Latter-day Saints are counseled to
put aside cash in case of an emergency. There are really only
two ways to accumulate funds and to rid ourselves of debt and
stay out of debt. First we can earn more money. This may mean
starting a new business or taking a second job. Or second, we
can save more of what we earn.
Saving money may actually be easier
than you think. What follows are 50 simple ways to save more of
your household income, with apologies in advance to all the people
who like to sell us stuff we don't really
need.
1 — Get An
Education
Education earns the number one position
because it is truly the most important thing you can do.
I don’t just mean attending college or a trade school, but learning
skills that will help you save around the house.
Take a night school class at your
local high school or community college and learn budgeting, computer
skills, cooking, car maintenance, or anything that will help you
to become more efficient and frugal in your home. Take advantage
of online tutorials, books and friends who may be able to help
you learn anything from tax preparation to plumbing to cutting
hair.
The more skills you have and the
more you know, the more you save. Begin now by making a
list of all the things you have paid people to do over the last
year. Make another list of skills your friends and family
possess. Make a third list of the skills you could teach
someone else.
2 — Don’t Spend Your Change
When we were first engaged, we began
saving our change each night in a jar. At the end of the
month, I would take the change to the store and buy spices, pantry
basics and cleaning supplies. When we were married and moved
into our first apartment, the cupboards were stocked by pocket
change. We could never have afforded as poor college students
to purchase these basics all at once.
You will be amazed how much money
you have at the end of the month with such little effort.
You will also be amazed that you don’t miss the money. We
saved as much as $40.00 a month. If you have older children,
have them participate too and put the money aside for a special
item for the family or for a family vacation.
3 — Pay with Cash
Everything except your home or education
should be paid for with cash whenever possible. Cash means
currency, your ATM card, or your checkbook. It takes discipline,
but it can work with a plan and teamwork. You will save thousands
in interest charges.
4 — Purchase Used Cars Instead
of New
Driving a new car is a great thrill,
but may be foolish for many of us. Unless you are in a high tax
bracket and your accountant says that leasing or buying new vehicles
offers you essential deductions, you will be better off to purchase
a good, low mileage used car, and save the difference that others
pay in depreciation.
There are many websites dedicated
to helping consumers choose a good used car. Plan to have a mechanic
check out the car if you are buying it from an individual or unfamiliar
dealer. Retired fleet or rental cars can be a good buy,
because usually they are still under warranty and have been well
maintained. Auctions are a possibility, but it will pay
to do your homework before buying a car there because auctions
are not for the novice, or the impulsive, or the undisciplined.
If you purchase from a private party,
get a copy of the car’s service record and do an online search
on the car's VIN number (there are services that provide a detailed
car history) to make sure you know if it was a lemon or a salvaged
car.
Fifty years ago, a car was considered
fully used up when it rolled a hundred thousand miles on the odometer.
Today, many finely engineered cars are traded off or sold by their
first owners within a year or two of being new, and can be bought
for two-thirds their original value. With 80% of their useful
life left in them, a late model used car allows you to buy a better
quality car than you could afford to buy new. Treat it kindly,
and it will take care of you and your budget for many years.
5 — Put Down As Much As You Can
When you are purchase a large ticket
item like a car or home with borrowed money, put down the largest
deposit you can afford. Don’t be swayed by the sales person
or real estate agent who reminds you that you only need to put
$xxx down and you can take the rest of your cash and use it on
something else. You will pay hundreds or thousands of dollars
more over the life of your loan in interest charges when you make
a small or no down payment.
6 — Eliminate Extra Charges
Examine your insurance policy, retirement
funds, bank accounts, and so on, and eliminate any extras you
do not need. You may be paying for benefits and services
you will never need or use.
7 — Determine the Real Cost of
Purchases
If cable, for example, is $30 per
month, think $360 per year. What could you do with $360?
What about the newspaper? If you read it, by all means keep
it, but if you don’t, consider buying only the weekend edition.
8 — Look for Matching Funds
Take advantage of matching funds
through your employer, if this is offered. This not only
applies to retirement accounts but large employers may also provide
matching funds for continuing education. Be sure to ask.
9 — Take Advantage of Scholarships
Investigate scholarship opportunities
for yourself or your child. Make sure you file a FAFSA (free application
for federal student aid) form. This can be obtained from any high
school counseling office. This form must be completed for
all financial aid and almost all scholarships.
Ask your high school for a list of
organizations that offer scholarships to graduating seniors.
Some will also provide scholarships to those returning to school
after a lengthy absence. Check on the internet for other
opportunities, but never pay for a list. Go to a good bookstore
where you can find a book with a list of national scholarships.
