A few days ago, I had the chance to offer a free book giveaway for copies of the Wise Bread team’s book called 10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget. I’m happy to announce that the winners have been selected and they’ll be receiving copies of the book shortly.
For this giveaway, I asked the question, “what is your favorite money saving tip”? And I was lucky to receive such awesome responses from you (our dear readers). So here is some good news! Given the response I’ve received for this event, I decided to contact Will Chen from Wise Bread to find out if he would be willing to send out more book copies, and he’s agreed! So I’ll soon be contacting 3 additional winners from the batch of entries I’ve had the pleasure to read through.
I also thought that this would be a good time to share everyone’s favorite money saving tips here. After all, it’s been a while since I’ve compiled a giant list of frugal tips and frugal advice in one place; I figured, why not showcase all the wonderful, helpful and timely suggestions that I got on this occasion?
Check out our reader contributions in this list — which ones have you put into effect?
Best Ways To Save Money: Favorite Frugal Ideas From Our Readers
- Make a budget. Use money management tools that will help you control your spending better. Some good, free choices? Mint and Wesabe.
- Keep money in a hard-to-access, high interest savings account so that the funds are harder to spend. Use your checking account for your everyday expenses but “hide” the rest of your money elsewhere, where you’re not tempted to use it.
- Set up automatic deposits between your checking account and your savings/investment accounts.
- Budget for emergencies and for impulse purchases to give yourself some slack.
- Use credit card rewards programs if you can pay off your monthly bill in full every month. One reader puts all the family’s expenses on their Discover credit card for the cash back rewards. This way, they rack up the 1% cash back and buy gift cards for holiday presents. Plus there are some added bonuses a cardholder receives: rewards gift cards may actually be valued at a higher price than what one ends up spending for them in “cash back dollars” (e.g. get a $25 gift card for $20 in cash back dollars). To find out more, check out our piece on Discover credit card rewards.
- Brown bag your lunch and bring your own snacks to the office (which you’ve bought on discount).
- Get a roommate and share the rent.
- Use coupons and check out helpful coupon sites and deal sites. Have you tried Ebates yet? Be willing to shop online, often you’ll save more money this way. Try to get free shipping deals when you do shop online. Check local stores for pricing, then buy items online for less; as one reader points out, it’s almost always cheaper to buy stuff through the web.
- Walk more often and potentially save money on commute costs. If you work in the city, walking instead of taking the subway cuts down on your costs and is a pretty cheap way to exercise.
- Invest in a folding bike and adopt biking as part of your commute, if possible. We published this Guide To Commuter Bikes to cover this topic.
- Carpool with others in your neighborhood or use mass transit.
- Be creative with your exercises and you can avoid having to get a gym membership. Think about using makeshift equipment to exercise, but be careful what you do use: make sure the equipment is safe.
- Get cash back and save money when buying stuff at the drug store. You can join the CVS Extra Care rewards program for this purpose. Here’s how to do it. (This is the first time I heard of this, so this is one cool tip!).
- Use synthetic motor oil if it fits your situation. You can then change your oil less often (once every 15,000 miles or once per year).
- Attend college online. Check out these additional cheap ways to learn.
- Don’t buy stuff you don’t need and avoid buying things you know you’ll hardly use.
- Be careful that you don’t buy the stuff you already have. How often is it that we buy things then realize later that we have those very items at home, buried under clutter, gathering dust?
- Pick up books and DVDs from the library instead of buying or renting these items elsewhere.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for something you need (or want). One reader received a large TV from a friend (who had a spare one around) upon making a casual mention of it.
- Apply the three day rule, which is something along these lines: when you’re thinking of buying something, sit on the idea for a while, say for at least 3 days. Many times, the desire to purchase something fades over time; by employing this basic frugal technique, you’ll be able to control your spending much better.
- Use cash when you buy! There have been studies that show that consumers who use cash to make purchases save 18% more than their counterparts who use credit cards.
- Steal your neighbor’s newspaper (okay this is likely a nice, jovial wisecrack, thanks Manshu!).
- Buy your gifts during after holiday clearance sales and you’ll save a ton on discounted items. Some readers stock up on gifts they give away during the year, which they buy during the cheapest time of the year.
- Watch for weekly ads and catch sales and discounts from your local paper (or other periodicals) for the best time to pick up items.
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Enter contests and giveaways to pick up freebies!
- Cancel your cable TV and sign up for an online movie rental service like Netflix. Get a Roku digital video player to stream Netflix to your TV. A reader’s cable TV was costing him $50 to $60 per month, while Netflix only costs him $10 monthly. A Roku box pays for itself pretty quickly. Explore other ways to watch television online for less.
- Make cheap phone calls: drop your phone service and use Skype, Vonage VOIP or some other VOIP service instead.
- Check your Human Resources web site for employee discounts. Some companies have perks for their employees beyond the usual retirement plan or group insurance rates. One reader’s company offers employee discount programs for cell phones, groceries and other products where he saves at least %10 off retail.
