Free Debt advise

Ways to Save Money

Here are some tips I've compiled on ways to save money.  Some of them are great and easy ways to save money.  Others are still good ways to save money, but may require more sacrifice or take a lot of time to payoff.  And remember, a penny saved is a penny earned.  Every step you take to save money helps!  After reading the list, think of your favorite ways to save money (that aren't listed below) and email them to us (email us).

• Spend less money than you earn.
• Look for a higher paying job.
• Adjust your lifestyle to accommodate the first rule.
• Create a financial budget to help you save.
• Do not use credit cards.
• If you do use credit cards, pay them down in full each month.
• If you have a lot of credit card debt at high rates, look into consolidating your debt.
• Lower your student loan payments.
• Forego spending money whenever possible.
• Lower your expenses.
• Stop purchasing frivolous, impulse items.
• Forego purchasing non-essential items.
• Refinance your mortgage or debt at a lower rate.
• Refinance your car loan at a lower interest rate.
• Find cheaper insurance rates.
• Use coupons to shop.  (Here's another free coupon site to try. )
• Wait for things to go on sale before buying them. Find catalog saving certificates here.
• Don't buy anything just because it is on sale.
• Occasionally buy generic, or non-name brand merchandise.
• Wait for prices to fall before buying (applies especially to electronics items - like DVD players).
• Reward yourself for saving money.  Enjoy watching your debt shrink and your investments grow.
• Drive used cars.
• Reduce your auto insurance.
• Don't eat out as much as you'd like to.
• If you eat out, buy gift certificates for half price.
• Do more activities at home.
• Invest the money you save so that it earns money too.
• Create a plan to save $100 per month (or as much as you can swing).  Try never to miss the monthly savings payment and try to find ways to increase it to $150 per month.
• Don't ever spend money just because you have it.
• Stay busy - you have less time to spend money.
• Find an inexpensive hobby to occupy your time and stop you from spending money.
• Find a hobby that you can earn money doing.
• Stop smoking.
• Go on a diet and lose weight Not only do you save money on food, look and feel better, but your long term healthcare costs should also fall dramatically.
• Look critically at how you spend and save your money.
• Learn how to manage your finances by reading financial publications.
• Increase the money you earn (second job, promotion, new job, through investments, etc.)
• Don't try to compete with your friends and neighbors.
• Don't try to compare yourself to your friends and neighbors.
• Sell your car and take the bus to work (may not apply to everyone).
• Contribute the maximum each year to your 401K or to an IRA.
• Buy Dental Insurance before you need it.
• Buy Health Insurance before you need it.
• Remember, paying down debt is also a way to save money (it saves you from a debt payment and gets you closer to having money to invest).
• Lower your phone bill.
• Lower your cable bill by ending pay channels or switching to satellite.
• Practice restraint.
• Be patient.
• Start saving money today!
• Don't give up!

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Added from our visitors (thank you!):