Use these same strategies to find
scholarships for your children. Begin the hunt during their
sophomore year in high school as there are many scholarships available
to high school juniors, and too often, the list of applicants
is very short because other parents and students are not as proactive
as you are.
10 — Use Your Deductible
Take the highest deductible possible
when having taxes deducted from your paycheck if you normally
receive a refund. Consult your tax advisor on how to do this.
11 — Buy Savings Bonds
If you have young children or grandchildren,
buy them savings bonds. They are relatively inexpensive
to purchase and are better than a saving account because they
are tax free when cashed in to be used for post-high school education.
12 — Cancel Private Mortgage Insurance
Once you owe less than 80% of your
home’s value your lender no longer requires mortgage insurance.
Keep a close eye on when you reach this level and cancel the insurance.
Usually it is a poor value.
13 — Shop the Sales
I never pay full price for anything.
Be patient. Everything goes on sale eventually. There
are times of the year when certain items are always on sale.
Everyone knows eggs are cheapest the week before Easter.
Storage boxes are on sale in January, when everyone is cleaning
up from the holidays. Summer clothes are on sale about two
weeks into the summer season. Keep a journal of the sales
at your local stores and see what their pattern is. Don’t
be afraid to ask when an item will go on sale. See Meridian
article: The Self
Reliant Shopper
14 — Make Friends Where You Shop
If you have a favorite store, develop
a friendship with a clerk and ask him to let you know when items
are being marked down or there is a sale scheduled. Some
stores have a regular day of the week when they mark down items.
15 — Purchase Gifts Year Round
Take advantage of end-of-season sales
and purchase items for Christmas in July. I recently purchased
workout clothes for 70% off. They are appropriate to wear
year round and will be appreciated Christmas morning but they
cost me much less than if I had waited to purchase them in November.
The same is true of home decor items, linens, photo albums, and
year round clothing such as belts and jeans.
Other added advantages of this approach
are that you will spread out your purchases, thus preserving your
budget and allowing you to avoid all the hassles of the crowds
in November. Consider doing this for weddings, shower gifts,
birthdays, anniversaries, and baby gifts.
16 — Shop after a Holiday
If you won’t be seeing family or
friends until after a holiday such as Christmas, purchase last
minute gifts after the holiday. For example, you could make
up a food gift basket with candies wrapped in Holiday wrapping, pasta shaped like Christmas trees and an ornament
or two, all for 50% to 75% off.
17 — Re-Gift
OK, so Miss Manners may say this
is over the line. I am not suggesting that you give someone a
gift you rejected. On occasion, you will receive duplicate
gifts at a shower or for a special occasion that can’t be returned.
If you have a new, unused item that you love, but don't need,
I see no problem with re-gifting it to someone who needs or who
will really appreciate it.
18 — Make Your Gifts
The only limit to what you can accomplish
is the limit of your imagination. I made dress-up costumes
for my grandchildren last Christmas from remnants of fabrics I
had around the house and a couple of old curtains. One of
the curtains was given to me by a friend who discovered what I
was doing. The grandchildren loved the costumes, and we had lots
of fun watching them dress up and play.
Think about giving your favorite
dessert, a dinner, home made rolls, a sketch, a poem, a personalized
gift basket — the list goes on and on.
19 — Pool Your Gift Money
Think group gift. Whether
it be for a wedding, shower, or for a
family member’s birthday, why not pool your money and get a nicer
and often more needed gift than you could afford on your own.
20 — Make Wrapping Paper
It is crazy that we spend so much
on greeting cards and gift-wrap as we do. Make your own! For gift-wrap,
you can purchase rolls of newsprint at paper stores and decorate
it using stickers, stencils, stamps, or just splatter paint. Kids
will think it's great fun. The
same is true of bags. Purchase plain white bags and decorate.
For a real country look, purchase
a roll of brown paper in the paint section of your home improvement
store. Tie the gift with a gingham bow or even twine, add
a homemade card and you are done. This is even cheaper than buying
it at the dollar store.
21 — Make Gift Cards
Find a local paper supply store that
sells blank cards. They will also have cards ready to print
that are designed for thank you notes. These are the perfect
size for gift enclosures. A box of 100 cards will usually
cost less than $10.00. The same number of gift enclosures
would cost $35.00 or more.
22 — Utilized Your “No More Than a Dollar” Store
There are so many of these stores
now. You can get really great buys on everything from gifts
to cleaning supplies. This is a great resource when planning
a party or compiling gift baskets.
It is also a great place to take children to pick out gifts for
friends, grandparents or others or even to shop for a reward for
themselves.
