Comments on: Top 5 Ways To Save Money Without Noticing

By: O Parks

O Parks — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:19:52 +0000

It may seem goofy, but if the average Joe would do these trivial things over a 7 year time period, he could potentially save enough money to buy a decent used car.

netflix ($15/month)x 12 =$180
water instead of soda and coffee ($25/month) x 12=$300
library=$75
CFL bulbs=?
Cancel cable ($30/month)=$360
Drop caller ID/call wait on home phone (-$10/month)=$120
Get a better internet deal (-$5/month)=$60
Use cheap calling cards or use cell to drop long distance on landline ($10/month)=$120

You would save $1215 a year x 7 years =$8505
Right now, I could buy a 4-door sedan with less than 50k miles for that much.

By: O Parks

O Parks — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:35:39 +0000

We’ve saved probably over $1000 a year by buying generic foods, by cancelling cable (waste of time and money), and by dropping things like caller ID and call waiting on our home phone. We figure that the people we care to speak with will leave a message or can call our cell phone anyway.

By: Glen

Glen — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:15:12 +0000

#1) We buy all of our movies (yep, avg price is around $10.00, most are old blockbuster previewed) but watch them all several times over, so we save vs. going to the theater, but overspend if we were using a mail order thing. The problem? We are mood movie watchers, so ordering in advance does not really work for us, and we hate to pay for the same movie more than once.

#2) You are dead on for the water thing. The other thing about water, it takes less to keep you hydrated. Most other drinks will actually take more to hydrate your tissues because of all the junk in them. BTW, the bottled water craze is a joke. Buy a good house filter and drink your water that way, but get a toothpaste with flourine, because you will filter that out also.

#3) I am a huge sci fi and fantasy fan, unfortunately the library does not stock many of the books in my favorite areas. So, buy used and only used when you can. Half Price book, Ebay auctions, garage sells. I have gotten books as cheap as $0.15 and rarely pay more than $4.00

#4) 25% of your electric bill is for lighting if you are using incandesents I switched to 99% CFL a few years ago (just before the big energy price spikes). All of my friends’ electric bills went up. Not only did my bill NOT go up, it actually went down by an average of nearly 60.00 a month (I use avg billing) for my 3000 sq ft home in Texas.

#5) It is great to make all of your phone and video services compete against each other. It is amazing how much free stuff and months they will throw at you if you are going to switch. Most will now lock you in for 2 years though. However, I have verizon FIOS at 45.00 a month, vs 68.00 for comcast. I have Directtv at 70.00 for 2 receivers, one of which is a HD dvr. All installation and equipment was free.

BTW, want to save more money? For your energy bill adjust your thermostat by 1 degree higher in the summer and 1 degree lower in the winter. Also, get the thermostats with timers and drop set them to be 10 degrees higher (summer) and 10 degrees lower (winter) while you are out of the house. You will hardly notice the 1 degree drop and you will almost never notice the 10 degree change (unless you happen to stay home that day, then override) while you are at work. You will DEFINATELY notice the difference on you bill, however.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:15:34 +0000

Also, forgot to add this, by reading books instead of watching tv, you’ll be less likely to spend money on all the fantastic items you see for sale in the stores. I know this from experience. And your kids won’t be bugging you to buy them the latest toys. I also know this from experience. So, yes, using the library is great, but I still say get rid of the 500 channels you have and use a third of that money to buy books, then invest the rest.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:12:07 +0000

I disagree. I’d rather buy books than have cable. In fact, I do buy books, and don’t have cable. I grew up in a house full of books, and we could read any that we wanted. It was like living in a comfortable library. Since we didn’t have tv, it was great. And books are also for sale at most libraries-pulled from the shelves and sold for 10-25 cents each. In addition to educating yourself, you’ll be saving money down the road-think about it-a new book costs $5-$50 ONCE. You pay HOW MUCH for cable every month??

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:48:55 +0000

Love these tips. When you find your bookshelves filled with books (before switching to the library), sell them on half.com–great way to make some money; shipping costs are reimbursed to the seller. Can’t beat it! Textbooks too.

