Saving Money Save Hundreds Every Month

How would you like to save money every day? Sure, who wouldn’t? I’m not talking about pennies here and pennies there, I am talking about hundreds every month. Are you interested? I was; that is why I followed these ideas and saved a bundle of money. The money I use to pay down debt and to finally start that emergency fund I always wanted in case of any money mistakes.

There was a promise that went along with this, which was no stupid little money saying tips, just proven ideas. No one would do it otherwise. I have tried these and the savings I accumulated at the end of thirty days was amazing.

This will only work if you are serious. It will ask you to cut back on spending. If you want that big screen TV, Forget it, or that new stereo system; no way, how about eating lunch and dinner out every day; that’s out too. Only start this if you are completely committed and ready to save money.

If you ask yourself how much time you would invest to save money. Would your answer be one hour a day? three hours a day? Or maybe even five? There’s good news; if you only spend one hour a day for the month trying these ideas you will save hundreds by the end of the thirty days.

IDEA NUMBER ONE:

Bring lunch to work or school

I’m not saying to do this every day no one would do it. But if you do let’s say three out of the five and buy lunch the other two days as a reward at your favorite deli or restaurant you will be surprised how much you save by the end of the month.

As of right now we will assume that you buy lunch every day. It will cost roughly about 12 dollars a day for your lunch. Take that number and times it by 5 and you get 60 dollars for the week. Take that number and times it by 4 weeks for the month and that grows to 240 dollars. Like I was saying we don’t expect you to stop cold turkey but just buy your lunch for only two days a week and bring lunch the other three. You would be saving about 80 dollars a week. That’s using the formula of 12 dollars a day times 2 days for the week times 4 weeks in a month. Take that number and subtract it from the original 240 and you get 144 dollars. Now subtract the cost of your bag lunch which will average about 5 dollars a day you get 15 dollars a week and 60 dollars for the month and just with this idea you will save roughly 80 dollars in the first month.

IDEA NUMBER TWO:

Set Back Your Thermostat

I know who wants to be in a cold house. Now I’m not saying to shut it off, just turn it down 2 or 3 degrees. The savings on this alone will equate to about 3 percent of the total cost of your heating oil for every degree you turn down your thermostat. In my situation I spend roughly 1200.00 on heating oil during the winter season. That would be a savings of $36.00 for every degree that I set the thermostat back. If it is too cold for you there are some things you can do to condition yourself for this transition. The first thing you will do if you come home and the house is a little cold is to walk to the thermostat and turn it up. Now I’m not saying not to turn up the temperature but not to blast it to 80 degrees; just raise it up to a reasonable 67 or 68 degrees and keep a warm pair of slippers or a sweater by the front door and when you come home put that on instead of raising the heat.

There is a rule of thumb that you can follow and that is that when you are home the temperature should be no higher than 68 and when you are at work or sleeping turn it down to 55 degrees. An easy way to control this is with a programmable thermostat which can be purchased at any home improvement center. This type of thermostat lets you program different temperatures at different times of the day. This way you can set it to turn down at let’s say midnight when you are sleeping and to turn it back on about an hour before you wake up. On most of these there is also an override button so you can higher and lower the temperature if you choose to do so. So all you have to do is set it and leave it.

Idea Number Three:

Sell Something

This is not an idea for saving money but an exercise to show you that you can make money besides you weekly paycheck.

Everyone has stuff lying around the house that they don’t use or need. Now I am not talking about your family heirloom and definitely not your grandmother’s old scarf or sweater but something that’s in your house taking up space in your closet or on top of the cabinets collecting dust. Something that will net you let’s say 10 dollars. One of the best sites to do this is eBay however there are other sites such as craigslist, but since I have been using eBay I prefer them. Not only will this exercise make you money but it will also show you how easy it is to use. You will be surprised at how easy it is to do. Then do this a couple of times throughout the month and you will make 40 or 50 dollars.

Idea Number four:

Get your circle of friends involved

Everyone wants to save money, even your friends who spend money like it is water because of the social network they are involved with. You just suggest to them that you are trying this new thing for a month and would you be interested in joining with me to see how it goes. You can entice them even more by wagering say 10 or 15 dollars on which one saves more. The more friends you get involved the better it will be. This way the incentive is there for all of you to strive to try harder and stay with it to the end.

