If my previous posts about saving money weren't enough for you, I've compiled a list of 88 ways to save money. Sure, some of these might seem obvious, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded once in a while.
The items are in no particular order of importance, but might be grouped by themes. (Apologies for any possible duplicate or similar items. I did my best to edit.) I've linked some items to other websites, including pfblogs (personal finance blogs). By doing so, understand that I am not necessarily endorsing them , nor have I necessarily tried out the linked-to services or products. I have, however, read most of the articles linked to.
Upon reading the first few items, you might think that I have a vegetarian agenda. Not true. I am a former vegetarian (because of personal health reasons). But food costs can often be the type that goes out of control in the monthly budget, since many others are usually the same each month. As well, eating properly means preserving your health, which in turn means avoiding expensive medical and health bills in the future.
(1) Look for jobs online.
Instead of buying a newspaper.
(2) Take advantage of credit card promos.
This includes cash back and free iPods. American Express. Discover Card - 5% cash back. $100 cash back or gift card, Bank of America iPod, AmeriTrade iPod [My Money Blog]. For general info about credit cards, see Credit Card Lowdown or Your Credit Advisor.
(3) Manage your credit card debt.
Pay
off your credit cards with the highest interest rates first; pay your
monthly balance off in time; pay off more than the minimum monthly
amount. All of these will save you something in terms of interest.
Otherwise you end up desperate for credit [MSN Money] and should just bend over.
(4) Ditch your credit card and pay with cash.
Spend only that money which you actually have. What a radical idea.
(5) Buy and sell stocks less often.
Save on transaction fees.
(6) Don't buy a TV.
Instead,
get a large computer screen and a TV capture box (PVR - personal video
recorder) so that you can watch on your computer. You'll also save on
electricity by not having both TV and computer turned on at the same
time. If you record shows on your computer to watch later, you can
often watch at a slightly faster speed, to save total viewing time.
(Depends on your viewing software.)
(7) Don't buy a TV, part 2.
There
are dozens of free video streaming sites online. There are even a few
broadcast networks releasing TV shows free online, including NBC and
CBS (United States). In some cases, you have to live within a certain
geographical area to access content, but not always. You may have to
watch commercials as part of the deal. If you're just looking for video
content, a good place to start is by visiting YouTube. Or if you prefer to download video and watch it later, get the free Democracy Player. You can also find info about IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) at ItsMyTelevision.
(8) Get a voltage regulator.
If
you have a lot of AC-based consumer electronics, use a voltage
regulator to even out the amount of peak power you use at any time.
(9) Get a free iPod, MP3 player, or laptop.
There
are legitimate programs online, but they do require you to get friends
to sign up for the same programs. So this isn't for everyone. In some
cases, you also have to spend a bit of money to sign up for certain
promos, as will your friends.
(10) Download legitimate MP3 files.
Many
official websites of musicians make a few songs per album available
online. Download MP3 files from several of your faves, then burn your
own mix CD using free music player software such as iTunes or Windows
Media Player.
(11) Buy used furniture.
For
college. You don't really need anything fancy while at school, and thus
don't have to worry about "hazards" ruining furniture.
(12) Take degrees online.
Instead
of spending money on a bricks-and-mortar college, you can get advanced,
respectable degrees through distance/ online learning for less money.
Learn at your own pace, save money, and still have time for a job and
for life. For general information, see Online University Lowdown or Degree Tutor.
(13) Get a free education.
Study
hard and apply for scholarships; volunteer for the Army or Reserves and
get paid courses; take free courses and language lessons online. See
Technophilia's article Get a free college education online, and check Open Learning Initiative, amongst others, for free courses. UCB (University of California Berkeley) will also be offering hundreds of hours of free courses [San Francisco Business Times] through Google Video.
(14) Travel in off-peak times [Kiplinger's].
(15) Join a last-minute travel club.
If
you are able to drop things on the fly, and enjoy travelling, these
clubs can save you a lot of money on trips. Tickets are discounted
because of last-minute cancellations.
(16) Sleep in an airport to save money [My Money Blog].
Just make sure you aren't violating loitering laws, or you may need to spend bail money.
(17) Stay at hostels.
