It’s been nearly three months since my “Life On Less” post so we figured it was worth doing a quick update (and collecting more great ideas from you guys on how we can all save a buck here and there). You might remember that four months ago we learned I’d be bringing home four fewer benjamins each month, and we’re pleased to report – thanks to many of your suggestions – that we’ve been able to stick to all but one of the money saving tactics I outlined in the previous post: stop buying music on iTunes, cancel my gym membership, watch movies at home and cash in some credit card points. Here’s how it all went down:
1. iTunes out, Pandora in: Several of you mentioned Pandora.com in your comments and boy am I grateful. I love it! You just input some of your favorite artists or songs and it builds a custom radio station filled with similar tunes. You can even thumbs-up or thumb-down songs to help Pandora learn your musical tastes over time. It’s completely free, though – if you’re like me – you might hit your 40 hour monthly limit pretty quickly. But the good news is that it’s only $0.99 to get unlimited access (which is a heckova lot cheaper than my old iTunes habit). I’m totally addicted, and I have you guys to blame/thank.
2. Sayonara Netflix, Konnichiwa Redbox: Again, at your recommendation we realized there was a less expensive option than our $15 per month Netflix bill. With Redbox, you can rent movies for a $1/night meaning even two movies per weekend only costs you $8 per month. And we’re not even usually that movie crazy. I think we’ve probably spent $6 total on movie rentals all summer thanks to Redbox. Sure, the movie selection is a bit narrower (note: do NOT rent “Knowing” with Nicholas Cage) but it still gets new releases and keeps us plenty entertained. Plus, we saved so much moolah with Red Box that we splurged on one trip to the theatre. I let Sherry drag me to The Proposal. Does that mean good husband bonus points for life?
3. Credit Card Points = Cash… and Magazines!: When we cashed in our stored up credit card points back in May for an awesome chunk of change, we suddenly found Bank of America offering us some free magazine subscriptions too. Usually we brush those off, but when the list showed several that Sherry and I routinely peruse at Barnes & Noble we said “sign me up.” So while this isn’t saving us any money directly, it has meant fewer trips to chill at B&N, which means avoiding the temptation to buy books… and cookies from the cafe. Plus we drop off all of our magazines at a local book store when we’re done with them (they offer them for free to their customers) so it’s a great way for us to read them without feeling wasteful.
4. Tapping the Brakes on My Gym Membership: Ok, so this is the one I didn’t follow through on. After a few weeks off I realized how much a midday workout did for stress release so I caved and kept my membership to the YMCA going. Though my workload has kept lunchtime trips to the gym at a minimum, unfortunately, I guess I’m not strong enough to let this one go. So instead…
5. Restaurant.com Is Our New BFF: Since we’re still amateurs in the kitchen, it’s tough for us to give up eating out entirely. But befriending Restaurant.com has certainly made dining out every once in a while much easier on our wallets. They sell a bunch of $25 gift cards for only $10 which means (with a usual minimum purchase of $35) we can save $15 on a meal out. Not bad, but we happened to snag a handful of coupons during a 80% off sale they were having, meaning those precious coupons were only $2! That equals a $23 savings each time we use one! And I recently learned they’re doing that promotion again through Aug 13th. Just enter “PORTION” upon checkout to score a $25 restaurant gift card for just two bucks! And there’s no waiting for the gift certificates to ship or worrying about them getting lost in the mail- just pay and print them right from your computer. Genius.
So that’s our update. What about you all? Did you uncover any new money saving tricks that you can teach the rest of us? Have you been able to stick to your money saving schemes or are you still being a tiny bit “flexible” like me with my gym membership? Our wallets thank you in advance for all the great ideas!
Pssst: To learn more about how we pinch pennies here at Casa Petersik (ex: Sherry gives me haircuts, we brown bag our lunches, we share one car, etc) check out our Save It series (read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here).
Jenny says
I like this saving money series! Everyone has such great ideas.
I actually read a few good tips the other day on Oprah’s website of all places… http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/money/personalfinance/slideshow1_ss_omag_200803_saving
I also love the website http://www.mint.com. In order to save money, first you must know what you’re spending… this is a great resource for fixing your budget.
Keep the tips coming, I love it!
Gene says
Thanks for the tip on Restaurant.com. There are only a couple restaurants we frequent that are on their list, but it’s a great deal for those.
Redbox seems OK for mainstream movies, but really limited on other movies and TV. I think my Netflix queue is longer than Redbox’s whole list :-)
bungalowbliss says
Pandora is my saving grace at work when my iTunes collection gets a little tired. Lovelovelove it!
