What are things you do PERSONALLY to save/not spend money that your residents would find appalling or just not worth it? I'm not talking on your rentals, I'm talking about your own life.

NOT smoking cigarettes would be a big one for us. They are SO expensive and the residents that smoke are almost always the broke-est of all... :( Besides the health stuff, they are just too expensive a habit!

Food: we never used to eat out as a family, although these days we will sometimes do the occasional treat - we've saved for it. But far more often, we still buy good stuff to cook at home.

TEMPERATURE may be our biggest thing though. We sweat a bit in the summer and are rather cold in the winter, by choice...

I am on a quest to pay no interest. We're down to only paying interest on our personal home (and some rentals, but you said no rentals).

The payment to payment lifestyle of rent, cars, motorcycles, water craft, Rent-a-Center, student loans, and Taco Bell from 3 months ago does not appeal to me.

I guess the biggest expense I save is on vehicles and on the house. I drive an 09 Mercury Grand Marquis which I got last year for $8,500 with 68,000 miles on it. The car had sat on a dealer's lot for six months because it is not fashionable. Before that I drove a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria for 19 years and 287,000 miles (I was the original owner). My wife's van is an 02 Honda Odyssey but will have to go soon, they have transmission problems and the warranty on the last replacement is ending.

On the house we live in a house that is just fine and in a nice area but we could do with something bigger for the kids and could afford it, except for the fact that we sink free cash flow into new units. Ten so far, accumulated in five years, with 20% down each time and an average price around $150,000. Yes landlording has its ups and downs but the first of every month is a guaranteed up and an occasional look at mortgage paydown is another. Besides, I am not cheap, I am careful.

1. Pay cash for vehicles.

2. Pay credit cards off each month.

3. Paying off last mortgage at accelerated rate.

4. Use coupons.( seasoned citizen )

1. I drive a very unflashy Hyundai that I paid cash for.

2. I don't have cable TV or Netflix. Just watch network TV when I do watch TV.

3. Old fashioned "box" style TV (although I plan to get a small flat screen soon and join the modern world).

4. Pay credit cards off in full each month.

Also, Pay credit cards off each month.

1. I paid cash for my 2002 Toyota truck

2. I paid cash for my 16 rental houses.

3. I pay my credit cards off each month.

4. I use 10 percent off coupons and gift cards from Raise/Cardpool to buy stuff from Lowes and Home Depot.

5. I make my own laundry detergent.

I drive a 9 year-old truck I bought used 8 years ago. I will probably drive it another 10.

I ride a 17 year old Harley I bought used almost 10 years ago for a really good price. It is still worth what I paid for it, only costs $200 a year to insure, and gets over 40 mpg.

We live in a small house in a good neighborhood for the last 22 years. My only rental property is bigger than the house I live in, but a much cheaper area.

Coupons, 2 for 1 deals, sales, etc. I try not to pay full price for anything.

we also lived with my mom with a few years while building up the rentals

1. keep warmer during the winter months inside with several layers---thermals, sweaters, socks

2. buy most things (clothing, shoes, toys for grandkids) at yard sales and flea markets

3. have been cutting/coloring hubby's hair for over 40 years

4. Hubby is my colorist-- I do get professional haircuts!!

I fill my freezer with deer and squirrel meat. In the fall, 200 ears of corn are frozen, 10 gallons of peppers and onions, 2 bushels of peaches, 15-20 broiler chickens, a lamb, 1/2 hog and a 1/4 steer. We eat steaks for an average of $3.50 a pound.

I make chicken stock 5 gallons at a time and freeze it. I also make several gallons of marinara sauce. Freeze blueberries, apples and pears.

So I save a ton of money and have plenty of food for winter.

I can also fix my own vehicle, but choose not to anymore.

Being able to cook anything with very little saves a lot of money for us.

I could micro-manage my personal expenses into the ground if I wanted too. I'm married, so I don't...

I don't cut my own grass anymore, but I am going to start again.

I buy Salvation Army clothes.

Oh, I forgot my biggest one!! I have a master thermostat on my boiler at my house. The thermostat wire is ran through conduit to a plastic 4" box with a cover on it. It is set to 50 degrees outside

Same as most here:

1) Credit cards are paid in full the day it arrives in the mail. Refuse to have any credit card that requires an annual fee.

2) Live in a town with a good public school district so no private school tuition for our 14 year old.