If
you're travelling, hostels can save you money. [But keep your money in
a hidden belt compartment]. Alternately, you can sometimes find
friendly families that will take you in for a small fee. They might
even agree to being tour guides.
(18) Be friendly [Free Money Finance].
People
are so busy in life these days that common courtesy and niceties are
often forgotten. Be friendly and polite, and see how much money you'll
save. Just be real.
(19) Take care of your health.
Not
doing so in advance might mean you end up ill in the future, and have
expensive medical bills or even have to take loads of medicine or
vitamins daily. (My monthly bill, >$250.)
(20) Save on diet plans: reduce portion sizes.
If
you're going to snack, chew slowly. We can likely eat close to half the
normal portion sizes, if we eat slowly. Chew each bite slowly and
twelve or more times. You will still feel satisfied and will not gain
weight.
(21) Give up snacks.
Snacks, per volume, tend
to have less nutritional value and cost more. Do the math, and you'll
find that cola/ soda can be more expensive than gas, for example.
(22) Eat vegetarian.
Or
eat more veggies, less meat per portion size. Not the pre-packaged
stuff from companies owned by rockstars (even if they are vegetarians),
and which only rockstars can afford, but real veg cooking. Get an
inexpensive flat-bottom wok and you can make hundreds of easy, tasty,
visually appealing vegetarian meals from several cultures. If you're
avoiding vegetarian dishes because you think it means tasteless boiled
vegetables, then you'll be happy to know that veg dishes can actually
taste amazingly good - and be nutritious besides - often when given a
foreign cuisine treatment, such as stir-fry. I've made real veggie
burgers with mushrooms and high-protein chickpea flour that fooled
dozens of friends into thinking they were eating meat. (Secret recipe;
sorry.)
(23) Diversify your recipes.
Learn to cook
other cuisines so that you aren't eating the same "boring" meals over
and over at home, so that you are not tempted to order out regularly.
Single people and couples are particularly susceptible to ordering out,
and that often amounts to sandwiches, fried chicken, Chinese food,
Indian food, etc. Learn to cook your own.
(24) Stop eating out so often.
When
I consulted and thus commuted a lot, I was spending around $600/month
on food and meals. (Of course, part of that was because I didn't chew
slowly, as I mention above.) It's easy to lose track of food
expenditures, but tracking does help reduce costs, provided you scale
back a bit.
(25) Go buffet.
Eat at inexpensive,
all-you-can-eat buffets during off-peak hours. But still chew slowly,
and take your time getting up to the servery between plates.
(26) Make your own snacks.
Make them in bulk, on weekends - or whenever you have a couple of hours free to do this in a relaxed manner.
(27) Make pizza.
Make
your own Friday night pizza. It's not that hard, especially if you buy
pre-formed pizza shells. You can customize them however you want, and
you'll see what kind of profit margin pizzerias sometimes make. In
other words, you'll save. Make several and invite friends over for card
games or poker, as inexpensive weekend entertainment. Here's a tip. If
you like mushrooms, sautee up a batch of sliced mushrooms in a bit of
butter and canola or olive oil. Put these on your pizza before it goes
into the oven. Pre-sauteed mushrooms on pizza are juicy and far tastier
than if you use uncooked slices.
(28) Use your oven regularly.
Since
you're using the oven for pizza anyway, you could bake other stuff in
the oven afterwards, while it's stil hot, to save electricity. Just
spend a little time before hand to plan out your ingredients and
recipes, and make sure you have counter space for lots of hot items.
And storage containers (and freezer space, if necessary). At the same
time, you could heat your house [Living Poor].
(29) Buy a chest freezer.
If you have the space at home, buy a chest freezer and buy meats in bulk from a butcher (cut into portions).
(30) Buy from a farmers market.
If
you're vegetarian (or even if not), buy bushel barrels of vegetables
and fruits from your nearby Farmers Market. Then make preserves, jams,
sauces, etc. Use your new chest freezer.
(31) Buy a vacuum sealer.
If
you buy in bulk, you don't necessarily want to puree or preserve
everything. Store your diced, cut non-delicate veggies and fruit in the
freezer. Do this in small single-portion bags, and you can actually
drop the bags in boiling water when you cook your meal. You can store
meats this way as well.
