More money saving tips for anyone. If you're going to buy a home, buy a home in which you can afford a 15 year mortgage. If you compare the cost savings it will blow your mind. That was a tip I learned from a Millionaire. My father made that mistake while his brother did a 15 year. My father still talks about it till this day wishing he had done it.
That's is one of the biggest cost savings tip I can think of in ones life. Yes, you might have to buy down a little and not get the fancier home you wanted. Being locked in for 30 years to me is ridiculous. After 15 years you could rent the home thats paid off and buy another home to live. That way your new homes mortgage is being paid by the renter or you come out of pocket a little. Either way it's a win win.
While you now have 2 homes after 15 years, and having your renter (almost) covering the cost of your new home, while the guy who got the 30 year mortgage still has 15 years to go to be where you're at. After another 15 years you now have 2 homes paid in full with the option to buy a 3rd. After 30 years you now have 2 homes paid off, tons of equity with the option to purchase a 3rd in which your mortgage would be zero with positive cash flow every month by renting the 2 homes. While the guy who got the 30 year mortgage got taken to the cleaners.
Car repair I always look for mechanics who work out of their home. I find them on forums for the specific car I own or on reddit. You end up saving a good chunk of money going this route. It will obviously be more difficult to find one depending on where you live. Currently I found one on reddit many months ago. He's like 10mins from me. He works in IT then does the car repair on the side out of his backyard where he has a separate garage. I save close to 50% by taking my car to him. For example, he recently did my transmission fluid change for $40 vs $80-$100 at gas stations or stealership. After doing the job he tops off all my fluids and looks over the engine for any issues I might have for no extra charge.
Clothes, I go to Ross, Marshalls or wait for the coupons for places like Khols. I'm a clearance rack hunter at any store. When seasons are about to change, places start marking down clothes to prepare for the next season. That's when I go in for the kill.
You'd be surprised what you can find on Ebay which most people have zero clue. Check that site for things before your purchase. Or check multiple sites for anything you're looking for to compare pricing. There are sites that offer gift cards at a reduced price. Sites where you purchase from their site for others sites that give you a % back in either paypal or check. Clearance items for most things when new models come out is a great time to buy electronics.
Credit cards have offers too, so always check to see what they have. Every $1 saved is a $1 earned. Most credit card companies "used" to offer up to $250-$500 cash back per item if you find a lower a price with $2500 max cash back per year. If you had lets say 4 cards that's $10k worth of free chit per year. I won't say how much I got over the years but that was a card benefit most everyone I knew had no idea about. Unfortunately the masses found out about it, abused it, committed fraud which ended the program from all credit cards companies.
There was a trick years ago where if a clearance item dropped at a particular store. You could buy it online, have it shipped to that clearance store, return it, rebuy it so it rings up at the clearance price. I did it with a 75" TV once. When the cashier scanned it after returning it the price came up to $750 from $2200. When the other cashiers noticed it, their eyes got big and said "wtf, how you do that, its a mistake, too late, my credit card already swiped. Flipped the TV made $1200.
I went a little off track there. You really need to study, keep your eyes open for sales, don't buy things you don't need, look for clearance items, set up alerts, sell things you no longer use. I just did that myself. I bought so much clearance stuff over years. My basement was stacked with things I'll never use or need. I sold most all of it in the past year. Sometimes it takes a year to sell something. It's ok to frugal. Some people might frown on you but who gives af. My friends all tip for places that don't require it. If you add up what they spent in tips vs what I tip which is close to nothing for those kind of places it would be in the hundreds or a little over a $1000.