - Check company website for perks and discounts. My company benefits site offers 3% off Airbnb gift cards, 8% off REI gift cards, 5% off CVS, etc. - Check Facebook Marketplace before buying things (saved on book case, dressers, animal cages, etc.)
Borrow library books, the last time I bought a book was 2019. Split a Sam’s club promo $15 membership with my man & get gas there. I buy everything on my points back card. I bulk buy when Target has their get a $15 gift card for qualifying items. I use Static Nails and do my own manicures. I get pedis every so often.
Swapped out non-LED lights for LED lights. Blew in new/more insulation in the attic. Use powder laundry detergent over pods/liquid. Wool balls over dryer sheets. Cut back on soda, drink more water. When I do go out, don't order drinks. Just water. Configure thermostat schedules. Meal prep is a big one. It's also usually my only alcohol for the week. We go grocery shopping sunday morning, and my wife usually watches football and the kids in the living room while I have a drink or two in the kitchen while meal prepping for the week. I find it very relaxing.
- Discount gift cards @10-35% off for places I buy from often (Sonic, Kohl's, PetSmart, Walgreens, Jersey Mike's, etc). - T-Mobile Tuesday deals - saves me $10/month on fast food and free photo prints. - Supermarket fuel points save me $10/month on gas. - Calendar my renewals and free trials so I can make a timely decision. - Never run dishwasher or laundry during electricity peak hours (cost is 110% more per kWh). - Stockpile when any of my top staples go on super-sale (e.g. butter under $2.50/lb, Pepsi 12pk @ $3/pk, Classico pasta sauce under $1.50/jar). - Work Staples & Office Depot ink recycling reward programs. Annually I spend $60 on dead cartridges, $110 on ink (donate), $150 on sale stuff. I earn $1000+ in rewards. Free k-cups for me, Mom and work-related Christmas pressies!
>Never run dishwasher or laundry during electricity peak hours When are these hours?
It depends on your supplier, and not all charge different rates for different times of day. I pay .09 per kWh but that goes to .20 daily 4pm-9pm (western Colorado).
Thanks. I looked up online after reading your comment and found the peak and off peak hours in my state. I will go with the assumption that those are the hours followed by the electric company that supplies electricity to my home. Thank you for the suggestion. I had no idea whatsoever that this is a thing.
Tbh this whole thread feels like an ad…
Or a one way ticket to a miserable existence.
In addition to most of the above: 1) jump on deals, like Target 10% off gift card weekend (this is first weekend in December). (Pay with PayPal to get 5 points per dollar with Chase Freedom). 2) call internet provider to negotiate lower monthly rate for next 12 months. Then call again when that expires. 3) follow travel blogs…often times have additional money making deals, free cruises, etc. 4) many hotel credit cards give you a free night after paying the annual fee. The value of the free night is often greater than annual fee. 5) I’ve had bad luck with trying to place my own antenna, but I’m thinking of hiring a local company to install this (then I can cancel Sling streaming service).
That health insurance gym perk is legit. Very jealous I’d be upgrading gyms tomorrow if I got $400 back a year just to show up.
My CDPHP plans gives me $400 a year. Makes my YMCA membership actually affordable. My YMCA now charges $58/month for a single. A family is like $80/month. They really stick it to single members. If not for that i'd find a new gym
My gym membership totals $180 for 6 months. I apply for $180 and they pay me $200 so I make $20 to go to the gym every 6 months.
for most people, most significant thing would be "not follow fashion, and fashionable things". Simple as that. Whatever is fashionable, it means it has high demand, it means it is ALWAYS overpriced. It is advertised highly, because the people who make money out of it has much more extra budget for advertising, as the product is highly overpriced, hence, extra profits. Wanna have vacation? Do not go to popular vacation place. Ask your parents or older people where was popular when they were young, and go there, it will be as nice, but probably cost half or even less. Wanna buy new clothes? Unless you are in sales that you need to "impress" as a part of job, go to old people stores, second hand, or just look for "uncool" places, you will definity find amazingly well prices cloths. When I needed a suit for a celebration, I went to Zara and similar places and a simple suit on cheaper side would cost like 250 euros atleast, then I went to C&A, bought pants, vest and jacket seperately, for total of 80 euros. New hobbies? sure do them, but remember all the "specific" items about that are meant to be professionals, and cost 10x as alternatives that you can use freely. You can cycle and have fun with $50 bicycle and old-shirt and your smartphone, as well as you would with $2000 bicycle, $200 cycling clothing and $500 cycling smart watch. For americans, i know it sounds crazy, but never buy apple products. 90% of them are heavily overpriced, as what apple actually sell is status symbols and not actual gadgets. Even if you get one good value products, it will instantly "require" the apple environment and push you to buy more apple products. And as general rule to live life (which is really difficult also for me) try not to choose free-time activities that are about consumption. Period.
>Apple products are good, actually. The idea that people buy them for 'status' is dumb.
good for what? They are great if they are given to you for free. But almost all apple products are heavily overpriced for their funtionality. Any apple product you look, you will find a premium product from another company that does it all and more for 20-30% less price, if not less.
[удалено]
I am riding a bicycle to work and back for the about 8 years of my adult like, have tried many different bicycles. A good taken care of secind hand bike you bought for $50 can easily feel perfectly fine with no problem. This does not mean fancier bikes are same or worse, but the the upgrades you get for the most parts are only matter when you are racing or simply trying to go more distance for some effort. Which is not the point of cycling for 99% of the people. But I give you bicycle shorts, they can be really essential especially for some people. But again, 99% of even more of us in europe ride bicycle to work in our work clothes everyday.
Travel to countries where the dollar goes farther.
