By John
We are all trying to save money these days and there is plenty of good advice around on how to do it. Among all the conventional methods, however, there are some excellent tips that are often overlooked. Here is a list of some of our favorites.
Drop Designer Clothes
It’s usually an ego thing, of course, but are designer clothes really worth the huge difference in price? If you hunt around you can easily find items of exactly the same quality and at a fraction of the price – but without the magical label. If you combine this tip with buying at clearance sales and off-season, you can easily shave 50% off your annual clothing expenditure.
Lower Your Gas Costs
While you should follow the manufacturer’s guidelines about keeping the tires correctly inflated and changing the air filter, and drive conservatively, for the sake of fuel economy, it’s worth asking a reputable garage or mechanic what octane rating your car engine can get away with. Dropping a grade or two could save you 20 cents or more a gallon. Cleaning out stuff you from the trunk that you don’t need to cart around everywhere will give you better mpg too. Every extra pound of weight the car needs to haul is costing you.
Charity
Giving to a charity things in good condition that you no longer need or want is a good thing to do anyway – but a good many people don’t realize that it can be tax-deductible too.
Piggy Bank
The traditional jar or tin is for loose change is still a sure and painless way of saving. Did you know that there are bank and credit unions and at least one credit card company that do the same thing for you electronically? Your purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar and the balance is credited to your savings account. Sure, the interest is not that high, but at least it is still a saving and your virtual loose change is working for you.
Warm, To A Degree
We all know about switching off the heating in rooms we don’t use, and sealing the house against leakage, in order to cut back on utility costs. But let’s look at the actual temperature. It is estimated that every drop of 1 degree F below the usually recommended 68 degrees decreases costs by 1 – 3%. Try dropping the temperature degree by degree until you find a comfortable level (maybe 5 degrees or more lower?) for when you are out and about at home – the rest of the time you are either in bed or away from home and the temperature can be reduced even further. Do the math and just see how much money you can save. A thermostat will handle all the temperature permutations for you.
The same logic applies to your air conditioning, of course. And it is estimated that planting a tree to shade your outside unit can improve its efficiency by up to 20% – more savings.
And Finally A Don’t
You’re saving all this money and you want to make it work for you. Should you open a savings account or invest it? A savings account is for the more risk-adverse but if you decide to invest, don’t be swayed by advisers and friends who tell you how well this particular fund or that stock has done for them. Past performance is no guide to future performance.
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