Share budget tips

[rainswolf]

I'm practicing my "Graduate school budget" and I keep going about $100 a month over...and I have to start it for real next month! What are some budget tips you've discovered? Of course, I'm going over in the "food" and the "miscellaneous" categories!

Comments

I should have a second doctorate in "cheap"

[fountaingirl]

Here's some of the secret squirrel tricks I figured out over the years. Please note that some require that you not be overly proud, and may make some folks say "yuck".

1. Make friends with your local thrift stores, and know which are best for what type of items. If it weren't for thrifts, I would be in skivvies most of the time. So long as some women buy clothes that don't quite fit, or do "retail therapy" and then get buyer's remorse, I will be able to find new stuff sometimes STILL WITH TAGS at thrifts. Best score: two pair of boots that sold for $300 a piece new at Boston Store, still with white tissue stuffed in toes, for $10 per pair. Try to find the thrifts that sort by size rather than just by color, that saves a ton of time.

2. Friends of the Library book sales. If you are addicted to books, and since you are an academic I bet you are, this is a way to feed the addiction without breaking the bank. Sometimes yard sales are good for this too, but that is less predictable and most feature Patricia Cornwell and her ilk pretty heavily.

3. Many public libraries have media rooms where you can check out music CDs for free. I am not recommending that you then burn copies however, that would be illegal of course.

4. The Friday newspaper. You would be surprised how many free things go on in town (author readings, concerts, gallery show openings, etc) and they are usually listed on Fridays. For 50 cents you get a guide to the free goings on. Sometimes a larger city also has an entertainment rag that is always free and they list similar stuff.

5. If you are a video addict, go for the month pass at Blockbuster or similar. I don't spend a lot here, but I have friends who do and it adds up to an alarming bill at the end of the month. The $25 for the month pass is a deal if you are coming home with four movies per week.

6. Farmers markets. You can buy great produce, often higher quality than in the supermarket, and the prices are very reasonable. The produce does not go bad as quickly either since it hasn't been shipped across the country (or the world) so there is less waste. It can really bring down the food budget.

Hope this helps.

Re: I should have a second doctorate in "cheap"

[jimotron]

Amen to all of the above and especially farmers markets!

Re: I should have a second doctorate in "cheap"

[max_j]

5. If you are a video addict, go for the month pass at Blockbuster or similar. I don't spend a lot here, but I have friends who do and it adds up to an alarming bill at the end of the month. The $25 for the month pass is a deal if you are coming home with four movies per week.
Or, you can do a monthly deal at Netflix.com for between $10-20/mo (depending on how many movies at a time you want), and they'll ship to your door. They have a two week free trial. They also ship fast and have a wonderful selection of movies.

Re: I should have a second doctorate in "cheap"

[westlin]

often community libraries have dvds or videos as well. And get friends with good collections so that you can swap them around...