By John<\/p>\n
You may be one of those people who don\u2019t have any specific target that you need to save money for \u2013 like buying a new house, or sending a child to an expensive college, or a costly vacation \u2013 but still need to save to make ends meet or simply like the idea of having some extra cash available each month. If so, here is an idea.<\/p>\n
Click here to compare multiple offers and save hundreds of dollars on credit cards, cell phones, long distance, Internet, mortgages, insurance, and much more. Free comparison tools. Save 100s.<\/a><\/p>\n How Much?<\/b><\/p>\n How much extra cash would you think would amount to a windfall every month? To take the kids for a treat, say, or put into an interest-bearing savings account? $50, or $100? You might think that impossible, but it\u2019s a fair bet that you can save that quite easily if you try.<\/p>\n Loyalty Can Be An Expensive Virtue<\/b><\/p>\n Gone are the days when sticking with the same providers of almost any kind of service or products would get you preferential treatment or a better deal or better value. Competition is so fierce among them that they are all willing to embrace you as a customer by offering better deals. Stores may issue loyalty cards, but it\u2019s not because you have been shopping there for years \u2013 it\u2019s your future loyalty that they are interested in. So shop around for a store with a more rewarding loyalty card, and drop that one too when a better one springs up! Using all the available coupons and rebates and discounts, and other smart shopping tricks, you should be able to save at least $5 per shopping trip, and if you shop weekly, that\u2019s a sure $20 each month.<\/p>\n Have you really got the best data plan for your cell phone, given your usage patterns? Making maximum use of apps for free texting and calling, and with the wide availability of free wi-fi hotspots, you can almost certainly drop to a lower plan. Let\u2019s say, a saving of a minimum of $5 each month? \u00a0A family plan can save at least as much again. Not satisfied? Then switch to a provider with better rates.<\/p>\n Dropping some cable TV channels you don\u2019t really watch can raise another $5 or more.<\/p>\n And brand loyalty? Buy generic at up to 50% savings on many products.<\/p>\n