I love how you start off saying you have had times when you didn't have two pennies to rub together. It's so important that we normalize going from needing those pennies and working on savings. Great job!
Try unplugging stuff if you are not in the process of using it. Toaster, coffee maker, lamps, hairdryer,etc. This cut my electric bill in half in one month. The only items always plugged in are the fridge, stove, freezer. My usage dropped to 8kwh a month...bill is now less than $40 each month consistently.
@@bnbtemple5936 ..really interested to hear how this works out for you. Took me about a week to get in the habit, but the savings have been so worth it. Wishing you the best.
Great video, Jennifer! I just started borrowing books from the library and I’m loving it. It also encourages me to read more when I have a return date :)
That very soft pink sweater is a flattering color on you, Jennifer. Over the years, we have found a refrigerator, stove & dishwasher in the scratch & dent aisle at Lowe's. We got a $2,000 refrigerator for $800. And we used Lowe's gift cards to buy it which gave us $800 worth of fuel points off gas.
@@THEJENNIFERCOOK Also, you can make recommendations of books that the library doesn’t own & they will let you know if they purchase them. Get the app that links to your library on your phone/iPad to get ebooks or audiobooks. Ask your librarian how it works in your city. 🌻
Yes, check if your library has a subscription to Overdrive & Hoopla. You can borrow audio books on both. You can also borrow & stream movies on Hoopla.
Great tips. I just cleaned out my closet and brought a lot of clothes to a consignment shop near me. Once they sell I get a portion. I could try to sell on Poshmark or marketplace but I just wanted them outta here
Oh and speaking of water leaks now that sprinklers are going back on, those are the biggest culprits for water leaks! I regularly, methodically check ours out.
Many gas stations in our area give us a discount for paying in cash, so we always withdraw our gasoline budget each month in cash and put it in a special envelope that goes with us when we need to gas up the car.
Regarding automatic debit for utilities -- we've been using that successfully for years. Our utility company emails us our bill about a week or so before the debit will be made. This gives us a chance to check the bill and contact them and clear anything up before it's debited. Also, with our gas & electric company, we are able to dictate a maximum amount they can automatically deduct (and we can change it online if needed too). That way they won't mistakenly debit an outrageous amount. That does mean, though, that if needed we have to set up a payment online for the balance if it turns out to be a legitimate charge.
Also, see if your local area has one of those book swaps or free book libraries where people leave their books they no longer need and can select a book they would like to take
Library has TV show series on DVDs that you can borrow for free. No need for paid TV subscription services to watch your shows. Also check if your library has a Hoopla subscription & other digital streaming services where you can stream movies & TV shows for free.
I love you recommending utilizing your local library for free books, DVD's etc. We haven't paid for TV access in almost 15 years by checking out DVD's from our library instead. Yes, we have to wait a bit for some TV shows to come out on DVD but it's great to watch them for free. That works for us, because our local area library system lets you borrow any DVD from any other libraries in its system and you can have it transported for free to the library of your choice (and return it to that same library). I don't know how many other library systems do that but it works well in our area. We also will watch some shows via our laptop by going directly to the TV network's website. For example, ABC will let you watch many of their current shows without paying a fee (f you're willing to wait a week after it has been aired), but you do need to sit through the ads.
My water bill went up $100 one month because I hadn’t noticed that the toilet in the spare bathroom had developed a leaky flapper and was constantly running!! That will get your attention!!
Since the pademic I have lowered my cell phone bill by 15 bc I realized I was paying for extra internet. Ive been home for a year so I just use the wifi in my apartment!
I was 25 years old, had recently started my career as a nurse and bought my first house. I had a very tight budget, but knew I would get raises over the years. At the end of each year I would add up all of my expenses (car insurance, house insurance, mortgage, utilities etc). If my expenses over the year went up, I would make adjustments and cut out things to bring my expenses back down to my initial expenses when I moved into the house. My husband and I now do that yearly as well. We just called our internet company because our “promotion” ended and asked about new promotions. Amazingly, out internet price will drop this next year. We also shop around for new car/house insurance every few years as well. We’ve switched several times due to better prices.
