Mar 17 2009
Top 10 List of How to Save Money
Here’s the list:
10 ) Buy generic, not organic. Although organic food ‘may’ (note the quotes - it’s definately debatable) be a bit healthier, its increase in price far outweighs its potential benefits. Generic food is almost always as good as the brand-name versions of it, tastes just the same, and at a fraction of the cost. So buy generic.
9 ) Set a certain amount of your income aside each month. If you can get some of your paycheck depostited directly into a separate account, even better. You may tempted to spend more if it looks like you have more in your wallet, so if you set some aside each month or even never see it if it goes directly into a separate account, then you can’t be tempted by what’s out of mind.
8 ) Get additional work or more hours/overtime. You will earn more money, and even though this isn’t technically ’saving money’, if a penny saved is a penny earned, then can’t a penny earned be a penny saved?
7 ) Carpool. This is an obvious one. Carpool with someone to work, and both of you will benefit, since you’ll now be buying half the gas. And as an added benefit, you’ll also get more sociable!
6 ) Use coupons. I’m serious, it can really lower the amount of money you spend at the store and especially the grocery store by a lot, upwards of 20-25%. And even though you may look like an old lady, or be holding up the line, at least you’ll be saving a lot of money.
5 ) Buy in bulk. Things are cheaper (per unit of the item) when you buy in bulk. And if you’re just going to buy more of the product when it runs out, doesn’t it make sense to buy in bulk if in the long run, it’ll save you quite a hefty sum of money?
4 ) Don’t buy in bulk if it doesnt’ benefit you. I know this is contradicting the previous tip, but its true. While you should try to buy in bulk, if you do buy in bulk (especially with food) and you don’t consume it fast enough and it spoils, forcing you to throw out food, then you’re not getting your money’s worth. You’re paying for food that you’re not even consuming. So, buy food in quatities that are just about the same size as the rate at which you consume them.
3 ) Buy compact fluorescent lightbulbs. These light bulbs use less energy and have a longer life than ordinary light bulbs, and over the life of the bulb, you can save abywhere from $25-$35. It really does make a huge difference on your electric bill to simply switch to compact fluorescent lights.
2 ) Buy things on sale. This works especially well for groceries, yet works in virtually all stores. If you see that one type of meat is on sale one week, have that for dinner that week, and if the next week when it’s a different kind of meat that’s on sale, buy that meat for dinner that week. This can easily save you $40-$50 a week.
1 ) Record where you spend your money. It doesn’t have to be forever, maybe for just a week. And then look it over and see where your money goes. Seeing where your money is actually spent, and how much of it, may make you realize where you need to cut back on spending.
Here are the top 10 tips I have to give you on how to easily save money, but come back each day to learn even more tips on how to save money in the main portion of the blog!
