Five Simple Things You Can Do To Save Money
April 24th, 2006 | by Molly's Brother |1. Clip Coupons & Join Your Supermarket’s Club Program
I save anywhere from $60 to $80 per visit to the supermarket because I clip coupons for the things I usually buy and I benefit from our supermarket’s club card program. Conservatively, I save $1400/year on groceries.
2. Brown Bag It
Pack your lunch. I was spending about $35.00/week on eating lunches out. By packing my lunch, I plan on saving roughly $140/month or $1680/year. If I eat just one lunch out a week, I can still expect to save $1344/year. Now, every day, I take what I would spend on lunch and deposit it directly into my bank account so I can actually see the savings.
3. Make Your Morning Coffee
Come on, it’s not that bad. If you can’t stand Folgers or Maxwell House, then at least when you’re at Starbucks, get the venti drip. You’ll save a couple bucks every day. That’s $10 a week in savings.
4. Eat at home. Eat at home. Eat at home.
By eating at home–even if you’re single–you’re still only spending a fraction of the cost. When I was living by myself, calling for Chinese delivery would easily set me back over $20 (we’re not talking Panda Express here). You’ll be amazed how much money you’ll be saving.
5. Stop Using Other Banks’ ATMs
Honestly, I know it is easy and convenient to stop by another bank’s ATM machine or to use those consoles that we now find in every bar, restaurant, and liquor store across the land. But the fees for this convenience add up. You get charged both ways, with fees totaling anywhere between $2 to $4 per transaction. Just carry cash.
2 Responses to “Five Simple Things You Can Do To Save Money”
By Stef on Apr 25, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for stopping by!
This is good advice… but so much of my social lifestyle involves eating lunches or dinners out, that I’ve accepted that that’s just part of my budget. My compromise was in getting rid of my money-draining car. If you live in a city, public transportation is the way to go!
By Nikki on May 24, 2006 | Reply
You are right that you can save a lot money by brown bagging it and eating in. But don’t forget whatever you pack in your brown bag costs something too. If you were spending $35 a week buying lunches out, for instance, you could probably reduce that to $2-$3 a lunch by packing things from home, depending on what you use (bread, cheese, lunch meat, veggies, fruit, yogurt). So maybe you could end up saving $25 a week/$100 a month. Still good, but not quite as good as the $140 you mention.