Barnes and Noble coupon code, good now 12/15 through 12/18, is P7P7Y9N

Money isn't everything. It's the only thing. Wait. That's only for football.
Enjoy life. Spend time with your family.

Once in a while I come across another author's post that is so good that I have to share it with you. This is just that occasion.



Recently featured on MSN's MoneyBlog, Frugal Dad presents 75 Tips to Survive a Down Economy. These are absolutely outstanding tips and tricks to get your spending down in a down economy.



Try just a few of these at first; you'll soon be addicted to saving money. Don't go nuts though. Using the same towel for 3 months in a row is really gross. I did that in high school and wondered why I never got a date.



It probably wasn't the towel, but I can believe that.





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Now through June 15, use Coupon Code N7H4C4A to get 15 percent off any one item at bn.com or at any Barnes & Noble store.

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Technorati Tags: Barnes and Noble | coupons

Last week we learned how to save money on phone calls. This week, we'll learn two methods for saving money on groceries and other regular goods like shampoo and soap.


#1

In a previous post, I joked about how my family of four eats on $1,000 a month because I had read a number of stories about how families larger than mine ate on as little as $60 a month (and here's one on a family of five eating on $250 per month). It's astounding to me how these folks do it. In short, it takes a methodology that I'm quite sure nobody in my family will ever master. But the families profiled in these stories have a plan, they stick to it, and they're extremely serious about their shopping. They use coupons and store "bonus bucks."

I strongly suggest you read both of the stories above. They offer numerous tips on how to save money on groceries and other necessities. One of the stories even goes into detail about Tip #2: The Drugstore Game.


#2

The Drugstore Game. It sounds like something a meth addict might do, but it's not. It is a serious use of in-store incentives, manufacturer's coupons, and shopping skills. I'm not even going to try to explain it, but I think I might try it.

Here's one example from a shopping outing at CVS:

Adidas deodorant was $4.99 and if you bought it, you'd get back $4.99 in Extra Bucks. They also had some toothbrushes that were $3.99 and you would receive $3.99 back in Extra Bucks. "By splitting it up into several transactions, I can take the extra care bucks I get and use it to pay for the next (items)."

Don't forget, Crissy also had coupons for most of these products. "That's the best when they have anything that's free after the Extra Care Bucks because when you have a coupon you're basically getting paid to buy the product."

She rolls the savings of one transaction to the next, to the next, and so on. Amazing. This is ingenuity at its best.

Here are a few posts on how the "game" is played.

Creative strategies for coping with rising costs - Part Two: The Drugstore Game
New to The Drugstore Game? You're in luck!
Super Savings Saturday at MSM
Play "The Drugstore Game" to Cut Monthly Bills (read the commnets)

So, try your hand at the Drugstore Game. It looks very promising, if not fun.

That's it until next week. I hope your shopping improves after you implement some or all of these tools.

Technorati Tags: Drugstore Game | shopping | Two for Tuesdays | Money Hacks | saving money

Last week in Two For Tuesdays: Summertime Prep Edition we talked about saving money on home energy use, particularly by keeping out the heat from the summer sun. This week, we're going to show you some novel ways to save money on your phone bill.


#1

Everybody knows by now that I like free better than I like pay-for, especially if the service is equal. Well, in the case I'm about to bring up, you get FREE and BETTER service. The telephone companies make a ton of money on "Directory Assistance" or 411 calls; they're pure profit for the telcos.

Google, in their quest for world domination, has come up with a free version of 411 that involves no human interaction. Hence, better service than the drones at the phone companies can deliver. I've used GOOG-411 for a year or so now and I love it. It's saved me countless dollars in fees (compared to the telco's charge of $1.50 to $2 or more a pop), time, and frustration ("I said, 'Sweet and Savory'"). Something that will always boggle my mind is how Google's voice recognition technology is better than a human at understanding me.

Sure, there are other free directory service companies, but I don't have any experience with them. I've found something that works, that's free, and that's super-easy to use. What more could I want?


#2

I've grown sick and tired of paying $100 a month for a family cell phone plan. My wife, her mother, and I rarely (okay, have never) use the full complement of minutes we get with our Verizon Wireless plan; there isn't even a plan that would suit our minimal cell phone usage. None of the main players in the cell phone arena (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint) offer plans that suit us.

