Ten Nifty Ways to Save Money

After reading 15 Great Ways to Cut Corners and Save Some Real Cash by Brandi Thornsberry, published on October 25, 2006, I thought it would be fun to see if I could come up with ten additional money-saving tips. Here goes:

1. Stock up on your favorite non-perishable foods when they go on sale at the grocery store. Items like cereal and canned soup are often deeply discounted, sometimes as much as half off, when they go on sale. They will keep for a long time, so if you have room to store them at home, stock up whenever you see your favorite brands on sale. There's really no reason to ever have to pay full price for these items! Other good items to stock up on when on sale on are pasta, tuna, and non-food items that you get at the grocery store, such as cleaning supplies and personal care products.

2. Try doing exercise videos. That's much cheaper than going to a gym. You can borrow exercise videos and DVDs for free at the library, or buy them for a couple of dollars on half.com, ebay, or at your local thrift store.

3. Don't go clothes shopping at a department store unless the store is having a sale. Department stores have sales so frequently that it's not hard to wait. You can sign up to be on the email list for your favorite stores and they will notify you when they are having a sale.

4. Before you buy anything, especially if you are about to buy it on impulse, ask yourself if you really need it or want it. Every time you don't buy something that you don't really need or want, give yourself a mental pat on the back. Congratulate yourself for saving money and reducing clutter. With enough practice, this can become a habit.

5. Sometimes you can save money by spending more. For example, good quality shoes will cost more when you buy them, but they will last longer than cheap shoes. Whole grain bread may cost more than regular bread, but it is more filling, so you will eat less and the loaf will last longer. By becoming aware of both the short and the long-term costs of what you buy, you can save more money in the long term.

6. Put on a sweater in the evenings and you can turn the heat down a bit. If possible, only heat the rooms that you are using.

7. Whenever possible, walk instead of driving. You will save on gas and on wear-and-tear on the car. You will also be getting free exercise, which will improve your health, which may save on medical bills later in life!

8. If you are smoking, try to stop. Buy whatever stop-smoking aids - such as the patch, or membership in a stop-smoking group, or prescription stop-smoking drugs - that you think might help you. These things are expensive, but think of them as an investment. You may spend several hundred dollars now, but you can save thousands of dollars every single year in the future for the rest of your life if you don't have to buy cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, throat lozenges, etc. You may also save on future health care costs and lost wages. Your investment may be returned to you tens of thousands of times over.

9. Don't buy new technology items when they first come out. Any time a new electronics item is introduced to the public, the price will be high. Manufacturers can set the prices high because they know there are people who feel as if they always have to have the latest thing and will pay through the nose to do so. But if you wait a while, the prices will drop, often very dramatically. As soon as a product is no longer the "hot" item of the moment, it will become much cheaper. But you can still enjoy it just as much!

10. If you pay late fees sometimes because you forget to pay your bills, that is money going down the drain. Take the time to get organized and to find a bill-paying system that will work smoothly for you. Some possibilities: (a) setting up a payment system with your bank online, where your fixed monthly bills will be paid automatically; or (b) having bills such as utility bills and credit card bills deducted automatically from your checking account; or (c) having a specific drawer where you always put your paper bills and going through them twice a week; or (d) as soon as you get a bill in the mail, write the day that you want to pay it on your calendar.

I hope some of these tips are helpful! And thanks again to Brandi for her article which inspired me to write this one.