You will need to check these stores
often, because their inventory varies. Don’t forget to ask the
clerks if they know when an item you are searching for may be
scheduled to arrive.
23 — Reinvent an Item
Think of a new use for an item you
already have. You could turn a basket upside-down and use
it as a plant stand. Clean and paint your picnic table and
bring it inside to use as a kitchen table. We have an old
Arts & Craft style glass door mounted against the wall as
a dramatic headboard. What can you invent?
24 — Plant Fruit Trees
You can pick these up from nurseries
who supply farmers with their orchard trees, for much less than
at retail. Most trees will not bear fruit for four or five years,
so plant now as an investment in the future. The fruit you
harvest can be eaten, preserved, frozen, or sold at a farmers
market or from a card table on your front lawn. Citrus fruits
can be eaten fresh, squeezed for juice or the juice can be frozen
in ice cube trays and then stored in freezer bags for use later.
If you live in a warm climate plant citrus trees for winter
harvest, and fruit and nut trees for summer and fall harvests.
Be sure to plant the fruits your family likes. Grapefruit
trees will be of little use if your family does not like grapefruit.
Be sure to check at the nursery,
because some trees need two varieties planted together in order
to pollinate. Peek over the fence and see what trees the neighbors
have, or talk to them about planting some that will pollinate
with your trees. The biggest mistake most people make is to plant
too many trees of the same variety.
25 — Plant a Garden
Like the fruit from your trees, you
can preserve or freeze your garden harvest as well as eating it
fresh. You can also earn extra money to supplement your
grocery budget. Everyone loves fresh vegetables, and in
many areas, they are difficult to find. During World War
II many families dug up their yards to plant victory gardens to
feed themselves and their neighbors.
If you don’t have a yard you can
plant many vegetables in pots and planter boxes placed around
a front door or on a balcony. Many good books can give you
directions and help you learn the tricks.
26 — Make Your Own Mulch
Composting will improve the yields you get from your vegetable
gardens and fruit trees. It will also save you money on
fertilizers, and make your flowering plants even more beautiful.
There are many online sources with details on how to make compost
from leaves, yard clippings, kitchen scraps and such.
27 — Glean
If you cannot plant your own trees or gardens, keep your eyes
open for orchards or fields that are being harvested. Often
farmers will allow you to glean the fruits and vegetables that
are left after the commercial harvest is over. Ask permission;
they will usually say, “Yes, go ahead.” Also, keep your eyes open
for neighbors who have trees that have fruit going unpicked.
Many times you can pick the fruit for them in exchange for half
the fruit. This is not only good for you but can be a huge
help to people who are elderly or handicapped, or just too busy,
and cannot do this for themselves.
28 — Trade Garden Stock
Divide plants and trade with friends. It is really amazing
how often friends need to thin their garden plants or houseplants.
Learn how to root cuttings or divide root balls and trade with
friends. Soon you will be operating your own little nursery.
29 — Barter
Make a list of the skills and talents that you would be willing
to share with others in exchange for talents you don’t have.
You may be a great baker and can make holiday pies and breads
in exchange for haircuts for your family.
Do you know a family who has children
your children enjoy playing with? Rotate babysitting on
Friday nights. Can you tutor math or teach piano lessons
in exchange for auto repairs? Sit down and brainstorm all
the skills you and your family have to share. When you have
finished, start a second list of all the people you know who have
skills you need. You may be surprised how willing others
are to trade with you, thus saving money for both of you.
30 — Dumpster Dive
Got your attention with this one,
didn't I? OK, so I'm not suggesting you hang out behind the supermarket
or a popular restaurant, but look for locations where someone
is discarding things that may have value, but are no longer needed.
I have seen beautifully appointed retail cabinets, perfectly good
stuff, literally ripped out and hauled away.
Watch for contractors who are remodeling
and have torn out moldings, cabinets, fences, doors, or fireplaces.
All these salvage items are potentially useful to someone — maybe
even to you and your project. Our basement was finished with new
carpet that was literally free — a friend who lays carpet pulled
it from a new home where the buyer wanted a different color, and
it only cost us the price of our friend's time to lay it down.
Another friend found two French doors
being discarded. She took them home, attached a piano hinge,
applied paint and fabric, and made a divider to hide her treadmill
when it wasn’t being used. It looks like a designer item.
31 — Salvage Scrap at Construction
Sites
This is an especially good resource
when a large development is being built. They will always
have a pile of scraps they are going to haul to the dump.
The more you take the less they have to discard. Talk to the foreman
or contractor. With luck, you can find great scrap lumber for
making small shelves, step stools, doll cradles, window boxes
or anything else that requires shorter pieces. If nothing
else, it provides kindling to heat your home or for camping.