(hm, just noticed your disclaimer below the comment box. not sorry I missed any drama over the last crazy month at the bungalow…but i am sorry for any shiz-at you had to deal with–boo!)
Molly says
My husband and I have started shopping at the $.99 Only store for groceries, including fruits and veggies! We have several stores near us (SoCal) and some are nicer than others. They always have the staples we need and sometimes we find awesome things like soy chorizo and Numi teas. A few weeks ago we were able to spend $125 on two weeks of groceries! It felt awesome :)
Erin says
I just rented Knowing from RedBox today…wish I had read this before. I haven’t watched it yet though, but at least it was only $1! All great tips, I’m going to check out Restaurant.com and see if they have anything good for our area!
Emily says
Speaking of restaurants – http://www.rewardsnetwork.com Register the credit cards you spend with to receive up to 20% cash back anytime you dine at participating restaurants! (including tax and tip!) It is free to join and you automatically get the cash back each time you pay with your registered card at a participating restaurant. AND you can download the RN Dining iPhone app free through the App Store so you always know which restaurants to go to! :)
Kristin says
You guys rock! I too am a saver! I’m 26, my husband is 33, and we just left the Northern VA area to begin our PhDs in Florida. We were able to put a large down payment on our first home due to my ability to manage money well. I’ve been “couponing” for the past 2 years and have saved so much money. For instance, I went to the grocery store on Sunday and spent $31; however, I SAVED $58.
How did I do it??? I combine my coupons with the sales which are at the rock bottom price. I started learning about this through this website: http://www.thegrocerygame.com. It really helped me to learn how to shop wisely. It cost me $5 a month, but was worth EVERY Penny.
Then, I found http://www.becentsable.net which has “The Grocery Gathering.” There are so many bloggers out there devoted to posting the sale prices w/ the coupons you have to help you get the rock bottom price at your local grocery store. These bloggers are also GREAT about finding the printable coupons on-line. All you have to do is click and print!
My husband brags about me to all of his friends due to the money that I’m able to save. My first year alone, (shopping at Harris Teeter in expensive Alexandria, VA) I saved over $2,500. It feels really great! :)
**P.S. We’re low-fat eaters who enjoy lots of whole grains, fruits, and veggies. We ate for cheap purchasing the good stuff! :) E-mail me if you want more info!!!
Carol says
If you can delay your gratification, the library is an awesome resource for DVDs. We get DVDs for one week at a time for free. You can request items in advance. New releases can take a while, but we just put our names on the waitlist.
Amy Jo says
I second the not renting “The Knowing.”
Most pointless movie ever.
Nicole says
I stumbled upon your blog a few months ago and have been addicted since! Can I say…I love you guys! I just printed off $340 worth of restaurant gift cards for $27.40 on restaurant.com. We plan on using our first one on Monday…and giving away several to family and friends. What a great deal for not much moolah! Thank you so much! Keep up your great work and inspiration.
Bethany Joy says
Thank for the heads up on the code! We got $80 worth of cards for 6.60 I believe :) Three were regular places we love, and one was a FANCY French place we are dying to try!!
Brooke says
You can google ‘redbox codes’, and get a list of free rental codes. I usually do this before I head there, and then I email myself a bunch of codes and pull it up (on my phone) when I’m there. Usually it doesn’t take me more then 3 codes to get one that works, so I don’t piss anyone off behind me. That was our solution to our Netfliks. DVDONME and BREAKROOM work once on each credit card number.
sjb says
How did you get pandora for $0.99/month? I have been listening to it for free for ages, but when I just looked at the upgrade page it says $36 a year. Thoughts or suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey sjb,
Check out my comment above for a link to Pandora’s FAQ on the $.99/month. It looks like it’s an option only offered once you hit your 40 hours max per month. Hope that helps!
-John
Sarah says
You should try grooveshark – my husband swears it is better than Pandora. grooveshark.com
LauraC says
Ha! I third the DO NOT rent the Knowing! Hubby and I watched it not long ago (it was out on Redbox, so we Netflixed it) and thought it started out ok, and then it got worse and we kept watching it because it had to get better, have a point or something, but it DIDN’T!!!!! Glad we’re not the only ones who thought that!
Stephanie says
Aw, you didn’t like Knowing? I reallly liked it. :)
Ellen C says
Thanks for the tip about Pandora.com! Love it!
Julie says
There are usually rental codes for redbox that makes them free for 1 night!!! Just google them.
