Easy Tips to Save Money

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Easy Tips to Save Money


When you think about it, there are a good many ways to save those precious pennies. Some ways will require some sacrifice, while others will require little before thought.

The point is to be forever mindful of saving those extra pennies and before you know it, you will have saved up a tidy sum.

# Spend less money than you earn each week.

# Seek out a higher paying job.


# Keep your job skills sharp and up-to-date so that when a new opportunity comes up, you will be on your toes and first in line.

# Adjust your lifestyle to always spend a bit less.


# Create a firm financial budget to encourage saving.

# If you must use credit cards/cut up those you can do without.


# If you must use credit cards, pay them all down in full each month.

# If you have credit card debt at high rates, consolidate at once.


# Figure out a way to lower your student loan payments.

# Just say NO to spending money whenever possible.


# Lower your expenses, one by one.

# Stop purchasing items that you can do without.


# Forego purchasing non-essential items.

# Refinance your mortgage or debt at a much lower rate.


# Refinance your car loan at a much lower interest rate.

# Find cheaper insurance rates/then switch over.


# Use coupons to shop with. Don't purchase without a discount coupon.

# Wait for things to first go on sale before buying. Take advantage of catalog saving certificates.


# Don't buy an item just because it is on sale.

# Buy generic or non-name brand merchandise as much as possible.


# Wait for prices to fall to a discounted rate before buying (applies especially to electronics items).

# Reward yourself for saving money. Enjoy as your debt shrinks and your investments grow.


# Drive used cars or leases rather than brand new cars.

# Reduce your auto insurance.


# Don't eat out as much as you'd like to.

# If you do eat out, buy gift certificates for half price meals.


# Buy only discount magazines.

# Do more stay in activities at home.


# Invest the money you save to earn even more.
# Create a plan to save $200 each month (as much as you can manage.) Never miss the monthly savings payment to yourself and try to find ways to increase it.

# Don't spend money just because you have it.


# Look into getting a better quality education.

# Stay very busy - you will have less time to spend money.


# Find an interesting hobby to occupy your time and stop you from spending money.

# Find a hobby that you can turn into earnings.


# Stop smoking and bank the savings.

# Go on a sensible diet and lose weight. You will save money on food, look and feel better, and your long-term healthcare costs should fall dramatically.


# Look carefully at how you spend and save your money.

# Learn how to manage your finances by reading financial publications.


# Increase the amount of money you earn through a second job, promotion, new job, investments, etc.

# Don't try to compete with your friends and neighbors. Be satisfied with what you have.


# Don't compare yourself to your friends and neighbors. Be happy being you.

# Sell your car and take the bus to work if you can.


# 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.

# Paying down your debt is also a way to save money (it saves you from a debt payment and brings you closer to having money to invest).

# Switch to lower your telephone bill.


# Lower your cable bill by deleting pay channels or switch to satellite.

# Earn extra money by completing short surveys online.


# Practice restraint at all times.

# Be patient when bargain shopping.


# Start saving money today!

# Don't give up -- put just $10 aside, today!

More tips in the next post

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More Creative Ways to Save Money

# Shop for clothing at thrift shops (especially for young kids). Look for gently worn or even new clothes for 1/10 the price of new (or less).

# Pay your bills online. It's protected and you can save with stamps.


# Put your kids on the school bus rather than driving them to school.

# Slipcover or reupholster older furniture for a quick update rather than buying expensive new furniture.


# Refinish furniture and/or decorate with new paint. Use older and broken furniture to make a unique piece.

# Take your lunch to work every day! Make your meals in bulk and then freeze them in smaller containers to save even more money.


# Buy a bread maker to make your own bread. This is much cheaper than $2.00 a loaf, and tastes terrific!
# Shop for dented canned goods and outdated toiletries at salvage grocery stores.

# Read magazine subscriptions at the library or buy them at the thrift shop for .25 to .50 after someone else has read them.

