• LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

Does anyone have any money saving tips for the recession?

Buy from the farmers market. Used items/appliances are often as good as new.

Read the book 'Steal' this book", alot of it is outdated, but it can spark some new ideas if you're innovative enough.
 
I save money by taking lunch to work instead of buying out expensive sandwhich shops and I tend to buy ready made things like pots of cous cous, pasta, hummus with cucumber for dipping, innocent veg pots, some ready meals you could save even more by making stuff from scratch at home at the weekend or in the evening.

If I'm skint I stop buying alcohol. I don't go out drinking maybe stay in and watch a DVD instead.
 
Cut down on hot water use. Take colder showers.
Cut down on heating/cooling. Wear more or get used to the cold.
Unplug electronics not in use at the time.
Do not have lights on if you do not need them, for example when the sun is shining or you are just staring at a screen (might want to turn the brightness & contrast of the screen down for your eyes).
Get rid of the TV service. It is boring anyways.

No processed drinks, including juice. Water, teas, and tisanes are great and much healthier than HFCS crap.
No processed foods. Cook for yourself.
Only buy food at grocery stores. Look for the cheapest accessible grocery store (Trader Joe's for me).
When buying food, consider the price versus how many meals it will provide, not the volume or mass. A pound of nuts may be $5, but that will go a long way. A $3.50 pineapple by contrast is one meal (but fucking delicious occasionally :) )
Do not snack.

There are plenty of free or cheap ways to get exercise. Run, dance, pushups...

Bike when possible.

Do not smoke so much cannabis that you build up a tolerance.

Excellent suggestions!
All the little things add up.

I'm not sure if this happens in other countries but in Australia, petrol is cheapest on Tuesday/Wednesday. We always fill up on these days.
 
Find the source of where you waste most of your money, and correct it.

lol agreed.

I've been living without a job for a long time now.

The key, for me, is being a complete and total bum.

I don't buy stuff. I don't want stuff. I don't need stuff.

I only spend money on groceries.

I sell anything I can.

That's about it.
 
I don't see how people find it difficult to save money. Here's how I save money:

-make friends with people who work at food stores or restaurants. I have friends who give me coffee for free, meals 60% off, and foodstuffs like 25% off. same goes for club promoters and bouncers to save on entertainment costs
-don't drink. Alcohol is really expensive for what it is, more so than weed. and if you just drink water at the bar, you remember more and don't make a fool out of yourself
-I only drink water or tea

-I walk everywhere or take the bus, and when I take the bus I never pay the full amount
-buy basic staples in bulk, get used to repetitive food and buy cheap multivitamins
-if you don't want to spend lots of money on heating, sleeping with a candle (that is ensured it won't start a fire) burning generates a great deal of heat
-learn to wash clothes by hand and hang them to dry
-don't bother buying anything you can get on the internet for free
-do everything lacey said
 
Last edited by a moderator:

I don't see how people find it difficult to save money. Here's how I save money:

-make friends with people who work at food stores or restaurants. I have friends who give me coffee for free, meals 60% off, and foodstuffs like 25% off. same goes for club promoters and bouncers to save on entertainment costs
-don't drink. Alcohol is really expensive for what it is, more so than weed. and if you just drink water at the bar, you remember more and don't make a fool out of yourself
-I only drink water or tea
-I walk everywhere or take the bus, and when I take the bus I never pay the full amount
-buy basic staples in bulk, get used to repetitive food and buy cheap multivitamins
-if you don't want to spend lots of money on heating, sleeping with a candle (that is ensured it won't start a fire) burning generates a great deal of heat
-learn to wash clothes by hand and hang them to dry
-don't bother buying anything you can get on the internet for free
-do everything lacey said

This is NOT meant to judge you as a human being, but you DO realize that a couple of the ideas you proposed are unethical, and another one could (unfairly, I concede) wind you up in prison, correct?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lovelife hits the ball out of the park again with this one, and lacy will even have to admit, even though she didn't mention it:

Exercising your mind adds value to your life and doesn't cost you shit. How much fun can you have drawing on printer paper you stole from the library with a pen you found on the ground? infinite, its free, and in 8 months you'll be tattooing fools and selling drawings (in theory)

Lacy, what you said about eating rice is true, but eating a butter and sugar sandwich while you spend money on weed or heroin is InSAnE
 
This is NOT meant to judge you as a human being, but you DO realize that a couple of the ideas you proposed are unethical, and another one could (unfairly, I concede) wind you up in prison, correct?
which one of those things he said could land you in prison? i don't see anything unethical...? i don't see any risk in selling small amounts of bud to close friends.
 
This is NOT meant to judge you as a human being, but you DO realize that a couple of the ideas you proposed are unethical, and another one could (unfairly, I concede) wind you up in prison, correct?

A Coca-Cola subsidiary had union officials assasinated, but thats good business because they have billion dollar profits, not unethical.

It is unfair and unethical that the Media Corporations deprive society of our culture.
 
And let's all keep in mind that at the moment, selling drugs (in small or large amounts) is illegal. End of story.
 
^good points.


keep an eye out for items that have been stocked improperly. if an employee places an item where a cheaper item belongs most stores have a policy where they have to sell it to you at the mistakenly labeled price.
 
shop at big lots, you can save SO MUCH money on food. keep your tires aired up properly. also if you buy new tires, DO YOUR RESEARCH! there is only like 4 manufacturers of tires and they brand them different and charge more for popular names. same goes with batteries. unplug your microwave/stereos and computer when possible.

sorry if reposts, havnt read the thread.
 
Only if you keep track of it. At least when using debit you can track your purchases, with cash it is much harder unless you are writing it down. The act of physically handling cash doesn't mean much.

I agree. I've been using cash for the past year living in Asian countries where plastic money pretty much doesn't exist. Cash tends to be ephemeral and difficult to track.
 
I agree with a lot of the things in this thread.

One other thing is to sell stuff you have accumulated that you don't really need anymore, like old electronics, clothes, shoes, furniture, books, etc. I have sold a lot of my stuff on amazon, craigslist, ebay, and facebook. Its nice to have the extra space and cash in the pocket for things you need like food and bills.
 
Diligently track your spending for one month. I mean track every single thing you've spent any amount of money on. I think when you go over that list, you will see plenty of ways to save. A good intermediate step is to categorize all entries into two columns: Necessary and Unnecessary.
 
I've decided to try and breed crickets. When baked in the oven they have a really nice nutty flavor apparently. Anyone who has a problem with eating insects should recognize that they are a minority and have been brainwashed by their culture. Insects are HIGHLY nutritious and can taste excellent once you get over the squeamish factor.
 
Top