How to Save Money Everyday in Tough Times – Part 5

This is day 5 and the last installment of “How to Save Money in Tough Times”. If you missed the previous 4 days here are the links:
Part 1 – Tip #1 Stop Watching TV! & Tip #2 Drink Water
Part 2 – Tip #3 Don’t Smoke! & Tip #4 Use Energy Saving Light Bulbs
Part 3 – Tip #5 Buy Used Instead of New & Tip #6 Pay Your Debt First
Part 4 – Tip #7 Pack a Lunch to Work & Tip #8 Save on Your Banking Fees

The recurring theme in all 4 articles is that every little bit matters. Every dollar you save means you save up to $2 of earned income and you can put that somewhere to help you down the road. Money isn’t easy to come by especially in times like we are going through now and it’s very important that we all cut back and think about what the necessities are what the luxuries are. Even a latte at Starbucks could be considered a luxury in the tough times we’re going through so be smart about how you spend your money!

Tip #9 – Go To the Library
This might sound really cheesy but I can’t tell you how important it is to go to the library. First, you can read all the books you want for free! Imagine having to buy all the books that you read, even if books might have gotten cheaper, they still average $15-20 per book. Even if you only read one book a month, that’s 12 books a year which amounts to $225-240 a year. You could save that money and put it to better use, just by taking a trip to the library while giving yourself the chance to read more.

Second, you can learn so much about a new subject such as doing business or saving money. Libraries are a great place to spend time to make you more knowledgeable while saving money. You can learn new things all the time and there will always be a wealth of information! The next best place would be wikipedia.org in my opinion since there’s information about pretty much everything on Wikipedia, a truly great site.

Tip #10 – Make the Most of Coupons & Sales
Many people don’t like sales and coupons because it seems like they’re being cheap. Nothing could be further from the truth. You have to make the most of your chances to save money and coupons and sales are one of the best ways to do this! There are so many ways to find coupons and dates of sales nowadays. The Internet is a great place to start, just visit the website of the company you plan to shop at whether if it’s a grocery store or a department store.

Sometimes you can get coupons online for stores that you might visit. Even if you can’t usually the online stores as well as other deal hunter sites around the internet will give you a good idea as to when you can expect a sale from that store.

If you’re shopping online, be sure to do a quick search for online coupons because there is always a bunch that you can use to get a discount at almost any online store. Every dollar that you save is a dollar you can invest or save on something else.

Mo2 Thinks
Libraries are a wealth of information and they carry a lot of the books that you might see on Amazon or in other bookstores. It doesn’t hurt to take a look and save you some needed cash. I know $15 or $20 might not seem like too much, but in the long run it adds up and you can be saving a lot of money if you understand how each purchase can affect you.

Make the most of coupons that you get in the mail and through your e-mail as well. There are always ways to save money. The best obvious way to save money is to not spend it at all, but unfortunately many things are just simply necessary. But no one ever said that you’re not allowed to save money on necessary things. So do your shopping by searching for the best deal out there for everything!

How to Save Money Everyday in Tough Times – Part 4

This is day 4 of this series to save money in the tough times that we are all experiencing. Be sure to read the first 3 parts to the series if you haven’t already:
Part 1 – Tip #1 Stop Watching TV! & Tip #2 Drink Water
Part 2 – Tip #3 Don’t Smoke! & Tip #4 Use Energy Saving Light Bulbs
Part 3 – Tip #5 Buy Used Instead of New & Tip #6 Pay Your Debt First

Saving money is tough, but if you stay disciplined we can all do it in one-way or another. To be realistic, not every tip is going to work for everyone but if you can start one or two things, in the long run it will make a difference. It’s the thought and action that counts; the result will come in time.