For those of you who use only about 200 minutes a month, a pay-as-you-go, or prepaid, plan is the way to go. There are a few players in this area (all the major cell phone companies listed above have their own prepaid plans), but the one that is most intriguing is Virgin Mobile.

First of all, 200 minutes costs $20. Yes, that's 10 cents a minute, which sounds kind of high. But when you compare that to the 200 minutes a month I use and pay $40 to get (that's 20 cents used minute), it seems downright cheap.

Often, Virgin Mobile has promos or coupon codes that you can use to get minutes at a lower unit cost. You can also "top up" (is that a British term?) at any time, and if you don't use your minutes in a given month, they roll over to the next month (of course, there are limits and stipulations to this, buyer beware.

The one shortcoming is the lack of choices for phones (and, unlike the non-prepaid plans, these phones are rarely free). But I use a phone for calling people. I don't need a camera (I have one) and I don't need an mp3 player (I have one of those, too). Bluetooth is mandatory (I live in Moscow, I mean, California, where hands-free calling is the law). But what else is necessary?

Call quality, ease of use, battery life, and price, in that order. You will find a phone that meets those requirements.

There's a few really good posts by The Happy Rock about how he ditched Verizon in favor of Virgin Mobile, where he talks about the great deals he's found. Here are two of his posts:

Setting Up a Prepaid Virgin Mobile Cell Phone Account
Virgin Mobile Deal: $60 For One Year Of Prepaid Virgin Mobile Service

That's it for now. Until next week...

Technorati Tags: Money Hacks | Two for Tuesdays | saving money | prepaid cell phone plan | Virgin Mobile | Google | GOOG-411

Some fantastic deals here --

Coupon Codes Mall All Coupons, Discounts and Promo Codes | CouponCodesMall.com

UPDATE: This post was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance #152

Last week's Two for Tuesdays edition was called the "Vice Edition" because it was about quitting bad habits. This week's edition is called "The Food-Poisoned Wife Edition" because, well, my wife was sick today with bad stomach monkeys and I stayed home to care for her and our 2 boys (a two-and-a-half and a 7 month-old). Wow. What she, and any mother goes through on a daily basis is more than I do in a week! High praise to all the people who are able and willing to raise children while the spouse goes off and "works."

We took an early-morning walk downtown, which was having an arts and wine festival. We walked around quite a bit and worked up a really big hunger. I hate paying for generally poor quality food at extremely high prices. Saving money is NOT something you do when you go to one of these things.

But we decided to take the plunge anyway. I got a ribeye sandwich, something I had never had before. My wife got a teriyaki bowl with rice and chicken. We found a place to sit down. Everything is going smoothly. My 7 month-old was asleep, his brother was hungry and we were ready. Except I forgot something. I went to go get it and then...

It happened.

My son took my sandwich out of its wrapper and dropped it meat-side down on the bus stop bench we were using for a picnic table.

Nice.

$8 down the drain. But me, being a frugal guy and all, decided to eat it anyway. And, boy, that was the best steak sandwich I'd ever had! So, in a sense I saved money by not buying a "clean" sandwich.

Now, on to the tips.


#1

Buy local. Not only is doing so supporting your local merchant, but it's also saving you gas. At nearly $4 (and already over in some places), you cannot afford to drive 20 miles to your favorite mall or super grocery store. Buy your staple goods once a month (or less) at Costco, Sam's or some other discount store, but buy your fresh veggies and fruit from a local merchant.

There is a third benefit. You're not only supporting your local farmers and other merchants, you're not just saving gas. You're doing more. By selling much of his inventory at the local grocer, your farmer is not having to ship his goods to farther-away locations. This is saving the planet.

Find a local farmers' market here. And if you shop carefully, you can also save money versus a big-box supermarket like Safeway or Albertsons.


#2

Buy an Entertainment Book. These things are terrific! You'll save the cost of the book the first or second time you use it. Seriously. They have coupons for everything from dining to shopping to travel plus movies and events. We buy one of these each year and save a TON of money above and beyond the cost of the book.

Technorati Tags: Two | Two for Tuesdays | Money Hacks | saving money | Entertainment Book | Farmers' Market | Carnival of Personal Finance

In response to Two for Tuesday's #5, a couple readers made comments suggesting some coupon and deal sites. I finally found some time to take a look at DealTaker.com and I can say without reservation that the site rocks!

