[Okiebug61]

Originally Posted by Kelt

I do a few things. For buying things like food I get all of my staples in bulk beans, quinoa, rice, spices, nuts. I buy fruit and veg that are in season and on sale at a huge ethnic produce stand, then fish/meat at a warehouse store. I do all of my cooking at home. Almost never go out, I like the food here better.

I also do a little game with my regular bills like utilities, insurance, etc. I have a Visa card that gets me Amazon points and I buy non-food items online. I pay all of my bills, most are auto-pay so no forgetting, with the Visa to earn the points and then just pay the card off each month. That way I get the extra consumer protection, maintain my Fico score (otherwise lack of activity drags it down) and net $20-30 per month in points.

All of my transactions are automatically recorded into an online finance tracker (mint.com). It is set with triggers to let me know if anything is off budget and it emails me a summary each week, you can set different intervals.

Mostly though, I just don't spend it if it isn't truly necessary.

I use mint.com myself. I love it. I also am a big fan of any kind of points I can earn.