Affordability Tips (San Diego: for sale, coupons, apartments)

[hanna_house]

OK, we all know that San Diego is an expensive place to live, but I thought it would be fun to start a thread where people can share ideas of how to cut corners and make living there a little more bearable. Please share with the rest of us how you've managed to make it work (or plan to)!

[swafoleet]

mcdonalds for lunch.
42 oz soda, small fries, double cheeseburger, $3.22 out the door.

brita water filter

drive less/carpool (trying to do this)

[archinIL]

Best way..... MAKE MORE MONEY!!!! Really, the best way is to increase your salary by making sure your next job is a SIGNIFICANT step forward in your career. Or, work in one of the fields that does pay significantly more. My wife is a nurse, and the pay rate in SoCal compared to here is phenomenal. More than double the pay.

Now, aside from more money, I'd say you have to enjoy where you live and cut back on your entertainment spending. And with regards to housing.... count on a looooong commute. If you get lucky enough to only have a 15-30 minute drive, consider it a bonus. Don't insist on that 5 minute commute, as chances are it'll cost you.

[Hobgoblin]

Buy sandwich fixings (use coupons and shop sales for further savings) and you can pack a sandwich or two with a side of fresh fruit or carrot sticks for a much healthier lunch that will cost less than $3 a day. With a good enough sale far less than that even.

Don't eat out.

Always clip coupons (and don't buy stuff just because you have a coupon) Check the sales at your favorite stores while making out your shopping list, then stick to your list when you shop so you're not tempted to buy something you really don't need or are just craving at the time.

Make your own coffee.

Get used to the idea that saving money means more work on your part.

Shop at thrift stores. I've bought hundreds of dollars worth of brand name clothing (Banana Republic, Gap, Anne Taylor, Forever 21, Kenneth Cole, Limited, Calvin Klein etc) in excellent condition for a fraction of the cost. I've picked up clothes with tags still on them marked at $40 for $3.

Cut your kids hair yourself, trim your own bangs to stretch out trips to the beauty parlor (if you're super adventurous and reasonably dexterous, you can try cutting your own hair all the time)

Learn to do stuff yourself. You don't need to call a repair men for every minor problem. Get books from the library and look on line for troubleshooting guides and directions on how to do minor home repairs yourself. And also, know your limits, so you know when to call a repairman before you make things worse.

Don't buy stuff you don't need and learn the difference between need and want.

Use your local library instead of buying magazines and books. Take up reading in place of playing pay to play games online, or paying for HBO and/or netflix.

Give up expensive hobbies. You can always pick them back later when finances aren't an issue.

Drive less. Think about how much you drive and why. Start going to local stores and do your errands on the way to and from work so you don't make special trips. Walk or ride a bicycle when you can.

Take advantage of any perks your work place (or community) offers like gym use or discounts

Don't buy on credit, save your credit cards for emergencies.

[cnkad]

I have a little tip that I use to save money on grocerys. i hate going through sale flyers and trying to save them until you go to the store and what not, so I have a website called locobuyer.com

It has lists of stores and easy access to all the sale flyers, so you can easily find whats on sale at the places you shop. It is just starting, but I think it is a good idea. Its free of course.

[hanna_house]

Hobgoblin, I like the way you think! Great tips, for sure. Couldn't agree more with thrift store shopping, waiting for sales and using coupons. Coupons are especially useful when you do want to go out to eat but don't want to pay top dollar. It also encourages you to try to new places, which can be an adventure in itself, for a fraction of the cost.

I also think a big misconception is that you have to spend a lot of money to have fun. There are so many free or cheap ways to spend the day. For instance, visit different parks and pack a picnic lunch, spend the day at the beach, window shop in a new district and limit yourself to spending $5 on a little trinket or a quick bite to eat, keep up on local events and festivals.

Church events are also something to consider. During the holidays you can choose from a variety of programs and plays. Also, many churches have all kinds of activities, special guests and events going on throughout the year. For instance, tonight my husband and I are going to a free church event where they bring in professional (but clean) stand up comedians for a fund raiser. They do this a couple times a year and we go each time and have been so impressed by the quality of acts they get. Most have been featured on Comedy Central, late night talk shows or have performed in Vegas.

In the mood for a concert? Go for the lawn seats and you can save a lot of money. Not every band is worth splurging on for good seats. Not sure about San Diego, but where I live you can often come across free lawn seat tickets, although the bands are usually older acts.

I've also learned that it's very helpful after you budget for the current paycheck to withdrawl the amount of money that you have set aside for spending money. This way you not only see what you are spending and are less likely to be frivilous, but you completely avoid overspending. Put loose change in a jar for a rainy day. Very often this little fund has paid for our entire Christmas!

[sdstudent]

Many sd high schools have fund raisers where they sell coupons to nice restaurants. Buy those and use them for special nights out instead of paying top dollar for those meals. Plus you are supporting the local schools!!

[Hobgoblin]

Originally Posted by hanna_house

I've also learned that it's very helpful after you budget for the current paycheck to withdrawl the amount of money that you have set aside for spending money. This way you not only see what you are spending and are less likely to be frivilous, but you completely avoid overspending. Put loose change in a jar for a rainy day. Very often this little fund has paid for our entire Christmas!

Yes! I do these too!

I take out a two weeks budget for groceries and smaller household expenses every pay check. It really gives you a greater appreciation for your spending habits and does make it much less likely that you'll go over.

My husband and I also take out a personal allowance to pay for our own non-essential expenses (clothes to some extent, entertainment, hobbies, etc) It's been great at maintaining marital harmony, as nobody can can complain about an otherwise outlandish purchase.

We currently live in the DC Metro area and have been getting by on one salary so that I can stay home with the kids. We're relocating to San Diego this summer, and while there will be a pay increase, we'll be breaking even as far as expenses since housing in SD will be a little higher. It will still be a couple of years before I'll return to work, in the meantime we honestly don't find that being frugal requires any sacrifice we're not ok with. Although my teenage daughter might disagree.

We still manage vacations, we have hobbies, we go out on occasion, etc. We just watch what we spend and are picky about what we do spend our money on.

[CrissCT]

I get all my groceries from either Target or Trader Joes. Target is at least $2 cheaper per box of cereal. I save time too since I don't have to look at all the ads and see where the cheapest item is and drive all over to 5 different stores.

A tip for eating out - at our local barbecue place I get a pound of their pulled chicken combined with a cheap pack of buns from the grocery store and for the price of 1 dinner out, it feeds our whole family without having to cook (a big plus for me!).

[RD5050]

1. CRAIGSLIST !!! California is home to many wealthy and generous people who like to either give their stuff away free (furniture, etc), or else, sell it at a very low cost. You can find great stuff there if you check the FOR SALE section regularly. Learn to use the SEARCH feature to look for specific items. They don't always appear under the category you expect, so it's often best to search at the top "FOR SALE" level, rather than at the sub-category level.

craigslist: san diego classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

2. KOBEYS SWAP MEET - another great place to save money on practically anything you can think of. Sunday is the best day to go. Arrive early for the best deals.

3. 99 CENTS ONLY STORE - anyone who's been here at least once will love it. It's not your typical dollar store. They get very fresh produce, breads, and all sorts of other stuff every day. You never know what they might have. For example, I bought 1/2 gal Breyers Low Fat ice cream for 99 cents. Price was so good I bought around 5 containers. Everything in the store is 99 cents or less.

4. FOOD4LESS - a very good supermarket chain with lots of great deals every day. Look for the "green price tags" on the shelves for best savings.