There are dozens and dozens of coupons, coupon codes, and deals at literally hundreds of online stores.

If you cannot find a deal you can use, then you're living under a rock. Which, as a Money Hacker, might not be so bad.

Here's a great deal on TurboTax Online.

Tags: TurboTax online, DealTaker.com, Two for Tuesdays, Money Hacks

In Money Hacks #5, we discovered a web site that divulged online shopping coupon codes (retailmenot.com) and we talked about the American Express Blue Cash credit card that, if used wisely, could garner you $500 or more cash back in a single year.

This week, we're going to find out how to utilize an excellent dining rewards program and fill you in on a cheap alternative to a whole-house or portable air purifier that will also save you money on your energy bill.


#1

I found the following rewards program through my favorite money journalist of all time, Andrew Tobias, author of The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. I've been reading Andy's work for over 20 years and he is nothing if not prudent, frugal, and kooky all at the same time.

(Look for a comprehensive review of the aforementioned book in coming posts. I've read several editions of this book, which Andy updates every so often to include the latest technologies, trends, tax laws, and economic and stock market outlooks.)

In his latest iteration of the book, Andy talks of a dining rewards program called iDine. Sign up is free. Here's how it works. Register up to 5 credit cards with the site after you sign up and each time you use one of those cards at a participating restaurant (it also works at select hotels), you earn up to 20% off your entire bill. You need not tell the restaurant that you belong to the program, nor do you have to carry any membership cards.

On your next credit card bill, you'll see a credit for up to 20% off your bill for that meal, including tax and tip!

The first $49 in rewards you earn is taken by iDine to cover their costs. So, at 20% savings, it will take you $245 in restaurant bills to start to accumulate rewards. I know it's not terribly frugal to eat out, but it is one of life's pleasures, in my opinion. My family eats out several times a month, so after a few months, I'm "earning" 20% on my restaurant bill, bills that I'd incur anyways.

So, if you eat out often, it behooves you to take a look at iDine. After all, it costs you nothing out-of-pocket to join.


#2

Our household air is filthy and loaded with particles that can harm our lungs. Regular vacuuming helps a great deal, but so does a whole-house air filtration system.

Here's a tip that will cost you about $10 every few months, rather than the thousands of dollars in initial cost and hundreds in maintenance that a whole-house filtration unit would cost.. Your furnace can be used as a whole-house filtration system. Rather than using the really cheap air filters from Home Depot or Lowes, splurge and get yourself a "Filtrete" filter from 3M. They're about $10 and will generally last a season. So, for about $40 a year, you can filter your air of most allergens and other harmful particulates that a whole-house filtration unit would do.

If your air is especially dusty, you can run the fan all the time, creating a great filtration system as well as an air-circulation system. Doing so can also allow you to turn down your thermostat a degree or two, since the hot air won't just stay at the ceiling; rather, it will be forced to circulate throughout your house.

Make sure you change your filter when it needs changing, as these filters do restrict airflow a little when new but a lot when clogged with all the gunk in your air. You'll be amazed at how much junk these filters catch.

BONUS TIP: To lower your thermostat another degree or two, buy a humidifier. Moist air "feels" warmer than dry air because of the evaporative effects (your body stays warmer because it doesn't perspire as much in a humid environment).

Technorati Tags: Money Hacks, Two for Tuesdays, saving money

Last week, we covered two tips for saving money on car insurance and life insurance. Today, we'll delve into online shopping sites that endeavor to help you save your hard-earned dough as well as show you a credit card that can earn you $500 or more in cash rebates.


#1

Online shopping, if you're not careful, can blow your budget big-time. It's so convenient to order from Amazon that it's easy to overspend or spend money you didn't plan on spending. I cannot help you with self-restraint, other than to tell you to keep your goals in mind whenever you pull out the credit card.

It's also easy to lose sight of the reason you're shopping online -- better prices (that, and convenience). Here's a site that can help you save money by using coupons that you may not know exist or that aren't widely available or publicized:

RetailMeNot.com

Type in the store for which you need a coupon, and RetailMeNot.com looks up all available coupons. It has a database that is populated by readers of the site. It's kind of a social networking site for online coupons.

You may not always find what you're looking for, but you'll be surprised by the number of times you use the site and get really great coupons.


