Tips & Tricks to save you $

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I have been told that I should be sharing some of the things I have learned during my thirty plus years of marriage and living in the world and dealing with life. Here are a few tips for saving money I came up with off the top of my head.

Email Sign Ups

One tip that comes to mind this month especially is that you should always sign up for the notifications from your favorite restaurants and retail shops. Why? Well, during the month of your birthday, your inbox might be flooded with offers of free things at some of these favorite places. In the past, this has happened as soon as the month of my birthday arrives. This year it seems to be a bit slower trickling in, but still, some offers have arrived. Sure, you will get emails through the year as well, but you know how to delete the ones that don’t interest you, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Thrift Shopping

Now, this may seem obvious to some of you, but not to others. Go to thrift shops. You can save tons of money in your clothing budget by shopping a second-hand or thrift stores. Now don’t curl your lip up like that. You don’t have a problem borrowing clothes from your friends and family members, so open your mind and see what you find. I’m not saying you won’t wash whatever you buy, of course, that goes without saying, or it should. I wash brand new clothing before wearing it too. Sometimes the things you find there will be brand new with tags still attached. You might find the perfect pair of old denim jeans that has been washed until they are so soft.

Recycling and reusing are the green things to do. You won’t have to worry so much about someone showing up in exactly the same outfit as you. Another cool perk is that you won’t be nearly as upset if you spill something on your clothes because you didn’t have to spend a week’s salary to buy that blouse. Now I do have a few rules I prefer to adhere to. I never buy underwear or shoes used. You might not have a problem with it, but I would just rather not. The kids had some of the coolest t-shirts when they were growing up, all discovered among the rest of the things in the thrift stores. Think of it as a treasure hunt. Some of the things will be hopelessly out of date, but others will be vintage. Some will be in pristine condition while others may have a stain or tear that renders them virtually unusable. I’m just saying that you should try it before you turn your nose up at it on principle alone.

Trade Papers

Do you get the Wall Street Journal and your neighbor gets the New York Times? Maybe you could make a deal that you will deliver the newspaper into their mailbox when you finish it if they will do the same for you. Some of those newspapers are downright expensive to subscribe to. Consider bartering your magazines or newspapers with your like-minded friends or neighbors. Maybe instead of trading you could split the cost of a subscription and take turns being the first to read each issue as it comes in. If you make frequent visits to the doctor or dentist, ask if they would mind you trading a magazine issue you are finished with for one of theirs. Many won’t mind at all as long as the magazine you want to bring is appropriate and of general interest. It never hurts to ask.

Recycle

Does your neighborhood offer curbside recycling or have drop-off recycling collection sites nearby? Are you taking advantage of these and recycling all your cardboard, newspapers, soda cans, metal cans, and plastic and glass bottles? Anything with the triangle recycle symbol is most likely able to recycled. Me, I’m too cheap to pay for weekly pickup when I can bag it and drop it at the nearby park in the appropriate collection bins. By doing this, we get by with only one or two bags of trash a month. Again, recycling is the earth-savi9ng, responsible, green thing to do.

eCoupons

Are you planning to grab take-out on the way home from work tomorrow? When you get in your car, before you drive away, ask Google or Siri to find coupons for the place you were planning to go to anyway. They will often come up with coupons and you can just show them at the cash register. Consider doing this often enough to pay for a weekly treat.

Make a Call

If you are trying to save money, take a look at your monthly bills. You may want to call your cell phone, internet or cable provider and ask them to review your account and see if there is a way you could be saving money. Let them know you will also be shopping their competitors and switching if you find a better deal. Another call you could make is to see if you have the best rates on your homeowners or renters insurance. Check to see if you could save by bundling it with your auto insurance.

If you are willing to do more extreme things to save money, consider cutting the cable altogether and opt for a NetFlix, PureFlix or similar service instead. You could also use Redbox or the library to get movies and full seasons of television shows on DVD to watch. Perhaps you and your friends could plan a media swap once a month where you trade DVDs, or CDs. Seriously, I know I may have said this in previous posts, but it bears repeating, use your local library.

What is your best or favorite money saving tip? Share it in the comments below.

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