- Eat out less and cook your meals at home more often. Precook food and freeze it for later consumption.
- Eat your leftovers, or recook leftovers.
- Buy in bulk when it makes sense! Get a membership to wholesale shopping clubs like Costco or Sam’s Club for the discount shopping experience.
- Use will power.
- Look online for sales and discounts before making a purchase. For example, use travel sites like Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity or Airgorilla before checking an airline’s own site so that you can make some comparisons. As mentioned, make online price comparisons whenever you can.
- Map your grocery shopping route and have a shopping list before setting foot in a store.
- Get double savings by pairing a manufacturer’s coupon with other sales, discounts and coupons available at your local grocery stores.
- Drop junk foods and sodas from your grocery list. The empty calories cost extra.
- Don’t shop while hungry.
- Skip the lattes and that extra cup of coffee! Order only water instead of expensive drinks or sodas when dining out.
- Hang clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer.
- Save money on used items at auctions, garage sales, flea markets, farmer’s markets and at sites like Craigslist or eBay. Pick up secondhand items instead of buying brand new, but use your best judgment.
- Comparison shop for big ticket items such as home and auto insurance coverage, health insurance policies, cars, appliances, etc.
- Move to a new country or a new location where the cost of living is cheaper. Depending on where you relocate, you may also discover that you are able to eschew consumerism more easily.
- Find cheaper alternatives to everything.
- Find creative ways to cook your meals using cheaper or fewer ingredients.
- Become a vegetarian: beans and whole grains bought in bulk are a third of the cost of meat. Or if you can’t become a full vegetarian, limit your meat intake. You can find great easy veggie versions of popular dishes like chilis and casseroles on websites like Epicurious, Allrecipes and VegWeb.
- Live and enjoy a simple lifestyle.
- Consider using restaurant discounts, dining coupons and gift certificates for the savings. Check out Restaurant.com or the Entertainment Book to see what kind of deals they can offer you.
- Save all your change and deposit your savings into your bank account every few months. Your change adds up!
- Keep your pantry, fridge and freezer well stocked so that you don’t end up buying things on impulse when you’re out shopping. By being organized with the supplies you need, you’ll be more prepared with a sales/coupons/savings strategy when shopping for groceries.
- Learn how to cook, then learn how to prepare tasty meals for less.
- Create your own 100-calorie packs by buying in bulk and dividing your large packs into smaller ones yourself.
- Do it yourself whenever you can. But make sure you can successfully take on a DIY project on your own, otherwise you’ll risk calling on an expert (and spending money) to fix any problems you end up causing.
- Think about how much money drains can cost you.
- Avoid stores and shops where you know you’ll end up spending more than you’d like.
- Have potluck dinners once a week instead of dining out! You can socialize with friends and family while cutting down on what you spend on restaurant meals.
Phew! That is one long list! If you’re so inspired, please don’t hesitate to pass along any more money saving recommendations in the comments below.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Just to be an @ss, I hate number 45! Humans are omnivores not herbivores. My favorite though is my buddy has his paycheck deposited directly into his high yield savings account and sets up auto withdrawals to his checking for his bills. Brilliant as he actually has to pull money out instead of always trying to put money in. Pays him first!
You can also keep 2 liter bottles of water in your frig if you don’t have it full of food. Having it full reduces the thermal loss when you open the door to get something out.
You can also convert a deep freeze into a very high efficiency frig if you want to do some work on your own!!
Good suggestions and I think they all point to one thing – self control!
This has got to be one of the best list of money saving tips that exists anywhere on the web.
Great list – including 45;)
My two cents:
Plant a vegetable garden. If space is limited, container garden. Check out your local library for books on gardening/gardening in containers. There are many websites that you can browse that have excellent information for gardening [Google it]. If you have no room to grow, check out you local farmer’s market. The food is fresh, organic and will out last any produce you buy from the supermarkets and that means big savings for you. Not to mention you will be supporting your local farmers while also helping save the planet!
My favorite tip is to defer any unnecessary spending and purchases till you can afford to pay it in full. By following this tip, our family has been able to cut down our budget by 30% compared to how it’s been in previous years.
However, at some point, I’m seeing that we may need to pay the piper one day and start needing to open our wallets again. I’m referring to the repairs, home maintenance, travel, maybe even car maintenance tasks we’ve decided to skip for now but will have to deal with eventually. Some of these projects we try to take on ourselves these days, but to to be honest, we end up procrastinating on these things more than we should!
You can also sell gift cards online. Getting cash for your gift cards is better then feeling the need to go buy something when you do not want to. I sold two gift cards on Giftah this month and managed to capture 90% of the cards value. I used the cash to pay bills which was a much better idea then more mindless consumerism.
I treat groceries and food as a discretionary item, instead of a necessity. I must eat, but looking at the grocery store as discretionary helps me identify the luxury items inside! At the end of the month if I run out of money in my budget, I eat from my freezer and pantry. This saves me money and makes me relish the beginning of the month when I can buy fresh vegetables!