#2

We all know that credit cards, if not used wisely, can kill your finances. A late charge here, a missed payment there, next thing you know you can't pay your bill, your credit score has just taken a hit, and you're maxed out.

My take on the credit card companies is to beat them at their own game (if you read this blog regularly, you'll know that I work for a bank who makes a ton of money from credit cards). The industry is so competitive that you're bound to find a credit card that offers you just what you need without all the associated hassles.

Remember this, though: Pay off your balance each and every month. Don't get suckered by incentives the credit card company may offer you to carry a balance.

There are hybrid strategies for combining two or more cards that offer what I'm about to tell you so that you can maximize your savings, but remember that I want the money hacks that you use to be easy to implement. I certainly don't want you to have to keep meticulous track of each credit card transaction you make. I also don't want you to think too much about this. Remember, the $500 you earn in cash rebates from this card is the easiest money you'll ever make from a credit card company.

So don't complicate this easy money with a strategy that takes a lot of work. Oh, sure, you could save another $100 or $200, but at what cost in terms of time?

Finally, before I get to the punchline, I think you should carry only one or two cards in your wallet, firstly because I want you to maximize the utility of the cards, but also because of the real threat of theft. No need to complicate your life by losing your wallet and having to call 3 or 4 credit card companies.

Money Hacks wants to help you simplify your finances.

So, without further delay, go get yourself Up to 5% cash back with Blue Cash® from American Express.

Here's how it works. On every day purchases, like at supermarkets, gas stations, and drug stores, you get 5 percent cash back after you spend $6500 (up to this limit, your cash back rebate is 1 percent). On all other purchases, you get .5 percent to 1.5 percent (subject to the same threshold). If you follow my "Automate My Finances" philosophy, you'll easily spend this amount of money in a given year (after all, it's only a little over $500 per month, and with the price of gasoline and groceries, you'll spend this in no time).

Like I said before, there are hybrid strategies for maximizing your cash back rebate. Here's how you can make it work (though I think you still ought to try to simplify things as much as possible). Use the American Express Blue Cash card for "every day purchases" (gas, groceries, drug store) and another rewards card for everything else. You could, for example, combine use of this card with a frequent flyer card.

As icing on the cake, Kiplinger and Money magazines and a lot of other financial blogs (Free Money Finance, for one) have proclaimed this card as the best credit card to carry for cash rebates. American Express is highly-regarded as a credit card company.

One more thing: There is currently no limit on the rebate you can receive.

That concludes this edition of Two For Tuesdays. Come back next week for two more money hacks that will save you money.

Technorati Tags: Two for Tuesdays, saving money, Money Hacks, cash back rebates, credit card, American Express, Blue Cash, RetailMeNot.com

So far, we've discussed ways to save on bulk purchases using Amazon's new Subscribe and Save program, as well as a novel way to time the use of coupons you gather throughout any given 30-day period. We've also covered going to the library to save money buying books and opening an online savings account in Two for Tuesdays #1.

#1

In this, our third edition of Two for Tuesdays, we're going to explore ways to save money on used appliances using Craigslist. Often times, the sellers on Craigslist simply want to unload used kitchen and laundry appliances that they've replaced with new models and it's simply easier to put them up on the site for little or no money than it is to cart them off to the dump or a consignment shop.

Here's a typical deal: FOR SALE CHEAP!!! - $100

Best guess is that these appliances really are in good condition and they're offered at a steal of a price. Best thing about Craigslist is that you'll get to look at the merchandise before you buy it, unlike eBay.

Bring your truck!!!

#2

With gasoline prices at or near record highs (they've come down a bit in the Bay Area), we can all stand to save a little at the pump. One of the biggest scams the auto and oil industries have played on us unsuspecting consumers is that of the Premium versus Plus versus Regular gasoline choice. This tip may not apply to all automobiles; in fact, it won't apply to the majority of drivers.

However, it's so important for those of us driving supercharged or turbocharged vehicles that I cannot neglect to mention it.

Back in the old days of carburetors and the absence of computer controls, you had to pay attention to the octane rating (Premium is 91, Plus is 89, and Regular is 87) of the gas you purchased. The rule of thumb was to buy the minimum octane necessary to achieve "knock-free" acceleration. "Engine knock," or "ping" was basically caused by too low an octane rating given the car's ignition timing and other factors.

