MONEY SAVING TIPS

Correctly Manage Your Finances

• Check your banking account. Consider a Credit Union or On-Line Bank for a low fee / no fee alternative. Monthy fees and ATM fees can quickly amount to hundreds of dollars a year.
• Check and Monitor your Credit. Obtain your free annual credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies and check for errors. Consider a free service like CreditKarma.com to monitor your credit. Work to pay down your credit card debt, starting with the highest interest rate cards.
• If you have a history of bad credit, consider getting some credit counseling to assist you in improving your credit file. Spending money here will have long term paybacks.
• Contact your credit providers and ask for a higher limit; the higher the amount of unused credit, the lower your credit score will be. Ask for an interest rate reduction. Often this will be granted if you have a history of paying on time.
• If you have an auto loan at a high-interest rate, consider refinancing your loan. Credit Unions often have significantly lower interest rates than banks and dealer provided loans.
• Shop with a Credit Card that offers the highest cashback and then pay your balance in full. When Discover has 5% cashback on travel and gas, use Discover to pay.

Energy Saving Tips

• See our Energy Saving Guide for Residents
  

Save Money when Shopping

• Consider joining a Warehouse Club. While you may not need a 50-pound bag of rice, you can save on many items that are not in huge quantities. When buying a car, Warehouse clubs offer substantial savings at local dealerships. Things like eyeglasses, technology purchases, prescriptions, tires, and gas each provide sufficient savings to pay for an annual membership.
• Check for coupons online and in newspapers — shop sales. Grocery stores often have loss leaders to bring you into the store. Shop with a list and do not get tricked into buying high priced items, not on your list.
• When ordering online, sign up, and shop through a service like eBates. Get cash back on the products you are already purchasing at hundreds of stores; this on top of other savings.

Food Prep Really Saves

• Skip the drive-through and high street coffee shop for major financial savings. Prepare all your meals a week or even a month in advance. The key is buying ingredients in bulk and preparing two or three meals at a time instead of just one. Instead of preparing one portion of chicken curry, make four. Put one in the fridge and three in the freezer. You’ll find you have slashed the cost of each meal.
• Repeat this for several dishes, and you’ll have food prepared for weeks in advance. The difference this makes to your grocery shopping bill is incredible. If you’re not convinced or are struggling for ideas, Google’ food prep’ and check out Pinterest.
• In addition to saving money, you can better control salt, sugar, fat, and eat healthier than if eating out.

Rent and Borrow instead of Purchasing

Renting and borrowing instead of purchasing is a great way to create savings. Of course, you can’t rent and buy everything. Items that you use regularly are going to require a purchase—TV, couch, bed, etc. But on more rarely-used items, you can get by without spending top dollar to own them.



Items that you can rent or borrow instead of purchasing include:

• Books and Audio: Use your local library to check out books instead of buying them, or borrow a book from a friend of a co-worker. You can start a lending club with a group of friends where you each lend and borrow each other’s books.
• Movies: While the good ole days of renting flicks at Blockbuster are long gone, you can still use your local library to rent movies instead of seeing them in the theater or purchasing them.
• Tools: This could be anything from a carpet cleaner to a power drill. If you can only use these items occasionally, consider borrowing or renting on-demand to save some dough.
• Luggage: Going on a trip? Borrow luggage from a friend or family member instead of buying a set of bags for yourself. As a bonus, you won’t have to store the luggage in your home, which will create more space for you.