• Shop for clothes at thrift shops (especially for young kids). Many times you can find gently worn or even new clothes for 1/10 the price of new (or less).
• Put your kids on the school bus instead of driving them to school.
• Slipcover or reupholster older furniture to update rather than buying expensive new furniture.
• Learn to refinish furniture or decorate with paint. Use cast-off furniture to make a unique piece.
• Take your lunch to work every day!
• Buy a bread maker and make your own bread. Much cheaper than $2.00 a loaf, and tastes great!
• Shop for canned goods and toiletries at salvage grocery stores.
• Cancel magazine subscriptions. Read them at the library or buy them at the thrift shop for .25 to .50 after someone else has donated them.
• Stop buying expensive sodas and make Kool-Aid or decaffeinated iced tea.
• Cancel expensive (and annoying) phone options like call-waiting.
• Check out library books instead of buying expensive paperbacks.
• If you wash your hair every day you don't need to lather twice. Saves shampoo!
• Change eating habits (avoid processed foods).
• Exercise and eat right - keeps doctor bills down.
• Brush and floss your teeth - keeps doctor bills down.
• Keep up on auto maintenance to avoid costly repair.
• Mend clothing instead of buying replacements.
• Buy only clothing not requiring dry cleaning.
• Simplify manicures - don't get them.
• Simplify hairstyle - one that doesn't require much maintenance.
• Get 3-6 quotes anytime shopping for item over $100.
• Develop self-control; simplify your life if possible.
• Many inexpensive, no-name drugstore cosmetics are as good as or better than their department store or salon counterparts. Read the ingredients and find cheaper substitutes for your favorites wherever possible.
• Cut dryer sheets in half.
• Buy generic over the counter medicine.
• Buy generic baby wipes, diapers, formula...... studies show that it's all the same!
• Find name brand clothing at garage sales in affluent neighborhoods.
• Find fashionable clothing at the sale departments of stores like the Gap.
• Keep in fashion by buying basic colored tees and skirts and then adding trendy accessories.
• Buy baby clothes from someone that has a child one year older than yours. You can get good quality clothing, fashionable baby clothing at ultra low prices.
• If you get change back when you purchase an item, put it in the piggy bank. Give the cashier whole dollars, not the exact amount. In a few months you will have "found" money that you could use to pay bills, save or buy something nice.
• Shop for groceries in the "bulk foods" aisle in your grocery store. Many stores now carry bulk staples that are much less per ounce than the smaller family size versions. Buy large noodles, sugar, flour, etc. and appropriate storage containers for the part not to be used as soon as the package is opened.
• Also, if your family is trading off meat for legumes one or more times per week (which can be both healthy and cost effective,) shop for dry legumes and rice in the "Mexican" food aisles. They will often have better prices on a large variety of dry beans and peas.
• You don't need the heat above 68 degrees in the winter inside your house. Wear warm clothes and socks/slippers while in the house. While watching tv, snuggle with a blanket. Warm air breeds germs. So by keeping the temp. 68 or below -- you save on heating costs and breathe healthier air.
• Use all those plastic bags you receive at the grocery store for trash. This way you don't have to buy trash bags and you are helping out the environment by recycling.
• Some grocery stores give you a 5 cent credit per bag if you bring your own, although they never advertise this. Ask the next you go grocery shopping.
• Instead of buying a nice house, rent to own.  The payments are cheaper.
• Install a water softener. It might be expensive to start up, but in the long run, you use less shampoo/conditioner on your hair and it saves your appliances (pipes, iron, washing machine, dish washer, kettle and hot water tank) from clogging up with lime scale.
• Breastfeed your children! Even if you are a working mother and especially to those of you who are not... breastfeeding requires very little or no money and can save you from spending upwards of $100 a month in formula. Even a good breast pump for a working mother will cost you a little more than 2 months worth of formula. You can also sometimes rent or get your insurance to pay for your pump if you need one. You can get assistance for all kinds of breastfeeding issues from La Leche League (lalecheleague.org) find yourself a local group or call them toll free. Breastfeeding your children will also reduce your long term medical costs and save you more money.
• When shopping next time at the supermarket remember to check the lower items nearer to floor level as they are often much cheaper than those at eye level. Also resist the temptation to purchase extra items at the checkout such as magazines and candy bars placed there to tempt you. And never go food shopping on an empty stomach, you always buy more!
• Re-gifting! You don't need half those things you get. Just keep a list so you don't re-gift to the original person!
• Every year my family gets a cow slaughtered and butchered for approximately $600 per cow. The average cost of the meat is $1.00 per pound. Ask the farmer to grain feed the cow for two months before the cow is done. This eliminates a lot of the toughness of the meat. Also a fresh cow has a lot less fat than what you get in the grocery store. Even with the cost of running an additional freezer, I still only pay $1.00 a pound for T-Bone Steaks, Filet mignon, Sirloin Steaks, Rib Eye Steaks. It more than pays for itself.
• Buy fruits and vegetables in season.  They are less expensive and taste better.
• "I used to go out every weekend to see a movie and i realized i was spending too much money on recreational activities. So now i wait to see a movie on dvds at the video store. I still go see a movie every once in a while but not as often. so instead of spending $8.00 on a ticket and spending $10.00 on popcorn and drink and candy i spend $6.00 on a dvd at video store."
• "Abrupt braking, corning, and accelerating (speeding) will eat your gas up considerably. Never let your fuel needle go below a 1/2 tank, or fill it up when you drive it to "E". Nickel and dimming your gas tank gets you no where fast!"
• Here are some ways my family saves money:

  - We plant a small garden each spring, with just the vegetables we really like. Just a little effort every day can save dollars usually spent on fresh vegetables at the store.

  - We buy bread and other bakery items at the local thrift bread store.

  - We check our local library for the newest dvd/video releases, which we can rent 3 for $2.00 for two days.

  - We read our local newspapers online.

  - We search E-Bay for big ticket items and have saved literally hundreds on computers, dvd players, etc.

  - We keep track of the cost of items we buy a lot and get them at the cheapest store, like cleaning supplies at Family Dollar, pet food at Wal-Mart, etc.

  - We make a conscious effort to combine tasks that require driving some place, so we get the most out of our mileage.

  For our friends and family who do not feel slighted by this, we send e-mail cards for holidays, birthdays and as thank you cards. We also e-mail family and friends who live far away, instead of calling long distance.

  - We do not have a monthly fee long distance service, we just use an access code when we do call, which is infrequently anyway.

  - We decided which satellite channels we could do without, and even gave up a few shows we really liked, and saved more than $20.00 on our monthly bill.

  - When we do buy vegetables, fruits and bread at the grocery store, we check the reduced-for-quick-sale carts and shelves first.

  - We change the oil in our vehicles ourselves.

• Buy your (and kid's) clothes for the following year at the end of the season / during the off season. You get great mark down prices.
• Catch Your Coins--Every evening take the spare change from your pockets or periodically clean out your purse and toss the coins in a jar. Never take any money out of the jar until the end of the year. Then take all the coins to be bank and exchange them for cash. You'll be surprised to find they've added up to $50, $100 or even $200.
• "Take care of your cents, then your dollars will take care of themselves." - Also one have to live with a financial plan and set up a financial goals for oneself, this means to increase one's income sources, economize money, and invest your money wisely and profitably. "When you save your money, you buy yourself control", and money have to be "saved and invested" wisely (intuition of a person knows everything well, so one has to follow it's signs - always).
• Bike to work in good weather to save on gas.
• Eat a few vegetarian meals a week.
• Garage sales are a great source for household items, books, clothing, and furniture.
• Don't buy bottled water! Invest in a water-filter and drink tap water.

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