Today's cars are technological wonders when it comes to minimizing engine knock. Essentially, your engine, with the help of some sophisticated electronics, can self-adjust to the conditions it's presented with. In short, if you use a lower-octane gas than the manufacturer "recommends," your engine will change its timing such that the ping is eliminated. The downside is that your engine will make less power.

But if you're trying to save money, which is what this site is all about, you won't be stomping on the gas pedal anyway.

So here's my recommendation: Save 20 cents a gallon (typically) by buying 87 octane rather than 91. This will save you 3 bucks per fill up on a 15-gallon tank, or about $150 a year (assuming 300 miles driven per week and 20 mpg, which isn't too far off for most cars and is a pipe-dream for you SUV drivers).

Beat the Gas Pump

Technorati Tags: Money Hacks, saving money, Two for Tuesdays
Linkbacks: Money Hacks Carnival #1

In this second installment of Two for Tuesdays, I want to dive right into how to save you money right away.

#1:
One of the coolest new things on Amazon is their "Subscribe and Save" program, where you can:

• automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months
• get a discount on their everyday price
• get free shipping on every Subscribe & Save shipment
• pay for each order only when the item is shipped
• have the option to cancel at any time

Discounts are usually around 15-20 percent and there's free shipping. For those items you're going to purchase regularly, check out the prices on Amazon' Subscribe and Save. I buy all our Seventh Generation baby products this way.

So, here's the trick for saving money on those items you don't buy regularly (note: not all Amazon products are available; in fact, most aren't): Find an item you want to "try" and then sign it up for Subscribe and Save, get your order, then cancel the subscription. This will give you a 15 or 20 percent discount on something you tried. It's a great way to give a product a trial and save money to boot!

#2:
Coupons. Not your every day coupons, mind you. I got this tip through The Simple Dollar, where Trent, the site's author, gave a very useful tip. Take your Sunday paper's coupons and file them away for a month. Then, in a month, take those coupons for products that you might use to the grocery and/or drugstore. Amazingly, a good portion of those coupons will be applicable to items that are on sale, where you will derive the double-whammy bonus of a sale item and use of a coupon to get a really low effective price. One example Trent mentions is a quart of ice cream for 19 cents! Your mileage will vary, of course.

Technorati Tags: Two for Tuesdays, Money Hacks, Saving money

It's a new year, you have goals, and you will succeed. Getting ahead in life is, as they say, a marathon, not a sprint. So, with that in mind, here are 10 ways to save some money this year. Some can be big, but most are small. But it all adds up.

1. Get an energy audit. With energy costs rising each and every year, now is as good a time as any to assess, or reassess, your home's energy use. There is a plethora of information online at your local utility to get you started. Many have online audits. Also take a look at their recommendations; often they are very good (like turn down your hot water temp to save some money).
2. Shop for auto insurance. Geico often touts that switching to them can save you 15 percent, which is a healthy savings. However, you can often do better. Try your "work perks" programs for insurance companies that your employer has partnered with. Also, check out Costco. I recently compared "apples to apples" (keeping the same coverage but shopping various auto insurers) and found that Costco's insurance partner would save me about $400 per year. That's a good chunk towards funding an IRA.
3. Coupons. I recently posted about an online coupon site called Red Plum that works with manufacturers and stores to offer you coupons based on what you need rather than trying to sell you something that you don't need just to save money. I get coupons in the mail from Val-Pak, auto dealers, stores, etc. Just seek out coupons for those things that you're going to buy anyway. Also, check out other coupon sites online, like RetailMeNot, who give coupon codes for various online shopping sites.
4. Got a blog or a web site? Become an affiliate. You can then put up links on your web site for things that you will buy anyway and you'll get a check or a direct deposit paid back to you in terms of an affiliate commission. Send your friends there, too!
5. Cable or satellite subscriber? Call your company and pit their competition against them. Tell them, simply, that, while you love their service, you are switching to their competitor. In most cases, you'll be whisked away to their retention department who has more flexibility in offering you a discount to stay. I do this with my cable company every six months or so and save at least $20 a month each time I do this. That's $240 a year.
6. Shop at Safeway? Right now, they're giving a 15 cent discount on gasoline if you spend at least $50 in a single grocery transaction, which isn't too hard to do. By all means, don't leave the store with a $45 purchase. Buy another six pack of soda on sale (you know you're going to drink it anyway). It's like getting that $6 six pack for nearly half price.
7. Drop your gym membership. Face it, you probably don't go very often and you can get similar results just by exercising at home. Unless you're a professional athlete, doing crunches, pushups, and pullups, coupled with brisk walking or running will give you all the benefits of a full-fledged gym, all for FREE.
8. Don't buy it unless it's on sale. You're going to buy what you're going to buy, so wait until it goes on sale. This is especially effective with groceries.
9. Pay your bills online. Let's say you pay 8 bills per month. At 41 cents, that's over $36 dollars a year you'll save. Not a lot, but still, it's a good dinner out with your family, all for making things simpler. Plus, it's a lot more convenient to set up autopays on all your bills. And the time savings add up quick.
10. Take every legitimate tax deduction available to you. Don't leave any money on the table. Especially with a government that's addicted to wasting your money.

