MORE
Most Recent Entries
- Ditch The Water Bottle
- Drive Less, Save More
- 8 Common Money Mistakes
- Brotherly Advice
- Switch To Online Movie Rentals
- Hip Hip Hippie Chick
- Just Do It Yourself
- The Potential Of Saving Online
- Take It From Someone Who Knows - Don’t Do The Following
- Saving Money At The Turlet
- Local Artists Weigh-In On Saving Greenbacks
- Trying To Cut Down On Daily Trips To The Grocery Store
- Group Your Errands, Map It Out
- Lower Your Power Bill A Buck Or 55
- Save Some Money On Your Wheels
Monthly Archives
|
From The AP Wire: Group Seeks Volunteers to Get Malaria .
They’re paying $4,000 and they claim no lives will be in danger. Read about the symptoms while you make your decision.
Florida International Museum, which has hosted such stellar exhibits as the the Diana Dresses, The Titanic and the history of Barbie is offering Free admission to the public on March 22 and 23.
Currently hosting Vatican Splendors From St. Peter’s Basilica in addition to its usual fare. Check out our special report.
If that’s too highbrow for you, the Beach Theater is hosting free movies on various dates. Titles include Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
Accessorize to make old clothes seem new: Tired of that plain blue wrap dress? Add a double strand of sequin beads on leather necklace to add interest. Wear a different pair of shoes than the ones you would typically wear. Carry the red purse instead of the brown. Do this once and get all the compliments and you will be hooked!
Reports are saying that so few plastic bottles are recycled that drinking bottled water is actually bad for the environment. But it is bad for your wallet, too. Fill a canteen or a cup at the tap and put an extra $4 or so a week back in your pocket.
Wanna save a little? Team up on a carpool. If you have to drop off or pick up your kids from school or an after school activity, find another parent to pair up with and save a few dollars in gas each week. Initially it seems like extra planning and a pain to organize with someone else’s schedule, but you DO get used to it. Trust us.
I’ve been sharing afterschool pickup duties with 2 other parents for over a year. I only have to go twice a week. Afterschool pickup is usually alot of idling, so it is a tremendous opportunity to reduce gas consumption. Plus I get that extra time to myself to do other exciting mom things! Like laundry or running to the post office!!
News Channel 8’s Stacey Schaible outlines the eight common money mistakes people make.
Watch the report here.
There’s something about big brothers and their little sisters.
One minute you’re screaming at them, and in the next you’re running to them for protection. They help you move, listen to you complain about your boyfriend, send your gift cards to Starbucks, pounce on you at the holidays and always try to fix things.
Funny thing is, no matter how old you get, how you morph from that awkward girlie to a young woman, they remain the same overprotective fixers. They’ll harp on you to get your car’s oil changed, or to buy a house, or will even tell you not work so hard.
That’s exactly how my big brothers are. And, they even know how to save a penny or two.
My brother, Tim, a business consultant and former Peace Corps Volunteer, tells it like it is:
How to Save Some Coin
1) Don’t eat out so much!
You’ll save more money by cooking simple dinners at home. If cooking isn’t your thing yet, try one of those “pre-prepared home meal” services such as Let’s Eat.
2) Buy generic products instead of brand names
This goes for groceries as well as pharmaceuticals and other personal goods.
In many cases, the generic brands are actually made by the major manufacturers, but they put the retail store name on instead.
3) Limit your trips to the movie theater
Seeing blockbuster movies at the theater can be great but at $9+ per person it can be expensive. Wait for the rentals, order movies online or through the TV. Better yet check out DVDs at the library. And if you do decide to hit the theaters, bring your own snacks!
4) Limit your music CD purchases
Ok, so there are some albums that are a “gotta have” but instead of buying that brand new CD, listen to it first to see if you really like it. Check it out at the library, go online for samples, or head to the music store and listen to clips. Download singles online instead of entire albums.
5) Stop trying to Pimp Yo’ Ride
Car lovers hate to hear that “an auto just gets you from A to B.” But those cheap gadgets for the interior and exterior add up pretty fast. Furthermore, limit your time in the car wash! You don’t need the Supersonic Deluxe Extra Blingy Special. The basic wash will do fine. All that wax build-up isn’t good for your car’s finish anyway.
6) Avoid buying expensive gifts
Money won’t make ‘em love you any more! Limit trips to the mall to find presents. Do something more personal for that special person. Spend quality time with them by sharing a meal, getting a cup of coffee or enjoying the outdoors.
Tim
Age 33
Milwaukee, WI
That will save you a huge amount of money if you love movies. I have a subscription of about $10 a month and I have unlimited watching time on the net. I hardly remember to put my DVD in the mail box anymore.
