This week was relatively quiet on the money spending front. I am still way under budget even though I did make a few unplanned purchases. So far, my zero based budget is working out well.

This week, I saved money by:


No More Dry Cleaning. As I mentioned in my Modern Day Bartering article, I have offered to help my friend with her finances in exchange for her ironing services.

Doing my own taxes. I did my own taxes using TaxCut. I considered using an accountant due to the complexity of owning a rental property. TaxCut asks all the questions, I supply the answers and the software does all the calculations. I worked on my taxes every other weekend for about 30 minutes to an hour and finally finished yesterday.

Washing my own car. I usually take my car in two the professionals for a bath every 2-3 weeks. This time, I went to the self serve car wash and washed it myself and used the self serve vacuum. Now my car is nice and clean for pocket change instead of the usual.

Coupons. Using coupons for my usual everyday purchases saved me over $15 this week. I had a few that were about to expire so I went ahead and used them.

Did you save money this week? How did you do it?
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4 comments

  1. Noel Larson // February 17, 2008 at 3:43 PM  

    Great job. These saving will add up pretty quick for you!

  2. Anonymous // February 17, 2008 at 5:53 PM  

    I saved money by eating out only 1x this entire week, including the weekend. Same thing last week. To know me is to know how hard this was.

  3. Anonymous // February 18, 2008 at 12:46 PM  

    Consider washing your car at home. Use the dish soap under your kitchen counter, a bucket, and an old rag or brush. This will save you even more and really get the dirt off your car, especially on the rims.

    Use your home vacuum for the interior.

    To make it fun and make the time go by faster, invite your friends over and wash each others cars together. Everyone leaves with a clean car and you have fun doing it.

  4. SavingDiva // February 19, 2008 at 1:42 PM  

    This week, I didn't really do much to save money. I feel very unproductive when I found out that you have a friend doing your ironing. I pay a LOT for dry cleaning.