There it is: 10 easy things to do to save money. If done with some determination, you could easily fund a Roth or traditional IRA with your savings. And, over the long haul, saving a few dollars here and there adds up to a ton of money.

Online coupons, from a major print coupon company. This is the beginning, finally!, of the end for printed coupons. In the near future, you'll be able to upload your grocery list (Remember the Milk integration, anyone?) to the site (or, better yet, it will know where to go find it) and it'll fetch appropriate coupons for you.

How sweet is that? You get the coupons you need, rather than having to wade through the Sunday paper.

Red Plum - Sweeten the Deal

If you're a money hacker, you're a coupon clipper. Use Retail Me Not to find coupon codes for scads of different items.



Coupon codes for thousands of online stores - RetailMeNot.com

Below is a list of 101 ways to save money. The ironic thing is that the list was compiled by Northwest Airlines and handed out to the (former) employees the airline just fired. Now, I don't know about you, but this stunt really seems like it's rubbing some salt into some really fresh wounds.

Nevertheless, is the list below a viable set of money-saving tips? Some tips seem sound, others not so sound, still others depend on context. What do I mean by context? Take Tip #1. First, context: Taken in winter, this tip seems mostly right. 60 is a bit chilly, but one could wear sweaters, right? But in the summer, this is downright frigid. Actually, one could turn the tables in summer. For example, in winter, you might keep your thermostat at 66 and turn it down to 62 at night. But in winter, you might want to set your thermostat at 78 and turn it up to 82 at night.

The thinking is that you're asleep and won't notice the difference. The concept is to save money while sleeping. This means that you do whatever makes sense depending upon the season. In spring, it may not make any difference, since the temperature at night may not fall appreciably enough to make the thermostat/heating/cooling system do anything. Make sense?

Now, take #46. Don’t be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash. Okay, besides being really unpalatable, how many people will be willing to do this? Living in the Bay Area (California), I see people poring through trash every day, looking for a bit of coffee, a piece of bread, a cigarette. But I'd have to get really desperate before I started looking through the trash to nourish myself. I mean really desperate.

Not to mention the filth. Who knows what kind of sludge has touched this scrap food? It's not only impractical to go through the trash, it's also very potentially unsafe. Leave this tip to the NWA execs that lose their jobs over offering up this stupid "tip." (Here's a tip for you, Mr. CEO: Go dig through your own garbage for food.)

We'll be sure to revisit this list frequently. There are some good tips in here, many of which can form the basis of a sound money-hacking lifestyle. Also, many can be expanded upon with real money-hacking modifications, such as switching to VOIP (like Vonage or Skype) to save money on phone service.

