| 14 November |
Top Ten Ways to Start Living Frugally |
If you are ready to start living frugally, here are some good ways to get started:
- Eat out less. No matter what you think, preparing your own food at home is always less costly than eating at restaurants. If you are pressed for time, do a lot of the preparation work on the weekends. You can even prepare casseroles and other meals in advance, and freeze them for later.
- Clip coupons. Clip grocery coupons for those items that you typically purchase to save. Of course the big discount and warehouse stores don't accept coupons, but they are handy for those products that you do purchase on a regular basis at the grocery. At this time of year, look for coupons on products you will use for holiday meals, paper products, and cleaning supplies. If you want to save big, find out if any stores in your area double coupons.
- Use the library. Go to the library to check out those best sellers you've been dying to read. You can even save costs on magazine subscriptions by checking out your favorite magazines at the library, too.
- Plan your errands. Plan your errands in advance so that you can take care of several things all in one trip. This will not only save on gas, but it's a real time saver too.
- Watch for free stuff – especially online. It's amazing the stuff you can find for free online. From classic book downloads at the GutenbergProject.org to free business cards, free language lessons, free jewelry, and more. In addition, look for buy one get one free offers at the grocery and save.
- Utilities - turn off the lights when you are not using them. Same goes for other appliances and your computer, too. Check the thermostat. Get a digital thermostat to automatically turn the heat down during the times you are not at home, or are sleeping, and turn it up a tad when you are in the house. Works the same way for the A/C in the summer.
- Audit your insurance policies – check over your insurance policies to make sure you are not paying for coverage that you don't need. For example, does your auto insurance provide an auto club like membership while you also belong to AAA Motor Club? Do you really need rental reimbursement coverage on your auto policy if you own more than one car? These and other issues should be checked over thoroughly. Call your agent to understand your policies better.
- Learn to do-it-yourself – there are many services for which we pay top dollar that we could easily learn to do ourselves – i.e. manicures, oil changes, room painting, and other small repairs.
- Avoid late fees – pay bills online. When you pay your bills online you not only save the cost of the stamp and the check, but also any late fees that you might incur if the payment arrives late.
- Shop with a list - whether you are doing your grocery shopping or shopping for holiday gifts, plan ahead and make a list – then stick to the list to avoid impulse purchases.
You only have to waste less than $28 per day to throw away $10,000 a year. With the frugal tips listed above, as well as others you'll find in our posts, you'll learn to save at least that much!
– Learn Spanish on-line for free, using interactive audio/visual lessons. This is a wonderful resources to start anyone learning Spanish. The lessons are easy to access, fun, and help you learn Spanish fast.
