Ready to put some money back in your bank account? You've come to the right place.
Right now, this very minute you can stop what you can read this and act. Don’t procrastinate, don’t let the opportunity to change something right now slide by. You can save more of your hard-earned cash, and you can do it now. I’ll bet that you’ll easily be able to do at least two of the things in the list below. If not, either you’re lying to yourself and you really don’t want to save money, or you’re already on the path. Here are ten tips you can put into action right the moment you finish reading this.
- Turn you heat down three degrees. Don’t question it, just put on a sweatshirt and do it. The difference is small, but your next heating bill will be smaller.
- Unplug electronics that aren’t being used. That phantom power drain is draining your wallet! Unplug your television, cellphone charger, stereo, and anything else with a power adapter. Just because something isn’t being charged or “used” doesn’t mean it’s not using power.
- Don’t buy bottled water. Buy a safe, reusable water bottle like these
, fill it and bring it with you. I have two Sigg bottles
- Don’t buy coffee from a coffee shop. Brew your own, bring it with you to work. I’m sure you hear this all the time, but you’re still not doing it. So this time, do it!
- Are you a big reader? Do you find yourself in Barnes & Noble or Borders regularly. If so, you’re missing a big opportunity to save money. The discounts and coupons those stores offer are ok, but you’ll save real money buying used books at Half, Amazon
- Do you have a laptop? Don’t keep it plugged in all the time. Laptop batteries are designed to be used and that means drained and charged. The proper way to use the battery is to let it drain all the way down and then recharge it. You can still use the laptop while it’s recharging, but keeping up this routine will save your electricity and it will keep your battery at its highest capacity, so you can get the most out of your mobility.
- Turn off the heated dry option on your dishwasher. Water evaporates on its own, so let it.
- It’s that time of year, so buy a cheaper Christmas tree. Everyone always jokes about having a “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree, yet most of the time their “Charlie Brown” tree is a full-sized gorgeous tree. So this year, get the most unique(read: cheapest) tree you can find. Create a new Christmas memory and buy a tree that isn’t even close to perfect. Then do something else you’ll remember with the money you saved.
- Pay attention to electricity rates and peak usage costs. Did you know it may be costing you more money if you run your washer and dryer at certain times of the day. Your electric company has their peak usage rates posted online. When I checked our rates, I found that we were paying more to run our dishwasher in the evening. We adjusted our schedule and so should you.
- Analyze your cell phone bill or combine plans to save money. If you’re not using all of the minutes you’re paying for you could have an opportunity on your hands to save money each month. Check out what lower cost plans are available and switch to a cheaper plan that better fits your usage. Another option, if you and your wife, or other family members have separate plans, get a family-talk plan. We recently switched our service from two separate carriers to a single family talk plan and are saving just under $40 a month.
- BONUS TIP! When we switched cell phone plans we found that our carrier, AT&T, offered a discount for employees of the company I work for. So we were able to save an additional $20 a month! Look for discounts offered by your employer or organizations you belong to. This is a popular perk many companies and groups offer their members and the deals can range from travel discounts – air, hotel and car rentals, to vacations and everyday items – even restaurants and movies.
photo credit: Unhindered by Talent
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Comments on #8 and spending for the holidays:
Remember that less is more.
Hanging one gorgeous wreath on your front door is just as merry and bright as a wreath hanging from all windows and doors. Much less work and less chance of damage to your home as well.
Light one beautiful tree on your lot rather than lighting all the bushes, the lamp post, the house, the mailbox…
Agree to a spending limit with your immediate and extended families. The limit can apply to each person or the family as a whole. Or agree to choose a charity to donate to every year. If you have adult children to buy for, don’t go overboard. Stockings of goodies are cute to look at and fun to open, but my guess is that it costs between $10 and $30 to fill one! Instead of treating your adult children like small children again, help them make Christmas magical for the small children in your families. Or use the stocking creativity – rather than fill with trinkets, give your gift inside!
Also, children don’t need a lot to be happy. Focus on spending your time and energy with them rather than in the stores or online buying for them. A few gifts under the tree Christmas morning will bring just as many squeals as fifty gifts. Begin new traditions this year! A few ideas are: Picking out then decorating a tree, listening to holiday music, watching age appropriate holiday specials, making cookies, reading special stories, and helping wrap gifts or even decorating the wrapping paper or box with their own artwork. Children naturally want to help – let them! They adore attention, especially from a parent.
Cut out some food extras this season and help your wallet and your waistline! Offer one or two desserts after your holiday dinner rather than an entire table. Bake one or two kinds of cookies. Or host a cookie swap with friends and family. Arrive with a few dozen of one kind of cookie and come home with cookies of all kinds!
If you have stockings and ornaments for your tree, you have enough. Avoid the temptation to walk through the holiday decoration aisles at the stores. This is the hardest one for me! I love ornaments! Don’t even bother going down that aisle after Christmas day either. Sure they are on sale, it’s a good deal, but you don’t need it. On the other hand, if you are just starting off on your own and only have a few ornaments to your name, set a spending limit and purchase ornaments after the holidays. The best part is that you probably won’t remember them all when you unpack them the following year. It’s a wonderful surprise gift to yourself and the perfect way to decorate for less.
I could go on and on…
Addition to Tip #5:
Consider going to the library instead. In most cases, other than for reference books, most people may read a book once or twice in their lives. The single best way to save on those books is to borrow them, for free, from the library. My vice is personal finance books… it’s amazing the selection that I’ve found at my local library.
I found “The Thrifty Life” through Ramit’s “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” site. From what I’ve seen, you’ve got a great thing going here. Keep it up!
Mike
Thanks Mike! You’re absolutely right about the utilizing your local library. I mentioned the library as a great source for movies in my post about wasting money on tv and movies, but obviously skipped one of the most obvious and available sources for books! I definitely need to utilize the library more. I should put it on my to-do list for 2009.
I’m glad you like the site so far. I’ve got some new additions coming this month that I’m excited about. I’m looking forward to writing more and growing the site and expanding its reach!