Money Saving Tips - Discuss how you save money and spend less

  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
Here's mine:
* Brand bs is just as good as no-name, buy no-name for same quality
* Fads (bio, low gluten, lactose free) are expensive poor substitutes to already decent products you don't need them
* Rice/wheat/grain and yoghurt are great low calo meals
 
Not sure if this is the correct thread but what internet speeds do you guys have? I'm paying for 1 Gbps for $70 but they just raised it to $85. Thinking of 500mbps for $50 or 100mbps for $30. All I do is watch 1080p youtube videos, play vidya, do college and i guess download a pic/video off of the 'farms occasionally.

I remember 8-12mbps download speed in my childhood downloading steam games so I don't really see an issue with it, I'd just have to wait an hour or two to download some fuck off huge 70gb video game every month or so.

Probably thinking of 100mbps, my buddy in the UK has 50mbps and he says its good.
 
SOLDIER OF WALES said:
Not sure if this is the correct thread but what internet speeds do you guys have? I'm paying for 1 Gbps for $70 but they just raised it to $85. Thinking of 500mbps for $50 or 100mbps for $30. All I do is watch 1080p youtube videos, play vidya, do college and i guess download a pic/video off of the 'farms occasionally.

I remember 8-12mbps download speed in my childhood downloading steam games so I don't really see an issue with it, I'd just have to wait an hour or two to download some fuck off huge 70gb video game every month or so.

Probably thinking of 100mbps, my buddy in the UK has 50mbps and he says its good.
Click to expand...

I have 300/300 Verizon Fios for $50 a month. It's the lowest plan available but it's more than enough for me for browsing, streaming, torrenting, gaming, etc. I signed up last year with a 5 year price lock, and afterwards it will probably jump up to $80. Before that I wasn't even paying for internet at home. I'd just use my phone hotspot to browse and bring my laptop to work to download & torrent stuff to watch, lol. If I were you I'd go with 500mbps for $50, especially if the upload speed is the same as the download.
 
My animals decided that they love my vet and needed to visit her three times in a single fortnight. Lucky her. Unlucky me, because the next couple of months are going to be completely skint.

I'm after summer budget recipes. It's hot as fuck but most cheap meal recipes are for cold weather food, and no one wants to eat a piping hot casserole when it's 35C. If you fine people could offer some suggestions, I'd be grateful.
 
glass_houses said:
It's hot as fuck but most cheap meal recipes are for cold weather food, and no one wants to eat a piping hot casserole when it's 35C.
Click to expand...
For breakfast, I suggest blending milk, oats, and cheap fruits into smoothies.

For lunch and dinner, get some chicken and some frozen veggies. Dice the chicken, cook, and leave in the fridge overnight. Thaw out some veggies. Combine the thawed veggies and cold chicken with cold tortillas and cold salsa for a fridge taco. Alternatively, combine with cold mayo/relish/mustard/ketchup/condiments and refrigerated bread for a cold sandwich.
 
Squanto Airi said:
Is there a high yield savings account people recommend?
Click to expand...
Fidelity CMA (cash management account) basically gives you a checking account that gives money market interest rates. Maybe lower than the promotional rate a hysa will advertise but also won't be cut in half after a few months because they think they've locked you in. Also makes it easy to move money back and forth between it and a fidelity brokerage account for investing. I'm seeing it at 3.82% yearly return right now.
 
Squanto Airi said:
Is there a high yield savings account people recommend?
Click to expand...
FlappyBat said:
Fidelity CMA (cash management account) basically gives you a checking account that gives money market interest rates. Maybe lower than the promotional rate a hysa will advertise but also won't be cut in half after a few months because they think they've locked you in. Also makes it easy to move money back and forth between it and a fidelity brokerage account for investing. I'm seeing it at 3.82% yearly return right now.
Click to expand...
Can confirm what @FlappyBat said, I use Fidelity CMA and Brokerage. There aren't many checking accounts giving MM rates (my previous bank was something like 0.1%), and of course you can use it like a savings account instead (just don't write checks lol).

In the past I've used bankrate.com to compare high-yield savings offers, so you might want to take a look there as well. Just make sure to carefully read all the conditions of any offers. Sometimes the high rate is contingent on a large initial deposit, or some number of months the account must stay open, etc.
 
When my bath towels start to wear out I cut them up into dish rags to clean with.
 
If in doubt on food, become Chinese. $20 rice cooker from Amazon will last you 1+ year, rice in most areas is under $5 for at least 5 days worth of it. Tastes good, though you will get bored of it; adding salt, butter, parmesean, soy sauce, can help with it. It's a very versitile base. All things considered; rice is very healthy for you and has a lot of what you need. Can also be eaten raw like pasta if you're a gigachad.
 
