How Best To Save Money

How Can I Save Money Each Month? - Over 20 Tips to Help You Save
Posted: July 23, 2011

If you find yourself needing a no payday loan then you are most surely interested in how to cut your spending and learn how best to save some of that hard earned money.

How To Budget Money and Save

Before you can save money you need to know what you are actually spending.  Get a plain old pad and  put it in your car, on your desk, on your kitchen counter top or by your bedside; wherever you are most likely to take a minute and jot down what you spent that day.

Write down everything.  Did you put gas in the car?  Did you give the kids money for something?  Did you buy a cup of coffee or eat out at lunch?  Did you go to the grocery store - how much did you spend? List what you bought even if you put it on your credit card.

The key is to log everything you spent for the week.  You might want to do this for two or three weeks to really get a good picture of where your money is going.
At the end of the week sum up your spending into categories.  For instance add all the cups of coffee or all the gas for the car.  Then take a few minutes to let where your money is really going sink in.

Most people don't really have a handle on where their money is going each week.  You can't begin to save until you know where your money is going.

Once you know what you are spending your money on then you can begin to learn ways to make cuts and make better use of the money you have coming in each month.

Here are some ways to make cuts and save:

• Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water - this will save on your electric bill.
• Line Dry Your Clothes - On pretty days hang your clothes on the line outside to dry.  They will smell fresher and you will save on your electric bill.
• Unplug Your Electronic Devices - Today's electronics continue to use electricity even though you have them turned off.  Some even use almost as much electricity as they do when they are turned on.  You can put them on a plug strip where you can easily flip a switch to totally turn them off and save on your utility bill.
• Get Rid of Your Cable TV - At least evaluate your cable service and strip it down to basic cable if it is not already there.  Consider using just over the air TV.  Most places can get six to ten channels which will give you the news, traffic and weather plus several choices for entertainment type programs for you and your children.  If you can't afford food on your table then you can't afford cable TV.
• Cut back on your Phone Service - If you have both a landline and a cell phone then cut out one of them.  If you keep your landline then cut out features you can do without; like inside wiring repair service or online voice mail (get an answering machine instead). 
• Carpool - Will help save on gas.  Carpool with other parents to take your children to various events.
• Walk more - With the cost of gas try to use the car less.  Maybe walk to lunch or to the bank.
• Use Coupons - to save on groceries, retail items, eating out and entertainment check out how to save money on groceries with coupons.
• Eat Out less - Try to cook more at home.  Cook up enough on the weekend while you are off from work so you can just warm it up when you come in tired during the week. Brown bag it a few days a week.  Many offices have refrigerators and microwaves so it is easy to carry some pretty tasty brown bag lunches to work nowadays.
• Eat Less Junk Food - It is healthier and will save you money.
• Check Amazon for Grocery Deals - If you buy something regularly then check the deals that you can find on Amazon Grocery by subscribing to that product.
• Keep Up With Prices - I have a friend who keeps the price of their grocery items on his Blackberry so he and his wife will know if a sale on something that they use is really a good deal. Even if you just use a notebook keep up with what things cost at your normal buying place.
• Swap Clothes with Friends -  especially if you have growing kids.  You might even share clothes with your best friend or relatives in order to give you a different look without having to purchase a large wardrobe.
• Shop at Thrift Stores - I have previously worked with a lady that bought everything she wore at Thrift Stores.  She always received lots of compliments on her outfits.
• Have Movie Night Out at Home - I know several people with children and/or grandchildren who have Movie Night at Home.  They rent a movie and pop popcorn at home.  Saves a ton of money and the children have a great time.
• Eat Out Only as a Treat - Maybe once every two weeks or even once a month.
• Find Cheap Entertainment - Take your date for a picnic and walk in the park.  You can actually get to know each other better than in a movie theater.  Take your children to the playground at the local park.  It's free and they will be really tired when they come home. Check your local paper or Chamber of Commerce for free concerts in the park. 
• Watch for Toy Sales - Buy up a few toys when they are on sale.  Use when your child has a birthday or is even going to another child's birthday party and needs to take a gift.
• Host Your Child's Birthday Parties at Home - rather than renting an expensive place.
• Learn How to Cut Your Child's Hair - Saves on the cost of the cut and gas to get there.
• Cancel Memberships - This might be a gym membership or an online membership to various things. 
• Raise the Deductible on Insurance - This is true for both your car or house insurance.
• Student Loans - Always keep a handle on your student loans.  Don't take out more loans than E
• Check Credit Cards - Look at your interest rate that you are being charged.  Ideally you want to just pay off your credit card balance and keep it that way.  But, sometimes that takes time.  In the mean time see if you can either negotiate a lower interest rate with your current card company or transfer your balance to another card if the interest rate proves to be lower.
• Earn Reward Points - Sign up for Swagbucks and earn reward points for things you are probably already doing and getting nothing for it.  Redeem your points for gift cards that you can use to buy Birthday or Christmas presents or even buy your weekly groceries.
• Plan your Trips - With the price of gas today you need to take a few minutes each day and line up your errands in order to save on gas.

As you can see there are a lot of ways to answer the question "How Best To Save Money" but it takes a desire to save money before any of them will help. 

Take a few minutes and focus on your own situation and apply some of these tips to help save some of your hard earned money.

To Your Savings Success!

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The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery BIlls in Half

By Stephanie Nelson