I receive emails all of the time from PR wanting me to promote different products on my blog as well as from writers wanting me to post their stories or tips on my blog. Recently I have received quite a few emails with tips for things like couponing and ways to save money. With Christmas coming (I know it’s still a few months away and I keep talking about it a lot, however I have 5 boys, and one must start early when you have that many to buy for,) so I thought it might be nice to have a post with tips about getting out of debt, saving money and ways to make things work so Christmas is a little more affordable.
I would love to hear some of your thoughts and what you are planning to do to save money this year.
With the tough economy and a lot of people without jobs I am sure a lot of us can use this advice.
These are just a few tips that I have either been given, come across online, or tried myself. Feel free to add to them.
One way to save a little bit of money monthly is to re-finance your home. It sounds like a big step, however interest rates are really low right now and this can save you quite a bit of money. I think this is one thing that a lot of people don’t necessarily think of, but it really can save you money. You can stick with your current bank, but if they aren’t willing to work with you there is always the option of moving your loan to another bank. We have talked about Aurora loans on here before. They offer home loans and would be one place to get started in your search, however I would go with a bank that you feel comfortable with and someone that explains everything in detail to you.
Another option for saving money is to cut back on things that you don’t really need. I think a lot of us don’t even realize how we have become used to things that we don’t really need. How often do you use your video streaming account? We have had a video streaming subscription for some time. We were paying to have movies stream directly on our television as well as dvds in the mail, however we rarely had dvds sent to our home. We recently changed our subscription to only streaming. I am considering getting rid of it all together though to save even more money. Another cost you might consider is if you have internet at home and on your phone. Often you can get by with just one, even if just for a few months until after Christmas. What about your cable? Maybe you could get rid of those movie channels for at least a few months? That could save quite a bit.
A lot of people are car pooling to work these days. With high gas prices this is a great way to save money. Why not share your ride with someone else and then ride with them the following week?
What about eating out? Often times we are on the go and just grab something because it is convenient. Eating out is not only bad for us, but it really adds up. How about limiting the amount of eating out you do? You can make meals in bulk and freeze parts of them so they can be easily heated up and eaten when you are short on time. (This is a great tip as it can not only save you from eating out, but save you time and money. When you purchased already prepared meals in the store you often pay quite a bit more for it.)
Another thing that can help is if you have credit card debt and you have a high interest rate, you could try getting a credit card that offers a promotion, like no interest for a period of time or a really low starting rate. This could help you save money, but could also help you pay down your debt faster. You wouldn’t believe how much more you pay on credit cards when you figure in the interest rate.
There are sites you can go to online to do mortgage calculators and debt calculators. I think we often don’t realize how much debt we have. Why not take a couple of minutes to write down all of your debt, punch the numbers in and see how long it’s going to take you to pay that debt off if you continue to only pay the minimum payments, and then see how fast you can pay it off if you add a little to the minimums. I think you will be surprised. There are many sites offering home loan and other calculators. I did a google search and found several.
Another thing many people are doing is getting rid of their landline phone. Why not? How often do you really use it? Did you know that you can have your home phone number moved to a cell phone? We like to have a phone at the house at all times that way even if we have a sitter or something there is a phone here at all times. With companies offering the “add a line for $10” deal we are considering taking advantage of that and moving our home phone number to a cell phone. I really think this is another great way to save money. You might want to get ahold of your cell provider to see what an extra line would cost you, or do you really need that extra line?
Why pay to rent or buy movies and books when you can get them for free at the library? You can even rent video games for free at the library now! Did you know this? I just recently learned this, and was impressed.
Recently a bunch of people in my area have started to buy and sell things to and from one another. This has worked out great because a lot of people are without jobs in our area and they really need the extra cash. Everyone is finding that they are often able to find what they want for a fraction of the cost they would be paying in the store. Not only are we saving money, but we are keeping things local and some of us are making money as well.
Have hospital bills?
Did you know that you can actually save money at the hospital? I didn’t realize this was an option until the last couple of years. I once read a book about consolidating debt and it taught me a lot. Often times a hospital or even some doctors are willing to settle for a little less if you are willing to pay them in full right away. Sometimes you can get 10% or more off of your bill just by paying it off right away. I know, we all don’t have the cash up front at all times to pay things in full, but if after paying for a few months you have the cash to pay in full you could always call the billing department and ask for a discount if you pay in full. What will it hurt to ask, right?
Other simple ways to cut costs that we don’t always think of are…
Wash your clothes in cold water and then hang them on the line to dry.
Haul your trash to the dump yourself. (If you have a trash service this could really save you.)
Recycle things like your cans (You can actually make money off of them!)
These are just a few things you can do to save money. I could probably go on and on, but then I don’t think anyone would read through my post.
How are you planning to save money?
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