20 ways to save on a shoestring

[Michael]

How much you save has little to do with how much you make, a study suggests. So forget the excuses; here's a roadmap for finding money you didn't know you had.


And one of the suggestions is pro-veggie!


Go veggie. If you can do three meatless days a week (without substituting pricey fish), you could save $25 a week, which equals $100 a month, which equals $1,200 a year! Beans: Ya gotta love ‘em.


Full story...

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Savemoney/P36020.asp

[teddygee]

I like how fish is regarded as a substitute for meat.

[thebelovedtree]

No pet pamering...HAHAHAH keep dreaming guys.

[Amy SF]

Never spend your windfall? Huh? I spend my income tax refund on the necessities. Like mortgage payments, utility payments, homeowner's dues (required for condo owners), and the real biggie, my property taxes, which keep going up every year. I suspect most people lucky enuf to get an income tax refund spend theirs in much the same way. What does this person THINK we all spend it on, new furniture for our yachts?

[SeaSiren]

I don't get a tax refund. And pay just enough in to not get penalized when I do have to pay. Why let the government use my money interest free?

I love it when they recommend veggie meals! Now if all the omnis would just do the 2-3 meals per week, imagine the impact. Thanks for the article Michael!

[Ludi]

I spent my tax refund on taxes. Whee! What a party!

[organica]

And one of the suggestions is pro-veggie!



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Ha, I had an Occupational Therapist tell me to stop being vegan when I went to her in a panic abbout poverty!! She gave me a handout that said "buy the cheapest cuts of meat" & "get rid of your pets".

[Dirty Martini]

Never spend your windfall? Huh? I spend my income tax refund on the necessities. Like mortgage payments, utility payments, homeowner's dues (required for condo owners), and the real biggie, my property taxes, which keep going up every year. I suspect most people lucky enuf to get an income tax refund spend theirs in much the same way. What does this person THINK we all spend it on, new furniture for our yachts?

Getting a tax refund isn't "lucky" -- it's incorrectly filling out a W-4. ;)

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

I got 54$ back on my taxes this year and I was GLAD... everyone kept saying "What a bummer" but I would rather the Goverment get less of my money throughout the year...

[Coney]

"Ha, I had an Occupational Therapist tell me to stop being vegan when I went to her in a panic abbout poverty!! She gave me a handout that said "buy the cheapest cuts of meat" & "get rid of your pets"."

Cheapest cuts of meat? That would make me so sick to my stomach. Is she for real?? My insides are churning just thinking about that...


The government spends 30% of our tax money on war and war accessories. The less of our money they have, the better.

Eating veg is cheap if you do it the right way. I've started not buying the fake meats as much. It's nearly $5 per box here, and there are so many other things to make that aren't processed, and cheaper. I know if I get a serious craving, I can go get a fake burger or sausage. It's nice to know its there if I want it.

Veg stew, black bean tacos, falafel...all pennies on the dollar.

[evilvegan]

Yah, I'm re-learning how to eat real vegan food, like veggies and not bocas and that junk. It's hard, I got so used to not having to cook much over the summer, and now that school is in full swing I'm digging through pockets for change. Guess I have to learn to enjoy rice, huh? :P


A garden would be a good way to save on groceries...damn apartments.

[codemonkey]

Mmmmmm, canned beans and rice. Excellent fuel for a starving student.

[Amy SF]

Ha, I had an Occupational Therapist tell me to stop being vegan when I went to her in a panic abbout poverty!! She gave me a handout that said "buy the cheapest cuts of meat" & "get rid of your pets".

Get rid of your pets??? :surprised

Sorry, lady, ain't gonna happen. My pets are my children. Would you give people handouts telling them to get rid of their (human) children? Of course not.


*grumble grumble grumble*

[thebelovedtree]

Ha, I had an Occupational Therapist tell me to stop being vegan when I went to her in a panic abbout poverty!! She gave me a handout that said "buy the cheapest cuts of meat" & "get rid of your pets".

She would have gotten a big **** you! from me

[jeezycreezy]

Ok, so you've followed all these tips, you're now living in a cardboard box and eating from dumpsters with nothing to show for your life but a wallet stuffed full of cash.

That sucks!

I kind of skimmed the article, but what are you supposed to do with the money you saved?

What's so great about money if you've become too much of a cheapskate to have any fun with it?

Cheers!
TJ

[evilvegan]

I think the point was to use the pointers to get you out of debt, then how to keep you from going back into it. If you have the money and no debt, do whatever you feel like with it.

[jeezycreezy]

I think the point was to use the pointers to get you out of debt, then how to keep you from going back into it. If you have the money and no debt, do whatever you feel like with it.

Then why does it start with the single word "Savings" and use the word "save" thirteen times and have a title like "Saving on a shoestring" and why, throughout the entire article, do they tell you to save money and never once suggest paying off an interest accruing debt or loan and all the while never once using use the word "debt"? :)

Cheers!
TJ

[Tesseract]

If they have the nerve to tell people to get rid of their pets they ought to just come right out and tell them the truth about reproducing-- it's expensive, and if you can't afford a pet, you certainly can't afford to have human children!

I would argue pets are one of the most cost-effective mental, and in some cases physical, health devices going.

PS: I didn't think the point of the article was about getting out of debt at all. It was about saving for retirement. Sure, TJ, money is for spending, but spending it all now is going to seem a lot less like a good idea when you have none later.

[jeezycreezy]

It was about saving for retirement.

What is it with these online articles that expect you to draw your own conclusions and that don't have the common decency to do the thinking for you, huh?!

Seriously. I just saw save with no means to that end. :)



TJ, money is for spending, but spending it all now is going to seem a lot less like a good idea when you have none later.

Hey, okay:

a) Thanks mom. ;)

b) I live in the now baby! :)

and

c) Forget b. I have a personally tailored portfolio of mutual funds and RRSPs that I put money into biweekly.

I just thought that article was stupid and wanted to make fun of it due to my immaturity.

And, like I need MP Bloody Dunleavey to essentially tell me that I can save money if I don't spend as much. No s**t Einstein. The publisher of that website could save money by not paying people to write articles full of blindly obvious common sense. :)

Cheers!
TJ

[Tesseract]

Y'know, we could all be saving more oxygen if we just stopped breathing.

[Amy SF]

Y'know, we could all be saving more oxygen if we just stopped breathing.

:lol:

...but we have to make certain we dig our own graves and climb into boxes or burlap sacks FIRST so our families/heirs don't have to spend the money on costly funerals... :dizzy: