Other Folks Tips For Lowering Costs

I was reading some forums today, looking to see what other people do to reduce their costs.  It made me really happy to read them since people seem to be waking up to the fact that their financial future is in their own hands.  I love to see it when people take control of their finances!Here, then, are tips from other people trying to lower their own cost of living…1.  Check your cable bill… Comcast, Time Warner, etc…  cut back to the basic cable package since hardly anybody watches all the channels.2.  Get an internet-telephone-cable package at Comcast for $99 instead of separate bills for each.3.  Start budgeting. 4.  Bring your lunch to work.5.  Stop running to the store for just one thing and when you go, buy only whats on a shopping list and only buy store brand, not name brand.6.  Re-use things you might normally throw away, like tin foil, plastic bags, etc…7.   Get quotes on your car insurance when it comes up for renewal and SWITCH if you find it cheaper.  You can get free quotes at InsureMe. 8.  Get a faucet mounted water filter and a good water bottle.  That way you don’t need to buy bottled water.9.  Make your coffee at home and take it with you in a thermos.10.  Use online banking at your bank.  Automate your bills and never pay a late fee or for postage stamps.11.  Get a library card and stop buying books.  You can also get DVD’s at the library for no fee.12.  Buy a lipstick brush: there’s about 30% more lipstick in the bottom of the tube.13.  Cancel your gym membership unless you REALLY use it.14.  Cancel your land line telephone.   The bill is mostly taxes anyway.15.  Cancel your long distance plan and buy a prepaid phone card.  Its usually cheaper.16.  Use a clothes line instead of the dryer as much as you can.17.  Buy an electric blanket and turn the heat way down at night.18.  Challenge your spouse or your friends to a penny pinching contest.  It works!19. You can save a lot of money by planning your grocery shopping around sales. 20. Thrift stores!! Some people think that thrift stores are only for the down-on-their-luck, but everyone can find many great bargains! I buy all of my son’s clothes there (he’s six).

Get a Cash Back Debit Card

I always love opportunities for free money.   Since most of us use our debit cards pretty frequently, why not get a cash back debit card?  Consider this.  Right now you are using a debit card that doesn’t pay anything back.  If you were to switch, you might get $100 back at the end of the year.  Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that that is $100 more than you would have gotten had you not switched.  Its free money!I looked for a few minutes to see what I could find.  Here is a short list of a few cash back debit cards you could get.

1. Washington Mutual - WAMU (As they like to call themselves) have a debit card called the WAMU Gold debit card that pays back $.03 each time you use it up to a total annual amount of $250.  www.wamu.com
2. CME Federal Credit Union in Columbus, OH has a cash back debit card that pays .25% back on all purchases that don’t require a pin number (you sign as if it were a credit card).  www.cmefcu.org
3. Umpqua Bank in the Willamette Valley of Oregon has their debit card enrolled in a program called Rainbow Rewards out of Denver that pays a variable percentage back, but only from participating stores, restaurants, etc…  From what I was reading, though, some of the percentages are quite high… up to 25% back.  www.umpquabank.com
4. PayPal has a debit card that you can link to one of your regular bank accounts, and as long as you use it like a credit card (i.e. you sign instead of using the pin),  you get 1% cash back on your purchases.  I think its a pretty good plan, but it doesn’t sound all that great for things like ATM withdrawls.  www.paypal.com
5. U.S. Bank - These guys have a debit card called the ‘Cash Bonus Visa Check Card’ which pays up to 25% back on purchases at 150 participating vendors.  I looked at the participating vendor list and it seems to have just about all the big name vendors, iTunes, Ace Hardware, American Eagle, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, The Home Depot, etc…  Only transactions not using a pin number qualify.  I checked on their free checking accounts and they really do, indeed, appear to be free. www.usbank.com 

As always, do your homework before signing up with anything and make sure you know any and all fees associated with it.

Save on Car Insurance

Car Insurance is necessary in order to protect yourself and your car, but there are ways to minimize the expense. Here are a few tips to lower your annual cost of auto insurance.

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