(32) Grow your own veggies, fruit & herbs.
You
don't have to have a large garden; just use barrels. If you're in an
apartment, you can use the balcony. If you don't have a balcony, you
can still grow herbs. Each year, my mother grows eggplant, zucchini,
chile peppers, basil, tons of tomatoes of several sizes, peas and other
items. She used to grow a lot more items when she tended a full garden
decades ago, including cherry trees, pumpkins, squash, potatoes, and
more. But even with just her 5 or 6 barrels sitting on the back deck,
she probably saves $300-600 on groceries each growing season, for one
person.
(33) Get a community plot.
If you don't have
space for a garden, get a community garden plot. For the few dollars
it'll cost you, if you plant veggies + herbs and tend the garden, it'll
be worth it.
(34) Grow a mushroom log.
Not everyone
has time to tend a garden or visit a community plot. And if you don't
have a lot of space, you can you can still grow a mushroom log under
the kitchen sink and save hundreds of dollars per year. Of course, you
have to be a mushroom lover like me.
(35) Tend a few small herb plants.
Don't
have space or time? You grow a lot of herbs in tiny pots sitting on
your window sill. You'll still save money. As proof of this, check the
prices on fresh herbs. You can also make your own bean or pea sprouts.
(36) Raise chickens.
Okay,
this obviously isn't for everyone, and your city may have laws against
it. But it might work for some people, who live outside city limits.
(37) Buy whole chickens.
Get
chicken on sale and learn how to cut them apart yourself. It's not very
hard but is a bit messy and cold. But you won't believe how little per
pound you'll pay.
Use freezer bags for long-term storage.
(38) Make your own chicken stock.
Save the bones from your whole chickens to make chicken stock. You can freeze everything including the stock.
(39) Make your own burgers.
I
know it sounds crazy, but I find making my own hamburgers very
relaxing. And they are far tastier than anything in restaurants, as
well as less expensive. Here's a quick recipe: mix ground chicken or
beef with diced onion and a few splashes of soya sauce or
worcestershire sauce. If you want to stretch your meat a little, add
some breadcrumbs and some egg. (Approximately one egg per pound of
ground meat.) The final mixture should not be too mushy. If it is, add
more meat or bread crumbs. The latter burns quickly, though.) Don't
overwork the mixture.
(40) Stretch your ground beef with ground cherries.
Sounds
a bit extreme, but a study done in the late 1970s or early 80s shows
that ground cherries nicely complement ground beef, and most people in
a survey could not tell they were there. Cherries are nutritious
besides. Of course, cherries can be expensive (unless you have your own
cherry tree, as I mentioned above), and take time to pit and grind.
Find other ways to stretch ground beef, other than the standard way of
using breadcrumbs and egg.
(41) Make large pots of homemade soup every once in a while.
Freeze
some of it in airtight containers (leave a bit of a gap) and eat the
rest during the week. (You can also freeze in vacuum seal bags.) If you
have a nice hearty soup, a bowl of it can substitute for a meal for a
few days during the week, maybe even for lunch at work. Soups fill you
up, and if you use some of your fresh, home-grown herbs, the aromas not
only stir up appetite but give you a satisfied feeling - thus likely
keeping you from eating more than necessary.
(42) Don't buy in bulk.
Don't
buy supersized bottles of condiments or food, especially if you have a
small family. You'll actually be more tempted to take bigger portions
each time, therefore effectively consuming more and spending more on a
weekly basis.
(43) Buy in bulk.
If you have a large
family, buying select items in bulk (big boxes) will save you money.
But don't necessarily put out a giant bottle of, say, ketchup, on the
table. Fill up small squirt bottles and use them.
(44) Buy in bulk, part 2.
Buying
items such as peanuts, grains, chocolates, etc., are often cheaper when
you buy them loose and unpacked at bulk food stores. Just keep track of
what you're getting, else you might get a surprise at the checkout.
(45) Buy no-name products.
Brand names cost more simply because of advertising costs. They aren't necessarily any better tasting or healthier.
(46) Get free food.
See Free Money Finance.
(47) Don't eat.
Fast
once in a while, with doctor supervision. Many cultures do this, often
once a week (adults only, after they've learned how). Skipping food one
day a week for 52 weeks will save you a considerable amount of money.
