5 Ways to Save $100 Every Month

So you think every dime of your pay check is spoken for even before you see it? That taking a Caribbean cruise or paying more than the minimum on your credit cards is something "other people" can afford to do? Think again. Here are five painless ways to have an extra $100 in your pocket at the end of every month.

1. If you are spending $5 every day on your java, that's $150 a month. Turn it into a Monday and Friday treat: Mondays to help you face the start of another weeklong grind, and Fridays to celebrate the start of the weekend. The rest of the time you can make your own coffee. This way you spend only $40 or so instead of $150 each month, leaving an extra $110 in your pocket.

2. Brown bag it to work most days. It's cheaper, healthier, and will probably help you lose weight into the bargain. Easy $100+ saving since you're probably spending at least $5 every day buying lunch out.

3. Downsize or cancel cable TV. How many channels can a person watch anyway? And like most people you're probably spending more time surfing the Internet and less time watching TV so you don't need all those premium channels. And speaking of the Internet, stop paying your old ISP to forward your email. Would you pay the post office to keep forwarding your snail mail forever or would you just give everybody your new address? Also, when you want to watch a video, borrow one free from the library instead of paying rental fees. Just be sure to return it on time or you will get hit with late fees just like at the video store.

4. Cancel your bells-and-whistles landline and the subscription to the newspaper that you never read, and get a rebate from your gas and electric company for recycling that old working refrigerator in the garage that never has more than a six-pack in it.

5. Stop paying hundreds of dollars every month to store your stuff. If you really needed it, you'd find space for it at home. If you're keeping it in case your current marriage/relationship doesn't work out, it's cheaper to sell the stuff and save what you're paying for storage to buy it back if you do break up.