Easy Money Saving Tips

Money/Finances - Personal Finance

By: Joshin 02-Feb-2011

Introduction:

Trim some of the fat from your budget and help bulk up your savings account in the process. Use easy money saving tips that save you hundreds of dollars over the course of the year to get your budget in shape as painlessly as possible.

Cook from Scratch

Eating out chips away at your budget quickly. You can cook a meal for a family of four for the same cost as a single entrée at a restaurant. Do further cut back your food bill, cook from scratch instead of depending on frozen or boxed dinners. Making your own cake from scratch requires only a few more ingredients than a boxed mix, takes the same amount of time and costs much less than the mix. It tastes better, too!

Eliminate Cable

Cable is quickly becoming obsolete in the internet age. Services like Hulu show most of your favorite shows online. Individual channels are jumping on the bandwagon by also providing their top shows streaming within a few days of their release. Netflix not only send DVDs to your mailbox, they also provide a huge library of streaming movies and TV programs. If you already have a video game system you can likely stream your shows to your TV. If you don't, the purchase of a streaming box, such as the Roku box, pays for itself within two months of dropping the cable bill.

Shop Second Hand

If the best things in life are free, then the next best things are used. Shop the second hand market first before settling on a new purchase. Used cars, homes and even clothing and toys are often just as good if not better than their new counterparts. Explore your areas thrift stores for awesome deals. Garage sales, Craigslist and Freecycle are other options in the pursuit of used.

Ditch the Landline

Like cable, landlines are also on their way out. You can replace most of your phone needs with your cell phone, especially if your plan includes free long distance. Skype is another low-cost option that turns your computer into a phone. If you must keep your landline for work or safety reasons (a cell phone does not give your location to 911 and emergency operators), use Skype or your cell phone for long distance and drop your long distance service from the landline.

Brown Bag It

Lunches out add up, especially if you are eating out five times a week. Bringing your own lunch just a couple of times a week can save you hundreds of dollars. The same goes for breakfast - if you are used to grabbing a bagel and latte at your favorite coffee shop every morning, try brewing your own joe and munching on a granola bar during your commute instead. The biggest complaint with brown bag lunches is missing out on office socialization over the lunch hour. Try setting up a lunch club with your coworkers, where each person brings a lunch dish and you hang out in the break room together enjoying your homemade fare.

Final Thoughts

Saving cash doesn't have to be painful. Implement a few easy money saving tips into your routine at time. Once they become second nature, try a few more. Eventually your savings will make these small sacrifices well worth it.

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Comments

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snowfence 3/2/2011
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Great top five easy money saving tips. H5
litetender 3/1/2011
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I think I do all of the above!
Newsgirl 2/2/2011
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Great list! I am guilty of not doing #5 enough, but I plan to try to do it more often!
amy0807 2/2/2011
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Nice tips!