3) Usually go all year without stepping in a mall. Even a non-shopper can see something they want if he/she spends enough time wandering through stores.

4) 15 year (or less) mortgages and pay down early.

5) Get books at the library instead of the book store.

6) Have two paid off cars - a 13 year old SUV for landlording, one relatively new small SUV for running around and personal use.

7) Auto pay all mortgages and utility bills.

8) Will not waste my hard earned money going to Disney World. (However, I / We do travel frequently.)

9) High deductibles on car and property insurance. As a saver with cash reserves, stock investments and paid-off rental properties, I do not spend money for life insurance

I started to buy rentals (Single Family Homes) when I turned 18 years old. By the time I was 35 I owned homes, apartment buildings, retail and offices.

Since I holdings ranged from low income to high end, on the first of the month I had to do some rent collections.

Back in 1998, my poor low income tenants had:

a) Big Screen TV's (like $5000 to $7000 on payments)

b) New cars

c) Cable TV

d) Rent to own furniture

e) New appliances

At that time I had never purchased for myself new appliances, a new car, no cable, no modern Big Screen TV's or new furniture. I saved each dime to apply to my next down payment and upgrades.

(Not to say I didn't buy my wife and mother a new car and New TV's as needed. Even my grandmother I got her a new Color TV when I was 20).

Until I retired from outside jobs and constrained on my rentals -- then I bought myself a new house, TV's, furniture and appliances. All for cash.

Hmm you guys sound like my parents! I'm I my forties and I'd say the only two things I did to save money (other than not spend anywhere close to what I made in my day job)*** was to buy used cars and live with a roommate until I was 40, never paying more than $700/month (in Los Angeles).

I spend lots of money on everything else you all mentioned. You only live once and you can't take it with you. (Also you aren't really helping your kids by giving them a lot of money).

How do I save money? I don't. I'm almost 61, if I keep costs under about 15K a month we will never run out. Ever. Plus I still have this business that keeps me busy. I'm not here to live like my tenants. I tried keeping up with the Jones. It wore me out.

I drive a really nice truck and I get a new one several times a year. Business expense item. Just got a new, bright red 4x4 this week. Our other car we've had for 14 years now. So that's pretty frugal.

I got tired of the NewPorsche Beach high brow living in "The OC." I actually felt "poor" because I only owned an old 1970's Piper airplane, and my neighbors had jets! I've been pretty darn successful, but I felt inadequate. I made over a half million dollars flipping houses one year, and it was a drop in the bucket compared to those I was comparing against. As a photojournalist I have over 5,000 published images but it was never "enough."

I had a multi million dollar home at the beach but my neighbors homes were worth five times that, and some had three, or five! My cute little red Mitsubishi was new back then, and I still had the cheapest car in the yacht club parking lot.

We travel some, probably more than most. Just got back from Yellowstone. Had lunch overlooking Old Faithful at the Lodge. Saw a bunch of moose and elk, no bears. I guess we "saved" by taking a suite overlooking Idaho Falls, outside the park, rather than paying $350 for a room in West Yellowstone. Going to Hawaii later this fall. We save by going off season and renting a condo instead of the presidential suite at the Grand Wilea.

We are talking about buying another airplane and bringing my pilot's license current if I can pass the physical and getting my SO licensed. I miss flying. I really miss aerobatics - when we lived in Cali I used to blow about $2,000 a month renting an aerobatic plane and paying a instructor to help me not crash. I'm thinking of buying a Pitts biplane and going barnstorming in my old age. I love flying tail draggers.

I guess we save because we live in a modest house, with an amazing view. So we don't have the $950 a month electric bills of our friends with their big pool homes. That adds up to a new car every few years. Or ten days on Maui!

In the summer our ac is at 73 and it's 110 ouside. That would be the AC I just spent $4,500 on BTW. Sigh. In winter at 76-78. We don't wear sweaters and we sleep under a comforter.

Why be miserable at home?

Like Mike - I DO pick up pennies off the ground. I'll run out in traffic for a quarter! Some habits die hard. :-)

I follow Dave Ramsey - I "lived like noone else" so now I can, "Live like noone else!" I did my time living in my car and a tent. I lived my life sort of backwards. I went adventuring when I was young and poor and could do the stuff. Now that I'm old and tired, I can work and I'm happy to be doing it. I've got a few years left and by golly I am going to enjoy them!

Cut my own hair with a buzzer. Buzzer cost $16 ( can get them much cheaper now at harb freight) and every haircut it saves me $30.

