Money Saving Tips 

When not having enough cash to go around is causing you stress, consider some of the following money saving tips.  The money can really add up.

1. Instead of looking at what something will save me at that moment I look at what the savings would add up to in a year’s time. If I save on it now and it can save me at least $12 in a year’s time then the savings is worth it to me.  What can I do with $12 - I can go to a movie, I can buy makeup or a new lipstick, I could eat out, I could put it in a slush fund that I could use for anything I like down the road.

2. We took advantage of AARP and changed our car insurance and house insurance through their Hartford Insurance program – that saved us over $500 a year. We use the highest deductibles allowed on our insurances.  That saves quite a bit of money in a year and years to come.

3. I sell anything that I am not using or have not used in the last year.  I sell over eBay, in consignment shops, & use ads in our newspaper which has thrifty ad listings that are  for free as long as the item is priced $150 or less. If I buy a new item I try to release an equal item so I don’t take up space with stuff.  This saves time and money in the long run.  I either sell the items or give them away and have a tax deduction

4. I don’t waste money on subscriptions. Anything I need to know is found over the net or I can go to the library and read any magazine or book I want.  If I do want to purchase a book I only buy through sites like half.com and then resell it once I am done with it.

5. We buy in bulk at wholesale clubs for any of our disposable items like toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex etc.  We have saved way more than the $40 membership costs and that savings happens within the first few weeks of purchases.  We purchase our vitamins, food products, tv’s, beds, appliances and the like and save hundreds and hundreds of dollars.   We also purchase our gasoline at wholesale clubs and save several dollars in a year’s time.

6. We use coupons often for meals and for grocery purchases and take advantage of the senior citizen discounts.

7. I look for banks that have higher interest and that offer free gifts with their accounts.  I change banks often just to get the free gifts and better interest and usually there is a money gift involved if you have a direct deposit of any kind.

8. After I have bought an item and then find it cheaper somewhere else I always take the item back and then go get it at the cheaper price.  This happens quite often and we are careful and it still happens.  I never use to like to take things back but now I am the queen of returns and it has saved us lots of money in the long run.  Even after I have purchased a clothing item and then decide several weeks later that I am not crazy about it I take it back for a refund.

9. We use a calling card instead of a long distance carrier service for our phone and it is only 3 cents a minute – we purchased the calling card at the wholesale club.  This saves us quite a bit of money in a year’s time.  The most recent change was to switch our entire phone service over to VOIP.  VOIP (Voice over internet protocol) has saved us over $400 per year.  Now we only use the calling card when we are traveling.

10. I also pay all of our bills over the net or several months in advance so I can save on postage and envelopes and time.  It all adds up to a savings over time.

11. We stopped buying gifts for family and friends and asked  them to stop buying for us – this was a win win for all of us.  It is less stress and we don’t have to worry about giving or receiving unwanted items that would only go to waste and collect dust. 

Need even more money?  Here are 36 additional ways to reduce your financial stress.