I moved it.

Thanks bpgui!

------------------- Edited & Added To List June 15, 2012 --------------------------

27) Live in a smaller home

27a) I have a (now single as his wife passed away) great uncle who recently moved from a 3 story home to a 1 story home. He saved on utility bills, maintenance, and cleaning. If the kids have moved out do you really need a four room three bathroom home?

28) Use the Barter System

28a) Have a skill? Are you a great photographer and need a plumber? Why not exchange a family photo shoot for a couple of hours of plumbing work. Or how about music lessons in say piano or guitar?

29) Start a Side Business or Get a Part-time Job

29a) Blogging is a good option or being a free-lance writer. Even perhaps starting up your own photography business or baking business might be a fun/good idea.

30) When you buy food, make sure to eat it!

30a) Wasting food can add up quick. If we don’t eat our fresh food and vegetables they can go to waste.

31) CashBack Rewards on Debit Cards?

31a) 1% or 2% back on all purchases. Check out http://www.perkstreet.com/

31b) Sounds too good to be true? I had questions here are some of the answers I found:

- They do not have physical branches
- Similar to ING Direct, to make a deposit you have to transfer the $ from another account or set up direct deposit.
- They do offer checkbooks (and the first one is free)
- They have live phone service 24/7
- Free online banking and bill pay
- According to their website they have the “Nation’s largest surcharge-free ATM network”
- No minimum balance requirement
- FDIC insured up to $250,000

31c) The Catch? There is a monthly inactivity fee of $4.50 if you don’t use your debit card or write a check that month.

I've been working DEEP discounts at Lowe's recently.

First, I score discounted gift cards from gift card resellers. AND I use a click through portal for additional discounts.

Then, I order everything online after clicking through a cash back portal.

Then, with Lowe's 20 min guarantee, your order is ready within 20 mins of placing it or they drop a $20 gift card on you (store policy varies). I don't really put up a big stink if they are a few minutes over and are working towards getting everything together (e.g. my last order they guy was on the way with one of the items and it was an extra minute or two). But if I stand around for 10 mins, "is the manager around?"

Doing this nets you a 17.2% discount, plus a gift card if they don't have it together at the store plus you can stack coupons on top of that. Cha-ching.

In store antics include hauling in every competitor coupon you can find (harbor freight, local hardware stores etc) and having Lowe's match the offer. My in laws are also have military ID's, so they meet us at the store if we don't have a 10% off coupon for big purchases (another 10% off).

Some people also buy extra things online (get 6.5%) then exchange it for merchandise credit. I don't personally go out of my way to do this...use your own moral compass.

Then, the price match guarantee, they'll beat the competitor's price by 10%. We're looking for an upright freezer, so we look at competitor's ads (probably have to look until the 4th or labor day).

Also, Michael's had Lowe's $50 gift cards for $40. Got about $3500 worth.

Nice. What do you buy at Lowe's that you would need so many gift cards?

------------------- Edited & Added To List June 20, 2012 --------------------------

32) First Time Customers & Store Rewards

32a) Buy Buy Baby (Owned in part by Bed, Bath, & Beyond) offers 20% off to first time customers via a text message. This is great for people with smart phones who find out about this at the store. Or sign up at home before you go and print of your coupon. You can also use Bed Bath & Beyond Coupons at Buy Buy Baby.

32b) At Lifeway I asked for a discount and got a 10% discount through a text. You can also get discounts as you purchase 10 times there with a coupon the use a hole punch for.

32c) First time we opened a Khol’s charge account (which we paid off the same month) we got an additional 30% off our purchases. I had just switched jobs and needed new clothes for work. My wife also was able to get a few things. I know it’s all about perspective but the items were already on sale 50% off. So we got an additional 30% off of that. The “value” of our products was in the $500 range and we paid only $170. The items were 4 pairs of men’s business casual pants, 8 men’s business casual shirts, 6 men’s pairs of socks, 2 men’s belts, 2 women’s blouses, 1 dress, 1 pair of women’s pants, and a few other things. We were tickled to death.

32d) At Target you can get a Target Card and get 5% off on all purchases. Since we shopped there anyway that seemed to be a good offer.

33) Wedding & Gift Registration:

33a) Target
Registry is somewhat easy to use. Kiosks can be a bit of a pain at times as they are self-service. Keyboards often stick and logging in can be a pain. Guns are fun to use so don’t get carried away. Returns are relatively easy. They allow two returns for unlimited products without receipts. There is also a 10% discount on everything remaining on your registry mailed out 4-8 weeks before your Life Changing Happy Event.

33b) Bed Bath & Beyond ( & Buy Buy Baby)
Registry is really easy to use. The list is printed off by associates. They have consultants readily available for questions and a tour. This was by far the best experience. Returns are really easy and are done at the registry. They allow unlimited returns without receipts in most instances with the assistance of a manager. There is also a 10% discount coupon on everything remaining on your registry mailed out 4-8 weeks before your Life Changing Happy Event.