Great video thanks. Another idea if you have kids in school uniforms is look on Facebook for parents groups for your child's school or a local group dedicated to swapping and selling second hand school uniforms. Kids grow out of things so fast so its great to get a better price if you can- although lots of schools in Australia have school uniforms but not sure if that's the case in the U.S.
My late mother-in-law had a tip that I never heard of. She kept a tally of each wash load and dryer load she did. She paid herself 25 cents for each wash and dry. When the tally reached $10, she wrote a check for that amount and put it under her desk blotter. When either the washer or dryer required repair or died, she took out all the $10 checks, voided them and wrote a check for the repairs or a new appliance. Since she'd been saving 25 cents a load, her budget never took a hard hit for repair or replacement. This was quite a few years ago when you could do a wash at a laundromat for 25 cents and the same for drying. Today, you'd have to set aside about $1.50 for each wash and $1.00 for each dry.
These are great ideas! Thank you ❤ I’m a stay at home mom and my husbands work slowed down this summer so I’m trying to figure out ways to help our family
I worked 1 PT job and various per diem jobs over the years at times I was working more the 40 hrs. a week. My last per diem job went directly into a different account. I did not touch that money until I needed a new car. The payments came directly out of that account ( I had 0% interest) I retired in November and just made a bunch of extra payments and the car is paid off 2 weeks ago. Yes there is still money in that account. It can sit there until needed. Guess it is a sinking fund. I also use buy nothing in my area to get or give what is needed by my home or for others.
My husband and I have been looking around for a cheaper cell phone service provider because ours is so expensive. The other day when the bill came, we discovered that our rate went up. My husband called them and let them know we were thinking of switching companies and he was able to negotiate a significantly lower rate.
Two days ago, my phone refused to charge. I went to 2 places to try to get repairs. No luck. Best Buy told me its lowest price phone was $180. I told them that was about $130 too much, walked out and went to Target, where I got a phone for $50. It pays to research!
You can save easily with food; mince beef vs steak; eggs and cheese and pasta vs more expensive forms of protein or prepackaged food. Also one meal a day.
@@THEJENNIFERCOOK Amazon Prime is 1 I kept this year. Pretty much because I was charged for another year - thinking I still had a month to go before they charged me. I will be canceling next year though - I find I don't order enough to justify the free shipping and I don't watch enough shows/movies either. But I think I will miss it a little!
Jennifer, I have a question, and it may be a bit off topic. With the prices rising on everything currently, do you recommend stock piling pantry and staple items? I'm just wondering if it's good to get a few extra things I use regularly while prices are still somewhat normal. Thank you!
Yes, I am wondering about that too. I have been reading a lot about the stockpiling trend and I am not sure what is right to do. Is everything really going to crash.
This might sound crazy to some but I drive around back of dollar tree and sometimes they have cases of stuff by the door or in the dumpster that their throwing away because one leaked
I love how you start off saying you have had times when you didn't have two pennies to rub together. It's so important that we normalize going from needing those pennies and working on savings. Great job!
Thank you so much Victoria!
Try unplugging stuff if you are not in the process of using it. Toaster, coffee maker, lamps, hairdryer,etc. This cut my electric bill in half in one month. The only items always plugged in are the fridge, stove, freezer. My usage dropped to 8kwh a month...bill is now less than $40 each month consistently.
@@bnbtemple5936 ..really interested to hear how this works out for you. Took me about a week to get in the habit, but the savings have been so worth it. Wishing you the best.
And I do not feel like I sacrifice anything... its still there and ready to use when needed.
Great video, Jennifer! I just started borrowing books from the library and I’m loving it. It also encourages me to read more when I have a return date :)
That very soft pink sweater is a flattering color on you, Jennifer. Over the years, we have found a refrigerator, stove & dishwasher in the scratch & dent aisle at Lowe's. We got a $2,000 refrigerator for $800. And we used Lowe's gift cards to buy it which gave us $800 worth of fuel points off gas.
