In the new issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine that hits newsstands this week, the magazine lists over 50 ways to help you save about $50 a day in simple money saving tasks that can really add up to a lot of savings from your budget. That equals $18,250 a year in simple, easy to change money saving ideas that can really add up to some serious cash when we all need the extra money the most. For those of you who do not know, Kiplinger’s Personal finance is my favorite money magazine out of the huge number of periodicals that swallow up the magazine racks at our local book stores.
Here is a list of their money saving ideas…..
- Cut out those $39 late fees on your credit cards (Avg. Savings = $234 a year)
- Reduce your interest rate on your credit card balances ($422)
- Do not use ATMs that are not your bank’s ($178)
- Cut mutual fund expenses by using an index fund ($1,200)
- Use a discount stock broker ($240)
- Use no load mutual funds ($235)
- Watch out for needless broker fees ($160)
- Use cash back credit cards ($250)
- Re-shop for your life insurance rates ($300)
- Do not bounce checks ($174)
- Use a free (no fees) checking account ($144)
- Shop wholesale clubs for groceries ($1,790)
- Switch to an inexpensive coffee type ($131)
- Eat appetizers at the bar, not in main restaurant ($410)
- Be smart and savvy when renting cars ($268)
- Save your gas money with maintenance, etc. ($778)
- Downsize from your gas guzzler ($1,581)
- Raise your insurance deductible ($648)
- Telecommute from home ($200)
- Reduce your energy use in your older home ($974)
- Bundle up your internet, phone, and cable ($240)
- Buy generic medication ($797)
- Refinance your mortgage ($2,313)
- Raise your homeowner’s insurance deductible ($319)
- Travel last minute ($500)
- Ditch the high end hair salons ($292)
** I have condensed the wording of these ideas to make it easier to read on the blog. You can go to Kiplinger’s website to get the full explanations of their ideas if you have questions.
{ 4 comments }
As usual, kiplingers does a great job of compiling good tips to save money. By also as usual, they are common sense for anyone that has ever read a money mag at all.
The one I take issue with is the telecommuting. I work from home and commute. While working from home has it’s advantages, you give up the personal contact that comes with working in an office. Not only does this impact your social skills, but you’re often looked over for promotions because people think you’re just interested in working, not a career. I watch this all the time at my bank.
For now though I’m content to work from home on Fridays, but only because everyone else does.
Great list! Thanks for sharing. I agree that it’s a fine line with telecommuting – it saves you a lot of gas money (I do it from time to time), but it’s also nice to have the interpersonal communication that comes with going into an office. I agree that free checking accounts are important – another aspect of checking accounts that can be useful is high yield checking accounts. You can use tools like CheckingFinder to compare rates and requirements for select community banks nationwide. If you find an account that suits you, you can sign up for free. Hope this helps as well!
Hi there, these are fabulous posts. I am a regular reader of these as I work in Sales Tax department. I am working part time on the methods of John Beck for several years. These methods are quite helpful to me.
I’ve been reading your post and found it interesting! John Beck’s Real Estate System is really effective for real estate brokers and also beginners in real estate.
Comments on this entry are closed.