This is a list of ways to save about $30 a month or a dollar a day. If you can do a couple of these, then you can save even more, like 60 or 90.00 a month .

Cutting down on what you have:
1 Cancel TV service or downgrade to a plan that saves at least $30 a month
2 Cut out buying one soda or coffee a day – make or bring your own
3 Downgrade/Cancel cell phone or landline service
4 Cut out one or two meals eating out
5 Lower your utility use (use cold water more, lower thermostat in the winter, raise it in the summer, etc)
6 Cut back on a bad habit – reduce smoking by ½ packs, buy fewer drinks when going out, cut the lottery buys down
7> Trade down in car or home and bank the difference you've made
8> Figure out what you pay for gas each month, drive one day less a week and at the end of the month bank the difference

Adding to what you already do:
9 Round up in your checkbook to the next dollar amount – bank the extra money at the end of the month
10 Use coupons and consider them money – every coupon used (or doubled) means you put that amount away
11 Find more and don't spend rebate checks, cash back refunds, etc
12 Found money in washer/street gets saved
13 Borrow from the library when the urge to buy comes up – put that money away
14 Bring lunch to work- calculate what you normally spend on lunch and save that amount
15 Buy generic and save the difference – keep a pen and paper with you to figure the savings
16 Check around to make sure you are getting the best deal for insurance – the difference goes into savings
17 Call credit card companies to get a lower interest rate – calculate the saving for the lower interest rate based on what you owe, divide by 12 and put that amount away each month
18 Write checks for over the amount instead of paying bank fees
19 Rent a movie instead of going to the theater and put the difference into savings
20 Stop off at the thrift store to find what you need before spending money at the department store
21 Sit down and do a budget- find out how much is going out from what is coming in and cut back on the areas that you are spending to much

Make money to put away:
22 Sell items in your house
23 Resell items picked up from yard sales or sell for family/friends and take a commision
24 Pick up trash, fix it up and sell it
25 Bank your raise- right there can be the whole year's worth of savings (~360$)
26 Bank your refund check from the IRS- Since you already are living on less
27 Offer to do odd jobs for neighbors/friends that you already do for yourself
28 Sell textbooks back – even if you've found them from the dumpster
29 Sell an old cell phone
30 Sell your expertise in tutoring, shopping for others or giving instructions on hobbies


There are my thirty ideas, what ideas do you have?

2 Comments

  1. Dylan Breslin-Barnhart // Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:47:00 AM  

    Dawn, thank you for the tips about ways to reduce expenses in this tough economy. I wanted to write a follow-up discussing a key route to specifically wireless savings through the website http://www.fixmycellbill.com (by a company called Validas) that on average currently saves T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and US Cellular customers 22 percent, equating to $482 annually, off their cell bills. I personally save $230 per year through Validas and I have been so impressed with these results that I recently took a job with the company.

    In terms of how it actually works, Validas analyzes your online cell bill for free and calculates how much money you could be saving. It turns out that eight of ten wireless customers are paying more than they need to for their plans. Validas fixes these discrepancies by tailoring a customer's plan to fit their specific needs. If you choose, Validas provides your personalized cell bill adjustment report that is emailed, for five bucks, to your wireless provider in industry specific format so you can actually implement these cash saving changes. If Validas can save you more than $5 on your bill, this obviously provides a very cost effective solution.

    Validas is rapidly gaining a reputation as the preeminent advocate for the wireless customer. Check out a feature about the company on The Big Idea with CNBC's Donny Deutsch at http://www.cnbc.com/id/22782456/. Any cell subscriber who wants to cut costs should consider Validas. It’s free to consult and you only stand to save.

    Good luck to everyone trying to reduce their bills.

    Dylan

  2. Chari // Monday, January 05, 2009 4:41:00 PM  

    Thanks for the suggestions! I actually already do some of these. This makes me want to keep it up!