Stephen: got you beat on razor blades. I have a full beard oct through May. Saves razors and time. Trim it when I want with the same buzzer that I use for haircuts.

Change my own oil most of the time, stocking up on oil and filters when on sale.

Oh, I forgot to add--- $27 a month cricket service ( voice and text) for my flip phone. I have a laptop at home and an office computer for Internet access and paper road maps in my car.

like cut open the tooth paste tub and see how many more days I can brush my teeth with the tub that would have already been on it's journey to the dump?

I've never had a new car. I buy 90% of my clothes at Goodwill (we have a great goodwill the next town over).

Only new clothes I buy is those you wouldn't ever buy used or something specific.

When we eat out, I always bring a portion home to get another meal out of it.

For my graphic work, I only have one client where I go into the office and that is only a couple times a month. Gas, commute and get ready time, and clothes saved there!

Like LiveTheDream, I, too, am at the point where I'm mostly done doing the thrifty living thing. For years I lived with second hand or 'floor model' furniture and 10+ year old vehicles in a tiny 1940s house. I did most of the repairs on the house and the rentals myself.

I'm approaching retirement age now and we've recently purchased a new, larger home that we can age in and new (or new-er) vehicles we can depend on. We bought new furniture for the house from a nice furniture store (although it was during a clearance sale). I call maintenance people to take care of issues a lot more now.

We eat out more than we used to and we plan on doing a good bit of traveling when we're done with our office jobs. The rentals will provide part of the income stream to do that.

I do still buy nice clothes and accessories as 'gently used' on ebay - I'll probably never pay retail for stuff like that. That's the last thing I want to spend my money on, but I do like to look nice.

dumpster diving..most grocery stores throw out perfectly good vegetable because one in the pack is bad..I get all the veggies and fruit I want along with perfectly good packaged items because they 'expired' that day.

Haven't had a grocery bill in a few years.

Buy all cars used and drive them until they drop. We currently have a '97 CRV with 240,000 miles, a 2001 Toyota Sienna with 250,000 miles, a 2000 Toyota Corolla with about 90,000 miles (owned by a little old lady before we bought it), and a 2004 Honda CRV with 110,000 miles. Self-insure for damage to the cars.

Pay no interest on credit cards. We are also aggressively paying off our personal mortgage so we will be debt free.

Cleaned our own house for 20 years. I just hired my first cleaning service to clean the house once a month.

My husband does most of our own household repairs and fixes most things that go wrong at the rentals.

Oh boy:

1) I pay cash for cars and drive them 15-20 years

2) Grow my own food. Can, pickle, and freeze

3) Heat with wood and heat water with solar energy. I do not wash clothes until mid-afternoon when water is hot.

4) Clothesline. I have not used a dryer in 12 years. I have racks for winter. For 2 people, not using a dryer saved about $50 per month.

5) Chickens. The girls feed me, kill bugs, eat garden trash and leftovers, and I use their manure for gardening.

6) Make my own dog food with one of the ingredients green beans from the garden.

7) Pay all credit cards off every month

8) No mortgage debt and no debt of any kind.

9) Sew window coverings for units

My gardening pays off. I make applesauce, dry apple slices, feed the scraps to the compost worms. I freeze blue berries raspberries and black berries . The compost helps the bare minimum gardening efforts. I can walk my dog and graze all summer,

This is a wonderful thread to read - you people talk my language!

We've been "thrifty" for all of our married life. We do just about everything that people have mentioned above.

As I told a young woman from our church who was struggling, along with her husband, to stay within their income - "It's a mind set. You have to almost make a game out of stretching the dollars. Never buy anything that you don't NEED."

I buy in bulk when I buy food, I stopped gardening for several years due to the day job and crazy hours involved. My schedule changed to 12hr days 3 or 4 days a week. So I'll be putting in some fruit and nut trees. Growing my own fruit and veggies and buying in bulk saves money but even better than that we get better quality food. I cook a lot which again is better food than going out. I enjoy it. If my tenants cooked from scratch I think they'd save some money. Give little Johnny some oatmeal with a little fruit in it (or jam) a pat of butter and a splash of milk instead of sugar coated tata's in the morning and ya might not have as many problems with him in school! I digress. We have our cars paid off 08 & 09 and may pay our house off next spring.

I love everything that y'all have said!

