Practical and All-Around Money Saving Tips
Written by admin on November 26th, 2010We’re living in frugal times and it’s the best way to learn and re-learn money saving tips that will help us in our quest to lessen our expenses and put your money where it belongs!
Say no to department store shopping. When you need clothing, shoes, appliances and furniture, start shopping at thrift stores, garage sales and consignment shops. You can help reuse the items you’re buying and you’re getting it at a price you can afford.
Anytime you go shopping for either groceries or apparel, you have to write down what exactly you’re going to buy. Make a plan, and a careful one at that. Having a list will make you stop buying an item that’s not included in your list.
Be an expert Do-It-Yourself-er! Lessen your dependence on commercial detergent soaps. Why not make your own? The ingredients of your homemade detergent can easily be found in supermarkets. Did you know that you can also make your own body wax? Now you don’t have to spend all that money just to get waxed at a beauty salon because you can do it by yourself. Learn how make your own baby food, mixed drinks and more!
Public transportation puts your money where it should be: in your pockets and not in the cash register of gas stations. If you live in the city, make use of the public transit system. Take the bus or subway instead of your car. Stop worrying about parking space and shell out less money this way. Compared to using a car, a transit pass card for a year will pay for itself after two months. So for ten months it’s like getting a free ride.
If you like the convenience of having a car too much to give it up, a practical solution would be carpool. If your office mate lives near by, ride together. You can also alternate cars that you use every other day so you can lessen the car costs for you and your companion.
When birthdays and special occasions come, don’t buy your gifts at the mall. You can make your own gifts yourself so try to learn how to make handmade items you can give away as gifts.
Instead of going out with your colleagues or your friends, hold a potluck dinner at home. It’s less expensive and it always is fun.
Vices like smoking, drinking and drugs not only take a toll off our health but waste away a huge chunk of our money too. You gain nothing from chain smoking, doing drugs or being an alcoholic, so why not take steps to end the addiction now?
Look around your closet for anything you haven’t worn or used in a year. The longer a piece of clothing sits at the bottom of the closet, the higher the likelihood that you will never use it. Solution to unused and old items: yard or garage sales, or take it into consignment shops. Get money for the things you’re never going to miss anyway. Or you could also donate it so you can have a tax deduction in return. Another way to put money in your pocket!
The internet is a huge resource of information on how to get things for free. Well, some are almost free. You can search the internet for websites to swap items like music CDs, DVD movies, text books and novels, and all other items. You get to trade in your old items for something (almost) new.
