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Check
out your local library. Books can be expensive
and most people only read a book once anyway. That's what libraries
are there for. Also many are stocked with DVD's and CD's too. Why
buy or rent when you can get them from the library for free? Many
libraries have free museum passes too.
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Take
advantage of Catalina coupons and overage coupons. Catalina contest
are coupons that print out at the register as a thank you for buying
certain products. I've been told they get their name from the company
where the coupons come from. For example, If you get a coupon for
$2 off cookies that are on sale for $1.50. As long as you have another
product the difference can be applied towards that. So if you also
had a candy bar that was $1, the overage of 50 cents would be applied
towards the candy bar.
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Scalpers
and ticket agencies can charge outrageous prices. You're best bet
is to attempt to get tickets right when they go on sale. Even if
you do get through right away for tickets you're still going to
have to pay convenience charges, delivery fees, etc. You're best
way to save money is stay home and if it's a ball game just watch
it at home. If you are going to go to the event, know when the tickets
go on sale and do your best to get through for the tickets as soon
as they go on sale.
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Giant
jars of coins are great, but they're not earning you interest. Cash
them in and start gaining interest. If you're not gaining interest
then you're losing money.
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Sharing
saves money when ordering food at fast food restaurants, movie theaters
and many other places. It's usually cheaper to buy a larger size
order of fries and share than buying two smaller sizes. The same
goes for movie popcorn and drinks. It also works at ice cream shops.
Getting three scoops or a bigger size can be cheaper than 2 kiddie
cones.
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Hate
rolling coins? If so then Coinstar is great for you. They take a
small percentage of what you cash in, but I'd rather pay a few cents
on the dollar than counting, rolling and bringing in thousands of
pennies to the bank. Don't like the idea of paying a percentage?
Some locations charge no commission if you choose to get a gift
card at certain retail locations such as Amazon.com, Circuit City,
ITunes and many more. Go to Coinstar.com
for locations and details.
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Have
too many magazine subscriptions that you don't seem to read anymore?
Don't renew them. Save some money.
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Find
you're buying the same magazine every few months at a local store?
In that case get a subscription. Why pay $4 or $5 an issue when
some 12 issue subscriptions cost the same as only 2 or 3 issues
of regular price and you get them delivered right to your door.
The same rule applies to buying newspapers.
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Does
the store you shop at have any type of frequent shopper card? If
so then make sure you sign up. If the program is free you have nothing
to lose. Sometimes they may charge a small fee. If so then you have
to try and figure out if you shop there enough to benefit. If the
answer is yes sign up of course.
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A
great reward program is the Best
Buy Reward Zone where you get reward certificates every time
you spend a certain amount of money at BestBuy stores. I've received
bonus birthday and Christmas coupons and the program is absolutely
free. Plan on buying that big screen TV? Why not sign up and get
some extra money back. The decision to sign up is a no brainer as
long as you shop at BestBuy.
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One
of my favorite reward programs has got to be Upromise.
This is another free program. If you have young kids or plan on
having kids this program is incredible. Even if you don't and have
relatives or friends who do, you can sign up and help them save
for college and it cost you nothing. All you have to do is register
your credit cards and certain grocery store cards. When you use
those cards, to buy eligible products, a percentage of whatever
you purchased is deposited into an account that can be later be
applied to a college education. Most purchases add pennies to the
account, but some larger purchases make much bigger contributions.
The big and small purchases over 18 years add up to a good amount
of money. Especially if you have other relatives registered for
the benefit of a specific child. Most importantly once the cards
are registered you just sit back and watch the money add up.
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Rent
movies? Next time you're at the grocery store you might find a Redbox
machine. This is a DVD vending machine that charges usually a $1
a night. If you live nearby and you're good about returning things
this should be perfect for you. Every Tuesday the machines are loaded
with new releases and $1 a night beats buying most movies brand
new. Especially if after you watch it you decide it's one you would
never want to watch again. As
of right now RedBox is having a promotion. If you register your
cell phone, they text a new code every Monday for a free nights
rental.
