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Other Ways to Save Money
If you are looking to save money each month, you can look farther than utilities
and taxes. There are many things you do in life that cost money. Limiting these
other expenses will put more money in your pocket. I believe in technology for
I have found it to save myself lots of money over the years. Many of these ideas
will involve using technology or technology based services to save money.
- Brown Bag It
- Quit eating out for lunch. Taking leftovers or a sandwich from home will
save you a couple of dollars each day. This could quickly add up to hundreds
of dollars a year. More than likely, this will be healthier for you too.
- Eat at Home
- Continuing the idea above, eating dinner and breakfast at home will save
you money. Making extra food for leftovers will allow you to have free meals
like lunch or another dinner.
- Buy Used Items
- If you are looking to make purchases for items like video games, CDs, DVDs,
sports equipment, luggage, etc..., check out flea markets, pawn shops, Overstock.com
and EBay. EBay is great for finding items
that are used or discontinued, plus its incredibly easy and you don't have
to waste gas. Many times you can buy these items for half the cost of purchasing
them in a store. For example, you can buy a CD for $5 used or $15 new in a
store. Both have the same music on them.
- Buy at Clearance Centers or Going out of Business Sales
- Need a major appliance like a fridge? Checkout clearance centers or businesses
that are having closing sales. Last year's model will do the job for you and
cost a few hundred less. This is also a great idea for furniture.
- Shop Smart
- Check for great deals around your town or even on the Internet. Many companies
will have after Christmas sales to clear out inventory. Wait to buy those
clothes you want until after Christmas. As an example, Ralph Lauren has a
clearance section on their web site where my wife bought a $200 cashmere sweater
for $40.
- Use Gas Coupons
- Grocery stores offer gas discounts if you buy certain items or spend a certain
amounts of money while shopping. These coupons can provide you with a couple
of dollars worth of savings each time you go to the pump.
- Use Coupons
- Coupons sound like an annoyance of the past, but they do save money. If
shopping on the web, do a Google search
for coupons before buying. Check online coupon sites like Daily
e Deals.
- Rent Videos Online
- This might sound funny to most people, but in the future many of us will
rent videos online. An average new release costs over $3 to rent. If you are
a big movie buff, you might spend $30+ a month (2 to 3 videos a week) at the
video store or using pay per view. For $18 dollars a month, NetFlix
lets you rent all you want with no late fees, plus you won't beat their selection.
- Phone Calls
- Call during off hours to save on your phone bill. Better yet, if you have
high speed Internet, try Voice Over Internet services like Packet8.
For $20 a month you can call anywhere in the US as much as you want. This
service could save lots of money.
- Cell Phone
- If you have a cell phone and don't make many calls, drop your home phone.
There is no reason to have a land line when you can call on your cell. Also,
select a minutes plan that fits you. You will pay a lot more for extra minutes
than a plan upgrade.
While cell phones offer lots of features, you probably don't need them. Ring
tones are cool, but there is no reason to waste a dollar to download each
ring tone. Text messaging is a nice feature but you can use a computer service
like MSN Messenger or AOL IM, or even Email. Quit wasting that money on those
services that you don't need to survive. If you think you do then remember
when cell phones didn't exist, you survived though that.
- Drop the Cable
- Cancel your cable television. Satellites cost half as much as cable for
the same content. Comcast charges on average $50 per month for basic digital
cable. For only $35 per month, you can get more stations with equivalent or
better quality on Dish Network or Direct TV. It takes one heck of a storm
to knock out of a dish, plus I have seen these storms mess with my cable as
well. In many larger cities, high definition antenna services that cost about
$20 a month are available.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, then you need to drop your cable
or satellite altogether. I have a friend with two kids and a third on the
way who can barely make ends meet now. Still he keeps his $30 a month satellite.
That is $30 ($360 a year) that can go to groceries or clothing. It is best
to sacrifice now to get back on your feet.
- Get Rid of Movie Channels
- Rent the movies you want to see instead of paying for movie channels. Normally,
you rent videos as well as have these stations. Therefore, you are already
spending money on video rentals. Let's face it, those movie stations play
the same movies again and again. If you enjoy the series shows and can wait,
they are normally available on DVD for rent after a year or two.
- Refinance Your Home
- Interest rates are still very low. Now is still a good time to refinance.
Using built up equity to pay off credit cards and other high interest loans
is a good option. If you do this, pay more on your house payment and add more
to your interest savings and equity each month. Do not do this to
buy more things that will increase your debt.
- Drop the Storage
- Many people pay for some kind of personal storage. This is a waste of money,
you put this stuff in storage because you are not using it. Ask yourself if
you really need these items. If so, get rid of something in your current residence
that you do not use. That way you can move the item in storage into your home.
Donate the unneeded items to a charity, lend them to a friend, sell the items,
store them with relatives or just throw them out. If you are afraid of getting
rid of something, think about how much you spending per month on storage.
Then ask yourself how much it would cost to buy the item again if you ever
needed it.
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