1. No cable TV. It's way too expensive where I am, so I use HD antennas on my TV's - as long as I can get CBS, I'm perfectly happy, I gotta get my "Mark Harmon - NCIS" fix ecery week! lol

2. I buy almost all of my clothes at Goodwill.

3. Goodwill is a "treasure hunt" to me. I have found a lot of art supplies there as well as storage units for my studio. There are five stores in our area that my ManFriend & I frequent on almost a weekly basis.

4. I don't buy a brand new vehicle (did that one time in my life, so I crossed that item off my bucket list). I did have to trade in my Ford Ranger a couple of years ago. My son wouldn't let me take my granddaughter anywhere in the truck; he didn't care that the passenger airbag shut off because she was too light! So, I did what any good grandmother would do ... I got a 4-door sedan, but it's a Ford, so it's all good.. It will be paid off in a few years, and I will drive it until neeeded repairs are not cost-effective.

5. Speaking of art supplies, not only do I find a lot at Goodwill, but I use things from the hardware stores (drywall spackle works just as well as modelling paste & costs a whole lot less). And, I make some of my own supplies or modify some supplies so that they can do a different technique.

6. I paid off almost all of my credit card debt earlier this year, and am very careful now so that I don't rack them up again. I'd rather put the payment money into my IRA or send it to my favorite charity.

Let's see...drive vehicles for many years. Buy new, but buy quality and they last.

My husband buys all of his clothes at Goodwill. I like my clothes new, but I never buy unless it's on sale. Better yet clearance.

Store brands.

No kids.

Hotwire for travel.

Installed solar at home. Big tax credits plus big electric savings. Installation cost nothing.

Husband makes extra money selling on Amazon and EBay.

Color my own hair. I get it cut though.

Coupons and Groupons.

I don't bother getting shots for my cats who are all indoor only. Just checkups and care when sick. Even the vet says shots aren't necessary for indoor cats.

It's all about your mindset. Why live a life depriving yourself of the things you want, this is having a scarcity mentality, and life will give you just that. You only live once and can't take anything with you.

I don't buy the "save for the golden years", you might not make it there, and if you do, you may not have the health or energy to enjoy your savings that you have accumulated throughout your life by depriving yourself of the things you wanted in the past.

I use Robert Kyosaki's philosophy, never say you can't afford anything, this will only shut your mind, instead, ask yourself, how can I afford it? then your mind goes to work. When I want something, I just look for ways to make more income to pay for the things I want.

You have to be smart and always buy assets and never liabilities. Our number one asset is time, and most people don't value it. Why would you do any work that you can easily hire someone to do for $10 Hr., when you can use that time to earn 3-5 times that amount. You must put a dollar amount on your time and don't do any work that is worth under your valued time.

Buy a calf, let it graze on parents land then, have a side of beef for 2-3 years in the deep freeze.

Have a small garden which gets bigger every year.

Have a couple chickens and ducks for eggs.

Buy a car at least 4 years old that we know how to repair. Usually American cars like Dodge or Chevy.

Pay bills on time, shop around for services once a year.

Pay credit card bills every month in full.

Use credit card points to pay for our vacation every year.

Vacation at a place with a fridge and microwave where we only have to eat out once a day on vacation. While not on vacation we only eat out once a week, rarely twice.

Stay out of stores as much as possible. When we have to we Shop at dollar tree and savers. And discount clothing stores.

For big items shop around and don't be afraid to bargain.

Eat good food to avoid doctor visits.

I do much of the above: Cash for rentals and home and car. Have always done that. Am glad to say, my grandchildren do that to and they are also working to put themselves through college. A person may go to college for a degree, but working gives one an education!

I will share something I get "great joy and satisfaction from," as donations have not been mentioned.

I make gift baskets for local Women's Center for domestic violence. They provide 3 shelters: One for teenagers, one for males and one for women and children. I bring 3 to 5 gift baskets monthly, wrapped in plastic with bows I have often purchased at thrift store at about 20 or more bows for $1.00. I give practical items or useful items such as cutting board, laundry soap, dish soap, measuring spoons and cups and often organic pasta sauce and pasta. Recently bought light bulbs that last for 23 years! It is said:"There is no free lunch." When moving from a shelter, it is nice to have a meal ready. Our Farmers' Markets have bargain priced fruits and vegetables, so I hope they shop there as I have done. I rarely use a supermarket but enjoy the fresh food available. I have given gift certificates for our Library Used book store where "like new books" are $1.00 and children's books are .25 to .50 cents each.