Idea Number Five:

Cell Phone

Ok let’s face it cell phones are here to stay. Not only can you call someone, text someone and even download off the internet most interactive browsers had apps that can do just about anything. They are replacing traditional phones and it’s a must have for kids of all ages. The question is how much do you pay? When was the last time you evaluated the plan that you have? Do you need all the minutes or the unlimited download? If you have an unlimited minutes, text, or internet, do you use less than the amount for the cheaper plan? If you have unlimited web do you use enough to replace it with the cheaper package. If you have a landline and your family uses cellphones couldn’t you cancel it or bundle it with your cell phone to get a cheaper rate.

If you’re like most people the last time you checked the usage of your cell phone is when you purchased the phones and the plan. Everyone should be checking the usage every 3 to 4 months to be sure you have the right plan and you’re not overpaying.

If you find that you can switch to a cheaper plan after checking your usage a simple phone call to adjust the bill even if its 10 dollars a month, that equals 120 a year. If you are a long time contract holder your phone company will offer you a different plan to suit your needs since they will not want to lose you to their competition. If after talking to the operator you feel like you’re getting nowhere then ask to speak to the customer retention operator. These people will work with you and have the authority to offer and execute a new plan right away that suits your needs.

Idea Number Six

Start Your Savings Account

Now that you have saved money by bringing your lunch, setting back your thermostat, made money selling something online and whittling down that pesky cellphone bill you will need to start a savings account.

The next step for you to take is to start funneling the extra cash you have saved into some type of savings. The easiest way to do this is to estimate the savings each week and have it ETF (Electronic Transfer of Funds) from your paycheck and deposited into a savings account. If you are not comfortable doing it this way set aside the money when you get paid and deposit it yourself. If you choose to ETF your money there are options you have to decide. All banks offer this either by doing the ETF from your paycheck or to move the funds to another linked account. There are also online banks such as ING and Smarty pig. You will usually get a higher interest rate from one of these online banks then from your local branch since there is very little overhead. Keep in mind that all your money is still FDIC insured.

Once you decide which bank to use and have accounts set up all you have to do is sit back, let the transfers go through and don’t touch the extra money. You will be surprised at how fast it will grow.

Idea Number Seven

A No Spending Day

I think this category speaks for itself. This should be done at least once a week. All you have to do is to pick a one day week and just don’t spend any money. If you find that this it easy to do for one day then go to two days. Think about what you spend your money on each day and how much you spend and that equates to your saving. Do this one day a week and you save your daily spending; do it two days and double it. How much you save will depend on your spending habits. Then take that money and deposit it all that very same day.

Idea Number Eight

Buy Only What You Need

If you have cable cancel the channels you don’t watch; if you have magazine subscriptions that you don’t read or could do without then cancel them. Do you have the paper delivered to the house? That can be cancelled also and just go online and read the articles that interest you. This idea has a lot of areas that can be trimmed to save money. The potential savings for most people will be about forty to fifty dollars a month.

Idea Number Nine

Buying New Items

If it is time to buy something new a good rule of thumb is to replace something that you already have. If you need new pants look at the ones you have. If you can’t choose which pair to get rid of then obviously you don’t need a new pair. Do you need new work clothes? Then get rid of the ones you’re replacing. Then the same principle will apply here also. This rule of thumb will apply to anything you need to buy whether it is for the clothes you wear, something for the house or apartment or something for the yard. Always try to replace something old or unusable before you buy something new.

This is an idea that most people will glance over and say forget it, but you need to remember to keep your goals in mind. I want to save money and do I really need to buy this. With this in mind the decision to spend the money to buy it should become easier.

Idea Number Ten

Take Advantage of all Rewards Offered to You

There are rewards given to you from your credit cards, insurance companies, memberships and in some cases from the businesses that you work for.

Credit cards have an array of money saving opportunities from free to discounted merchandise, cash back on items that you charge, to free extended warranties, car rental insurance, discounts on travel insurance and many others. All of these have the potential to save you hundreds depending on what you are buying.

Car insurance companies offer discounts often with coupon discount codes through many major retailers. Some of these include car rentals, flower purchases, jewelry stores, airline tickets and many more.

Club cards or membership cards to a company like Costco, Sam’s Club or one of the other club stores offer discounts from food to furniture for your house, tires for your car to anything you may need in your yard. The discounts are for anything that they may sell.

If these discounts are available to you by all means you should be taking full advantage of them for a savings of anywhere from one hundred to two thousand dollars depending on what your buying.

If you follow these ten easy ideas the average person has the potential to save hundreds a month and thousands per year. The only question you have to ask yourself is what are you waiting for? Commit yourself to saving money and start saving today.