32 — Use Coupons
This is a tried but true method of
saving money on food, cleaning supplies, medications and merchandise.
There are many sources of coupons including your local newspaper,
magazines, box tops and the internet. Save coupons only
for items you actually use. You may form a co-op with other
families and share coupons for items they may be in need of but
for which you have no use. A good example of this would
be diapers. Not every family need them,
but when you do they are an enormous expense. I know of
one Relief Society where they share coupons by passing around
a basket with coupons that are not going to be used by the donor
and others can take what they can use.
33 — Rebates
Rebates are available on many large
ticket purchases, and require the discipline to fill out paperwork,
make copies of receipts, and mail them off before the expiration
date. Establish the discipline to fill them out and mail them
within 24 hours of a big purchase, or risk seeing your savings
evaporate with your good intentions. We're talking real money
here.
34 — Sign Up For Mailing Lists
Many of your local and chain retail
stores have mailing lists. Most use these lists to mail
circulars on store specials and discount coupons. Many of
these are not available to the public, and you need to be on the
mailing list to take advantage of the savings. We have a
local furniture store that holds midnight madness sales twice
a year. They have great savings at these events, but you
must have the invitation they have mailed you to get in the door.
35 — Take Your Lunch to Work
This is so much healthier and can
save you hundreds of dollars over a year's time. You don’t
need to tale peanut butter and jelly, although you could.
Create your own lunch by starting with a plastic container and
adding leftovers or a salad or nachos, a variety of cheeses meats
and crackers; the possibilities are endless and taste so much
better than the same old sandwich from the neighborhood deli —
or worse yet, fast food. If you save just $2.00 a day times
how many days, that's mucho dinero in a year! Save it and eat healthy!
36 — Send Lunch to School
When I was a kid, the school cafeteria
served a hot meal, but the kids with lunch boxes had better food.
It's still true. It is much more healthy for your child to take
a lunch than to purchase one, and also much less expensive. There
are many fun ideas for lunches as simple as using cookie cutters
to make fun sandwiches, to making your own “lunchables.”
I have been teaching After School Recreation classes for the
past three years — teaching latchkey kids to cook. I have discovered
the kids will eat lots of things they thought they never would,
if they are presented correctly. Their favorites are wraps. Simply
pack a tortilla and ingredients in a sandwich bag. Think salad
in a tortilla and pack shredded carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese,
meat, pickles, olives and of course some kind of dressing. Let
them assemble it at school and they will be the envy of their
friends. This is great for kids in high school and college as
well.
37 — Drink Water
Make it a practice to drink water
instead of juice or milk, at least one meal a day. Water
is much better for you and will cut calories as well as save money
38 — Order Water
When you eat out,
order water instead of soft drinks. You could purchase
a whole liter of soda, enough for the whole family, for the price
of one drink ordered at a restaurant. If you eliminate ordering
just one drink a week, you could save over $50.00 a year. Sodas
are where fast food restaurants make their profit, not food. If
you currently order a soft drink every day, you could save $300.00
a year.
39 — Keep a Food Stash in the
Car
Have you ever had the kids say, “I’m
so... hungry,” as you pick them up from school? You still
have errands to run and soccer practice, so you find a drive-thru
and buy snacks.
Don’t do it. Get a small cooler
and stock it with snacks. Choose items that won’t melt,
and the next time the kiddies complain, tell then to check the
snacks. If you know you will be gone from home for a longer
period, add an ice pack to the chest and add drinks and fresh
fruit or cheese sticks and you are ready to go. If you spend just
$3.00 a week buying fast food snacks, you could save more than
$100.00 a year by making your own.
40 — Recycle Water Bottles
Wash your used water bottles and
rinse them well. Fill them with water about half full and
freeze them. As you head out the door, fill the bottle the
rest of the way with fresh water and you will have a cold drink
that will last a few hours. When you have leftover juice
or lemonade, fill an empty water bottle and freeze or refrigerate
it. Use these in lunches as a cheaper alternative to bottled
drinks.
This also works well for milk.
I do chocolate milk for long trips; it's more nutritious than
sweetened juices and still fun. You may have heard rumors that
reusing water bottles is dangerous. This is one of those urban
legends, which grew out of a master’s thesis that was not subjected
to peer review or scientific study. It has been refuted by the
bottled water industry.
41 — Eat at Home
It is so much cheaper to eat at home
instead of eating out. If you love hamburgers, get a good
recipe for gourmet hamburgers, invest in a small grill and cook
them at home. You will be amazed at how much your family
loves them, and they can all have them exactly the way they want
them.