Averill says
Thanks for the tip on Pandora — my hubby LOVES to listen to internet radio and he’ll totally dig that you can customize your own station.
PS – Thanks for the update, too! You guys are a great inspiration on how you can live happily and still save money.
Julie K says
Sherry & John,
Thanks for the update on your budget and the savings tips. Out of curiosity- do you guys mention in reviews if a company is a sponsor of the website or if they’ve given you a discount/freebie in exchange for a mention in one of your posts? I love to read your various reviews and am thankful your advertisers exist- but it’s always appreciated when that information can be taken into account. Just curious. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Julie K,
Good question! We never offer blog write-ups about products in return for payment or free products for ourselves. Ever. We know how important the trust of our readers is and we never want people to think that we have an ulterior motive when we suggest an awesome product or service. If we do rave about something we love (like this vacuum or this paint brush) we always try to point out that we’re not being paid for those recommendations, we just believe in the product and wanted to pass along our great experience! So sorry if we didn’t make that clear in this post- we certainly just tried the above reader suggestions to save some loot and have no affiliation with any of the aforementioned products or services. If someone is looking to pay for exposure on our site, we always direct them to our sidebar advertising, where it’s quite obvious that these companies are sponsors as they’re labeled as such. Our in-post gushing can’t be bought- it has to be earned by fabulous products or services that we personally love. No iffs, ands, or butts.
Of course we do offer up freebies for our readers since about a year ago we asked everyone what they wanted to see more of and freebies were one of the most requested items. We do not get paid for featuring those products, but we do spend a good amount of time each week working with a vendor that we think our readers will love. We think it’s a fair trade- and notifying the excited winners each week is totally worth the effort!
We hope that clears things up for you!
xo,
s (& j)
Julie K says
Sherry & John,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I studied communications and did debate throughout college so I’m programmed to ask why/how people come to conclusions. I will admit in asking this same question to many other bloggers- I didn’t get a response, my question was removed, or they did admit that many of their reviews are in exchange for freebies of hefty discounts that they received. Way to go John & Sherry! Thanks for totally rocking!
jen says
Fairly new to your (ahhhh-mazing) site, and love it! Thanks for the money saving tips…as for music have you heard of grooveshark? I used to be a pandora-goer at work, but have since switched to grooveshark. The music is not downloadable, but it basically streams tons of mp3s and they have just about every song…check it out. (ps: you don’t have to join to make a playlist and listen!)
Oh and thanks for all the diy tips…I’m going to try to be ambitious!
Beatrix H says
I only want to comment on “Knowing”…I loved it and urge others who haven’t seen it to see it for yourself then decide.
Hollie says
OMG – thanks so much for this post! I just got two $10 off of Fuel Pizza for $1.60 total! Guess where hubs and I are going for dinner tonight and tomorrow night? lol
Love your site! : )
Valerie says
I always unplug all of my appliances (microwave, toaster, coffee maker, etc.). Pretty much everything besides the fridge! I also keep my TV unplugged and any lamps I use on a less than daily basis. I am convinced that this little effort saves me almost $20-30 a month on my electric bill!
YoungHouseLove says
Well, you guys have gone and done it again. Once again you’ve rocked our socks with all of your latest money-saving suggestions! We’ll definitely give ’em a whirl and serve up another update in a few months. Long live living well on a budget!
xoxo,
s (& j)
Laurie says
I must have missed the original post on living on less (how did that happen?) but I wanted to commend you on doing so and sharing your experience. All we see is big houses, expensive cars, designer everything…its refreshing to see nice, normal people living without all that (pardon my French) crap :)
Oh, and I can’t live without my gym membership either, its a necessity, not a luxury ;)
LeslieK says
I agree with the previous commenter about the greatness that is Mint.com! (check out a review on my blog here: http://tastyblogsoup.blogspot.com/2009/08/minty-fresh.html). It has helped us get a “30,000 foot view” as they say in the corporate world, of all of our finances. Investments, debts, assets, etc… it’s all there. Very handy, plus you can see trend information on where you spend your money and set realistic budgets. Love it!