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If
you live nearby to a Blockbuster
video and you occasionally rent older movies check out their Rewards
card. A one time fee gets you one free movie a month and usually
they email you other great deals too. Such as any movie for 99 cents
or discounts on purchasing some of their previously viewed movies.
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If
you're a person who likes to go out and buy the movies when they
first come out, let a friend borrow them when you're done. Instead
of having the disk just sit on rack let others benefit and maybe
when they pick up a new release they'll return the favor.
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Besides
just sharing movies you can also share video games. When the new
games cost up to $60 each, why let them gather dust after you've
beaten the game. Passing games around in a network can save tons
of money instead of shelling out for a new release every few weeks.
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If
you've got children and spend money on babysitting, try setting
up a babysitting network with one or more friends if they have children
of similar ages. One night you can watch their child and then next
time they can watch yours.
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Another
one of my strongest recommendations is to check out ING.
ING is an online bank. It pays far more interest than most conventional
banks. For example my local credit union check account earns .25
percent interest. That's just a one quarter of a percent. ING at
the same time was a little more than 3 percent. That's a giant increase.
Of course rates do fluctuate, but every time I've looked the rates
are far better with ING. Since interest is compounded, the savings
over the year can become thousands of extra dollars. Plus it's easy
to transfer money back and forth between ING and other financial
institutions too.
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Eating
out can add up to a lot of money. Try and learn a little basic cooking.
Take a cooking class or read up online. Groceries are much cheaper
than a prepared meal. Try not to waste either and save your leftover
dinner for tomorrow's lunch.
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When
grocery shopping, try to see if your grocer has a reward program
too. Some give you special discounts on products if you're a member.
Some shoppers are rewarded with discounts such as a $10 reward card
for every $100 spent.
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If
you are going out to eat, try to cut back on the alcoholic beverages.
That's where most restaurants make a great deal of their money.
A night of drinking at a bar or restaurant can easily top $50 or
more. For that amount of money you could buy a few bottles at most
stores.
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If
you smoke, quit! You know it makes you stink and it's bad for you
and all the other health reasons. At $5 or more a pack it's expensive
as hell too. Just a half pack a day can cost you $1000 a year. Plus
it can raise your health insurance, life insurance and even home
insurance cost. Mahalo
is a great site I found to help get you on your way if you're trying
to quit. Another great article on quitting smoking was submitted
by one of my readers Nick Bellini Quitting
Smoking! I have a system that may get you started!
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Another
daily addiction to watch out for is that daily morning coffee run.
Some of those expensive first morning fixes can really add up too.
Especially when you start adding in the danish or donuts. Brew yourself
a cup at home and save some serious money.
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Another
addiction you see every day at the convenience store is the lottery
junkie. It's what one of my friends calls the poor man's taxation.
Odds are you're going to lose. The more you play the more you're
going to lose. Even if you win, the state counts on you giving it
right back.
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If
you like to go to Casinos even occasionally make sure you sign up
for the casino's players club. You might not gamble enough to get
major benefits, but even if you gamble a little here and there you
can usually get yourself a free meal or more. I've had friends who
have earned enough to get free hotels stays and even limos pick
them up for a weekend visit. If you're going to gamble anyway, you
might as well take advantage of what you can get out of it.
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Like
to win, but don't like spending money. Then check out this sweepstakes
site. It could definitely be for you and it's absolutely free.
I have won a few small things myself including $2000 worth of ice
cream for my work place. Concert tickets, tickets to see Seinfeld,
sporting events, DVDs and lots of other small stuff. I'm still hoping
for the new car :-(. You never know though. Could happen.
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If
you call internationally then make sure you're signed up for your
phone carriers international calling plan. Dialing direct without
any type of plan can cost you way more. A ten cent call with a plan
can cost a few dollars a minute without one.
-
Gotta
make a call at someone else's house or at work? Check out a prepaid
international card. My wife uses phonecards-prepaid.biz.
