Theodore Henderson's Money Savings Tips – April
Even when the economy is rocking along and doing wonderful things
, it still makes good personal economic sense to watch your money and save where you can. These days it more important than ever to have some money put aside. These are some tips andtricks to help you save money.
Carpool with co-workers or friends.Don't really want to ride with anyone? Think about it the next time you fill up your SUV. Better yet, use one credit card to track your gasoline purchases for one month. This will give you the perfect visual at the end of the month that tells you just how much money you could have put away in your savings account. Carpooling can also lead to some great friendships or
networking possibilities.
Do your clothes and home decor shopping at discount stores likeTjMax orTarget.My preference is to catch an online deal from a quality Men's clothier such asPaul Frederick orJosBank. If you make it a point to visit these stores on line you will be more aware of sales and discounts. Many stores also have a mailing list that you can signup for to get alerted to great sales.
Join an online rebate service such asEbates.com. I have a friend who will shop only online. She always checks ebates.com to make sure that the store she will be ordering from has rebates and recently got a check in the mail for $106.44. It is free to join and you will get some of your money back!
Buy whole roasted chickens for cooking meals at home.When you have eaten all the meat, throw the bones into a soup with left over veggies. Don't laugh what do you think they do in restaurants? By making a rich broth with the chicken carcass you can add whatever you like and wind up with a delicious and hearty soup. Go online to look for recipes. They are everywhere!
Make an extra mortgage payment each year.Making extra payments will cut down on the length of your mortgage and the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan. The specifics depend on the size of your loan and the interest rate. There are many free
mortgage calculators that can help you plan this budget item.
Month-to-month gym membership.If you join a gym forget the long term "deal" with the lower monthly payment. Instead find one that offers a month to month contract. That way if for some reason you have to stop going, you won't be stuck with a one or more year contract that you have to pay for even though you aren't using it. I am not saying that you should not exercise. Exercise is a great stress buster, so go online and look for alocal gym that wants your business enough to make it easy for you to belong to that particular facility. Call and speak directly with the manager or owner. They want you as a customer and will more than likely do what they can to make it happen.
Don't overuse personal care products.How many different lotions, shampoos, conditioners and brands of toothpaste can one person really use? Peruse your shower or bathtub. If you can identify more than 3 products that you don't use, have never used, and will never purchase again, you know that you have way too many things on hand. Use them all up, even if you don't really like them and then choose the product that does that best job for you. Put it on your shopping list and don't deviate from that list. Many personal care products, particularly makeup and perfumes for women are purely emotional purchases. Determine what you really need and really use on a regular basis and don't purchase what ends up as junk.
ALWAYS shop with a list. I can't stress this enough.
Take a local vacation.I don't always have to get on a plane or travel 4 hours. I found some nice bed and breakfast deals within an hour of my home. Bed and Breakfasts are often historical, almost always serve a hearty breakfast and many will allow kitchen privileges, or at least access to a microwave meaning that you can warm up your restaurant leftovers.
Less expensive athletic eventsCheck out your local college and high schools games. The energy of dedicated amateurs can be just as exciting as the pros for a lot less money.
You can also look locally for amateur theaters. Grab your local newspaper and find out what is happening at the local level and enjoy. Particularly this spring you should look for festivals, church fairs, etc. How about a trip to your local zoo?
No fees and no loadIf you are still in the market use no load mutual funds, index funds, and a quality online broker. This will definitely save you a ton of money.
Turn down the thermostat.Only 2 or 3 degrees either way can create a very measurable savings.
Re-Gift a gift you can't use or don't like.We all get gifts that just don't suit us or that we simply have no use for. Consider
regifting. Many people have a drawer or a box in a closet that they keep small "emergency" gifts in for those occasions when you just forgot an occasion was looming. Add your unusable gifts to this pile. Problem solved!
One thing that costs people a lot of money is their pets. I would tell you that you can save money by not having pets, but just can't bring myself to do it. We love our pets and we can save money somewhere else. Enough said about that!
I would love to hear your money savings tips and tricks. Please send them to me at info @ thjassociates.com.
2009 THJ & Associates, LLC
Theodore Henderson's Money Savings Tips April
By: Theodore Henderson
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