Elaine says
If I may ask, how did the two of you get away with no student loans?? That’s a miracle!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Elaine,
It is a miracle! We both went to state schools (John: University of Virginia and me: The Fashion Institute of Technology- which is a SUNY school). Of course that decision alone helped immensely, and we both and earned a few scholarships before acceptance and worked pretty much from age 16 on (all through high school and college) so we even graduated with a little bit of money in each of our savings accounts, which we knew was no small miracle! I guess we’ve always been savers at heart!
xo,
s
Ali B says
I’ve recently starting grooming my dogs. Granted, I’m still learning but if it allows me to go a month or 2 longer before I take them in for a real grooming than that saves me about $80 a year. We also buy our pet meds online at a substantial savings. Another thing that we’ve always done is to share tools, etc with neighbors. This way, you don’t have to rent a pressure washer, chop saw, etc. And when we recently rented a tiller for the day, we had 2 other neighbors that used it as well and we all pitched in on the cost. Last but not least, we buy most things with cash. It really makes you think about your purchase when you’re handing over the Benjamins!
Hilary says
I can’t help but put in a plug for local libraries: Movies, music, magazines and books for free! And if they don’t have something you’re looking for, you can get it from another library through Inter-Library Loan. It’s wonderful on the budget and premium shelf space.
I’ve recently rediscovered my local library and I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is not to have to worry about the best way to off-load something, or about how much money all those free email coupons are causing me to spend. I never buy a book/movie unless I’ve checked it out from the library first, and know that I will get my money’s-worth out of it.
Amber says
The RedBox is the best!! My husband and I get movies from there just about every week. FYI I agree “Knowing” was not good at ALL!!
Erin Montague says
I am so excited to start using restaurant.com! What a deal! But I do have a few questions and I couldn’t find the answers on their web site. First, do the certificates expire? Do you have to use them within a few days of buying them, or do they last for a few months? Second, how did you hear about the 80% off promotion? Are you on a mailing list that alerted you, or did you hear from word of mouth? I would love to be on that list. I live in DC, and there are quite a few of my favorite restaurants on the list. Thanks for such a great find!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Erin,
Good questions! The printable gift certs we’ve purchased don’t have an expiration date so as far as we know they’re good for the life of the restaurant. We’ve even heard that if the restaurant closes they’ll refund your money or transfer the amount to another place to eat that’s still open. We’ve also redeemed ours months after printing them and it’s always seamless (never an issue with expiration). They do have some restrictions (which you can see online before you buy) like some can’t be used on Fridays or Saturdays, etc. But they’re all very usable- and so cheap! And the way that we found out about the discount was on Twitter. Someone tweeted about it and we jumped on it and decided to share it in the post with everyone!
xo,
s
Peter says
redbox sometimes has coupon codes for a free rental, usually on Mondays. The trick is to use a different credit card each time and you can get as many free movies for that day. The free coupons usually come out on Mondays.
Elisa says
Love the site and the money saving advice as well! A word of caution on “free” magazine subscriptions as I’ve been through this before: they will be free for a certain length of time (6 or 12 months) but will automatically renew themselves on your credit card after that. You will have to call the magazine (probably a couple of times) to get the subscription canceled and credited to your card. Still a great bargain, but watch for those auto-renewals!
Anita says
In addition to RedBox, there’s a theatre in our area that offers $5 movies (all day) from Monday through Thursday. So if there’s something we really want to see, we just make sure we go on a week night. Libraries and college libraries also rent free movies. Also, we cancelled our cable tv entirely and use bunny ears and a converter box. It just wasn’t been regulated well in our area and theren’t other options, so we cancelled all together instead of fighting them. Annual savings is a minimum of $1,440! Plus, we’re more motivated to do things around the house instead of sitting on the couch and we’re more well rested because we’re not staying up late watching nonsense shows. Not to mention that we’re not tempted to buy things after seeing them on tv (including HGTV decorating).
I started my own veggie garden 2 years ago and last year I didn’t have to buy produce until December. Like your $1 spaghetti night, I’ll toss in some diced summer squash (really easy to grow) or whatever I have in the garden and you have a meal!
Erin says
Everyone should check out couponmom.com as well. It has printable grocery coupons and if you do meal planning around your coupons all those $.50 and $1.00’s start adding up!
StephanieS says
My boyfriend and I have been on a picnic binge lately. Wherever we’re going, we plan and pack a picnic. We’ve done everything from regular old turkey sandwiches to fancy curried chicken salad (easier than it sounds). Add some fruit, salad and a bottle of yummy but cheap wine or soda, and we’ve got a great meal. No more fast food and spending money at a swim meet, outdoor concert, hike or trip to pick berries.
We also try to have “Candlelight Wednesday.” Since I like to cook, we try to make it a point to sit down together in the dining room with some nice music. We light the candles and really relax as we catch up on our lives. Just like a fancy restaurant with the price!