If you think you are too busy to
cook, try making some meals ahead and freezing them. If
you think you can’t cook, get a basic cookbook, or check one out
of the library and start practicing. If you eat out less
and save $15.00 per week, you can save $780.00 a year!
42 — Eat Out for
Lunch, Not Dinner
If there is a special occasion and
you want to celebrate, then do your restaurant dining at lunch time. Lunch menus often
include most of the same meal choices as the dinner menus, but
at a smaller price. This is an especially good tip for vacations.
Eat your large meal at lunchtime and have sandwiches or pizza
for dinner.
43 — Learn How to Properly Store
Foods
There are many items that can be purchased in season or grown
in your garden that can be canned for future use. If you
have never canned, ask around and find someone who can teach you.
They will probably know someone whose family has grown who will
be happy to share their extra canning jars. Vegetables, some fruits,
nuts, even eggs and milk can be safely frozen. There are
many good books that will teach you to preserve and store food.
44 — Freeze Meals
Compile a number of recipes that
will freeze well. These are great for the nights you are too tired
to cook or have other problems arise during the day. It will help
you avoid the temptation to run to the restaurant or for fast
food. Take a Saturday or weeknight evening and spend a few
hours making casseroles or other main dishes to freeze.
Purchase several oven/microwave-proof
glass casserole dishes and use these. This will save lots
of money over buying disposable ones. Make sure they are
the same size and they will stack well in your freezer.
Be sure to cover the food with plastic wrap before you cover with
foil and then remove the plastic wrap before cooking. Label
each dish on the foil with the cooking directions. This can be
lots of fun to do as a family and it will teach your children
or grandchildren culinary skills
45 — Take Food
Whether you are planning a road trip
to Grandma’s or a trip to Disneyland, plan
to take food with you. When our children were young, we
would take food for two meals a day with us when we vacationed.
This was the only time I purchased sugary cereals. We would eat
fruit and cereal in the hotel room for breakfast and have cheese
and crackers or sandwiches for another meal. Allow for one
treat a day to be purchased at the beach or theme park and it
won’t seem like a sacrifice to eat meals out of the cooler.
46 — Buy in Bulk
If you feel you can’t use 12 rolls
of paper towels, find a friend who can share the items with you.
If you purchase large packages of cereals or ingredients like
flour, divide it into plastic containers with lids. Be careful
and compare the price per ounce, because large quantity items
are not always the best buys. Meat, for example, is usually
not a bargain at a warehouse type store. There are many
catalogs and other sources to purchase party supplies, paper goods
and even linens in bulk. Ask friends, and check online for
sources.
47 — Get Your Food Storage
Purchase extra canned fruits, vegetables,
sauces, soups, and other nonperishables
when you shop each week. Don’t forget to purchase cleaning
supplies, toiletries, and other non-food items you buy on a regular
basis. As your pantry gets more and more full of items you routinely use, you will begin to save
25%-50% on your grocery budget. Once you have a supply you
need only buy items when they go on sale.
If you do this on a regular basis,
you will always be feeding your family and handling household
needs at last year’s prices. To begin the process, try placing
your change at the end of every day in a special jar. At
the end of the week purchase items that will store well and are
on sale, with that money. Do this in addition to your normal
purchasing and do not use your storage items, but continue buying
as though they were not there. Don’t forget your pets; their food
and supplies go on sale, too.
48 — Stretch Your Food
When buying frosted
corn flakes, mix them with a box of unfrosted corn flakes to reduce
the sugar as well as the price. Do the same thing
with chocolate milk by adding half white milk; stretch orange
juice by combining with less expensive lemonade.
49 — Shop at the Farmers’ Market
Farmers’ markets are a great place
to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. The best time to
go is late in the day. Often when booths are closing you
can make deals, especially if you are buying large quantities,
so take orders from the neighbors or plan to can or freeze the
extras.
50 — Buy Store Brands
If you are in doubt about the quality
of a store brand, buy just one and try it. Most store brands
are packaged by the major food companies and are of good to high
quality. Some of the store brands are actually better than
the name brands. But if you really hate the store brand,
by all means buy what you love. Spoiling yourself on a few little
luxuries is the spice of life, and the reward for being frugal
— isn't it?
***
Try just a few of these suggestions
and open a savings account for the extra cash you will now have.
It will be tempting to spend this money, but be strong! If you
feel an overwhelming urge to spend part of it, make a trip to
a store and add to your food storage or update your 72-hour kits!
Living within your means places you
in the top 2% of today's society. Very few people can do it. Most
of the world comes nowhere close to being in this club. It's the
club where members have the greatest peace of mind, the comforts
of home, and the confidence to face every new day with a smile
and a dollar in their pocket.