It saves us a fortune.
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Making
lots of calls in the United States or Canada. Dealing with separate
carriers. Check with your local phone company about unlimited calling
plans.
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If
you're driving and need a number, you know your cell phone directory
assistance is there, but usually expensive. A great alternative
a friend recently told me about is 1-800-FREE-411. Yes you have
to listen to a small ad, but it's toll free. It's come in handy
for me more than once.
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Bundling
can be a great way to save money too. Bundle your phone with High
Speed Internet and television and get better rates usually on all
the products. Verizon Fios is a top notch way to go or Direct TV
and DSL is another great option.
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If
you're one of the few that use an antenna instead of cable or satellite
then don't wait until February 2009 to get a digital converter box.
The government is already giving out the $40 coupons at www.dtv2009.gov.
The boxes go for about $60, so about $20 after the coupon, at places
like Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City and other stores. The Antenna
plugs right into the converter box and then the converter box plugs
into the tv. For me the picture went from static and interference
to just as good as cable picture. Obviously I still got just local
basics channels, but I actually got more of them and the picture
was surprisingly clear. So why wait? This might be good if you have
an extra TV in an attic, porch or rarely used room that you never
hooked into cable too.
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Evaluate
if you really watch the premium movie channels your cable company
may charge you for. Most premium movie packages re-run a lot of
the same movies over and over. If you're trying to trim some fat
off your cable bill the premium movie channels are usually a great
place to start.
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If
you do want to splurge on your TV service then check out DVR. My
wife and I find it to be one of the greatest inventions out there.
The $5 a month Direct TV charges
us to have a plan with DVR is the best $5 I spend every month. If
you need to know how it works you can google DVR service. Basically
it is like a computer in your cable box. It records whatever you're
watching so you can pause live TV if the phone rings, the baby cries,
etc. You can then resume right where you left off. You can tape
a season pass of your favorite show so even if the show is a two
hour special or moves to another night it will record it. If you
have two shows on at the same time it can record both. Best of all
you can watch them when you want to and even fast forward through
the commercials saving time.
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If
you enjoy going out to the movies, check to see if your local movie
theatre has any discounted days. Where I live there are two that
do. Every Tuesday is bargain night at one. Instead of the normal
$9-$10 rate we can go to any movie for about half the price at National
Amusements. AMC also
has discounted weekend morning matinees that are usually $4 or $5.
If you're taking a family of 4 or more, those savings can really
add up. Some places also have elderly discounts and some have special
children's discounted movies.
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Dinner
and a movie can add up. Some chain restaurants have frequent customer
discounts where you can register online for specials and coupons.
Usually you can get free things such as buy one meal and get one
free. Some discounts are for free appetizers and some for free deserts.
Check out my rewards program section where
I'm sure there are some restaurants near you.
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Take
out can be a great alternative to eating out. Besides saving on
drinks which you most likely have at home you also can save the
15-20 percent tip too. Even though you're picking up the takeout,
you can still usually use coupons for the restaurant if you happen
to have some. Some restaurant coupons exclude take out so read the
fine print first.
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Learn
how to do things yourself. If you've got internet access, which
of course you if you're reading this, you have a enormous information
at your fingertips. You can search how to guides to learn just about
anything. You can Google "how
to" and your topic. This also works great with Youtube
to get a video on how to do countless topics. You can also visit
5min.com which also has various
other how to videos. If you can learn to do things yourself you
can save money by not having to pay someone to do it for you.
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Buying
items in bulk can be a great way to save if you need that much of
a product and the product doesn't expire before you get to use it
all.
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When
buying in Bulk there are three equally great stores. I recommend
BJ's, Costco and Sam's Club. I have belonged at one point to all
of them. Currently I belong to BJ's. The one thing I do like about
BJ's over the others is they also take coupons for their products,
which can make them even better deals.
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Do
you buy a bottle of soda or two every day at work? Try bringing
a couple bottles of water. You can even buy drink mixes to add a
little taste. Either that or bring a few cans to work with you.