YoungHouseLove says
Candlelight Wednesday sounds awesome! Definitely stealing that idea (among many many others above).
xo,
s
StephanieS says
ooops. I meant to say, “Just like a fancy restaurant WITHOUT the price.”
marissa says
I have to agree with others that the local public library can be amazing. I’m sure it depends on your location, but I’ve been able to borrow tons of fun design, cooking, and organization books for weeks at a time, without forking over major cash like I would have to at the bookstore. I felt almost guilty walking out with such awesome stuff free of charge! I also found it to be a good substitute for leisurely shopping – same rush, no cash needed, and no need to invest in another bookshelf.
SamiJ says
AAA membership entitles you to discounts locally — I get 10% off my dry cleaning and 10% from my car repairman. Plus you can get discounted movie tickets and COUPON books for various outlets & malls & restaurants in your area.
And in some areas YMCA members get discounts at other places too (Bronx Zoo, Worlds of Fun, NRH2O Family Water Park) and some Y’s offer “Dining Cards” – discounts for local restaurants. Check out your Y to see if you get any membership perks!
And you can get discounts for a bunch of online merchants through your credit cards — for example Visa.com offers coupons for Target.com, 15% off at B&N, 40%off at Restaurant.com.
Laurie M says
Bookmooch.com is a great way to swap books with other members at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a book new. Libraries never work for me because of my work and class schedule. It can take me 3 months to read a book cover to cover. Book Mooch allows me the flexibility of reading books at my own pace, while still saving money and going green.
KC says
Re: the restaurant.com gift certificates– they expire 1 year after purchase date (when you print it, the date/time will be printed on the gift certificate).
Jen (Quad Mama) says
Hey friends! Thanks for all these great deals and ideas! Recently, like many others, my husband took a 20% pay cut, and we’re already on a QUAD BUDGET! Looking forward to checking out more from the series and the comments! Thanks for the sweet comment on our site as well. The paint colors are looking sweet. Just a few more touches and the walls will be complete. Thanks for the inspiration!
court. says
John,
Great heads up on the magazine subscription and subsequent donation at the bookstore. I am a huge magazine junkie and was delighted to see that I can get my fav rags for ‘free’ with my points. Even better, I can clear out the stacks of magazines I have at home to my bookstore/library.
Thanks for the tip!
Amy says
Thanks for the Restaurant.com tip! I forwarded your blog link to a bunch of friends and one of them just informed me that she got a $25 card for $2.
Sara says
Thanks for the restaurant.com tip!
In return here’s my mp3 tip; go to amazon.com MP3 Downloads tab and get their mp3 downloader and you can get FREE mp3s! They have a great selection and doesn’t limit your computers like itunes. Some bands currently on there with songs for free are Assembly Of Dust, The Apples In Stereo and Portugal The Man. Good stuff!
Alaina says
Thanks for sharing your ideas! I’ve read your blog everyday and am greatful for all of the inspiration you give. Shockingly I’ve never left a comment about how much I adore your house, ideas and great posts but today I have to tell you how thankful I am that you posted about Pandora! I am in love with it!
keri says
I personally don’t like Pandora. But I just had to let everyone know that there’s another website where you can listen to music for free, which is also my new obsession! It’s Grooveshark.com
Enjoy!!
Amanda says
Several months ago, me and my fellow employees were asked if we would be willing to take a day off without pay so they didn’t have to lay off anyone, which several of us did. Recently, the boss decided everyone had to take 1 day off every other week to cut back more. It sucks getting a smaller paycheck, but at least I still have a job. We are a small company, and our boss has really made the effort to try and keep us employed.
One thing I’ve been doing recently is going to the library for magazines and some books. Usually even if I was iffy about a book, I’d just buy it, but now I check the library or half price book store instead. Also, there are lots of great magazines at the library, some I would never have thought of getting, and if I want to keep articles, I just scan them into my computer. The library also lets you check out dvds for free, so this is another movie alternative.
For your vacations, check Craigslist Vacation Rentals section. My friend rented an apartment in NYC for vacation and it was much cheaper than hotels and she saved money by cooking breakfast there. There are tons of listings. You do have to beware scams, but it’s a good way to save money.
Marjorie says
I haven’t used Restaurant.com in awhile (not a lot of southern DE places…) but I do know that if you give them your e-mail address, or buy from them just a coupla’ times, they will swamp your e-mail box with promotions at least every other week for any reason they can think of. So, I no longer think of it as $10 for a $25 gift cert.–I just think of it as $5. So, don’t get anxious when you see the deadline…