18 Ways to Save Money

With everyone worried about money, saving, spending less and how to get through the recession I thought I would share some of my ways to save money.

1. Brew my own coffee. I buy a can of coffee on sale for $5.99 or so and it lasts me over a month. If I bought a coffee at the store it's a minimum of $2.00 a coffee around here. This saves me a lot of money

2. Have don't buy extra's money. Buy things like gas to get to work, food to eat, toilet paper and that sort of thing. But cut out the going out for dinners, the extra spur of the moment things you see on sale but don't really need.

3. Put electronic equipment on power bars or unplug when not in use. You would be amazed at how much power things do use even when not in use.

4. Use a movie service like Zip.ca or Netflix. I have the 3 DVD unlimited plan and I get about seven to eight movies a month. A movie here is 5.49 or 5.99 a movie to rent so by the fourth movie I've paid my rental fees and the rest are free

5. Buy fruit and vegetables at the local Farmer's Market during the summer. Or grow your own if you have the space. The veggies are fresher cheaper and tend to be more organic.

6. Get rid of your credit card and buy only what you can afford. If you must keep it make sure you get some sort of reward for it be it cash back, air miles or something else. Try to pay it off as soon as you get home from the store then there won't be interest charged.

Rather than having a real credit card I went the route of getting a much music prepaid card (there are others) and put the money I need to spend via credit card on it for online purchases. There's no interest and I can't go over the limit.

7. Coupons - they take time to find but they can save you a lot of money in the long run. You can order them online, find them in the stores or papers or even print them from websites. I only print the ones that are for a decent fee because ink and paper cost money too.

I also take the total amount I would have spent without using the coupons and put the coupon total into a piggy bank to save for later. It grows quickly when you use them and it's a nice stash of cash for later.

8. Water - get a filter for your tap or a jug. You can also fill your bottles of water at a family member's house that has a big filtration system. I don't pay at the store to fill mine I take mine to my moms and fill them - it also tastes better to me.

9. Use the local library. They have books, movies, cds, dvds and magazines. Some libraries even have free internet access.

10. Take your lunch to work. I take leftovers or premade meals I've made myself rather than going out to lunch or buying the tv dinners to take.

11. Buy generic medications. Aspirin, Tylenol and ibuprofen are all the same as their generic counter parts. The only medicines I find different are the allergy medications - certain brands work better for me.

12. Rather than making an impulse purchase set it aside for a time then if you still want the item go back for it. I keep a book of things I think I want and cross them out after a while. Its helping me to not have a pile of unused junk around.

13. If you only use one machine at the gym invest in that machine for your home. I was paying $40 a month to go to town and use an elliptical trainer. I found one on sale for $160 (four months gym fees!). Now I use it at home and I also save the gas money from the trips to town.

14. Pay your bills online - this saves time and money especially if you normally mail a cheque in.

15. Get your news, bills and other mail online rather than on printed paper.

16. Sell all your old stuff online. Ebay, kijiji, craigslist, amazon and many other sites allow you to sell used items for a decent price. Just because you don't want it anymore doesn't mean that someone else isn't hoping to get something like it.

17. Combine your satellite dish account with a family member's and split the bill. Many companies allow for more than one receiver on the account. I pay the bill during June, July, August and September, my mom pays it the rest of the year as she has 2 dishes on the account and I only have one.

18. Buy kitchenware - plates, cups, cutlery, pots and pans, baking ware and make your own food. Don't just keep buying disposable plates and wonder why you spend so much on throw away things.

These are my current saving money tips. I'm open to suggestions and other ideas so please feel free to share or comment.