Buying the cans in bulk can be much cheaper. For the price of just
a couple of bottles you can usually buy a 12 pack of cans. Look
for sales at around 4 cases for $10.
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Buying
holiday cards can be expensive and add up. BJ's and some other warehouse
type stores sell them for usually more than half off of pharmacy
prices. The savings on 10-15 cards could pay for the membership
alone to some of those warehouse stores.
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If
you are shopping at pharmacies then make sure you are signed up
for their rewards card if they have them. CVS
for example is always running good extra care card discounts exclusively
for their card members.
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When
gift giving be careful with giving gift cards. Remember you're taking
cash that can be used any where and now turning it into a gift that
can only be used at one place. Why not cash then? Some mall cards
even cost you an activation charge. So basically you're paying an
extra $2.50 or more to give them whatever you could have just given
them in cash. Some prepaid Credit Cards charge activations fees
as high as $6. If not used within a certain period of time some
lose value and some will even deduct money to check the balance
on the prepaid card.
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When
using rebates for any product remember the reason why most companies
give rebates instead of just discounting the price is they're counting
on a certain number of people not submitting the rebate. Maybe the
consumer loses the paperwork. Maybe they forget to mail it in or
maybe they fill out the rebate incorrectly. I suggest as soon as
possible, read the rules over carefully and fill out the paper work.
If it says 6-8 weeks for redemption or whatever time period it quotes
then write that down on a calendar. If after one week more than
the allotted time and you don't receive your rebate, contact the
company. Make sure you save your receipts and copies of any forms
until after your rebate is received.
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Recycle.
No matter what or how you recycle this one helps save the environment
and can in many ways save you money too.
-
Heating
bills going higher and higher? Dress warmer inside. Instead of walking
around in boxers in winter put on some sweats and a sweatshirt on
and save.
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If
your company gives you the option of a 401k make sure you're investing
at least as much as the company will match. The match is extra money
the company gives you to match your savings. Anything less then
that amount you're not taking full advantage and costing yourself
money.
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If
you have the opportunity to work overtime take advantage of that
as best you can. Time and a half and double time really add up.
Invest it young and benefit even more later.
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Shopping
for clothes. Why pay full price? Check out TJ Maxx, Marshalls or
AJ Wright. Outlet malls are another great spot for clothes and other
items at discounted prices. Locate one near you at Outletbound.com.
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Get
yourself a Sentry Safe or similar product. There are many different
kinds in many different shapes and sizes, but a basic model is about
$30-$60 and well worth the investment. They're waterproof and fireproof.
You can't store a ton in them, but what you can store is priceless.
Many older photos can be scanned onto a disc that are simply irreplaceable.
With current technology it's easy to store thousands of photos or
videos on a few dvds or flash drive. Passports, Bonds, stocks and
other financial documents can be stored here as well as birth certificates,
jewels and anything else precious.
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If
you're looking for a bargain or looking to sell something you want
to get rid of, then Ebay is a
great site to go to. Another great site that doesn't get anywhere
near the publicity is Craigslist.
It's a very basic site that has been around for years. You can find
almost anything at this site and it's broken down into regions.
Many sellers can deliver larger items or you can pick them up. It
can save a lot on shipping and it's a great way to get rid of that
stair master you never use. It's a great place to sell your car
as an alternative to getting low balled trading it in at your local
car dealership too.
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Try
and avoid individually wrapped snacks like chip and cookies. Even
the new diet snacks with 100 calories in each bag. It's much cheaper
to buy the items in regular or larger sized bags and put small handfuls
in ziploc bags if you want to take them on the go.
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If
you're married or in a serious relationship make sure you're both
on the same page with your finances. Neither should have the "the
other person takes care of that" attitude. Make sure you're
working together and setting achievable common goals. Make sure
both of you are involved.