Is there such a thing as a “high interest” savings account these days? Technically I have two of them — a few years ago when I opened them, they were paying 4-5%. Now they are paying 1%. They’re savings accounts, but I think they long ago lost the title of being “high interest”.
Wow that is a long list. Mrs. Hoss and I practice many of the above money saving tips. In particular DIY. She is an excellent handywoman and does many of the household repairs. I am blessed.
Great post….always love new frugal ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, Fred (comment #7) is dead on. I always assumed that I’d be taking a pretty large hit trying to sell gift cards online, but the stores whose cards I sometimes nab through rewards programs are selling almost at face value.
Here’s a couple I try to use….
1) Eat at BYOB restaurtants, if available. They are all over the city in Chicago. HUGE savings!
2) Do not order appetizers or dessert. Likewise, only order a glass of wine as opposed to a whole bottle that you then feel the need to drink. Comes close to cutting your bill in half.
3) Try to only buy most grocery items when they are on sale. I have several bottles of salad dressing, bags of pasta, jars of marinara sauce, boxes of cereal, etc, in the pantry and lots of frozen chicken, beef and pork in the freezer, all purchased when they were really on sale. Again, huge savings.
If you buy something that you have second thoughts on, don’t be afraid to return it! Even unopened food! I have impulsively purchased things in the past, had buyers remorse and returned them within a couple of days! Not a problem.
I use shower curtain liners as shower curtains. They’re a lot cheaper and work just as well. If I get the kinds that doesn’t have grommets and the hole on the end rips, I just take the scissors and make a cut from the hole all the way to the bottom, trimming off a strip. Shower curtains are too wide anyway and I can get as many as 4 trims on 1 shower curtain before it’s no longer wide enough. I’ve told friends about this idea and they love it!
Number 22 is a joke, of course, but you can SHARE your neighbor’s newspaper. I like to relax and read the paper for local news and ads, but I don’t care if it’s the same day. So, I asked my neighbor if I could pay half of his subscription if he would throw yesterday’s paper over onto my yard when he came out to get the current day’s morning paper. I read the paper a day late and enjoy it just as much. (For immediate, up-to-date news, I use the internet.) Now we’ve started doing the same thing with magazine subscriptions. We get to read all of our favorite magazines at home for half the subscription price.
Number 39 should read “Hang clothes on the line OR A DRYING RACK instead of putting them in the dryer.”
Lots of us do not have the yard for a clothesline. And then there is the winter and rainy days. I use this wooden clothes drying rack that has found a great spot right under my ceiling fan. The air movement keeps the clothes from getting crunchy.
Nick,
As far as #39 is concerned, I try to provide the gist of the message. Yes, use a line or rack or something else other than the dryer to dry your clothes without having to use electrical/gas power. Typically, I don’t allow product links in my comments section either, but that wooden clothes drying rack you’ve linked to looks too interesting to pass over.
Do laundry more often rather than buying more clothes. Buy a few stylish outfits every Boxing Day and wear the crap out of them, then discard them a year later; this way you will always be wearing your most favorite, newest clothing, and need less closet space.
In everything you do–moderation.
Little things (good or bad) done consistently over an extended period of time, really add up.
There is no such thing as “good debt”.
Always plan ahead.
Enjoy your accomplishments as well as your plans.
Family wealth is to used to build upon–it is not to used up.
In many cases, spending boils down to immediate gratification verses deferred gratification.
#46 should really be closer to the top of the list, since it seems to be the message behind most of the rest. #32 is like a prerequisite the rest
Another option: try samples online. They’re free and you get a chance to try something risk-free. Be careful, though, since some websites are scams. Use common sense. Walmart has fresh lists of free samples all the time.
Another suggestion is: buy high-quality. I would do this for stuff that I know I would use a lot, like a brand new washer or running shoes. I know it might be hard to shell out a few extra dollars if there is a cheaper item is available. But, BE CAREFUL! Sometimes something cheap will cost you more. I learned my lesson when I bought an inexpensive bike thinking I would save money when it turned out that the quality was crappy and now I can’t even use it because all the gears are broken.
Today, we are living in tough times. The entire global economy is on a downswing and we must do what we can to save our money as much and as early as possible even if it means forcing ourselves to do it.
I’ve found another way to save is to shop for groceries at Aldi (if you have one near you). I save approx. 30 – 33% on my grocery bill by shopping there. I don’t mind bagging/boxing my own groceries.
Great advice. Helpful for anyone looking to save a few bucks.
Great advice. Some of these costs can definitely be cut back without much effort!
#46 is one of the most important in my opinion!
Agreed, 46 is grand! Great post, some really good ideas.
i also agree with number 46….who really NEEDS the fancy crap!
Today, we are living in tough times. The entire global economy is on a downswing and we must do what we can to save our money as much and as early as possible even if it means forcing ourselves to do it.