Watching online works for me, I don’t have to get cable, don’t have to go to the movie hall and don’t have to eat nacho cheese with “cheese only on one side.”
The only drawback I see is for those folks who love to watch a movie as soon as it is released. For them I would advice; restrict it to one movie a month in the theater.
These are times to save some money folks, and this will only last a short time. A little sacrifice for a short time will keep your debts low too.
You read it here first: Long hair is in!!!
I may be the only one declaring that but isn’t it a great excuse to save money?
Long hair is way cool! AP Photo
My stylist (yes, I get my haircut in South Tampa) is way expensive. Every time I think to book an appointment, I think of something more important I could spend my hard-earned money on. And yes, I’m thrifty but no, I won’t go to Supercuts.
Fortunately I have two little girls who look cute with long blond hair. My 2-year-old hippie chick has never had a haircut. My 5-year-old has had two.
I think you could get away with it with little boys too. Have you seen Kate Hudson’s son, Ryder, lately?
Now someone needs to tell me dark roots are making a comeback.
By Grace Like
Ok, I’ll admit it, I tend to use the internet for a lot of things these days. Originally it was a way to pass the time, but then, a few years ago I noticed that I was actually saving money! Nothing astronomical, but still it was there.
529s and Upromise
We wanted to put money back for the kids future education so we looked into how we could save the money, and we decided on a College Savings Plan for them. A predetermined amount is automatically withdrawn from our account every month and contributed to their plans so we don’t forget or put off contributing.
We also signed up for Upromise and asked some friends and relatives to do so as well. For those not familiar with Upromise, you basically sign up for a free membership, register your debit, credit, and grocery cards with them and for the most part use them as you normally would and you get between 1% and 25% for things you do already like grocery shopping and eating in restaurants. I say for the most part because when you grocery shop you should push the “credit button” and use your debit card as a credit card to guarantee that get your contributions to your account, but other than that you just shop as usual.
We then linked the 529 accounts and the Upromise account together and now every quarter our earnings from Upromise get deposited into the 529s automatically.
Shopping online
I do shop online. I do this mostly out of sheer laziness and the convenience of having things delivered right to me, but I also do it to save a little money. I do shop through the Upromise website to get the college contributions, but that’s not the only way I’ve saved money online. I’ve used online stores like Drugstore.com where I can buy all sorts of items usually cheaper than in the store (even with shipping), and if I happen to have a big order then shipping is free.
Online Coupons
My online shopping has lead me to two other websites that have saved me money as well. One is Coupons.com and the other is Restaurant.com both are sites that are free to join. At Coupons.com you check the coupons you want to “clip” and then print them and take them to the store to use and use them like you would any other coupon. At Restaurant.com you buy a gift certificate from the participating restaurant at a discounted rate (for example: a $10 certificate to a certain restaurant can be purchased for $3), and then print out the certificate and then follow the guidelines for that certificate when you use it (for example: the $10 certificate at certain restaurants are only valid for lunch orders).
I’m saving a little money doing these things and maybe one of these can help you save money too.
Contributed by Leslie Brown
Phoenix, Az.
1) Don’t take out abundance in Direct Loans when you’re younger just to get a meal at Red Lobster; instead just eat Ramen your entire college career.
2) Don’t buy a house the same year you graduate with a Master’s degree. It’s just stupid.
3) Don’t choose low paying careers.
4) Don’t EVER EVER EVER accept any credit cards until your old enough to understand the fine print.
If you do the following you will stretch your dollar very very far.
Holy crap! The debate of single ply vs. double ply gets intense.
Too much math for me. I’ll just buy what’s on sale or whichever I have a coupon for and leave it at that. And try to use less than the great big wads that frequently get flushed at our house.
Discuss among yourselves....
“Get your produce from a farmers market. It’s a lot cheaper and plus it’s farm fresh!” --Theo “Oprah Spinfrey” Severson, deejay from Tampa duo Crate Brothers.
Plus there are other benefits to being a localvore.
I would suggest that when running errands, you group them into a single trip.
Spend a little time mapping it, so you minimize on driving.
Save gas by doing this instead of making lots of short trips out.
By Scott Newman
Sometimes the easiest way to save money is just to do things yourself.
We cancelled our pest control service and our lawncare service and now just buy the materials we need at the store and take care of both ourselves. It doesn’t take long, and we immediately saved money.
Another easy tip – sign up for airline and hotel rewards programs. Don’t go for the credit card deals; just the ones that allow you to earn points every time you book a flight or a hotel room. Many plans allow you to roll over the points year-to-year, so after a while, you’ll compile enough to take a free or almost-free trip.
Advertisement
