Blog:Grust's Top 10 Money Saving Tips

Gaming, even retro is becoming more and more expensive. Because of this we need to squeeze every penny. Plus we're in an inflation. In my town in just under a year, lean ground beef alone went from $1.69 a pound to $6.99 a pound. My eyes twitch.

Because of this, I compiled 10 ways we can save money so we have have money for games, groceries, and bills.

So let's save lots of money. Onto the Countdown.

10. Turn Off an Appliance Not in Use: If there's an appliance you're not using, leaving it on can take a toll on your energy bill. Leaving your TV on when you leave the room wastes energy that goes into your electric bill. Leaving an oven or stove on will do the same thing. So by just turning an appliance off when not in use, you can save money that would have been wasted. It's 10 though because there are exceptions to this rule. Maybe it's not in use, but maybe you're just leaving for a quick second. Maybe you need the bathroom. That's why the pause feature was invented.

9. Some Products Pay for Themselves: You know the saying, "Gotta spend money to make money?" With some products, you spend money to save money. A good example is my burr grinder. It uses toothed gears to crush coffee beans into uniform pieces to make a great cup of coffee. As I said in my second cooking blog, brewing your own coffee can save you a ton of money versus coffee shops which cost cost $3 or Starbucks with their $10 or 15 coffees whereas making it myself can cost may $1. My burr grinder cost about $100 but in just a year, it paid for itself maybe 9 times over. Another example is my standmixer I got for Christmas. I use it all the time for cookies and pizza dough and whipping egg whites for angel food cake. Plus the ice cream bowl lets me make great ice cream and sorbets. Because I'm not spending money on premade products which can be more expensive like Pizza Hut, I'm saving a lot more money.

8. Remove Unnecessary Weight from Vehicles: After 20 years I'm finally trying to get my driving permit (do you really want a 15 year old with ADHD, autism, and hyperactivity learning to drive?) So I've been studying a bit and one thing I learned is that heavy items can slow your vehicle down and waste gas, which is getting very expensive. So if you have stuff that doesn't need to be in your car or truck, take it out. I even cleaned out my mom's car because if I learn to drive, it won't slow me down. It's okay to bring a heavy item into your vehicle if you're transporting it, like groceries, but as soon as you reach your destination, remove it.

7. Coupons: Coupons can be seen as a form of currency. You may thinking saving a mere $2 isn't a big deal, but by gathering all the coupons you need that small amount of money can really build up and a grocery list of $100 could end up being $90 or $80. I even once got a coupon for Black Rifle for $5 which I used and that $5 I saved still left a smile on my face. Saving coupons you get can make a big difference to your wallet, purse or checking account account so be sure to save them.

6. Store Brands vs. Brand Names: After much research I see very little difference between store brands and big name brands. I see no difference between milk from my grocery store vs. Kemps or Land O'Lakes or Malt-O Meal vs. Kellogs. In fact most of the time, the only difference I see is the price. Store brands are often cheaper for the same quality while the only advantage brand names have is that they are in almost every store and have some kind of mascot like Tony the Tiger. This has even made it easy for me to completely dump Proctor and Gamble when their Gillette brand made that feminazi commercial. Or when BRCC went woke and threw Kyle Rittenhouse under the bus and mocked their own conservative customers, I bought a big bag of whole bean coffee which thanks to my french press/burr grinder combo, will still taste like the coffee of the Gods. And it was only 15$ and had more coffee than two bags of BRCC combined. That also means this makes "Get Woke, Go Broke, even easier.

5. Water Filters: Most of what I drink now is water, but my tap tastes like crap so I have a Pur water pitcher. And that water is also great for coffee, candies (I also count chocolate syrup as candy), and breads (especially since chlorine is vicious to yeast). My Pur filters can filter about 40 gallons of water and usually last for 2 months before I replace. Compare that to bottled water which even in bulk I don't see 40 gallons, empty out too fast so you go back to the store spending... well I actually don't know I don't buy bottled water, so ask my dad. Point is, these filters will save you a lot of money and are much more convenient.

4. Very Basic Electronics Knowledge: I'm sure I've told you all this, but I actually take apart my gaming consoles to clean. Overtime dust can let heat build up inside or clog up fans. One time a friend of mine asked me to fix a Gamecube for his son. When I took it apart, it was clogged up with dust, not just the fan. Once cleaned, it played like a charm. Rather than spend a ton of money to get a new one, my friend only had to pay $20 and his son had to do some chores. I've even taken a part my laptop, the one I'm using now, just to dust out the fan. By doing some very basic maintenance, you can extend the life of your electronics and keep them going for years rather than fork over even more money to replace.

3. Grocery Lists: I've discussed this in my final cooking tips so I'll be brief, but this can save money by making you a more efficient shopper. It can ensure you don't forget anything and have to drive back and forth in case you forgot something. When I make my lists, I look through my cookbooks to scan every recipe I need to make and ensure nothing is forgotten. By taking note of what's already in my kitchen, I ensure I don't overstock on products. So make your lists.

2. Homecooking: Ehhhh, I think I'll just let this blog on homemade ice cream speak for itself. It alone sums up homecooking for more than just ice cream.

Honorable Mentions

 * Extreme Cheapskates: Just by briefly seeing a small part of one episode, I have to say, "Don't go this far to save money."
 * Get a Job: Unless you have some kind of disability, getting a job is crucial. I myself have mental disabilities which give me an excuse, but once I can drive I hope to get one myself.  If you have none but want unemployment because it pays more, just remember that that money comes from taxpayers that work. And that's just selfish.
 * Savings Account: You get interest from this.
 * Emulation: While I prefer physical, with emulation, you can easily get a much older game for free or super cheap. There even exist retro handhelds that play tons of old games on the go.  Just for the sake of playing SNES alone on the go tempts me to get one of those.
 * Don't pay for microtransactions: Just don't. If you have to pay that just to give yourself an edge in a game, it's a game not worth playing.
 * Physical Fitness and Exercise: Believe it or DuchesstheSponge gets punished, this too can save you money. By losing weight, you become healthier and at less risk to illness saving trips to hospitals.  And by losing weight you also remove extra weight from your vehicle.  Exercise doesn't just affect you physically but mentally as well.  Cardio releases more blood and oxygen to the brain renewing brain cells, improving focus and memories and is overall very good for your mental health and even improves mood.  This ensures improving your work, even if it's a desk job as you're more alert and focused.  Plus it'll make it so you don't need a gazillion pills.  Consider this 11.

1. Leftovers: It may be number 1 but I've talked about this a bit one my cooking blogs so I'll still be brief. Give two people $60. One person makes spaghetti with $20 that lasts 3 days while another spends $20 at a restaurant every day for 3 days. The spaghetti saves the man 40$ while the other is broke. In the course of just one year, that 40$ saved becomes $480 saved a year. And this is over the course of 3 days every month for a year. Imagine doing this with leftovers again. That $480 can actually go higher. This is why I'm often heavily focused on making leftovers for my parents to save a lot of money. Your bank account thanks you, your kitchen thanks you and your game collection thanks you. I may have talked about leftovers a lot but it's so easy to do and a great money saver that it's still my best money saving tip.

Any other money saving tips you can think of. Discuss them in the comments.