Quick & Easy Ways to Save Money
Going back to school requires quite a bit of financial planning, especially if you have a family. Proper financial planning can help relieve the sting of online degree sticker shock. Alongside scholarships, grants, loans, and tuition reimbursement, there are some small but useful ways to save a buck or two.
You may look at your monthly bills and wonder how you are going to pay for school. Well look again. A penny saved is a penny earned, right? Below are ways you can cut your monthly expenses and make going back to school affordable.
Dine Out Less
Quite of bit of money can be saved by simply packing leftovers for lunch the next day. The daily expense of eating at a restaurant or deli can really add up. By bringing some food from home, you'll have more in your wallet by the end of the week.
While you're at it, consider how much your household spends on pizza delivery, take-out meals, and going out to eat. A $40.00 meal may not seem like much at the time, but if dining-out is part of your routine, then it can add up fast.
Consider all of your morning habits, including your breakfast routine. If you spend $3.00 a day on a latte or coffee, try making it at home and packing it in a thermos. Flexing some culinary muscle will help you gain some valuable cooking skills as well as chipping away at some extra expenses.
Bottom line: Prepare your food at home as much as possible. Get some quick and easy recipe ideas.
Let Go of Your Landline
Do you have cell phone service, local and long-distance phone service? Paying for all three of these can add up to well over $100 a month. Now is the time to evaluate your phone usage and eliminate a costly service you may not need.
For some people this would mean eliminating their landline. Your cell phone may be all that you need if you don't have dial-up Internet service and are able to avoid roaming charges when calling long distance.
Other people may only use their cell phone for emergencies or occasional calls. Therefore, a prepay plan may be a better option than monthly cell phone service paying for minutes that never get used. With a prepay plan you can pay as you go for the number of minutes you need and eliminate a monthly bill.
Finding a plan that works for you:
- "I have a cell phone + landline"
Disconnect the landline. - "But I don't want telemarketers to call my cell phone."
Not a problem. In the United States, you can sign up with the "National Do Not Call Registery" to protect your phone number from sales calls. - "I like having a cell phone and regular phone."
In this case, consider switching to a prepay cell service rather than a monthly contract plan.
Shop Smarter!
Most of your favorite big box retailers carry their own brands, and they usually have a smaller price tag than the leading national brands. For example, one of Target's in-house clothing brands is called Mossimo®, offering apparel for men, women, and children for a much lower price than what is available at a department store. From hand soap to yogurt, you can get a great bargain just by buying the store brand!
Another way to save is by shopping at dollar stores. They carry a lot of brand-name products, all of which are marked down, sometimes as much as 70%. Look for your favorite laundry detergent, disinfectant spray, batteries, shampoo, bandages, window cleaner—there are a variety of products that dollar stores stock.
Though these aren't big-ticket items, they are things that are necessary for your household, and simple savings will certainly add up!
Bottom line: Buy national brands less often and look for dollar store deals.
Frequent Shopper Savings Cards & Coupons
Mostly offered at pharmacies and supermarkets, just about anyone can sign up for frequent shopper cards, which are quick money-savers. You can find daily and weekly specials, like "Buy one, get on free!" or "$2.00 off!" on many different products and brands. And fortunately for us, even some specialty shops, like cosmetic retailer Sephora and shoe store DSW®, are starting to offer memberships and savings cards, so that buyers can get money back when they shop.
Sign up for a frequent shopper savings card from:
Also, be sure to check circulars from local stores and clip the coupons that come in your newspaper or in your mail. This may be a very familiar ritual, or it may be something that you have never incorporated into your regular routine. Either way, this is a simple, but effective way to save some money. Stores place their circulars in local newspapers, displayed in the store, and even online!
Print coupons from:
Clipping coupons is an easy, quick way to save cash, and if you really like a specific product, check the company website. Some companies offer special deals, promotions, and coupons on their site. All you have to do is print, and you are ready to save.
Bottom line: Sign up for money-saving memberships, use coupons, and check for product promotions.
Do It Yourself
A good way to save some money: become a Mr. or Ms. Fix-it. Learn to change your car's oil, do your own yard work/landscaping, and mend clothing without sending it to a tailor or seamstress.
It may take more effort to get things done, but by doing it yourself, you will be learning to be self-sufficient and put money towards other uses.
As you are working to stretch your dollar, it is also important to give yourself an occasional reward for your efforts.