Even fasting for a half-day will save you money. Note that the
difference between fasting and starving is that with the former, you
are in complete control. Fasting has been shown to clear out your
"system" and help eliminate toxins in your body. Fasters I know say
they often feel clear-headed after a day of fasting.
(48) Have a cooking pool.
Get
together with roommates/ housemates/ neighbors (apartments) to share
cooking and meals. Single people often find they waste a great deal of
perishable foodstuffs because portion sizes from supermarkets are
rarely right for them. Cook-pooling can save money and be fun, provided
you don't have any fussy eaters or people with food allergies.
(49) Get a big box store or wholesaler membership.
Some
big box stores require you to either own a business or pay a fee for
membership. But it's often worth it because you can get incredible
discounts not available to the general public, on all kinds of items.
(50) Buy a standard transmission car.
They're
not just for European sports cars. Automatics take up more gas and are
less fun to drive. Standards also cost less at the dealership, and
generally cost less in repair costs (when averaged monthly over a full
year). Learn to drive a standard properly, and you not only will never
want to drive automatic again but are less likely to have an accident.
Which means you'll probably get a better insurance rate. Except if you get stuck in a lot of traffic jams, stick with automatic. Transmissions are hard on the knee in stop-and-go traffic.
(51) Pay your car insurance in a lump sum once per year.
If you can afford it, and are disciplined enough to do this, you'll save a bit overall per year.
(52) Don't ride your car's clutch or brakes.
You wear them out and potentially increase your repair costs.
(53) Buy a car dealer's demo car.
You can often get a thousand or two off the sticker price if you buy a dealer's car.
(54) Drive at 60-70 mph (100-120 kmh).
If
that's legal on highways in your area. At least in North America, cars
are generally more efficient with gasoline in that speed range. Faster
or slower, and you waste gas.
(55) Carpool to work.
Not
only do you save on wear and tear, gasoline, parking, and road tolls,
but some roads have a carpool lane which will get you to and from work
faster.
(56) Pay your car loan off early.
Don't let the car devalue before the loan is paid. Related to this, pay a bigger down payment when you buy a car.
(57) Give up your car.
Get a transit pass.
(58) Join a car collective.
Pay a deposit plus a per-use fee.
(59) Prevent illness.
Don't hope for cure. North Americans aren't as prevention-conscious.
(60) Teach your children to save.
Then you won't have to bail them out financially, later in life.
(61) Open an online savings account.
Not
only will you get a higher interest rate than for a regular bank
account, but you can often get a sign up bonus. Most banks that offer
bonuses will deposit $25 or more in your name when you open an
online-only account.
(62) Buy clothing on sale.
And out of season. Create your own fashion.
(63) Patch up old clothes.
Wear them around the house or for yard work. Or start a new trend by using creative patches and wear them out(side).
(64) Shave less often.
If
you can get away with it. For men, you might skip shaving on the
weekends. Razors/ blades are ridiculously expensive, and skipping a
couple of days each week extends the life of your blades. It also saves
on hot water. For women, I'll hesitate to make any recommendations
other than don't start shaving in the first place?
(65) Cut your own hair.
Or
shave your head. Or grow your hair. All three save you money on
haircuts. Just make sure you have a good hand mirror and a stationary
mirror, or you may end up having to shave your head.
(66) Buy appliances on sale.
(67) Haggle for large ticket items.
Many
stores allow a certain amount of leeway. But also know when to stop
press for a larger discount. And if you are haggling, expect to pay
cash. Cash saves merchants 3-5% in credit card transaction fees.
(68) Delay taking on a loan.
If
you can't pay cash in full, delay before you take a loan. Anytime you
plan to buy a large ticket item (your definition) on loan, do the
following: (a) Wait an extra month or three before commiting and making
the purchase. You might find that you don't really need or want the
item. (b) If you still want/ need the item after a couple of months,
hopefully you will have saved a bit more, in that time, to use as a
down payment. That in itself will reduce your monthly payment and loan
duration, thus reducing the amount you pay on interest.
(69) Turn out the lights.
