Money Saving Tips

Identity Theft Protection

Personal Documents
With all those junk mail credit card offers and documents with personal information on them, do you just throw them away? We hope not! One of the biggest risks of identity theft is throwing away credit card offers and other personally identifiable documents. We suggest that instead of tossing them you either burn them (free heat!) or get a paper shredder!

Must Have Money-savers

• Don't buy bottled water and reuse other plastic bottles! The cost of a bottle of water or even a case of water is unreal! For the cost of a few bottles of water you can buy yourself a few nalgene waterbottles! If you like the taste of bottled water better than tap, buy a water filter, which can be as low as $10! And if you do have some plastic bottles laying around, remember to reuse them! You can reuse a single plastic bottle hundreds of times, so don't just throw out your old bottled water after you are finished with it!
• For those of you who love coffee, make it at home! Your work may provide it for free as well. However, for the cost of a weeks worth of coffee from the local chains, you can buy a nice coffee maker.

Household Frugality Tips

• Take a look around your house. There is probably a lot of stuff in the garage, attic, basement, or even right in front of you that has been laying around for years. If you haven't used it by now, you probably aren't going to use it. Try setting up some auctions on eBay, CraigsList or even try a yard sale. If you can convince a few others in your neighboorhood to have one on the same day, you can really attract a lot of people! Don't let things sit around and gather dust, make some money for them!
• One of the easiest ways to save money on your electric bill is to switch from normal bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Just switching to these bulbs will save you 10-30% on your electric bill EVERY MONTH! It is a great way to put some cash back in your wallet each month. There is no major visible difference and changing the bulbs only takes a few seconds!
• Here are some MUST HAVE items for your household to help you save money and make your life easier: borax (cleaning), baking soda (cooking and cleaning), scissors, skillet, vinegar (cooking and cleaning), steam mop, cloths, sewing kit, storage bags, chest freezer (store leftovers and buy bulk), duct tape!

Live Frugal

• Learn to cook! Whether by a cooking class, taking the time to plan meals, or even the occasional frozen dinner/pizza - making your own food can save you a ton of money compared to eating out or ordering in! Crockpots / slow cookers are great for making an easy meal with lots of good left overs. You can throw the ingredients together, let it sit, and havea great meal in a few hours without any work! You can also make easy meals with a simple, but great rice cooker!
• Make a list before you go shopping, and don't shop when you are hungry. Stores are designed to set you up to buy things that you aren't initially coming to the store to buy. These purchases can really add up! And anyone who has ever gone to the grocery store while hungry will know, everything looks good enough to buy. This will really hurt your overall purchases and ability to use coupons to save you the money you deserve!
• Always look for better deals! Use coupons for purchases. Shop around for insurance (and bundle!). Use the offers from other tv/internet companies as a way to get a better deal from your current company (or switch). You can now even shop around for your electricity! Make sure you are getting the best deal on every purchase and bill. It may take some time, but it will be very worth it in the long run!
• Get rid of credit card debt! While it is nice to use credit cards for purchases, and you can usually get some decent cash back, carrying a balance on a credit card can be very harmful to your wallet. With interests rates percent, you will end up spending well over any bonus that you have gained by using them. Also, if the company hooked you into any of their special programs like payment protection, get rid of them! It will, essentially, cause your interest rates to go up (double in some cases) and you will really lose out!

More tips coming soon...