NWA's Top 101 Money-Saving Tips

1. Set your thermostat to 64 and turn it down to 60 at night.

2. Use the phone book instead of directory assistance.

3. Use coupons at the grocery store.

4. Carpool.

5. Ask for generic prescriptions instead of brand name.

6. Do your own nails.

7. Rent out a room or garage.

8. Replace 100 watt bulbs with 60 watt.

9. Make long distance calls at night and on weekends, instead of mid-day, mid-week.

10. Throw pocket change in a jar and take it to the bank when it's full.

11. Always grocery shop with a list.

12. Buy spare parts for your car at a junkyard.

13. Go to museums on free days.

14. Quit smoking.

15. Get hand-me-down clothes and toys for your kids from family and friends.

16. Meet friends for coffee instead of dinner.

17. Request to get interest on a security deposit for your apartment.

18. Take a shorter shower.

19. Write letters instead of calling.

20. Brown bag your lunch.

21. Make your own babyfood.

22. Use public transportation.

23. Drop duplicate medical insurance.

24. Buy old furniture at yard sales and refinish it yourself.

25. Apply for scholarships and financial aid.

26. Exercise for free-walk, jog, bike, or get exercise videos from the library.

27. Form a baby-sitting cooperative with friends and neighbors.

28. Buy your clothes off season.

29. Go to a matinee instead of an evening show.

30. Share housing with a friend or family member.

31. Hang clothes out to dry.

32. Do not use your calling card.

33. Volunteer two hours a month for reduced cost food through the Share Program.

34. Change the oil in your car yourself regularly.

35. Get pre-approval from your medical insurance company before undergoing any procedures or tests.

36. Buy 'no frills' vitamins.

37. Take a date for a walk along the beach or in the woods.

38. Make cards and gifts for friends.

39. Shop in thrift stores.

40. Have your water company do an audit so you are not charged sewage fees for water used in your garden.

41. Refinance your mortgage.

42. Grocery shop on double coupon days.

43. Trade down your car for a less expensive, lower maintenance one.

44. Convert your cash value life insurance to term.

45. Shop around for eyeglasses.

46. Don’t be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash.

47. Recycle.

48. Move to a less expensive place to live.

49. Use low flush toilets or water saving devices in the tank.

50. Drop unneeded telephone services like call forwarding or caller ID.

51. Buy fruits and vegetables in season.

52. Avoid using your ATM card at machines that charge a fee.

53. Bicycle to work.

54. Shop around for auto insurance discounts for multiple drivers, seniors, good driving records, etc.

55. Ask your doctor for samples of prescriptions.

56. Borrow a dress for a big night out. or go to a consignment shop.

57. When you buy a home negotiate the sales price and closing costs.

58. Turn the hot water heater down and wrap it with insulation.

59. Never grocery shop hungry.

60. If you qualify, file for Earned Income Credit.

61. Shop around for prescriptions including mail order companies (Medi-Mail 800-331-1458, Action Mail Order Drugs 800-452-1976, and AARP 800-456-2277).

62. If you pay for childcare, make use of the dependent care tax credit or your employer's dependent care flexible spending account.

63. Buy, sell, and trade clothes at consignment shops.

64. Shop around for the lowest banking fees.

65. Caulk windows and doors.

66. Iron your own shirts.

67. Plan your weekly food menu before shopping.

68. Buy a good used car instead of a new model car.

69. Purchase all of your insurance from the same company to get a discount.

70. Cut your cable television down to basic.

71. Go to an optometrist for routine vision tests or to change an eyeglass prescription.

72. Buy pre-owned toys and children's books at garage sales.

73. Have potluck dinners with friends and family instead of going out.

74. Use the library for books, video tapes, and music.

75. Inspect clothing carefully before purchasing it.

76. Don't use your dishwasher dry cycle; open the door and let them air dry all night.

77. At the grocery store, comparison shop by looking at the unit price.

78. Make your own coffee.

79. Use old newspapers for cat litter.

80. Shop at discount clothing stores.

81. Skip annual full mouth x-rays unless there is a problem; the ADA recommends x-rays every 3 years.

82. Water your garden at night or early in the morning.

83. Shop around for long distance rates.

84. Hand wash instead of dry cleaning.

85. Grow your own vegetables and herbs.

86. Shop around for auto financing.

87. Donate time instead of money to religious organizations and charities.

88. If you are leaving a room for more than five minutes, turn off the light.

89. Shop at auctions or pawn shops for jewelry and antiques.

90. Keep your car properly tuned.

91. Request lower interest rates from your creditors.

92. Trade in old books, records, and CDs at book and record exchanges.

93. Pay bills the day they arrive; many credit card companies charge interest based on your average daily balance.

94. Buy software at computer fares.

95. Search the internet for freebies.

96. Compost to make your own fertilizer.

97.If your car has very little value, you probably only need liability insurance.

98. Cut the kids hair yourself.

99. Increase your insurance deductible.

100. Buy in bulk food warehouses.

101. If your income is low, contact utility companies about reduced rates.

Site where I found the list.