Penny Pinching

Title: Penny Pinching

Act 83:

“It’s never too late… To Save Your Money

Start with the little things. Your small change. Your shopping pattern. Then do a budget. See where it goes. Decide what’s essential. Stop any wastage. (You’ll be surprised). Look at alternatives. Make your money work for you. You work hard for it.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it.” ~ Tennesseee Williams, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

I think saving money is important. I’ve always been one of those people that saves money for a rainy day. I don’t really spend a “ton” of money unless I have to. Remember, I’m the girl who still has a Tube type TV that’s over 10 years old, because why buy a new one if the one I already have works? I have never been one of those “early adopters”. I don’t need the new fancy shamancy toy. I usually wait until all the bugs are out and then I buy the old model. Haha.

I would rather not have expensive things or expensive toys, if it means giving me peace of mind. I am one of those people that keeps at least 6 months mortgage in her account in case I lose my job. My parents taught me well. Coming out of college my father had lost his job and had to try to find a new one. Thank god he and my mom had saved enough to survive. I learned that I need to be like that and don’t’ ever want to be put in that situation again.

Right now, I do a lot of things to save money, but I know there are a bunch more things that I can do… but I’m too lazy to do them. I consulted The ORACLE to get some more tips to save money. I like these five articles. The first one is a standard list, but really go a read it. The second one I thought was fun cause it was a challenge. The last three are pretty good too.

wikiHow – How to save money

1. Kill your debt first.
2. Set savings goals.
3. Establish a time-frame.
4. Figure out how much you’ll have to save per week, per month, or per paycheck to attain each of your savings goals.
5. Keep a record of your expenses.
6. Trim your expenses.
7. Reassess your savings goals.
8. Make a budget.
9. Stop using credit cards.
10. Open an interest-bearing savings account.
11. Pay yourself first.
12. Don't get discouraged and don't give up.

30 Easy Ways To Save Money (and No, you are not doing them all!) - Dumblittleman.com (I like that)

1. Cook at home often
2. Make your own coffee
3. Brown bag lunch at least a few days a week
4. Make a list before going shopping
5. Go grocery shopping while you are in a hurry
6. Watch out for expiration dates on perishable goods
7. Buy in bulk whenever possible
8. Buy generic products whenever possible
9. Use grocery store bags to line trash cans
10. Consolidate and pay off debt as soon as possible
11. Pay your bills on time and avoid late fees
12. Be aware of your bank balance and avoid over draft fees
13. Avoid ATM fees
14. Avoid credit cards with annual fee
15. Disconnect land line if possible
16. Instead of buying books, borrow books from the library
17. If you have to buy books, check if you can buy it used
18. Price check before buying anything expensive
19. Avoid impulse buying
20. Bottle your own water
21. Avoid the vending machines
22. Keep your car as long as possible
23. Do regular scheduled maintenance on your vehicles
24. Avoid buying a new car
25. Ride your bike or carpool whenever possible
26. If you watch a lot of DVDs, get an online DVD store membership
27. If you like watching movies at the theater, go before 6:00 pm
28. Regulate your electric use
29. Plan vacations ahead of time
30. Keep distance from lavish, high-roller friends

Out of the 30 I think the only ones I don’t really do disconnect the land line (I have DSL), buying books ones (I use my nook now), and carpool (I never carpooled to school and it was 45 miles away.)

Twenty-Five Ways to Save More Each Month -Business Week

101 Ways to Cut Your Spending This Year - Being Frugal.net

How to Save Money Every Month - moneyning

So, any tips that aren’t in those? Those were pretty exhaustive, but if you’ve got any extras… please post a comment. Let’s all try to do at least two or three of the things on one of those lists to save money. The ones I’m going to do are cancel my gym memberships (since I never go… ) and finally combine my student loan and my mortgage, cause I’m getting the raw end of the deal on my student loan interest and not even getting credit for paying it at tax time. What are you going to do?