By: JoeTaxpayer

JoeTaxpayer — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:29:36 +0000

My library is part of a system within my area that shares books/DVDs across the system of about 50 cities. I can reserve a book or DVD and get an email when it’s been delivered to my local branch. Forget the money for a second, I save an hour round trip to the bookstore by using the library system. The money is just gravy.

JOE

By: CFA Level 1

CFA Level 1 — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:12:06 +0000

Interesting set of insights. Thanks for these tips.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:42:08 +0000

I did what you said and called my cable company up and transferred to the cancel department. In a very nice way, I told them that I had received a better offer from one of their competitors. But, that I wanted to stay with them. Then, I asked for a discount and I was rewarded with 30% off of my monthly payment. Thanks!

By: Bil Sanders

Bil Sanders — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:27:25 +0000

One more saving tip for people who like to read. When you go to the local library look for the “Friends of the library” room! People donate tons of books they no longer use, even brand new looking books, and the library sells them for $1.00 or $2.00 each. The stores are manned by volunteers so all of the money goes to help the library. Eventually YOU will be donating those same books back to the library and the cycle keeps going! They will also be happy to give you a receipt for you donation that helps with your taxes, a win-win for everybody.

By: Giggling

Giggling — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:20:34 +0000

Nothing wrong with this list. But anyone would needs to save money so badly that they have to resort to such ptrivial things is never going to be financially prosperous.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:27:54 +0000

On the book side of things, I’ve been using PaperBackSwap.com (they have hardcovers as well). It’s a book trading club. All books are worth 1 credit, all audio books are worth 2 credits. When someone requests a book, you mail it via USPS Media Mail or any other way of your choosing. On average, this costs about $2 to send. For each book you send, you get 1 credit. Cookbooks disappear off there amazingly fast, and I’m sure everyone has a few cookbooks they no longer use. In the first weekend I had posted most of the books I was willing to part with, about 10 books were requested. Since then, I’ve sent out about 40 books, received about 10, have ~30 in credits on there. Great little system.

I also want to endorse the water idea. I was recently in NYC on business and quickly became hooked on it up there, mainly because you walk EVERYWHERE and it’s amazing how much water you can go through with that much exercise. Doesn’t hurt that NYC’s tap water is infinitely better than what comes out of the tap in Florida. Thanks for mentioning this one — it just jogged my memory to start doing this again!

Another grocery suggestion — buy the smallest package of fresh products (produce/meats) you can. Assuming it’s the same brand & type of product, are you really going to notice the $0.30 difference between the two packages because one weighs less? Probably not. But your wallet will. This adds up to a few bucks a week for me and my stomach has yet to complain.

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:39:20 +0000

My job requires my husband and I to be on the road a LOT! The extra $2.00 a person for soda or tea really does add up when you eat out everyday. But instead of drinking plain water, we ask for lemons, (another freebie) and use a package of sugar or sweet n low (whatever’s on the table) and make lemonade!

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:58:18 +0000

I like the water idea and often drink a full glass of water several times a day. It’s gotta be better than a soft drink. I call my online provider at least twice a year to find out what new offers they are making and have had no problem getting a reduced rate they make available to new customers. Another thing I do to save money is go to the grocery store and sample all the freebies they have scattered throughout the store. Then I top it off by going to the confectionary section and have a free dessert!

By: pf101

pf101 — Mon, 28 May 2007 05:58:39 +0000

I love the water suggestion. Most people don’t drink anywhere near enough water, preferring instead to drink pop and sugary juice. My friends tease me when we go out that I only order water. Well it isn’t just that I’m too cheap to pay $2.50 for $.10 of product (though that is part of it) but I honestly just prefer it. I drink a gallon or two a day and it helps keep everything running well.

As far as the library goes, I have to admit this is my weakness. I love books and I hold on to them. My goal some day is to have an old fashioned library thousands of books. To this end, I now only buy hard backs. But, I do it on the cheap. I never buy them new, always used via amazon.com or at the library or at garage sales. I can also honestly say that I read them over and over. I just purchased a used copy of a book I used to own in paperback but got rid of in a move. I’ve probably read that book 5-6 times over the last 15 years and each time I love it. So this book cost me $4 and gave me great enjoyment and will continue to do so – so it’s worth it to me. Besides, I’m crap at remembering to return things and those late fees add up!