Comments on: 100 Different Ways to Save $100 This Year – Part 2

By: Tara G.

Tara G. — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:33:30 +0000

We’ve had one vehicle at various times in our marriage due to various circumstances- I moved from Atlanta to Anchorage when we got married, so my car was sold. I wrecked our truck (I like to say I sold it to the insurance company) but we were trying to sell it anyway because we moved overseas and used public transit for those years. We are down to one vehicle again because my husband can bike to work. On the days he needs to use it, we stay at home. We’re a military family, and I stay home with our 3 children- it’s nice to save that extra cash each month!

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:47:01 +0000

We have cut off our cell phone. My husband bought a prepaid tracfone to use for emergencies. Saves $41 a month. We also downsized our cable. We only get the first 13 channels for $30 less. Love your site!

By: Jennifer @ Joy of Frugal Living

Jennifer @ Joy of Frugal Living — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:01:24 +0000

We did both of these back in graduate school – and lived just fine. While a second used car and pre-paid cell phones as well as a land line are part of our life today, we KNOW we could do it again if needed – and that’s worth something in itself.

Jennifer

By: Joy

Joy — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:45:00 +0000

We haven’t had a landline since we were married (and my husband didn’t have one before that). We don’t miss it a bit! The only thing I’m worried about in the future is needing a landline so our kids can use it if there’s an emergency situation. But for right now, it works out great!

By: Emilee

Emilee — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:54 +0000

We had one car through the first 5 years of marriage, but after my husband started medical residency, we got our second. With him often gone for more than 80 hours a week (36 hours at a stretch) and with such hours that public transportation is not a possibility, I’m glad to have a car so I can do what I need to do when I can fit it in my schedule (and not wait for his crazy schedule). But we have gotten along completely fine without cell phones. And sometimes, it’s absolutely lovely to have no one be able to reach you.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:24:49 +0000

I haven’t read all the comments yet but wanted to think out loud. We’re expecting #2 and are considering buying a second car. So far, we’ve been OK with one most times, although packing the 2 year old into the car when she’s nearly ready for bed and cranky to go get Dad can be a pain.
My question, though, involves all the back-and-forth we do to make do with one car. If DD and I drive Dad to work (3 days a week) in order to have the car for errands, trips to the library, etc. then we have to go back to get him, too. That’s about 40 minutes driving total, each way. I wonder if we had 2 cars (used and inexpensive, of course) if we would actually drive LESS, and therefore pay less for gas, upkeep, etc.
Maybe I’m just looking to justify not being “stuck” home with 2 kids during bad weather. Being able to get out is a lifesaver!

By: Karn

Karn — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:51:32 +0000

I have a cell phone which I put on my daughters family plan. We only pay about $10/month. For our land phone, we have Vonage. They advertise a line for $25/month. We don’t even pay that. We pay a little over $17/month on the under 500 minutes per month. I have only exceeded the 500 minutes one time and that was when my mother passed away. The bill was still only $21.00. There are NO long distance charges with Vonage. You can call anywhere at no additional charge. It goes through your computer. You do need internet access, but we would have that regardless. I recommend Vonage. Also, if your computer is down, your phone will be forwarded to your cell, so you don’t miss any calls.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:51:22 +0000

Another way to cut back significantly is to stop buying bottled water. Just get a filter of some kind and refill a washable bottle. Why by water when you can get it for free!

By: JC

JC — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:11:00 +0000

We’ve only had a landline when we lived in student housing because it was included in rent and now we just have cell phones. I HAVE been stranded several times so the cell phone is handy (if I remember to charge it and bring it We put our cell phones on my parent’s plan decreasing our monthly payments from $60 to $20.

We only have 2 cars because they were both given to us as gifts (Thank the Lord!) and therefore it wouldn’t be a good choice to just get rid of one as it doesn’t take much maintenence.

By: Frances

Frances — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:10:53 +0000

I was a little hesitant about posting my thoughts on
“Staying Ahead of the Disappointment” at http://www.FrugalFairhope.com/?p=848.

I thought people are going to think I have lost my mind or at the very least went deeply into depression. Well, I posted it and after reading your series I was right on the money.

I love your site, it is very inspiring. My husband and I have practiced these “sacrifices” for a long time, before the economy issues. It comes so natural to us we don’t even think about it.

It is so good to know that there are others out there like us.

Thanks for all that you do for us, the readers.
Frances
http://www.FrugalFairhope.com

By: Kendra at New Life On A Homestead

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:26:49 +0000

We recently canceled our cell phones. For all of last year we had only one vehicle, and we were fine. Our family felt bad for us or something though, and we were given a little truck. It has been a blessing to us though

By: Kayla

Kayla — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:18:35 +0000

Someone just recommended your website to me. It’s great! My husband and I recently cut back to one car. We don’t have any kids, so it’s a little easier for us, but I hope to continue with one car even after we have kids. He rides the bus to work, and I take the car. Usually I pick him up in the evenings. One benefit, besides saving money, is that we have so much extra time together. Also, you can use the one-car excuse to get out of social obligations gracefully. “Oh, well, I’d love to, but my husband needs the car that night.”