Once
a night/ week, turn out the lights and just meditate in the dark. The
resulting reduced stress level will reduce the amount of smoking,
drinking, and antacid taking that you usually experience. If you don't
indulge any of those, meditating also reduces headaches and thus your
dependence on headache tablets. (And you'll save on electricity.)
(70) Pay your mortgage off early.
Make
extra payments in each month, or pay more during your regular mortgage
payment. Just make sure you don't get penalized for doing this. Some
mortgages are set up that way.
(71) Buy a computer with cash.
Don't
buy a computer on a payment plan, unless you have a (home) business and
can write off the lease purchase and depreciation. The extra interest
isn't usually worth it. You'll only want to make a big purchase like this if you have a NICE rewards card--such as a Chase rewards program card--and if you can pay off the balance right away without accruing interest.
(72) Seek out free events.
During
holidays, find free or inexpensive events for the family. There are
always fun things to do that don't cost a lot, provided you are
imaginative.
(73) Go to City Hall for New Year's Eve.
Instead
of spending loads on a night club. Or throw a modest home party for
friends and family. (Make sure they sleep over if they're intoxicated.)
(74) Buy outerwear out-of-season. At the end of Winter, you can often coats and boots for far less, good for next Fall and Winter.
(75) Buy next year's Xmas gifts after Boxing Day.
Stores
usually want to rid themselves of inventory after Christmas, and will
drop prices on items up until the end of January. But Boxing Day (in
Canada and the US) is the first business day after Christmas, and not
everything is actually on sale, despite the signs. Wait until January,
in most cases.
(76) Ask for a better cellular phone plan.
See Dual Income No Kids (DINKs).
(77) Use free soft phones.
Call
people from your computer using free VoIP (Voice over Internet
Protocol) software. Computer to computer calling is free; pc-to-phone
and phone-to-pc calling is usually a lot cheaper than normal
long-distance calls. Don't end up like this woman [Money Musings]. Visit VoIP Now or VoIP Lowdown for information about VoIP, and programs like Skype or Sightspeed.
(78) Save on software.
Use free spreadsheet and wordprocessing software from OpenOffice. If you'd rather use a web browser, try ZohoWriter and ZohoSheet, amongst other tools, from Zoho.
(79) Save on hard drives.
Store your photos, music, and videos through a free hosting service.
(80) Share the cost of Internet access.
Conspire with neighbours to build your own neighborhood municipal Wi-Fi wireless network.
(81) Send group emails.
Far away from friends and family? Save on letters and stamps by sending a weekly group email.
(82) Set up a personal weblog.
If you have the time, set up a free weblog (website) at blogspot.com (through blogger.com) or wordpress.com to tell friends and family about your goings-on. You can even record a message (audio or video) and post it on your weblog.
(83) Host your audio and video files free.
Whether or not you set up a personal weblog, you can have your files hosted free. Here are a few free hosts: Switchpod and Shockpod. (More places from Google search results for free podcast hosting.) Ourmedia has free hosting and tutorials on digital storytelling. Hellodeo
is probably the simplest of all. If you have a webcam, you can record a
message. The service will generate some HTML code for you, which you
can insert into your personal web page. If you want a place to host
still pictures for free, try flickr.com).
(84) Get free web hosting.
If you would rather have your own domain name, web site hosting providers such as GoDaddy
give you a free hosting account when you register and pay for a domain
name. (The cost is that their Google Adsense advertising appears at the
top of all of your web pages.)
(85) Advertise your web jobs free.
If you are a blogger or run a weblog (or network), advertise your blogging jobs free at Performancing Exchange. You'll need a free membership to post your writing or web design jobs.
(86) Get free ads for your website.
Text-Link-Ads.com gives you $100 free ads when you buy your first $125 in ads. Other link-ad networks might do the same.
(87) Save on website advertising.
Enter a blog carnival.
Blog carnivals are ongoing, usually, weekly, for many dozens of topics
and are a great way to promote your website at no cost. The way it
works is that you submit a link to one of your best articles, to the
carnival of your choice, and if the current host includes you in the
next carnival, you add a link to the carnival from your website, to
help in promotion. Hosting a carnival yourself also helps in the
promotion of your site.
(88) Use web coupons.
Just select programs carefully, as counterfeiting has resulted in some websites not accepting certain coupons.
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