Last edited:
drfuzzyballs said:
When my bath towels start to wear out I cut them up into dish rags to clean with.
Click to expand...
Also good as "floor towels" like to mop up stuff, or for use in the garage. Same with old undershirts when kids outgrow them, or if they're getting yellowed around the collar & armpits. I have a couple of big plastic bags in the basement stuffed with old towels & undershirts. Old tube socks are also handy for dusting/polishing.

BigMan13 said:
$20 rice cooker from Amazon will last you 1+ year
Click to expand...
Honest question (since we don't have a rice cooker), do they get beat up that bad just from ordinary use, that it might conk out after just one year? Even with cheap appliances like drip coffee makers, I generally expect them to last 5+ years, and we have a few around 20 years old.
 
Autistic Joe said:
Honest question (since we don't have a rice cooker), do they get beat up that bad just from ordinary use, that it might conk out after just one year? Even with cheap appliances like drip coffee makers, I generally expect them to last 5+ years, and we have a few around 20 years old.
Click to expand...
They're effectively low-power electric ovens with a bowl; they'll last a long time.
 
get yourself an instant pot, it's one of the best investments you can make and it's like having trainers for cooking. instead of soaking beans overnight you can dump them in the pot for 40 minutes and be done with them. also great for speeding up just about any long-term dish like chili, i have a killer recipe that will last me 5+ days at a time.
i didn't even pay for my pot, my sister got my mom one for Christmas but they dropped off two by mistake so I got it for free. even then you have no idea how much time it would save you. buy one now if you haven't yet.
 
sodaboard said:
get yourself an instant pot, it's one of the best investments you can make and it's like having trainers for cooking. instead of soaking beans overnight you can dump them in the pot for 40 minutes and be done with them. also great for speeding up just about any long-term dish like chili, i have a killer recipe that will last me 5+ days at a time.
i didn't even pay for my pot, my sister got my mom one for Christmas but they dropped off two by mistake so I got it for free. even then you have no idea how much time it would save you. buy one now if you haven't yet.
Click to expand...
Not the recipe thread, but I love slow cooking some meat in it and then pressure cooking some beans in the braising liquid and fat after. Been doing corned beef with an Irish red ale and chickpeas lately. I usually don't bother soaking them, just pressure cook for 50min and allow it to naturally release.
 
FlappyBat said:
Fidelity CMA (cash management account) basically gives you a checking account that gives money market interest rates. Maybe lower than the promotional rate a hysa will advertise but also won't be cut in half after a few months because they think they've locked you in. Also makes it easy to move money back and forth between it and a fidelity brokerage account for investing. I'm seeing it at 3.82% yearly return right now.
Click to expand...
Fidelity CMA is probably going to be the "best easy" if you're not chasing rates and moving accounts all the time, though I believe Schwab and even Vanguard might have something similar.

HOWEVER be aware that because of them fighting various jeetfraud, if you PULL money into your CMA from Fidelity's side, it can take like a hot month to fully clear (so you can spend/send it out). But if you PUSH money up the CMAss from your other bank, it clears immediately.
 
reptile baht spaniard rid said:
Fidelity CMA is probably going to be the "best easy" if you're not chasing rates and moving accounts all the time, though I believe Schwab and even Vanguard might have something similar.

HOWEVER be aware that because of them fighting various jeetfraud, if you PULL money into your CMA from Fidelity's side, it can take like a hot month to fully clear (so you can spend/send it out). But if you PUSH money up the CMAss from your other bank, it clears immediately.
Click to expand...
It takes so fucking long. And it catches people out especially when they open up the account and then learn they can't use it for a month. The one saving grace is once you're in Fidelity's system everything is pretty quick if you need to move money between accounts.

I looked into Vanguard. Unless things have changed they have good rates on money market accounts but you can't use them as a pseudo checking account like Fidelity's CMA, just store cash in them.
 
FlappyBat said:
I looked into Vanguard. Unless things have changed they have good rates on money market accounts but you can't use them as a pseudo checking account like Fidelity's CMA, just store cash in them.
Click to expand...
Yeah, their cash plus is more of a true savings account, whereass fidelity cma is more of a "everything" account that pays savings ratins so why bother? https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/vanguard-cash-plus-account

Some people like keeping things separate for various reasons, but I'm getting old and the fucking account dancing is starting to tire me out (he says as he eyes new checking account signup bonuses).
 
reptile baht spaniard rid said:
if you PULL money into your CMA from Fidelity's side, it can take like a hot month to fully clear (so you can spend/send it out)
Click to expand...
It's interesting that you've had that experience, I've never had any delay with funds transferred into Fidelity where it was initiated from Fidelity's side. It's usually been two business days for me.

I wonder if it's related to the "sending bank"? In my case the accounts I've pulled from were very old, well-established accounts, and I set them up as linked accounts to Fidelity right in the beginning. And whenever I've done a transfer, it processes just as fast as any other EFT that I've done with other banks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom