Money Saving Secrets

Is it Friday already?  If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you know I’ve been doing a lot of work on my home.  And as you read, I am in LA at a blogger’s conference. So in spite of my usual frugal living, I have been spending a “whole lotter more” (yes, I made up a word) money than I’d like. So for today’s Fix-It-Friday, we are looking at money saving secrets. Although I have been spending, I am a DIYer, so I saved tons of money doing the work in my house myself. So without further ado, let’s see some other ways we can all save some change.

Discount Apps/Sites

Goldstar and Groupon are just a few apps/sites that I have used or heard of when it comes to getting discounts.  I recently used Groupon to order my business cards, and was able to get them for 40% off.  With Groupon, I turn off the daily e-mail notifications. If you’re trying to save money, it helps to not have discounted prices coming to you for stuff you wouldn’t have normally purchased. So with Groupon, I would just go to the app, and search for something I need that day. I have heard that Goldstar always has prices listed for at least 50% off of live events like concerts, musical, sports, etc. I’ve looked at the sight for myself to see, and there were discounts for 40 – 50% off prices listed, some were even free. Whenever ordering something online, I use retailmenot.com to see what coupon codes they have that my order qualifies for.  Something I just heard of for coupons while shopping online is Honey plugin. It automatically applies coupon codes to online orders and saves you from going to sites to search for a code that doesn’t work.  Ebates is something else I’ve been wanting to try. With Ebates whenever you shop you get rewards and cash back.  

No Cable

I’ve been without cable for 2 years now, and don’t miss it at all.  I use Hulu and Netflix along with my internet and my monthly bill  for all 3 is $31.  My basic cable bill had increased to over $100 per month. I had the cable/internet package which started out at $80 per month. Once the company started adding on fee after fee, my bill increased $30 per month.  And for someone who doesn’t watch that much TV, that price was ridiculous.  I know for the premium packages, some cable bills are over $200 per month. Now compare $31 to $200 and multiply the difference by 12 to see how much you could be saving a year. I’m saving $948 a year. That’s almost a thousand dollars.  How much would you save?

Energy Bill

I personally don’t like the AC in the Spring and Summer. I live in the south where some people love to blast their ACs on like 65. Why? To help reduce energy bills, it is recommended by the energy companies to keep your AC set to 79. I personally keep mine at 80 – 83 (and still be cold) and my energy bill has not been more than $40 for the Summer. Now when it comes to heating the house in the Winter, I’m still working on the most cost efficient way to do that.  I have been told to keep the heat on, even when not home, to regulate the bill. I did that and my bill regulated to the sky.  So I tried to keep the temp at about 60 – 65 so when I got home it would be moderate enough when I turned the temp up to 71-73. By doing that my bill was about $64, like $80 – 100 less than keeping it on the entire time.  I know some people who bills are even higher, so some other things that help are the basics; turn lights off when not needed, take cooler showers in the hot months (especially if your water is electrically heated), use energy efficient appliances, use LED light bulbs, turn off TV when not watching, seal off windows and doors especially if they are not a newer model, try not to bake in hotter months, use a fan to help circulate air.

Major Purchases

By knowing when to shop, can save you thousands of dollars.  Knowing when stores have their major sales are key.  For the past two weeks my feeds have been filled with posts about the Nordstrom sale. I don’t shop at Nordstrom, and due to my NC teacher salary, even their sale prices were too high for me. But clearly all of those women knew well before the actual event.  I shop more at Lowes, lol, so I know when they’re having their big appliance sales, and plan my purchases months in advance. Another great and horrific time is black Friday or cyber Monday for those major purchases. Clearly this is for things you need, but can wait to get.

Budget

Allocate a budget for everything you spend money on each month and stick to it.  Savings, social life, bills, living expenses, etc.  If you only allocated $50 for going out, then only spend $50.

So hopefully you were able to find some tips to help you save more money. Please remember to subscribe to the blog to receive emails every time I post.You’ll find the subscribe box on the right menu bar.

xo Tish
P.S.  Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving. – Warren Buffet.