Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

40 Ways to Help You Reduce Your Expenses
and Increase Your Bankable Cash NOW!

If your financial situation is less than optimal or if the current economy is causing you a certain amount of concern, that isn’t a bad thing. The less content you are with your finances the more likely you are to be motivated to do something about them. So, get mad, act quickly and score fast cash with these easy to implement money saving tips.

$$ Review policies that have deductibles, like medical insurance, auto or home insurance and renters insurance. See if you could a handle a slightly higher deductible. If so, you could save plenty on your insurance costs.

$$ Call your refuse, waste management or trash company and ask what the least expensive program is they offer. Often times you can greatly reduce your trash costs by signing up for “Super Saver” programs, which gives you normal sized recycling and yard waste cans, but decreases the size of the regular trash can. The premise is you will recycle more.

$$ Drop premium channels from your cable or satellite service. Do you really need 300+ channels when you really only watch 8 to 12?

$$ Put clothes in the dryer for 5 to 10 minutes – just enough to get the wrinkles out – then hang them to dry the rest of the way. If you don’t own a clothes line just put them on hangers and hang from doorways or shower curtain rods.

$$ Use cash or write checks for purchases instead of using a credit card or debt card. You’ll find that you spend less using cash or checks because it makes you think more about the purchase.

$$ Consider walking or riding a bike when traveling short distances for errands or work.

$$ Pack your own lunch, snacks and beverages for work. Or, drink water instead of buying sodas or coffee.

$$ Avoid buying clothes that are dry clean only.

$$ Avoid recreational shopping or retail therapy. Shop only when you have a necessary and specific purchase.

$$ Throw out catalogs before you bring them into the house. Don’t get caught up in finding something you “have to have” just because you saw it in a catalog. Canceling catalogs altogether is even better – out of sight, out of mind.

$$ If you have excess “stuff”, try to sell it before giving it away or, parish the thought, throwing it away.

$$ If you’re thinking about buying a new car, defer the purchase for another year, saving what would be the monthly payment. Then, when you’re ready to buy, buy used with the saved money as a big down payment. Try to purchase at the end of the month or end of the year when most dealers have month-end or year-end sale quotas to meet.

$$ If you’re use to buying new work clothes every year, cut the number you buy in half. Buy items that will mix and match with what you already own.

$$ If a vacation is in your future plan far enough in advance to get super-saver rates, ask about all allowable discounts and if possible, vacation during the off-season.

If your finances need some serious firepower and you want a rapid fire list of money saving ideas fast this list is for you. Skim through and pick the bullets that you can use right now.

$$ void using ATMs or cash machines that charge fees.

$$ Use grocery store coupons when possible and only for items you normally buy.

$$ Turn your thermostat one-degree lower in winter and one-degree higher in the summer.

$$ If you need to keep certain lights on, like the kid’s room, replace those bulbs with new energy-efficient bulbs that use less power and last up to ten times longer.

$$ Set your dishwasher to air dry.

$$ Eat at home more often. But, if eating out is unavoidable, get take out, order off the kids menu and make a salad at home.

$$ Keep refillable bottles of water in your car to avoid unscheduled stops and expensive mini mart prices.

$$ Wait for movies to come out on DVD rather than paying theater prices. Or, find a theater that has great matinee prices.

$$ Wash your own car rather than taking it to the car wash.

$$ Mow your own lawn or have one of your kid’s do it.

$$ Clean your own house or lessen the frequency of a cleaning service.

$$ Iron your own shirts and save on dry cleaner bills.

$$ Cook at home more often.

$$ Decrease the number of trips you make to premium coffee places like Starbucks.

$$ When replacing eyeglasses, opt for stylish off brands rather than designer eyewear.

$$ Buy used sporting, exercise or other equipment when ever possible.

$$ Ditch expensive juice boxes for the kids. Buy reusable bottles and refill them yourself.

$$ Have a garage sale to sell excess equipment, electronics and “stuff”.

$$ Buy drugstore brand cosmetics instead of expensive department store brands.

$$ When replacing shoes, buy only one pair instead of two or more.

$$ Cancel seldom-used memberships like health clubs or tanning salons.

$$ Cancel seldom-used subscriptions for magazines, CD’s and books.

$$ Delay or just say no to elective cosmetic surgery and dentistry.

$$ Reduce the number of songs, books and movies you download to your computer.

$$ Drop premium phone features like call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID.

$$ Opt for the free cell phone that comes with your plan rather than paying for the more expensive model.

Get into the habit of reading articles or books about personal finances and saving money. Articles can be found online and books can be found at local libraries where library cards are still free in most areas. How cool is that?

Be proactive in managing your personal finances. Fight hard to get your debt under control quickly. In the long-run it will bring you a sense of satisfaction and a sense of relief to have control over your finances instead of your finances having control over you.