Overall, your goal is to decrease your family's budget, by spending less and eliminating extra household expenses. But allow yourself a little reward here and there. A healthy budget allows some breathing room, and by letting yourself occasionally enjoy the fruits of your labor, it will be easier to watch your wallet!
Bottom line: Take care of home and car maintenance, and make time to reward yourself! Need a little coaching on some projects? Get some do-it-yourself advice.
Drop Your Gym Membership
No, you should not forgo physical fitness. Instead get a little creative. Dust off your bike and take it out on the road for a few miles. Slip on your running shoes and go for a jog in the park.
Better yet, exercise with friends and family. It can be a great way to spend time together and get in shape simultaneously. Is an elliptical machine a must for your work-out regimen?
Quick Fit Strategies:
- Take the stairs rather than elevator, escalator
- Park further away from a store's entrance (walk the parking lot)
- Get up and walk around more during your work day
Check out local garage sales or Craigslist.com for awesome deals. For less than what you pay monthly for your gym membership, you can set your home up with your favorite equipment. The rest of the money you save from canceling your gym membership can cover the cost of an online course or two.
Bottom line:
- Power-walk, jog, & bicycle in your neighborhood or local park
- Get a treadmill or exercise machine for your home
- Cancel your current membership and find a cheaper deal elsewhere
Cut Back on Cable
You're working, caring for your family, and going back to school. How much time will you really have to watch television?
Eliminating cable or cutting back to the very basic package can save you about $50 a month or more in most areas. That's a savings of $600 that could pay for your books for a year.
Also, this sacrifice doesn't have to be forever. You can always sign back up when you're done with school and have more time and money. Then again you may get used to living without it and find more creative ways to spend your free time.
Bottom line: Completely eliminate or cut down on your cable subscription to cut down on monthly expenses.
Join Netflix or Blockbuster
You actually have a free night to hang out in front of the television, but you got rid of cable. Now what? You rent a few movies!
But, you get busy the next day and forget to take them back, resulting in costly late fees. The other sad part is that there is one movie you didn't get a chance to watch and still want to, but you won't have the time for another day.
Do you just keep the movie and pay the additional late fee and hopefully remember to return it after that? Or do you take it back now and pay the fee to rent it again later, starting the process all over?
All of this driving back and forth to rent movies, paying the rental fees and then late fees can be eliminated by joining Netflix.com or Blockbuster.com. For a flat monthly fee you can have a steady stream of movies arriving in your mailbox to watch when you have the time.
Bottom line:
- Get a DVD movie-delivery service
- Eliminates 'late fees'
- You can keep the movies for as long as you want
- You'll never have to drive to the movie store again!
Simply send it back when you're done in the prepaid envelope and they'll send you the next movie on your list. If you rent movies on a regular basis and unfortunately pay late fees more often than you'd like to admit, this can prove to be a cost-effective solution. Plus it eliminates some errands from your to-do list.
Pay Your Bills on Time
This sounds like a no-brainer but paying for bounced-check fees and late-payment fees can really add up. The reason many people accrue these fees is not because they don't have the money, it's because they simply got busy, didn't pay their bill on time or mismanaged their checkbook.
A simple way to make sure you pay your bills on time is to sign up for one of the various bill payment services offered through your bank or the websites of your payees. Another option is to sign your checking account up for overdraft protection. Here your checking account is usually linked to a credit card or your savings account. Whenever your account is overdrawn the money needed is pulled from your overdraft protection account, saving you the expensive bounced check fees.
Signing your utilities up for a budget plan is another good idea. This spreads the cost of your yearly usage out over the course of the year. You can avoid getting hit with those shocking bills during the high usage months and this makes it easier to budget your money.
Quick Bill Paying Tips:
- Sign up for auto-bill pay
Check with your bank if they offer this service, and with any companies that bill you monthly (like your cell phone provider, the gas company, etc.). - Use overdraft protection
If you overdraw from your checking account, this plan will simply withdraw money from another source (like your savings acount or a credit card). - Get a budget plan
Talk with your utilities company so that you can pay a regulated rate every month rather than irregular bills based on monthly usage. - Learn about "Protecting Yourself from Overdraft and Bounced-Check Fees" from the United States Federal Reserve.
The less you have to worry about actually sending out checks to pay your bills on time and figuring out where the money is going to come from the better. Using automated services to pay your bills on time and avoiding late payment and bounced check fees can save you a lot of stress and money.
