What are your tips for saving money?

@iocaine (236)
Australia
November 25, 2006 5:57am CST
The most money I was ever able to save, was when I gave up smoking. At $10 a packet per day, that's well over $3000 per year saved. I now also make my own hamburgers for lunch every day instead of eating out. So that's a few dollars a day saved there. What are some of your money saving tips?
2 people like this
2 responses
• Portugal
25 Nov 06
Taking own food to work/shcool, walking instead of taking the car, quit smoking/other stuff like that. Turn off the computer at night, have coffe at home, use promotions and buy in retail shops
3 people like this
@iocaine (236)
• Australia
25 Nov 06
Thanks for the tips. I don't drive my car very far, so I'm saving a little money there too. I also try to buy petrol on the days when it's the cheapest.
2 people like this
@jcvelina (1255)
• Philippines
26 Nov 06
piggy bank - piggy bankl
Distinguish between Wants and Needs: You will save a ton of money if you don't mistake wants for needs. Needs are pretty simple to identify--those items that are necessary to sustain: Shelter, food, clothing, transportation. Wants are those things that enhance or possibly improve our family life. A car is a need. Unless necessary for your business, a $40,000 Sport Utility Vehicle is a want, even if a lot of people don't see it that way. Have you ever heard (or said) "I absolutely need...?" when the actual meaning was "I really want?" This is not to suggest that you shouldn't be able to have the things you want--only that to delude yourself into believing that a want is a need--and busting your budget in the process--is a recipe for financial disaster. Is less better? Perhaps it was due to the booming economy, perhaps "keeping up with the Joneses", maybe its ego, but for many of us, we often seem to insist on the biggest and the best, no matter what the cost. When a $15,000 new car may be more than acceptable, we stretch the seams of our budget to afford a $25,000 vehicle. We buy $25 shirts with $35 designer labels attached. We opt for the $100 dinner at the trendy restaurant when a $20 meal would have been just as delicious. Think about where you are spending the family money--and how--to see if there couldn't be savings found with minor changes in habits. Try before you Buy: This goes a long way in helping to avoid the silly purchases of things you rarely or never use. Before you buy something, especially items with big price tags, borrow one, rent one or try one out before you plunk down the cash. If you are bored with it, or determine that it truly is not something you need before you buy it (and you will be on a certain percentage of items) you will definitely be bored with it, or find it not that necessary, after! Example: You feel that you absolutely must have a new Jet-Ski, at a cost of $4500 (and that is before financing and taxes). You go to the lake, rent one, and 45 minutes into a one hour rental you are saying, "geez, this is a long hour." Saved: More than $4500 (perhaps a year of college fees for the kid!
2 people like this