... Save Money Every Day Without Much Effort

47 Tips on How to Save Money Every Day Without Much Effort

Source: http://www.techocrunch.com/47-tips-on-how-to-save-money-every-day-without-much-effort/

Everyone complains about the high cost of this and that. But nobody knows that themselves are to be blamed. Why can’t we save? The answer is simple, its because we end up spending then our paychecks can afford.

Most of us, frustrated with this daily struggle blame it on anything, high living expenses (food, rent, gas, education, etc) , govt, family, other countries etc but let me remind you if we can sacrifice on few things now, we can be better equipped to handle those rainy days. Previously i did mentioned how to save money with some 10 great ways. But there are hundreds of places where money can be saved. So why not broaden the thing.

Here are 47 ways(I thought it was 50!) on how to start saving money.

Save in the Home
1. Strive for a simpler lifestyle. Buy less clutter and junk. This means buying fewer nonessential things.
2. Stay at home during weekends. Plan for more activities and games at home. Besides saving on money and gasoline, you feel much better after interacting with your family.
3. Plan carefully and thoroughly as the first step in economical decorating.
4. Consider remodeling rather than building a new house.
5. Learn how to paint, wallpaper and refinish furniture.
6. Make your own draperies, curtains, spreads, slipcovers, and table covers.
7. Learn to clean, repair, and restore household items yourself. Learn to maintain and repair the house like plumbing, electricity, and other jobs.
8. Decorate your home with items from nature or use family creations.
9. Ebay is your best friend for old goods. Sell those items there that you no longer need, use, or want.
10. Buy things that will require as little maintenance as possible.
11. Buy washable clothes as much as possible. Clothes that require dry cleaning are expensive to care.
12. Shop at discount stores for children’s clothes.
13. Insist the children do some sort of work, besides regular chores, as soon as they get old enough.

Save on Food
14. Plan your meals one week at a time. First, checkout for the grocery ads to take advantage of special offers, discounts etc. Make a shopping list considering those cuts.
15. Eat out less; prepare some of those restaurant exclusive foods at home. Grab a recipe book and start cooking. Making your own food is lot cheaper then spending hundreds of bucks at the restaurant. Besides that eating something you cooked yourself is lot taster.
16. When you use the oven, try to cook more than one item while it is hot. Cook the main dish, dessert, vegetables, quick breads, or other foods at the same time in the oven.
17. Waste less! Think before throwing those half eaten chickens, burgers, pizza’s etc into garbage cans. This happens not only at home but also in restaurants and school cafeterias. Instead of throwing food wrap them in foil papers and eat it next day.
18. Spend less on junk food, don’t eat meat, eat veggies etc
19. Eat less expensive foods; drink less expensive beverages.
20. Cut your food shopping trips to no more than one a week. You will save gasoline, time, and money.

Save on Energy
21. Have an expert check the insulation in your house to make sure it is adequate. If it is not, insulate where needed. It will save both heating and cooling costs. If you can fix them yourself you’ll save more of the money.
22. Turn off the air conditioning and open the windows in moderate weather.
23. Wear warm clothes in the house in cold weather so you can lower your thermostat setting.
24. Take care of home repairs as soon as the need arises. Delay can make the problem worse and repair costs higher.
25. Close the doors and turn off the heat or air conditioning to rooms that you are not using.
26. When you buy home appliances. Buy appliances with higher energy efficiency ratios (EER). Check the labels for EER.
27. Bigger houses = more energy requirement. Move to a smaller house it maybe a little cramped but you save on money and energy.
28. Use lighting equipments like ENERGY STAR-qualified fluorescent light bulbs, window treatments, such as insulated or heavy draperies, and storm windows.

Save on General Living Expenses
29. Prioritize your needs and wants-consider values, goals, and resources.
30. Know alternatives for increasing income.
31. Compare prices of a product with different sellers before committing to buy. For geeks checkout price comparison sites like Pricegrabber, etc
32. Know when to use cash, checks, or credit. Don’t make unnecessary credit cards usage as they always tend to have high interest rates associated with it.
33. Patch up those little expenses. “A small leak will sink a great ship.”
34. Stop impulse buying. If you see something you really want that you didn’t plan to buy, wait a day before buying it.
35. Pay promptly. Don’t build up late fines on payments.
36. Know how much money you have. Plan your spending according to your budget.
37. Be sure the time is right for the best price. It’s oftentimes not what you buy but when you buy it.
38. Learn to barter, borrow, share, switch, substitute, simplify, and conserve goods and services.
39. Set aside a good emergency fund for disasters, like getting fired form work, natural disasters, etc which is sufficient for about 2 to 6-months.
40. Shop for your favorite product while discounted for. A seasonal sale may save 10 to 25 percent; a clearance on the other hand may save upto 50 to 75 percent.
41. Always remember you don’t need it; it is not a good buy at any price.

Save on Transportation
42. Keep your car in good running condition. It will be safer and will cost less to operate.
43. Walk, cycle more; drive less. You will save gasoline and improve your health.
44. Learn how to do some of your own car like changing the oil, oil filters, and air filters.
45. Form a carpool to go to work, to meetings, and even on shopping trips.
46. Ask yourself each time you get in your car, “Is this trip really necessary?”
47. Avoid second trips, make a list of things to “do” and “buy” before leaving home.

These small things can really save money. I myself have managed to save a lot while still living a decent life. I’m not sure if all these tips will work on you, but most of them do work from my experience. Thanks for reading! Happy saving money.

Source: http://www.techocrunch.com/47-tips-on-how-to-save-money-every-day-without-much-effort/