In the third installment of “Money Talks” from my mother-in-law, Libbie, she shares some great ideas for saving a buck (or many).
“We women don’t care too much about getting our pictures on money as long we can get our hands on it”.– Ivy Baker Priest
Think fast: Whose picture is on the one hundred dollar bill?
According to Ben Franklin (the answer), creditors have better memories than debtors. So how can you make that C-note stretch a little farther?
Stuff: $100 dollars can purchase a gift card of a higher value, so check out gift card exchange sites which allow users to sell and buy gift cards at a discount. My favorites – Gift Card Granny, Cardpool, eCardExhange and ABC GiftCards. Costco and Sam’s Club also sell other brands’ gift cards for under face value. [EF: I did not know that! Did you?]
Water (Utility): Save on your water bill by purchasing a low flow shower head. Most sell for less than $30 and are easy to install. Switching to a fixture with the EPA’s water sense label should reduce water usage by 20%. A low flow toilet should be installed in each household where people work at home or have children.
Water (Drinking): We each drink almost 30 gallons of bottled water per year. You can save at least $200 per year by carrying your own container of tap water. [EF: I also make my own seltzer with my soda stream to save on buying that.]
Gasoline: One in four cars is driving around on under inflated tires. To boost your gas mileage check the drivers door jam for the sticker with the recommended tire pressure and buy a digital tire pressure gauge. Check your tire pressure and reduce your gas bill by at least $130 per year. Your tires will last longer ,too.
Motor Oil: If you have purchased a car in the last few years, you can change your car every 7,500 miles instead of 3,000. You can save time and money.
Food: Food Network’s star chef, Robert Irvine, from Restaurant Impossible, recommends growing your own herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint and chives. He calculates that fresh herbs cost $16.00 to $20.00 per pound. The seeds cost 1.50 per packet. He says “fresh herbs give you a better product, get you back in the kitchen and offer financial return. It’s a no-brainer.”
Thanks, Libbie for all of these great ideas!
Here are some more great quick money saving tips from CBS Moneywatch and The Simple Dollar (check out his 14 great posts on the side bar entitled Trent’s 14 Money Rules, too!) Also check out yipit’s top 25 Twitter Accounts to follow to save money. Some tips I particularly like, wait 30 days before you make the discretionary purchase you think you need and see if you still want it (I am going to try this one!) and don’t buy things just because they are on sale – it is still spending money (on my list of 41 goals for the year.)
What are your favorite money saving tips?
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