It isn’t easy making a living these days, especially when the living keeps getting more and more expensive! Who knows how to save money each month, now? However, there are things everyone can do to make the dollar stretch further than it already does. Here are some money saving ideas that are small efforts that make a big difference, especially when someone uses them all.
One of the best cost reduction techniques: For the avid reader that devours romance novels or other genres of reading, there’s a website called Half.com; it’s eBay owned but there’s no auction. The user does a search for the book, CD, DVD or other item and the site gives them results of every one of those items that meet the search criteria on the site. The user can then scroll through them to find the book (etc.) they want at the price they want to pay. This is also a great way for someone to get rid of excess books and such, and no photo is needed for a listing, the site provides that.
Cost reduction strategy: Take advantage of all the free things the community offers. Most cities have summer programs for day camps, movies, lunches and concerts that are free - if the programs haven’t suffered from budget cuts. Sometimes people forget their own backyards; inviting friends for an afternoon of fun and food right at home can be a load of fun. Then it’s another parents’ turn and kids get another afternoon of free fun.
Save more money; use an alternative form of transportation at least twice a month. Using a bicycle benefits travelers in more ways than one and it saves real money. A great health boost while saving on gas, fare and pollution is a win for everyone. Another good cost saving idea is to use public transportation when possible and walking is even better, yet. Nobody knows their neighborhoods anymore, and these are great ways to get familiar with neighbors and the ‘hood.
How to Cut Costs at Home
Cost-cutting ideas: When shopping remember that often 60-80% can be saved on items purchased off-season. Bathing suits, bicycles, sporting goods and other seasonal items should be gotten well ahead of time.
When grocery shopping don’t bring the kids. They will ask for things that aren’t needed and unless saying no to big blue eyes comes easy, the pressure is too great. Just don’t do it.
Pass on foods that are aimed at a certain customer graphic, for example, food for toddlers, food for babies (for any age), syrups (cough, fever) for children; these products are the same as for adults but the medicinal dose is different. If a toddler can eat a cracker, he can eat graham crackers and doesn’t need ‘toddler crackers,’ and anyone can use a blender to puree foods so the baby can eat wholesome baby foods. Buying commercial baby food is very expensive, but making homemade baby food is so cheap that it’s almost free.
Unique Saving Techniques
Saving money in the home: A good reward or gift for a child is a coupon (or coupon book) to use whenever the child wishes. Good gift coupons are:
- Good for getting out of the dishes (or any chore) once
- For an evening/weekend of fun and games with the parent of choice
- Gets their favorite food for dinner
- Gets to help cooking dinner or dessert
- Gets an advance on allowance once
- Good for anything the child enjoys, parents can customize them for their children
Adults should use coupons, too; saving money with coupons can be exciting. Store-specific coupons are helpful, especially if a store has a double-coupon day, and some stores accept any store’s coupons. That saves a trip to a different store and is the best scenario, but the best coupons are for brand-name items. These can be found at good discounts online and in the local paper and they can be redeemed anywhere.
When going holiday shopping, do it just like going to the grocer - make and take a list, and stick to it! Know what each person shopped-for wants so there’s no shopping blindly. Shopping blindly quickly leads to buying more, and buying ‘eye-level’ and ‘end aisle’ products, which are the most expensive.
Turn the hot water heater down to 120 degrees (F). They’re usually set around 140, and turning it down this much won’t be noticeable in the shower and it’ll save 4-9% of the cost of operating it. Wrapping a hot water heater with an appliance-specific wrap can save 45% of the operating cost in winter.
Think of All the Ways to Cut Expenses
Investing in a set of electric hair sheers is a good idea for any home with males in it. Haircuts are essential for boys in school and if the man of the house grows a beard, the sheers will come in very handy. They usually come with attachable combs that will cut hair to different lengths, so it’s really easy.
Make pizza from scratch! Pizza is a cheap dinner idea when made at home. A crust can either be purchased or the crust can be homemade (for literally pennies!); both methods work well and are still cheaper than having a commercial pizza. Marinara doesn’t have to be the sauce; use sour cream, cream cheese, apple sauce and barbecue sauce, just to name a few. Sour cream and cream cheese used as a spread over the dough is quite tasty with crab, shrimp, halibut and salmon, and not to mention any kind of red meat or fowl, too.
And, last but not least, grab a friend and give each other a mani/pedi! It’s not hard to do and can save upwards of $40 a pop.
Just look around, there are ways to save money all around us. Here’s another article with another complete set of tips and tricks to save money.
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