We did the same with our fridge...what took the floor model and saved quite a bit...still works great after several years...
Instead of audible, you can get audiobooks from the library for free. In south Florida, the app is called Libby.
You can get audiobooks from the library, for free! Thanks for the list of ideas.
I did not know that! Thank you Carrie!
@@THEJENNIFERCOOK Also, you can make recommendations of books that the library doesn’t own & they will let you know if they purchase them. Get the app that links to your library on your phone/iPad to get ebooks or audiobooks. Ask your librarian how it works in your city. 🌻
I love using the Libby App to access books & audiobooks from my library!
Yes, check if your library has a subscription to Overdrive & Hoopla. You can borrow audio books on both. You can also borrow & stream movies on Hoopla.
Great tips. I just cleaned out my closet and brought a lot of clothes to a consignment shop near me. Once they sell I get a portion. I could try to sell on Poshmark or marketplace but I just wanted them outta here
YES! And the price of audible keeps creeping up. I have found our library has free audio books to borrow.
Yeah I just got a raise and I'm going to put it in my savings
Yay on getting a raise! ❤
I got a 27 dollar raise recently. I pretend I didn’t get it by still using the old amount for any purchases!
Oh and speaking of water leaks now that sprinklers are going back on, those are the biggest culprits for water leaks! I regularly, methodically check ours out.
Many gas stations in our area give us a discount for paying in cash, so we always withdraw our gasoline budget each month in cash and put it in a special envelope that goes with us when we need to gas up the car.
Regarding automatic debit for utilities -- we've been using that successfully for years. Our utility company emails us our bill about a week or so before the debit will be made. This gives us a chance to check the bill and contact them and clear anything up before it's debited. Also, with our gas & electric company, we are able to dictate a maximum amount they can automatically deduct (and we can change it online if needed too). That way they won't mistakenly debit an outrageous amount. That does mean, though, that if needed we have to set up a payment online for the balance if it turns out to be a legitimate charge.
Also, see if your local area has one of those book swaps or free book libraries where people leave their books they no longer need and can select a book they would like to take
Library has TV show series on DVDs that you can borrow for free. No need for paid TV subscription services to watch your shows. Also check if your library has a Hoopla subscription & other digital streaming services where you can stream movies & TV shows for free.
I love you recommending utilizing your local library for free books, DVD's etc. We haven't paid for TV access in almost 15 years by checking out DVD's from our library instead. Yes, we have to wait a bit for some TV shows to come out on DVD but it's great to watch them for free. That works for us, because our local area library system lets you borrow any DVD from any other libraries in its system and you can have it transported for free to the library of your choice (and return it to that same library). I don't know how many other library systems do that but it works well in our area. We also will watch some shows via our laptop by going directly to the TV network's website. For example, ABC will let you watch many of their current shows without paying a fee (f you're willing to wait a week after it has been aired), but you do need to sit through the ads.
My water bill went up $100 one month because I hadn’t noticed that the toilet in the spare bathroom had developed a leaky flapper and was constantly running!! That will get your attention!!
Pesky flapper! 😊
Yikes. Thanks, will definitely be checking for water issues on a weekly basis...our local prices just went up,so good habit to create
Since the pademic I have lowered my cell phone bill by 15 bc I realized I was paying for extra internet. Ive been home for a year so I just use the wifi in my apartment!
I was 25 years old, had recently started my career as a nurse and bought my first house. I had a very tight budget, but knew I would get raises over the years. At the end of each year I would add up all of my expenses (car insurance, house insurance, mortgage, utilities etc). If my expenses over the year went up, I would make adjustments and cut out things to bring my expenses back down to my initial expenses when I moved into the house.
My husband and I now do that yearly as well. We just called our internet company because our “promotion” ended and asked about new promotions. Amazingly, out internet price will drop this next year.
We also shop around for new car/house insurance every few years as well. We’ve switched several times due to better prices.
