Fruitful Words

FrugalForLife wants to start a wave of information- What are 25 different ways you save money?

Here’s my list of what I’ve recently done or am in the process of doing. Don’t know if I’ll hit 25 though. I tried to write about things I didn’t see on the other lists.

1. Cancel cell phone.
2. Don’t eat out at fast food places.
3. Keep a supply of snacks and water in car.
4. Have only the basic phone service including no long distance.
5. Use a phone card for long distance calls. It costs me 3.5 cents/minute.
6. Call Internet provider and car insurance to see if eligible for a lower rate.
7. Buy Christmas presents year round - shop the sales/clearances. And then STOP. I don’t buy someone more presents because I spent less (well, most of the time).
8. Check out the dollar store for food. I routinely buy Yoplait yogurts 3 for $1.00.
9. I buy fresh fruit from the Koreana Plaza market. (Thanks to BB for the tip.) It is much cheaper there, especially when I buy a bag (about 5 pounds) of fruit. I buy a couple of these bags every two weeks or so. Many times it is more than I can eat.
10. Don’t buy ice cream - make a fruit shake with some of the fruit, milk (or yogurt) and ice cubes. Much better for me and I get more fruit into my diet.
11. Cancel Netflix. My friends say they don’t mind if I borrow from them. I don’t watch that many movies so it’ll be a long time before I watch all their movies.
12. Only wear yucky clothes when cleaning or using bleach products. I have this terrible habit of getting bleach stains on my clothes. It is upsetting when they are good clothes. I know this should be a “no duh,” but I’m still learning this one.
13. Go to BigWords.Com when wanting to buy textbooks. It will compare 6 or so websites to see which one has the best deal. It also compares books, DVDs, video games and music. It then calculates price, shipping, promotions, and coupons at every major store, and finds the lowest total price.
14. Pray - ask God to show me where to cut back.
15. Don’t take my credit card, checks or ATM when window shopping.
16. Keep only a small amount of cash in my purse to prevent splurge buying
17. I have health insurance for my dog at Banfield Pet Hospital. I save many dollars each year.
18. This past summer I put shade cloth over my screens. Kept the rooms cooler.
19. I no longer drink bottled water at home. I use a Brita filter on my water jug.
20. Tidy up, put like things together. After I did this, I found that I had plenty of shampoo, bar soap and pens.
21. Use up what I have. Don’t buy anymore or anything like it until the present supply is gone.
22. Buy printer ink online. Don’t use one of those fill your own ink kits. I think using that product is what killed my printer.
23. Have a reason to save money. I.e. I want to pay off my school loans. I want to fill a box or two for Operation Christmas Child. I want buy a new iron.
24. Buy clothes secondhand.
25. Don’t be in a hurry to buy. Wait and see if it’s a real need. Wait and see if God will provide. Here’s a small example. Last week I was out of tea that I like. Because it wasn’t a necessity, I didn’t go buy more even though I wanted more. Later that day a friend called and said she had an extra box of tea and would I like it. Since I only like a couple of kinds, I asked her what it was. Yep, it was one I liked. Thanks Friend! Thanks GOD!

BONUS: Check your credit card statement carefully for “mistakes.” Yesterday I checked mine and found a strange charge I didn’t authorize. Last year, I gave someone a magazine subscription as a present for Christmas. The subscription is almost over and apparently the company decided to renew it for me! I cancelled that real quick. If I could’ve found a way to talk to a REAL LIVE person, I would’ve left a complaint. I’ve never had this happen to me before.

EDITED to add: Go here to save $149.00!

Now it’s your turn to think of 25 ways (more or less) that you save money.