By John
Who isn’t looking to save money these days? Whether you’re saving in order to buy something special, or set up a more solid financial future for your family, or simply to make ends meet, you have probably worked out a strategy on how to save to meet your goal. But while waiting for the big saving items to kick in, how can you start saving money right now?
Here is our list of favorite money-saving tips that you can action straight away. Taken individually they may only save a dollar or two here and another couple there, but they can all add up to quite a tidy sum. And they’re easy!
Save On Transport Costs
You can do a lot of the basic maintenance tasks on your car yourself, such as changing the oil and rotating the tires. Using websites and apps on smart phones to help you find the cheapest gas may save you as much as 20 cents per gallon. Driving conservatively and, of course, making less trips through better planning, carpooling and walking or biking more will save you gas and save you money.
Save When Buying Stuff
You can save a lot by buying in bulk – and if you go shopping with friends, they can help split bulk purchases up into more manageable proportions. Keep receipts – you never know when you may be entitled to cash back if an item goes on sale within a specified number of days after you purchased the same item. Making more use of thrift shops and yard sales will save you money. So will buying refills instead of buying new all the time. Give yourself a thinking-break of a week or a month before buying a larger item to see if you really need it or simply just want it. Buying generic rather than name brands is a sure way to save money.
And, above all, don’t be afraid to haggle!
Save On Food And Groceries
Cutting out prepared and convenience foods and making more of your own meals yourself will save a large amount. Ditto with those lattes from the coffee shop. Making a shopping list and sticking to it will limit unnecessary impulse purchases. It goes without saying that you should make maximum effort to comparison-shop and maximum use of coupons and any available discounts and rebates when they work for you.
Save On Entertainment
Cutting back on eating out is undoubtedly a major way to save money immediately. It doesn’t mean having to cut back on your social life – just entertain more at home. It’s a lot cheaper and, if the idea catches on, who knows, your friends will probably appreciate the savings too when their turn comes round to do the hosting. Making more use of the library for free books and DVDs and music will enable you to drop some expensive services and TV channels which will save you an appreciable amount of money each month.
Save On Trips
Hotels are more open to negotiation than they pretend – especially as it gets late in the day. Just try asking for a cheaper rate. If you can juggle the dates with the kids’ holidays, try to take vacations off-season, and fly at off-peak hours; both are money-savers. Talking of vacations and hotels – what about camping for a change?
Closer to home, you can cut out visits to the gym and expensive personal trainers and save a bundle by finding somewhere local to jog, and exercise in your own home. There are several excellent free smartphone apps which will help you plan and carry out circuit-training, and the yoga-type exercises.
Maybe some of these tips won’t work for you, but the majority are within your control and are some of the best suggestions we know to help you save money quickly.
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