You got this congratulations on becoming a nurse it will get better I'm 33 I need to get cna and that means back to school:(
Great video thanks. Another idea if you have kids in school uniforms is look on Facebook for parents groups for your child's school or a local group dedicated to swapping and selling second hand school uniforms. Kids grow out of things so fast so its great to get a better price if you can- although lots of schools in Australia have school uniforms but not sure if that's the case in the U.S.
My late mother-in-law had a tip that I never heard of. She kept a tally of each wash load and dryer load she did. She paid herself 25 cents for each wash and dry. When the tally reached $10, she wrote a check for that amount and put it under her desk blotter. When either the washer or dryer required repair or died, she took out all the $10 checks, voided them and wrote a check for the repairs or a new appliance. Since she'd been saving 25 cents a load, her budget never took a hard hit for repair or replacement. This was quite a few years ago when you could do a wash at a laundromat for 25 cents and the same for drying. Today, you'd have to set aside about $1.50 for each wash and $1.00 for each dry.
Wow!
I love this!
These are great ideas! Thank you ❤ I’m a stay at home mom and my husbands work slowed down this summer so I’m trying to figure out ways to help our family
I worked 1 PT job and various per diem jobs over the years at times I was working more the 40 hrs. a week. My last per diem job went directly into a different account. I did not touch that money until I needed a new car. The payments came directly out of that account ( I had 0% interest) I retired in November and just made a bunch of extra payments and the car is paid off 2 weeks ago. Yes there is still money in that account. It can sit there until needed. Guess it is a sinking fund. I also use buy nothing in my area to get or give what is needed by my home or for others.
That’s great!
My husband and I have been looking around for a cheaper cell phone service provider because ours is so expensive. The other day when the bill came, we discovered that our rate went up. My husband called them and let them know we were thinking of switching companies and he was able to negotiate a significantly lower rate.
Yay!
Two days ago, my phone refused to charge. I went to 2 places to try to get repairs. No luck. Best Buy told me its lowest price phone was $180. I told them that was about $130 too much, walked out and went to Target, where I got a phone for $50. It pays to research!
You can save easily with food; mince beef vs steak; eggs and cheese and pasta vs more expensive forms of protein or prepackaged food. Also one meal a day.
We get a $10 per month savings on our cell phone bill by having auto draft. We always get the bill notification ahead of time to review.
I cancelled all my subscriptions this year except for 1 streaming service and Amazon Prime. It feels so freeing!
Sara how did you feel after canceling prime?
@@THEJENNIFERCOOK Amazon Prime is 1 I kept this year. Pretty much because I was charged for another year - thinking I still had a month to go before they charged me. I will be canceling next year though - I find I don't order enough to justify the free shipping and I don't watch enough shows/movies either. But I think I will miss it a little!
First one here 😊 I love this list and have used a few of them.
Thank you Angela!
Also people moving out are giving stuff out for free.
Jennifer, I have a question, and it may be a bit off topic. With the prices rising on everything currently, do you recommend stock piling pantry and staple items? I'm just wondering if it's good to get a few extra things I use regularly while prices are still somewhat normal. Thank you!
Yes, I am wondering about that too. I have been reading a lot about the stockpiling trend and I am not sure what is right to do. Is everything really going to crash.
This might sound crazy to some but I drive around back of dollar tree and sometimes they have cases of stuff by the door or in the dumpster that their throwing away because one leaked
Wow! That is interesting.
Thank the for the great ideas
Keep your credit card balances low or at zero. A month not paying the interest that they charge is a month of free money.
Great video
What is the little white thing next to the flower vase?
That is a snow baby. I love them. You can usually find them at Christmas. I have 2 ornaments and that just stands. It is a little girl.
😂 I was thinking the same!! What’s that ?? 😂
Offer up has free stuff.
Where is your sweater from? It’s so flattering 😃
Hi there! I found it at Nordstrom a couple of years ago.
I love your sweater
Thank you Lisa!
Thank you for this video🤍