# Stop drinking expensive sodas and make Kool-Aid or decaffeinated iced tea, instead.


# Cancel expensive telephone options like call waiting.

# Check out library books instead of buying expensive new titles.


# When you wash your hair every day don't lather twice. Saves shampoo!

# Change your eating habits and avoid expensive, processed foods.


# Exercise and eat right to keep your doctor bills down.

# Brush and floss your teeth to keep the dentist bill down.


# Keep up on regular auto maintenance and avoid costly repair.

# Mend your clothing instead of buying new clothes.


# Buy only clothing that does not require dry cleaning.

# Take care of your own nails. Avoid manicures.


# Simplify your hairstyle - wear a hairdo that doesn't require much maintenance.

# Get at least 3-6 quotes when shopping for items over $100.


# Develop self-control and simplify your life if possible.

# Buy only inexpensive, no-name drugstore cosmetics.


# Cut your dryer sheets in half.
# Buy generic over the counter medicine rather than name brand items when possible.

# Buy generic baby wipes, diapers, and formula, anything you can for the baby.


# Look for quality, name brand clothing at garage sales in more affluent neighborhoods.

# Find fashionable clothing in the sale departments of stores like the Gap and Stitches.


# Keep in fashion by finding basic colored tees and skirts and then add cheaper, trendy accessories.

# Buy baby clothes privately from someone that has an older child (one year older) than yours. You can find good quality clothing cheaper this way.


# When you get change back from a purchase put it in the piggy bank. Always give the cashier whole dollars, not the exact amount. In a few months, you will have "found" money that can be used for an emergency fund.

# You can save money by shopping for groceries in the "bulk foods" aisles in your grocery store.


# Bulk up in the wintertime. 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.

# Use all plastic bags you receive at the grocery store for trash bags.


# Some grocery stores give you a 5-cent credit per bag if you bring your own bags. Pennies add up over time.

# Instead of buying a new 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!


# Save money when shopping next time at the supermarket by remembering 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.

# When you receive a gift that you are sure you won't use, re-gift! The next time you will need to buy a gift - give away one of your own.


# Buy, slaughter and butcher your own cow. The average cost of the meat is $1.00 per pound.

# Hand-pick your own fruits and vegetables in season. They are less expensive and better quality foods.


# The next time you yearn to see a movie wait to see it on DVD at the video store.

# Quick braking, cornering, and accelerating (speeding) will eat your gas up considerably. Never let your fuel needle go below a ½ tank, or fill it up when you drive it to "Empty". Nickel and diming your gas tank gets you no where fast!

more tips in the next post

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Thrifty Ways to Save Money

Saving for an emergency need not be a chore when you are making a good effort to put money aside constantly. Be in a mood of saving and watch as that bank account accumulates.

# Instead of buying a new DVD, save money by trading with family and friends. Once a month do the rounds and before you know it, you will have a new library of good movies to enjoy.

# Plant a small garden each spring, with just the vegetables that you really like. Even a small effort every day can save you dollars usually spent on fresh vegetables at the produce market.


# Buy your bread and other bakery items at the local thrift bread store.

# Check your local library for the newest DVD/video releases and then rent three for $2.00 for two days.
# Read your local newspapers online.

# Search eBay for big ticket items and then save literally hundreds on computers, DVD players, etc.


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

# Make a conscious effort to combine tasks that require driving some place, so you will get the most out of your mileage.


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

# Get rid of your monthly fee long distance service, and just use an access code when you do call, which is infrequently anyway and inexpensive.


# Decide which satellite channels you could do without, and give up a few shows you really like. You can save more than $20.00 on your monthly bill.

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


# Change the oil in your vehicles yourself.

# Save money when buying clothes for the following year at the end of the season / during the off season. You can get great mark down prices.


# Each evening take the spare change from your pockets or periodically clean out your purse and toss the coins aside. Never take any money back until the end of the year. Then take all of the coins to the bank and exchange them for cash. You'll be surprised to find out they've added up to $50, $100 or even $200.

# "Take care of your cents, and then your dollars will take care of themselves."


# Bike to work in good weather instead of driving to save on gas.

# Eat a few hearty vegetarian meals each week.


# Shop garage sales for a great source of household items, books, clothing, and furniture.

# Don't buy bottled water! Buy a good water-filter and drink tap water.

# By the end of each day put all of your change into an empty coffee can. Then roll coins as you watch TV or listen to the radio. This will add up to hundreds of dollars very quickly and gives you something good to do with your hands to relax.

