1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do some of our shopping on the Internet now, not as many of us seem to have gotten into the habit of coupon-hunting on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com offer thousands of current offers at merchants all across the Net.

2. Use price-comparison websites like Shopping.com, Pricegrabber.com, mySimon.com, and Google Product Search to find the best deals online.

3. When you’re at a brick-and-mortar store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” followed by the name of the item you’re looking at. Google will reply with a text quoting the online prices. To compare prices at stores in your area, use ShopLocal.com.

4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club such as Costco or Sam’s Club and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a sizeable family.

5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing hoopla and not the product itself, anyway.

6. Withdraw your green from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.

7. Buy locally-grown food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce and meat. Prices there are often lower since the food doesn’t have to be transported far.

8. Shop at dollar stores. You should have an easy time finding them since they’ve been popping up all over the place recently.

9. Purchase discount prescription drugs at online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying considerably less than half as much for the generic medicines available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name pills at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

10. If your vehicle is seven or more years old and/or worth less than $2,500, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance.  Your deductible may be closing in on the worth of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk dealer and you to the dealership.

11. Keep cell-phone costs under control. Today’s kids love to text message, so save yourself from unexpected high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messaging.

12. Use online classifieds to find used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are excellent resources for finding everything you need, from used furniture to baby gear. By buying from locals, you can save on shipping costs too.

13. Go to matinees. Matinee showings are often more reasonably-priced than peak-time showings.

14. Install Power Planners (see www.energycsi.com/energysmart) to lower the power consumption of your electrical appliances.

15. For your next date, have a romantic picnic instead of going to an expensive restaurant. Pack a blanket and a cooler full of your favorite foods and you’ve got yourself a cheap rendezvous. Add some zest with a bottle of wine.

16. Instead of spending money on software, look for (legal) free software from websites like Download.com and SourceForge.net. Depending on how you use a given type of program, the free alternatives will often be just as good as the commercial versions.

17. If someone in your house is a student, pick up the Student Price Card from SPCLive.com. It’s only $8.50 and it will get the holder 10% to 15% discounts in scores of participating stores.

18. Control your thermostat. Using a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature will reduce energy usage when you’re sleeping and away. Prices range from $30 to $120, but you’ll reduce your bill by 10% to 20%.

19. Consider quitting your health club. Less expensive options may include a gym at your work, in your building or community, or at a nearby parks and rec. center.

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The Top 19 Ways to Save Money in a Down Economy

With the economic times hitting so many households so hard it is time to find out how you will be able to manage in these difficult times. A household budget must be implemented in order to determine where you are overspending and can cut costs. This can help you begin to practice cost analysis methods before you go out and spend money.

A cost analysis is a method of determining the overall cost of a family event. For example, you want to take your three children to the movies and you want a real cost of the show. The show is 50 miles away, the kids must eat, you have to buy tickets, etc. You may find the overall cost to go to the movies after gas, food and tickets, is around $100 or more. This is not cost effective for your budget. Determining the cost of a movie is not only the tickets to get into the show. This is where many people go wrong with their budget and they cannot figure out where their money went. Take snacks, carpool, eat first, or just rent a movie on pay-per-view and stay at home. A cost of $5 is much better than $100.

A household budget will consist of everything you owe and everything you count on. The priority items on your budget include living expenses you cannot go without which include basic necessities like a roof over your head, electricity, water, food costs etc. Below these items then place all of your monthly bills that you owe underneath.

You also have to include all the items that constitute your net worth, all the money received in your household, etc.

This is where you face reality. It is very painful for some people, especially if there is a risk to lose their jobs and they have a lot of debt.

The good news is that a household budget can give you the peace of mind you need and an open door to financial freedom. Knowing how to set it up in a way that instead of giving you pain gives you freedom and money in your bank account is the key to succeed in your way out of debt slavery.

A household budget is vital if you want to make it in the economy today. Many people dont know the first thing about a budget and financing. You dont need to be an expert, but you need to know how to set it up, what items to include, and the tricks to make the process as painless as possible. With the right tools and information, setting up a household budget becomes very easy.

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Post from: Finance Articles

Financial Freedom with a Household Budget

One old expression claims that if you don’t break a dollar, you won’t spend it. And it’s true, especially when it comes to larger denominations of money. Many people find it easier to spend smaller amounts of money, thinking that they will save money since they are not spending a lot at once. In the end, though, they spend a lot anyhow. Controlling those small purchases, however, is one great way to save a substantially large amount of money. Think about how you can do it.

If you smoke or have to drink a cup of coffee from your local coffee shop every day, work to cut such expensive habits out of your life. If you save $4 a day on unnecessary expenses, you will have saved about $1,000 in a year’s time.

Bring lunch to work instead of buying it. Not only will your meals be more varied and healthier if you do this, you will also save quite a bit of cash, roughly $5 a day. That adds up to $1,250 in a year.

Eat in instead of out. People who habitually eat out each week are wasting large amounts of money. If you opt to eat in just one day each week that you normally eat out, your family can save $2,500 annually.

Cut your hair at home. Big families with lots of girls can save around $30 per person by caring for their hair at home instead of the salon.

Get rid of the cable. Since watching TV isn’t the best habit anyway, getting rid of the cable will save you time and money. If you save $60 a month by not having cable television you would keep $720 for yourself each year.

Once you build up your savings, switch them over to a higher interest rate investment option. CDs are one of the most secure, higher rate investments on the market. As you continue to grow your savings, you can seek professional advice about the best way to invest that money.

Use the savings to pay off your mortgage early and you can save yourself even more money (in the form of interest). But be sure to check on prepayment penalties before you make that leap. It could end up costing you more than it would save you.

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Big Wealth: Attainable Through Small Adjustments