By: Rachel Keller

Rachel Keller — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:35:49 +0000

We are a family of 7 and about 4 years ago, we decided to sell our 2nd vehicle. At first, I was apprehensive, but we quickly realized becoming a one-car family was one of the best decisions we have made. We don't miss that 2nd vehicle at all, and the savings are remarkable! I write a frugal parenting column at Better Budgeting. You can read about "How Our Family Saves Thousands Every Year on Gas and Vehicle Expenses" at http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/cars/saveongasvehicles.htm

By: LBaier

LBaier — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:02:47 +0000

I haven’t had the time to read all the comments so I am sorry if this has already been posted. Our family uses a pre-paid Virgin Mobile. We have it on automatic top-up of $15 every 90 days. The balance carries over so we don’t lose anything and our annual cellphone bill is only $60! We do use our phone very little though so this might not work for everyone.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:40:48 +0000

We ditched the landline. But, there is no way we could get by without two vehicles. Hubby’s work is 45 miles away and I have to trundle the boys around. Certainly, if the boys were younger, we would be able to go back to being a 1 vehicle family. We didn’t get two vehicles until hubby started having to travel for work, in his car. I wish we still had that ability. I miss being able to walk to the library, grocery store, park, and pool. But, I love being out in the country.

By: Ashley P

Ashley P — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:07:06 +0000

We currently have cell phones, but my in-laws pay for them (otherwise we wouldn’t have them at all), but when the contract is up in May, we are going to get rid of them as we rarely use them except for convenience calls (i.e. I don’t want to look up the number and it’s stored on my cell). As far as our landline, it’s through our cable company and since my husband works for them, we pay less than $20 a month for all the whistles. I think having an emergency cell phone for long distance trips is a good idea, but I’m definitely not married to mine!

As far as car thing goes, we have three vehicles for two drivers. My husband’s company provides him with a vehicle that he is able to drive home each night (and pays for all the gas and upkeep). He has a truck that we pay state minimum insurance on for his personal use – although we could sell it, he likes to have it available. (We bought it prior to him having a company vehicle – when we were both working different hours.) I have a van that we finished paying on last year (paid a five year loan in two & a half) and I use it to run errands and take the kids places. We don’t live in town, so a vehicle to do anything is necessary. I try to limit the number of trips I take into town (usually 2 a week – church on Sundays and errands/library/bank on Tuesdays) so as to save on gas. All-in-all, we could scale back down to just the company car and the van, but the truck is nice when we need to be able to haul a load, tow a trailer, etc and pretty much is only used for those purposes.

I do have to say, however, that until a year ago, we were a one car family with both parents working fulltime outside the home and we made it work. We had to borrow a vehicle from my parents for a couple weeks when my husband had to do some travel out of town for his job, but otherwise, we were able to maintain a one car lifestyle.

Good Luck!

By: Jaime G

Jaime G — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:02:41 +0000

We are a one car family as of a few weeks ago… my parents feel uncomfortable with that, though, and have insisted that we keep one of their “extra” vehicles in our driveway just in case we need it =) I feel pretty blessed to have such a great family, and live so close.

Also, we have both a landline and a cell, but we need the landline for my hubbie’s home office fax line. Our cell is very inexpensive; I called and was considering cancelling the service (switch to TracFone?) and ended up negotiating my rate way down. It’s amazing what you can get when you just ask!

By: Yvette

Yvette — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:55:34 +0000

I’ve found a couple ways recently to save on my phone bill..

Skype.com has free video and calling to other skype users just purchase a good headset (I bought mine from Best buy for $30.00) You can call landlines or cellphones(non skype users for a fee) $60.00 for a year $5.00 mo to call anywhere!!. They also have wii-fi mobile. I talked to a friend of mine in Italy FREE thru our computers the sound was perfect. p.s. you don’t have to use a headset you can use your speakers and mic on your computer but a headset cuts down feedback **skype doesn’t have emergency service but see below on how I tell my kids to call 911 if there is ever an emergency.

Another way is with the magicjack stick you buy the usbstick. You put it in your usb port on your computer plug any phone into the jack on the stick and voila you use your computer and high speed internet. I think initially the stick is $40?? and renewing every year after that it’s $19.00(licensing fee)(you get directory assistance, voicemail, caller ID, call waiting and the phone # is all FREE) you can go to magicjack.com for a free 30 day trial after the trial you of course would pay the initial fee. I save $420 a year my previous plan with my cable company was $40 a month local and long distance.

I am also cancelling two cellphones saving $360 a year.

I keep three old phones charged and tell my kids if IT’S AN EMERGENCY they can still use the old phones to call 911!!! (my daughter accidently dialed 911 on a phone that had no service but it was charged, yes I was surprised to hear the operator on the other end of the cellphone that was five years old)!!LOL Really there is no need for my kids to have a phone since I am home and can come pick them up from school and they can use the school office phone to call me if there sick.

By: Eden

Eden — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:45:26 +0000

When we first got married, we had only one car. We rented an apartment within walking distance of my job so I walked, no matter the weather and DH took the car to his job. Then he transferred positions and worked at the same place as me – and we both walked. When we bought our house about 5 miles from work, we only survived 6 months with one car…I was salaried and kept odd hours sometimes and he was hourly and wasn’t allowed overtime.
As we worked our way through Baby Step 2, we talked about selling the car and keeping the minivan. But when we crunched the numbers, we figured out that it wouldn’t save us any gas money because the amount of driving would be the same, just on one vehicle. And the insurance cost is low enough that we decided to keep it. And most days, both vehicles stay in the garage since my husband prefers to bike to work now.
Cell phones – we turned them off when we got the minivan to pay the car payment. But a year ago my grandmother was in and out of the hospital and I was the main contact for everyone. It was really difficult without the cell phones so we broke down and got them again. And now my parents are retired and watching their bills – so they dropped their accounts and added on to us. So we’re saving them $50 a month.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:15:59 +0000

Our cell phone contract was up last month so we cancelled. We are going to save $1200.00 a year!!!!!