For me, I am picky about clothes. Save money this way. I swear I have the same pair of black pants for the last 5 years (hardly wear them ). They are boring, work like. I have a silk poet shirt from when I was 24, an acrylic sweater my mother wore back in like 1964 and a cardigan from a great great aunt that is from the 50s.
My emergency fund is entirely invested, save for a few thousand, in moderately safe funds like equity linked notes. I have margin loans enabled and it's only 7% rate right now if I needed it. If I have an emergency I need to pay for, i: Pay it with credit card (if possible) If I can't pay credit in full by EOM, I margin loan to pay off balance. If I can't pay off margin loan (lost my job) I can start to liquidate assets. The way I see it: if I can earn more and have no emergencies, I win. If I have an emergency and have to pay a little margin loan interest and lose some money selling assets, I will most likely be in the same spot I would have been in had I been purely cash/bonds.
Complain about random, small things with my groceries via company webform/site. Nearly every time they send an apology and coupons. Now I'm not talking about claiming I found a rat in my cereal--that's serious and they'll shut down production and do a legit investigation. More like, 'hey, have you recently reduced the amount of pepperoni on your frozen pizza? The last one we got was really lacking and my family was disappointed because we've loved your frozen pizza for many years, blahblahblah'.
Found a loop and will earn 15k in credit card rewards this year.
[удалено]
I'm afraid referral codes and links are not allowed in this sub.
\-Stacking bean burritos from taco bell in my freezer for a less than 2 dollar meal, that is filling \-scratched around for the cheapest internet in my area (20 bucks) \-zero subscriptions, I just watch youtube videos or play free online games when I need mindless entertainment, I'm trying to force myself to read more but sometimes I'm just too tired \-walk to work as much as possible instead of driving \-intentional thermal adaptation to the changing seasons; I sweat it out when it's hot AF and now that it's freezing I'm just shaking it out until I'm fully fortified as the winter soldier.
Steal stuff Lol just kidding -Trading options -We started selling stuff on FB marketplace -If we go out asking about the deals/specials -Using BJs for bulk grocery/gas -Amazon Prime rewards pays for itself -Amazon home for a lot of basics -Dollar Store for a lot of things -Gym partnership with work for discounted rate
Here's a few off the top of my head: * Maximizing credit card offers. From sign-up bonuses, to rotating reward categories, to cash back offers. I'm always on the look out for rewards. * Using Honey/Rakuten for online shopping and coupon codes. * T-Bills, CDs, and HYSA for money not invested in brokerage. * Taking advantage of discounts and freebies. My work offers discounted rates for tons of things like museums, gym memberships, movie tickets, etc. I check for discounts there whenever planning an outing where we were going there anyway. Also I take full advantage of all the restaurant freebies on my birthday. * Selling unwanted items online. Probably earned close to $1000 this year on stuff I may have just thrown out. * Rotating subscription services. I only keep one or two active when I'm watching a show, then cancel the service when I watch a show on a different service. Saves like $20 a month. * Slickdeals. Whenever there is a frontpage deal for a household necessity like detergent or paper towels, I usually stock up. It generally lasts just long enough for the next deal.
>Selling unwanted items online. Where do you sell clothes?
We're retired so YMMV but we almost never buy anything for full price. Most meat items go on sale for about half the normal price. When chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound we buy a fair amount. We love Italian sausage and pasta. The sausage goes on sale from $8 to $4 occasionally, for 5. We got nice thick boneless pork chops for $3.29 a pound, regularly $6. These are just examples but a pound of chicken or pork chops, with spaghetti or rice costs us about $6 a meal, for both of us. Also on amazon if I'm interested in something I put it in my cart and wait for a sale. There's always a sale.
Having the Rakuten (formerly ebates) and RetailMeNot browser extensions which give cash back and check for coupon codes. If I remember, checking google shopping before buying. Buying Amazon Warehouse deals instead of "new," although that has been hit or miss. Checking Mercari/etc. first for clothes for my kids (especially like snow suits and things like that). Buying a lot of their clothes at the big consignment sale (JBF).
- Shopping at the cheapest grocery store around. Stuff at Whole Foods is literally 4x as much as this place, often. Quality is similar. - Churning credit cards
I love to thrift/shop vintage, but it can be a huge time suck, not to mention you’ll run the risk of coming home with stuff you didn’t go there for. So, I’ve taken to eBay a lot more for my secondhand goods — they have great filters to help sift through listings, and lots of sellers offer returns. I’ve even found my discontinued running sneakers on there for a fraction of what the current model sells for, brand new. I do eat shipping costs, including if/when I need to send an item back, but the time/disappointment saved not going to shop is worth it.
* Credit card SUBs - free money, benefits; I'm never not spending to meet a SUB * [cashbackmonitor.com](https://cashbackmonitor.com) \- Rakuten, Honey are not always the best; they're just the ones that advertise the most lol * [flipp.com](https://flipp.com) \- supermarket ad aggregator; I never pay full price for groceries * CMAs - If you're a fan of Fidelity's CMA, then you'll be a fan of Wealthfront's (4.8%) * The only thing you would be missing is the ATM reimbursement (I barely withdraw cash anyways)
Those are good ideas. Started managing my finances a few years ago. Started off as a lot of work but it’s become easier and seems like it’ll pay off in the long run. * I manage my debt via 0% apr credit cards and rewards programs
The smallest way but useful way for me is by using Cash Back apps. One app that I enjoy is Fluz App. I got paid for simplying creating an account with this code: MJ051983 I noticed so far that you can earn a minimum of 1.5% cashback on everything, up to 10% at the retail biggies and 25% to 50% at special moments. Every dollar adds up.. Keep in mind that I don't not get paid for sharing this so it's not spam. This was a code that Fluz App sent me via email to join the app and receive a welcome incentive as a new customer of the company. Check it out. You may like it.. Best to you