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Think
long term when it comes to making changes that save money. Yes a
small change might just save you 50 cents a day but over one year
that's $182.50. Things that save $5 a day like quitting smoking
can save $1825 in a year. That's a nice high def television saved
in one year by quitting smoking. Canceling a movie channel on your
cable may save you $12 a month, but over a year that's $144. Many
of these savings carry on for years to come as well.
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If
you're on vacation and staying at a resort things can be very expensive.
For example cans of Coke at the Atlantis resort were $3 each. Right
across the street there was a convenience store selling them for
$1 each. Always check out your surroundings. Souvenirs can usually
be purchased much cheaper elsewhere too. In Kona, Hawaii a few years
back souvenirs at the resort were 3 or 4 times more expensive than
at a local Walmart 20 minutes away for the same exact items.
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Painting
a room is an inexpensive way of making a change in your apartment
or home. For under $40 you can buy a roll of painters tape,a gallon
of paint and a decent brush. Some places like Home
Depot even sell "oops" paint which is recently returned
and discounted paint for under $10. They might not have liked the
color, but that doesn't mean you won't.
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Always
keep learning and searching for tips on ways to improve. With Google
and other search engines you can get information on about any topic
imaginable. When it comes to saving, I myself am always looking
for new ways to save. I am frequently checking out forums on saving
money and have found some great sites out there too. Saveforhouse.com
is an excellent site on the subject. I highly recommend checking
it out. The site is loaded with great content and has pages of information
you can learn from. Of course, don't forget to come back here later
too though.
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Make
sure you check your credit report at least once a year. The three
major credit companies are TransUnion
(1-800-916-8800), Equifax (1-800-685-1111),
and Experian (1-888-397-3742).
Search for errors and if you find any report them to get them fixed.
Errors could cost you significantly if not fixed. You may be rejected
for a loan or service or could end up paying much higher rates if
your credit mistake doesn't get resolved.
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Do
you like to bowl? If you're near a Brunswick
bowling ally go to their home page and register your email. You'll
get emails for bowling as low as 99 cents a string and sometimes
many other great discounts.
-
Consumer
Reports 2008 September issue recently reported 71 percent of
people who used a Real Estate agent and negotiated for lower commissions
were successful. Sadly only 46 percent of people tried negotiating
with their agent for a lower rate. Some got rates as low as 3 percent
when the traditional rate was 6 percent. On a $250,000 house those
savings would about $7500 and many people are buying homes costing
far more than that. It pays to negotiate. Just asking a few simple
questions could save you thousands.
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Mix
drinks yourself and I'm not talking about alcoholic beverages either
(I'm sure that's much cheaper to do as well though too). I mean
mix things like lemonade, tea and even Gatorade. All can be purchased
in powder form and you can mix them at home in a pitcher. It's usually
a lot cheaper to do it this way. It also cuts back a lot on waste
by not throwing out all those plastic bottles.
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Beware
on how much money you spend on things you collect. People sometimes
go overboard on spending on their collections. Maybe It's comic
books, baseball cards, precious moments, shoes, pocketbooks or anything.
Many types of collections are fads that pass. Look at how many people
were paying hundreds of dollars on Beanie Bears collections a few
years back
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I've
found a great site that has helped me save money & it's also
good for the environment. www.Freecycle.org
is a large site that is locally based. The basic idea of Freecycle
is recycling. Instead of taking usable items to the landfill, you
give them away. Members contact each other when someone lists an
item. It's up to the person doing the listing who they give it to.
Members can also ask for items. Sometimes you get what you ask for,
other times not.
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Make a meal plan. This
has helped me structure what I'm going to eat, so I don't end
up tired and hungry at the end of the day, and wind up in the
McDonald's drive-thru, wasting more money. Planning according
to what I have on hand helps me use what I have, saving me money
because I don't have to buy a ton of new ingredients every week;
it also allows me to plan ahead, so that I can use up produce
and other perishables in other meals, before they go bad - eliminating
waste equals big $$! ( Thanks SuperCoupon Girl from supercoupongirl.com)