Tip #7 – Pack a Lunch for Work
Packing a lunch is very important. You can be healthy with your choices and eat exactly what you want. You just have to cook extra the night before or if you’re an early riser than cook in the morning for a fresher lunch. By brining lunch to work, you can save a substantial amount of money. Eating out has become more and more expensive and it isn’t uncommon to see people spending $8 or $9 on a takeout lunch. If you actually go into a restaurant to eat it could $20 - $25 or more depending on what you eat and where you go!

Tip #8 – Save on Your Banking Fees
For most people, the bare minimum of banking services is more than enough. If you’re someone that uses your bankcard like a maniac to pay for fees, then consider carrying a little more cash or use a credit card! There’s no need to be paying for a $3.44 purchase and rack up banking fees when you could simply use your credit card or carry a $5 bill.

Check your online banking statement or the statement you get in the mail and see how much you are paying for banking fees. Some banks offer free banking if you have investments or a credit card with them. I would take advantage of the free banking and from reading my blog you should already be putting money away and from reading Become a Smarter Credit Card User, you shouldn’t be scared to carry a Credit card. Take advantage of what you can and get free banking or minimize your banking fees.

Many people complain about how the banks charge insane fees but often times, this is because the person that is complaining isn’t being responsible. If you have 30 transactions in a month when you could have had 15, it’s your fault that you went overboard. If you didn’t have money to pay rent when you wrote a cheque, it isn’t the bank’s fault, it’s yours. Don’t try to fight the banking system, try to use it in your favor. Read my article about Having a Relationship with the Bank! to know what I’m talking about.

Mo2 Thinks
Always take a step back and think about what you are spending your money on. Every lunch that you buy out, cuts into your potential savings or money that you could use to pay down debt. Every extra dollar you pay for fees at your bank is the same, try to cut costs and increase the amount of money you can save and pay down debt with!

How to Save Money Everyday in Tough Times – Part 3

Today is day 3 of learning how to save money in tough times.
Be sure to check out Day 1 – Tip #1 Quit Watching TV & Tip #2 Drinking Water
And Day 2 – Tip #3 Don’t Smoke! & Tip #4 Use Energy Saving Light Bulbs
Every little bit counts and I want to help you save money to survive these rough times that we’re going through right now. If you can make it through and continue to keep these habits in place, it will definitely help you in the long run.

Tip # 5 - Buy Used Instead of New
Now this doesn’t go for everything, but for a lot of things we can buy used. A car is a really good example, if you can buy from a reputable dealer, you could save tons of money on a one-year or two-year old car instead of buying the new things. This money saved can be put away or used to buy other necessary things. In the case of a car, just make sure you do your due diligence and possibly take a mechanic with you and do a test drive and be sure you have a decent warranty with the car. You want to spend some money upfront so you won’t have to worry about getting ripped off. There are many other things you can buy used and you should take advantage of every opportunity that you have to maximize your savings. You don’t need everything new if it’s something that you’re only going to be using for a short amount of time. Be smart about your purchases so that you can save money.

Tip # 6 - Pay Down Your Debt First!

A lot of us have debt whether if it’s credit card debt or loans from the bank. Before you put money away to save and invest you should be paying this debt down as much as you can since the interest on debt is usually higher than the interest you can earn from your investments. Paying down your debt can also improve your credit rating, it’s all about being financially responsible and by paying down your debt on time and sometimes more than you need to shows that you are responsible. If you save money in any way such as the tips that I’m giving the past few days, pay down your debt.

Mo2 Thinks
Buying used can be tough sometimes especially if you don’t know if you can trust the person you are buying from. That’s why it’s always good to have insurance or a warranty if you’re buying. Buying from friends and relatives are a good way to save money too as I’m sure they have things that they don’t need or they might be thinking of upgrading. Paying down debt is important but sometimes it can be stressful to think that all of your savings are going to paying debt. That’s why I like to put some money away in investments while paying down debt. That way you are decreasing the amount you owe while increasing your net worth at the same time. It really depends on what you want to do, but I like to have money saved away just in case I can’t make my payments down the road.