Tuesday, 14 April 2009

• 112 Ways To Save Money

  
  
  

  
  The consumerist has a list of 112 ways to save money with short stories in between sent to them from their users. Here's 10 of them:
  

  1. TRICK PEOPLE OBSESSED WITH BRAND-NAMES

  My wife is all about brand-names. She wants Tide - nothing else. Tide is $12 a bottle and Purex is like $7. When we are almost out of 'Tide', I go buy Purex and pour it in the Tide bottle. We have had the same bottle of 'Tide' for about 7 months. They change packaging now and then so occasionally I still need to buy the real stuff.

  2. THE ZEN OF CONSUMPTION

  Don't buy more than you can use; use everything you buy.

  3. HOST A SWAP PARTY WITH FRIENDS

  Trade with friends. Hold a swap and give away stuff while you dig through someone else's stuff, too. FREE rocks!

  4. KILL YOUR CABLE

  Cut loose that sacred cow of budgets: your cable TV. Use sites like www.hulu.com and watch shows on network websites for FREE. Sign up for www.redbox.com and get one free movie on Monday. Every week. For FREE.

  5. STICK PENS IN MICROWAVE TO GET LAST INK

  When your pen ceases to write, it probably still has a great deal of ink in it that is just stuck temporarily. instead of throwing it out, stick your pen in the microwave for 10 seconds to get that ink running again.
  

  6. BECOME A HAGGLE-MONSTER

  Negotiate everything! You've got the money, and they have the service. So always ask if that's the best they can do. I've had a lot of success with the cable company, and when buying things at big box electronics store. At J Crew the other day, I found out they offered student discounts. So my advice is to always try to negotiate. My next target: Verizon Wireless.

  7. PRICEBOOKING

  Rough pricebooking. I know, I know, really frugal types keep actual price books and note the tiniest fluctuations from store to store on every product. I don't have that kind of time. Instead, I look to general indicator products I buy frequently and many stores carry in order to gauge which stores are generally the best deal. For example, Kraft Mac and Cheese fluctuates in my area between 50c and 75c a box, but there are two stores of the same chain near me, and one has it between 50 and 60 cents and the other between 65 and 75 cents. Stores in more affluent areas often jack up prices, so it's worth keeping an eye on that sort of thing.

  8. CREDIT CARDS ONLY IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

  Credit cards are only for cash not on hand, not on-the-spot loans. Use them online, use them in stores instead of carrying cash, but don't rack up charges you can't immediately cover. Don't assume that the money will come, because you never know when catastrophe will hit and a job will be lost, a car will need sudden repair, or a medical bill might hit.

  9. DON'T BUY KIDS' CLOTHES NEW

  Do not buy children's clothes, especially infant clothes, first-hand unless they are a gift or some kind of special souvenir.

  10 DIY OR DIE 4EVA

  When possible, make instead of buying. But don't be suckered into spending a fortune on craft tools you don't really need. For basic home crafts like knitting, sewing, etc., you can easily get away with just a few bucks on inexpensive supplies and tools and then delight your friends and family with home-made gifts.

  Which ones are you already practicing?
  
  To see the entire list of 112 items, check out the Consumerist here.
  
  
  

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