# Save money by reducing your energy costs. Energy can be the number two or three expense, along with the cost of rent or mortgage and food.

Switch every single bulb to compact florescent bulbs. They may be expensive but they last for years (no more replacements) and tend to use about 10-20% of the energy of regular bulbs. Buy one each time you make a shopping trip, starting in the high traffic areas of the house like the kitchen or stairway until you no longer have any incandescent bulbs left.

If you own your home, seriously consider switching any electric heating appliances to natural gas such as the hot water heater, furnace, stove or dryer. Electricity can be used for almost any device, and you pay a hefty premium on electricity for that. Gas is very efficient for heating devices; it heats up much quicker and wastes far less energy.

# Do all of your laundry in cold water. Most modern detergents are just as effective in cold water as in hot water. Also, make sure any laundry that you do is a complete and full load - it takes the same amount of energy as a tenth of a load.

# Try this trick with your dryer: Put it on for 20 minutes, and then put it on "air fluff" for 15 minutes. Your clothes are already hot with the water coming off as vapor and you'll find although it takes about 20% longer, you save about 50% of the energy costs of your dryer.

# In the colder months when you need to use your furnace, turn the heat on to your desired temperature. When the furnace turns off (your house has been heated to temperature), turn the thermostat to the off position. If you feel cold, check the thermostat. If you 5 degrees below your desired temperature, turn the thermostat on again to your desired temperature.

# Often furnaces will kick in and out to maintain your desired temperature, but furnaces are far more efficient when they are in the heat cycle for longer periods. You'll save about 50% on your furnace costs, even 30% over having a high-tech digital thermostat. Of course keep it completely off when you're out of the house.

# If you ever leave the house for the weekend or longer, unplug everything. That alarm clock or VCR blinking or DVD on standby still take power. If you're leaving the house for a week, you will save real money by just unplugging all of these devices- and you'll protect your home from fire risks should there be a malfunction or power surge.

# Keep your fridge and freezer as full as possible. The fewer airspaces in your fridge, the less time it takes for your fridge or freezer to cool the air. Don't have much money for food? Just buy a bunch of bread and throw it in the freezer, you usually can get bread cheaper when you buy it in large quantities anyway.

# If you really need a magazine subscription make up a small group maybe with three people to divide the costs. Then each person can keep the magazine for one week.

# Save money by throwing away any catalogs or magazines which tempt you to buy something.

Cereal can be frozen and it keeps for a very long time. Before that, we could never eat it fast enough and had to throw it away when it was stale. When you pour milk on it, you would never know that it had been frozen. I have not yet found a cereal that tasted bad from the freezer.

# Don't throw away your empty bags of milk. Instead cut them open and wash them. You can use them as baggies. They also keep frozen foods fresh when used with a sealer.

# Save money by preparing your grocery list by planning menus for the coming week and buy only what is on your list.

# Borrow DVDs from friends and family instead of renting.

# Set your washer to the shortest wash setting possible. Instead of washing your clothes for 10 minutes put it on for 5 minutes. It saves on your electric bill and on your clothes wear and tear.

# Pick up the pennies, dimes and nickels found on the sidewalks or in parking lots. Add it to the jar of loose change you are saving and by the end of the year you can add this money to your emergency fund.

# Foster the practice of team sports in your kids. The more time you spend with your kids playing sports, the less time and money they will spend at the shopping mall.

# To save money on gas, don't fill the gas tank to the brim since the extra weight of the gasoline takes extra toll on engine power. Take out all items in the trunk which are not important to reduce vehicle weight.

# Watch other peoples' budget-conscious movies. Buy your own jar of popcorn and add your own seasonings.

# Turn off the heat at night and sleep with a hot water bottle. This works fine in a small apartment, because it heats up quickly. For people with larger houses, turning the heat down should work well, too.

# If you must drink a specialty coffee, Espresso seems like a luxury item, but because it's ground finer, and you use less, the coffee lasts longer.

more tips in the next post...

Shop eBay for things like razors, lotions, computer software, baby formula, diapers, etc. If you can plan ahead, you will save.

Each pay period set aside any amount that you have budgeted for but did not need to spend. For instance, you may have anticipated that $50 would be needed to maintain your car, but only had to spend $30. Take the "extra" $20 and put it into your savings account.