33c) Dillard’s
Registry is somewhat easy to use. The list is printed off by associates at a kiosk. They have consultants available for questions a majority of the time. While employees are cordial they weren’t always helpful. In fact many of them ignored us as we weren’t actually buying anything. This was somewhat of a disappointing experience. Returns were not always easy. You have to go a specific customer service department and there was often a wait. They allow returns with receipts. Refunds are in the same amount as the tender paid or as gift cards. There is also a 10% discount on everything remaining on your registry after your Life Changing Happy Event.

33d) My advice? Sign up for things you will use throughout the year not just what people would think of “traditional” wedding gifts (specifically at Target & BBB) and you can still get a 10% discount on items up to 1-2 years after your Life Changing Happy Event. Toilette Paper, Cleaning Supplies, Formula, Baby Food, Baby Wipes, or Diapers anyone? See store exclusions for details.

33e) I’d love to hear from people who have had experiences with registry’s with Sears, Macey’s, Walmart, JCPenney’s, etc.

34) OpenOffice

Why pay for Microsoft Office when you can get a similar set of programs for free? Try Openoffice.org it includes programs that are compatible with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Did I mention this was FREE? Forget spending $100+ on Microsoft Office. Try it out for a few weeks at the very least.

I needed service on my car (every 15.000 km). Cheap shop = $257, Toyota shop = $357.

I got the protocol for the service (free from Toyota), bougt a model specific book on working on the car ($20). Oil service and control was:

4 liters/1 gallon of oil: $57
Oil filter: $10
Oil filter tool: $9
45 minutes of labour

Saved at least $161. That includes book and tools that I can use aganin.

PS. Left old oil at a recycling station, important for enviroment DS.

Nice! Any suggestions for people learning to to this themselves? What about youtube it or have a friend/family member teach you?

Just realized I forgot to respond to these suggesions.

Great advice on military insurance. Not for everyone but a great niche if you serve or have served in the military. I'm curious until what age (is it 25?) someone can claim an unmarried child?

I'm not sure I would go with Credit Unions over banks. I'm sure that will get some negative feedback but I've done both. Credit Unions are great. But the advantages of a good bank outweight credit unions. I'm still treated very well at my bank and even given excellent service by personal bankers as well. Not to mention Credit Unions don't usually accomodate people like myself who use mint.com and it can be frustrating if there aren't that many branch locations.

Your thoughts or experience?

They charge $257 to change the oil on a Toyota? Where are you located?

I live in Southern California and I get oil changes (plus 21-point multi-inspection) for $20 at the local Honda dealership. With tax and hazardous waste disposal fees it comes to about $27. At that price, it's not worth my time to do it myself (although I used to do in regularly on my prior cars).

That's not a bad price. For a DIY'er, a new oil & filter will cost that much. Plus you won't have to get your hands dirty.

Or haul the oil to a place for safe disposal. That used to be a major inconvenience. Also, they give me this punch card; get 3 oil changes and the 4th is free. The only thing I really have to do is print coupons (the regular price is $33) so that I can get the low price.

I'm not sure what the age cut-off is for the insurance portion, but with USAA, you can become a member in your own right if you have a service member in your immediate family. So when that unmarried child becomes of age, s/he can apply for his/her own membership.

USAA offers a ton of other services as well - we have our checking account, savings accounts, one index fund, car insurance, homeowners insurance, mortgage and one life insurance policy with USAA. They're entirely online (huge convenience), offer free checking, and not only charge no ATM fees, but they reimburse the ATM fees other banks may charge you (up to I think it's 10 transactions / month).

Sorry to sound like a walking commercial, but I've had nothing but great experiences with USAA so far.

I think the price depends on what type of oil they use. For $20, I'm guessing they use conventional oil. The more expensive oil changes use fully synthetic oil, which doesn't break down as quickly as conventional oil so it tends to last longer and handle high temperatures better.

If you are handy and like to change your own oil...I don't know if Costco deals are local or nationwide, but in this coupon book cycle, they were offering $10 off a case of synthetic Motor One oil (6 quarts/case, limit 3). So we just bought enough oil to cover our next 4.5 oil changes for the price of one synthetic oil change at Jiffy Lube.

Not entirely compatible, unfortunately. I think it works fine for basic purposes (as does Google Docs, also free), but it plays less well with Word once you get into more complicated formatting and editing, or if you have to share files with a lot of colleagues. A couple of years ago I compiled and edited a 700-page report with multiple authors, one of whom was using Open Office (all the rest of us used Word), and it caused all kinds of grief.

My brother, who's a biochemist at a major university, switched from Microsoft Office to Apple's iWork suite, which is cheaper than Office but fairly compatible. What I like about iWork is that it's simpler and less bloated with features. I use it for my personal files (I don't have Office on my Mac), but for work I stick with Office to ensure there are no compatibility issues.