As several others have mentioned: pay cash for as much as possible. The last 4 cars (2 new, 2 used) were paid in full at the dealership-- still driving the first of these, but it's showing its age (2005 Matrix, bought at "year end clearance in 2004). The two used cars were for #2 son.

Paid off a 30 year mortgage in a little over 13 years.

Paid cash for a solar panel system-- which according to the "power usage updates" has saved us over $500 since it was put in Dec 2015. Paid cash to have a vinyl lot-line fence put in-- already had gone through 2 wood board fences since we moved here (sun/heat destroys them-- the vinyl should last until we'll be beyond caring).

No cable. Have a flip phone-- although various business/financial advisers are pushing me to get a smartphone; I can see the utility of having a cell phone, but can't see how paying monthly data charges for service I'd rarely need/use is a wise business decision. And I have no desire to play Pokemon-go.

Hi I am a global traveler, 41 countries, all 50 states and 6 continents. I am not wealthy but I love traveling, so I found some inexpensive ways of doing things traveling,. Here are some examples.

1-Australia, drive up the East Coast from Sydney to Carnes, Carnes - great barrier reef capital area, it's 2000 miles takes about 6 days to drive. Use a 6 passenger van. If you get the van off of the showroom you'll pay over $500+. Here's how to save about $400 using the van. Go to Standby car.com, look for relocation cars. With a 6 passenger van they will charge you about $35 to drive it from Sydney to Carnes. So let's say you have 5 people in the 6 passenger van. Instead of paying about $150 each night for hotel,. If you're driving in a vans with 5 people and staying in a hotel would cost say $150 a night for 5 people, times, 5 nights would be $700. But being in a 6 passenger van you stay in a KOA campground your total lodging for the 6 days of driving up the East Coast of Australia would be say $300. So you saved $300-700 or $400 in lodging. But the neat thing is you get the 6 passenger van costing $35. Why is it cost you $35? because a 6 passenger van is owned by a van rental car company in Carnes, they need somebody to drive there van back from Sydney to Carnes. I drove 4000 miles in both Australia and New Zealand, and did this in both countries and saved a bundle of money.

2 – Alaska ,you want to see a dogsled show. In Anchorage you can see about 5/7 dogsled shows, for about $80/$150. They throw in a nice dinner if you want to see a dogsled show. How do you save this $100?. You wait until you go to get Denali Park and they have a free dog should show while you're there., save yourself about $100

3 – you go to Africa, you must go on a safari. A safari in Africa cost anywhere from about $3000 TO $50,000. How do you see a safari for less than $1000? Here's how-- you search out a good guide that's very familiar with the Safari game reserve that he lives near. You pay him say up to $500 for his service. Next, you go find a auto that you actually can sleep in overnight, and you stay in the game reserve for 2 nights. What you do with the auto is you get a rental auto. So your guide and the rental auto both together cost less than 1000 bucks not $3000 to -$50,000 – – of course you hope a lion doesn't scratch or a elephant doesn't set on your rental auto.

4 – South America- you want to see the Amazon jungle and stay in a tree house hotel for 3 days. The most popular would go to Brazil and fly to Manaus. From Manaus you take a boat to a tree house hotel for 2 days. If you this from Rio de Janeiro or Salvador, you'll pay approximately $1400. Here's how to do the same thing and save about $1000.

Instead of going to Manaus in Brazil, you go to Riobamba in Bolivia. Riobamba is located in western part of the Amazon jungle, near the eastern base of the Andes Mountains. If you fly from La Paz Bolivia to Riobamba and stay in a tree house hotel there for 2 days. It will cost you about $400. So that way you will save $1000 indentally in Riobamba and as in Manaus, you'll get bitten by the same mosquitoes, , eaten by the same Parana fish If you fall off the boat, you will see the same crocodiles, monkeys, parrots, vegetation, etc. and you will save $1000 by going to the Western Peruvian part of the Amazon jungle instead of going to Manaus.

Saving money on apartment projects.

I had time to solve a problem at my apartment. I've always try to find as many items that I will need at – auction, the Salvation Army store, the Goodwill store, or here in our area – the Habitat for Humanity store call the restore or Stardust store. They have an awful lot of used materials that you can buy and save from 20 to 50% of what you'd pay for a new item. Also, if you watch every, these places will have special discounts, or if you ask him. They will give you a 10% discount if you are a military veteran.

- keep cars for 10+ years

- pay off credit card every month