Posted on 12/31/2017 12:51:08 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Okay, it is the last day of the year. So what did you do in 2017 that saved you money? I am all ears and will be taking notes. In addition, I will lead off with my own moves to save money.
My biggest single money savings move of 2017 was getting Amazon Fire Stick for our 2 TVs. At the same time I cut out our cable TV. Net savings for the year over $600. This comes from saving $80 per month by cutting Comcast Cable TV. Actually I am really saving $55 per month because along with my Amazon Prime, I opted for $25 per month for Sling TV so net yearly savings of $600. One interesting thing is that I thought Comcast would go for a long sales pitch to keep me with their cable TV when they switched me to their account executive but I was pleasantly surprised when he gave me online TV streaming for no additional cost so I ONLY pay for Internet.
Okay, what else? Well, a lot of you know I am a heavy duty couponer so I figure I saved at least $2000 this past year via coupons. I come to that figure because I save at least $40 per week. Oh, and for those of you who don't think the time and effort are worth it, GOOD NEWS! You only need to use a couple of coupon sites to find all the deals you need. For me it is PublixSavings101.com because I shop a lot at Publix and the Mother Ship of all coupon web sites... KRAZY COUPON LADY. As to clipping coupons, things have changed. Most of the coupons I use now you can print right off the web or get electronically.
Another trick that I use when buying stuff online is to go thru the entire checkout process except for the payment. I just leave the item sitting in my shopping cart. Guess what? Almost always the company sends you an email within days offering a discount from what you would have paid.
In 2018 I will be looking for saving money on travel deals. I have heard the best time for booking cruises is within a couple of weeks when the cruise actually begins so they can fill unbooked cabins.
Okay, HOW?
We have it at 66 during the day and drop it to 60 at night.
Even in this very cold weather the furnace has kicked on maybe twice at night. When it is in the single digits outside and you are losing maybe 5 degrees over a eight hour period it is pretty sweet.
2018 will be the year of the wood stove.
One of those extras I want to get is a drink package. BTW, no matter how much the cruise lines discount, they still make money from the onboard casinos.
Eh! Using coupons plus my Target cartwheel I can get large DiGiorno pizzas for between $2 and $2.50. How much would the ingredients cost me? Like a buck? For the differential I would rather relax and not make the pizza from scratch.
T-Mobile.
Last cruise on Princess had six drinks during happy hour and didn’t even get a buzz.
In 2017, I discovered the Dave Ramsey Show on the radio (I did not know it existed due to the conflict with Rush). I became an accolyte, even though I was already almost debt-free. 5 years ago, my bills roughly equaled my take home pay. Now, without debt, I receive a chunk of cash every two weeks of which I use only a fraction. Life is good. Paid cash for my last two cars- factory-certified used is a good deal.
On land, not aboard
HEB - if you have one - now has a PLU for Crab Knuckles (really the parts that fall apart from the cluster of both snow and King) that is $5.97 - $9.97.
Today, with the mob keeping them hopping on crab legs, there were 1.5 lbs of crab claws and loose legs I scooped up for $7.83, which netted nearly a pound of meat, which will stuff the jumbo shrimp tomorrow for my Grandma’s 95th birthday party.
If you’re willing to crack and pick, you’ll have prime meat for omelettes, hot dips, spreads, salads for cheaper than their cheapest shrimp.
We invested in the highest efficiency boiler money can buy and are saving oodles on heating costs. Same goes for the on demand water heater. It makes for a cozy home.
It's too late now but you just missed out on the yearly Bed & Bath deal for high quality $3 shower gel (normally sells for $12 to $15). I already ordered a bunch last week for my wife as I do every year and it should arrive soon. For myself, I have a stockpile of Body Wash, Dove and Nivea, that I got FREE or close to it with coupons. Enough to last another year.
I have always maxxed out my 401k, same with Mr. RooRoo. We paid off our house in 2004, put the saved mortage amount into mutual funds. At the time we did this, everyone looked at us like we were insane moonbats, we didn’t know anyone who had paid off their home.
Thanks to a Trump economy and good portfolio management by Mr Roo Roo, we crossed the 2 million dollar mark in 2017—and that does not include the equity in our paid-off home. Mr Roo Roo took early retirement in 2014, I will be retiring by the end of 2018. We are both 62 years old.
We both have long term care (nursing home) insurance. We pay about $100 per month each for a benefit of $8000 per month(each). A lot of people don’t understand that Medicare DOES NOT pay for nursing home care. You can build up a nice nest egg for retirement and have it mercilessly looted by the cost of nursing home care.
“We dont buy a new car every year. “
People do that? I’m driving a 2000 F-150
$35 for 5GB with Cricket. Phone was $20.
And charcoal is unaffected by cold. My propane grill doesn’t like cold weather
Think where you would be if the money you used to pay off your house had stayed in the Trump marker!
“We pay about $100 per month each for a benefit of $8000 per month(each). “
When did you start your policy?
Retired to the cabin on the lake in January. First thing I did was install a wood stove. It was supposed to be secondary heat but it quickly became primary and my electric bill shows it. I figured it would pay for itself in five years; it looks now like less than three. Been quite a winter.
Good series.
A lot of that historical TV the British make is really well done.
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