25 Ways To Save Money

Money as soon as we get our hands on it, it disappears, bills have to be paid, food clothing car maintenance, little Johnny needs new shoes before we know it all of that hard earned cash is gone and you are left scrimping and scraping for another month until pay day comes around again, then along comes a birthday and buying a gift pushes you over your budget, leaving you financially embarrassed earlier than usual, sometimes we get a little behind on payments and when that happens we find it very difficult to get back on track.

The “Credit Crunch” as this recession has been dubbed, probably to make it sound better than it actually is, is hitting many households scrimping and saving is becoming a major part of our lives, trying to find different ways to save a penny here or save a dollar there.

There are many different ways to save money in all aspects of our lives in the home, at work, shopping and even in our spare time.

1) Is it warm and cosy in your home? Did you know that if you turn your heating and Hot water thermostats down by only 1 degree you can save over $50 in a year, turn it down 2 degrees and you wouldn’t notice any difference in your warm and cosy home and you would save over $100 on your heating bills.

2) Leaving your TV, Computer or any other electrical equipment on stand by mode costs the average house hold around $120 every year, turning them off at the socket could save you all of that money.

3) Lots of people have good intentions and join up with their local Gym taking out a year’s subscription at a cost of around $500 per year, they then visit the Gym about once or twice a month and pay another $25 per session. If you are only going to visit a gym once or twice a month, there is no point in paying the subscription as it only costs around $10.00 extra for non members to use the facilities saving you around $240.00 if you go twice a month.

4) Do you have a couple of cents left in your pocket when you have been shopping, Put them in a jar and leave them there its amazing how much gathers in that jar in a short period of time.

5) See a penny pick it up, and stick it in the jar that you are already putting your loose change into. (Check down the back of your sofa and armchairs they are a haven for loose change that falls out of your pocket)

6) Using a bowl of water and a dash of lemon juice is just as effective at cleaning your windows, mirrors and wooden surfaces as any of the best known cleaning products on the market and it costs almost nothing at all, I cloth to apply and a dry cloth to remove.

7) Having your news paper delivered comes at a cost, why not go out and get it for yourself you are most likely to be passing a store on the way to work anyway, I get my newspapers for free most days because someone always leaves theirs in the works canteen when they go home.

8) Paying people to decorate or do odd jobs around the home is all well and good but it can cost a lot of money, Do it yourself no matter what the task there is a world of information and step by step guides a click away on the Internet, this is a real money saver and you get the added satisfaction when you finish the task of proudly saying “I did that”.

(In the interest of safety any electrical or gas maintenance work is better left to professionals)

9) Learn to say the word NO! To the pushy sales person with their foot in the door trying to sell his grandmother to you, and to your children, if you have them, who are always asking for this, that and the next thing.

10) Hand me down, I was a hand me down child, when my older brother took a growth spurt, I inherited the clothes that didn’t fit him anymore and I hated it and promised myself that if I ever had children of my own that I would never do that to them, but during difficult times it is a necessity for a lot of families and my promise was broken a few years ago.

 

 1)     Catalogue shopping is a handy way to shop from the comfort of your own home, but because you are paying for the goods over a period of time you pay around 25% more than you would normally pay in the stores, put the money you would pay for your catalogue goods into a savings account in your bank until you have enough to buy the product of your desire from the stores, that way you earn a little extra from the interest and you get what you want cheaper.

 2)     Newspapers and Magazines often contain coupons with money off certain products cut them out and use them they can save you hundreds of Dollars every year.

 3)     When going out on your weekly or monthly grocery shopping trip, have a good meal before you go, that way when walking around the store you will be less tempted to stray from your shopping list because on a full stomach you will have less of those little notions for things that you don’t really need. Having a meal before you go shopping will also help prevent you from eating out whilst you are there.

 4)     When you go to pay for your shopping there are always items for sale around the cashiers desk, these items are strategically placed there because when you see them you are tempted to buy them on impulse, it is the stores way of getting as much cash from your pocket as they can get, if you remember that fact then you will be less tempted to buy.

 5)     A lot of stores these days have loyalty cards, if you are a regular visitor to that store these are great for you, when you gather enough points you can get money off your future shopping bills.

 6)     Look out for bargains, 2 for 1 deals, or buy one get one free can save you a lot of money especially if it is a product that you would normally buy.

 7)     Stores want your custom and they will lower their prices to try and get you to use their store rather than their competitors, shop around to find the best prices.

 8)     The sad fact is that during this recession a lot of the smaller stores will be forced to close their doors forever and although it is sad, these stores will sell their goods at rock bottom prices before the closure. For you and me though this is a Godsend because there are many bargains to be had.

 9)     A good point to remember is that a bargain is only a bargain if the item you buy is something that you would normally buy or if it is something that you would find useful, buying a lawn mower for $20.00 is a bargain if you have a lawn but if you have paving slabs all over your garden and not a blade of grass you would be throwing your $20.00 away if you bought the lawnmower because it is of no use to you whatsoever.

 10) Smaller retailers are often bypassed for the larger conglomerates and they are more than happy to have your custom, although most prices are marked on the products in the store, the smaller retailer is more inclined to barter with you over the price of their items and are often willing to sell to you for around 10-20% cheaper especially if you barter in a friendly non-aggressive tone with them.

1) Car pooling is a great way to save money, it saves on fuel prices and it saves on wear and tear on your vehicle, if you have work friends who also drive you could in theory only need to use your car to work every 4^th week. Or you could take friends who don’t have a car to and from work and charge them a small fee for fuel and wear and tear.

2) Do you really need to use the works canteen? Take a flask of coffee or tea and make up your own sandwiches this can save a fortune over a year.

3) The vending machines at work are usually quite expensive, buy multipacks from your local supermarket and take one a day with you to work. Take it a step further, buy a lot of multi pack confectionary and sell them individually on to your workmates at a cheaper price than the vending machine (there is a guy at my workplace who does just that and he makes around $200.00 every week for his efforts).

4) If you live near enough to your work place rather than take the car or bus you could save yourself some money by walking to work or if it is a little further out then purchasing a bicycle or a small motorbike will save you money in the long run.

5) There are many times at work where people collect money for a special event in another colleague’s life, having a baby, getting married or even a birthday and all of that money adds up over a year. If you say no then you will save that money but don’t expect anything if there is a special event in your life.