easy trick I do to save money

tazdollars · **Joined:** Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:32 am **Posts:** 283

fqcomm wrote:

I have a long commute, 125 miles a day so I found a guy to ride with me that works at a place I go past everyday, we split the gas.
I also use acetone in my gas 2oz for every 10 gallons and get another 3mpg on average, also use real gas not the 10%enthenol blend, you get better gas mileage with 100% gas and a good grade.
Change to a lighter oil. Keep off the throttle as much as possible and use the the bump and glide techniques when you can, ie. speed up gradually and then coast some.
Raise the air pressure in your tires to 5psi less than the maximum rating, it lowers rolling resistance and increases mileage.
If you are going to idle more than 30 seconds shut the engine off, do not use the drive thru, walk in.
Turn the a/c compressor off for 2 minutes out of every 5, leave the fan running of course.
Engine off coasting is very effective but you must be in the right driving situation no stop and go, I do it going down long hills and slowing down for stop lights.
Using all of these methods I have raised my mpg by 10 points!
The biggest savings at the gas station is do not buy anything but gas, stay out of the store. I keep some bottled water from walmart in the car.
Get all the junk out of the trunk, every 100 lbs cost you 3% in fuel economy.
Combine trips with neighbors, it saves gas and time, plus you can make friends
Make a list of stuff to do and plan your trips, takes time and makes you think about the things you really need to do, instead of driving around just for fun.
Get a habit of cleaning or replacing your spark plugs and air filter often.

How about finding a job that is less than 63 miles away from your house? That would be a huge savings right there.

fantasma · **Joined:** Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:16 pm **Posts:** 949

i prefer wachovia's way to save program. i HATE having/carrying cash. i swipe...and every time i do it puts 1.00 into a savings account plus i add 100.00 a month automatically. b/c i prefer to pay my bills online or over the phone....it also counts so each bill i pay is considered a debit transaction. in the span of two months i was able to save 100.00 just from swiping my card. i have 100.00 monthly taken out of my check deposited into an account that i have no debit card nor checks for. if i really need that money i have to physically go into the bank in order to withdraw the money. (i hate going to banks). i also did not sign online for online banking for that particular account and its w/a credit union. 200.00 i automatically don't see a month. and my change vase...it will take me a lifetime to fill it up but when i do i will buy something extravagant with it.

ctrlaltdel · **Joined:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:39 am **Posts:** 24

MaskedMarvel wrote:

I don't get it why people don't use credit cards. Here's a benefit list from them.

- don't pay transaction fees
- a lot of card have some kind of reward points
- only pay at the end of the month (you NEED to pay everything off. if you can't that means you bought something you can't afford.)
- no need for pin
- on your bill, you see where you spent more (mine is mostly gas and groceries)

Why would you like to have corporations track your spending habits?

Blueberry Scone · **Joined:** Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:52 am **Posts:** 114

ctrlaltdel wrote:

MaskedMarvel wrote:

I don't get it why people don't use credit cards. Here's a benefit list from them.

- don't pay transaction fees
- a lot of card have some kind of reward points
- only pay at the end of the month (you NEED to pay everything off. if you can't that means you bought something you can't afford.)
- no need for pin
- on your bill, you see where you spent more (mine is mostly gas and groceries)

Why would you like to have corporations track your spending habits?

Agreed.

I used to have a credit card, but I found myself spending more (even though I paid it in full, every month). I found myself upgrading and buying extra crap every month. I wasn't on some crazy shopping spree - I'd maybe buy a DVD at Target, or I'd upgrade to a value meal at a fast food place. But I found that I was spending more money on junk and justifying it by saying "Oh, I'm getting more reward points by making this purchase."

For me, I couldn't handle having a credit card, so I made the choice to cut it up. I never looked back - because I pay for things with cash, I think long and hard about each purchase. Do I really need this? Or am I buying it "just to buy it"?

Vile Merchant · **Posted:** Mon May 03, 2010 10:28 am

CC's also put a nice 1-month buffer in your finances, that's a month's worth of expenses that can sit in a savings account earning interest, plus the reward points of course.

byesadness · **Joined:** Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:05 am **Posts:** 2

Buy only what's needed. List all the things that you will buy before you go to the grocery store and make sure to stick to it.

And if I may add, throw away your credit cards or at least maintain only one account.

madison85 · **Joined:** Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:59 am **Posts:** 74

byesadness wrote:

Buy only what's needed. List all the things that you will buy before you go to the grocery store and make sure to stick to it.

And if I may add, throw away your credit cards or at least maintain only one account.

oh yea that is a great tip, i remember going shopping without making a list and basically bought a load of stuff i shouldn't.

Savings4Me · **Joined:** Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:30 pm **Posts:** 11

1. Live (slightly) below your means. Doesn't mean live in poverty, but don't spend as much as your paycheck might allow.

2. Maximize your 401K company match...always. And make it a goal to save 15%+ of your gross pay into retirement/ 401K or IRAs.

3. If your company has direct deposit, have a certain amount taken out of every paycheck and put into a savings account. Whatever you can afford to do. You won't even miss it. Then have the net paycheck amount deposited into checking and only spend from there. Let your savings build up!

4. If you have medical expenses, prescriptions, etc. use a Flexible Spending Account that you set up with your employer at the beginning of the year. It will save you $$$ because that money comes out of every paycheck pre-tax. However, you have to be able to spend it all on approved medical expenses, or you will lose any amount that is left over after the year, so plan carefully.

5. When/if you get a raise or merit increase or bonus, save it instead of spending it. Use it as savings for a big goal.

6. Don't run up credit cards beyond what you can pay off in 1 month.

I have lot of other tips too...

Blueberry Scone · **Joined:** Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:52 am **Posts:** 114

The other thing with using rewards on your credit card is that the cc companies are changing the terms. Maybe you need to cash out before you have accumulated enough points for some big prize, or now you will only get a gift certificate for a store you don't really like. And I still maintain that some folks with rewards cards probably spend more than they should and justify the extra expense because "I'll get more points this way."

stannius · **Posted:** Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:59 am

bobbula wrote:

...

If only there was a site you could visit for paid online surveys!

partgypsy · **Posted:** Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:55 am

Sometimes credit cards can be boon, especially for big purchases you HAVE to make. I've been dealing with these dental procedures. Simply for paying at the time (even with a credit card) I got a certain percent discount, saving me $150 off the price. For the second set of procedures at another dentist office, they did not offer any discounts for paying in cash, so again putting on credit card. In each case, I transferred money out of savings account to then pay off credit card, but it gave me a cushion of 3 weeks before having to do so. I have a 1% cash back card, which for these procedures (around $5700) I've earned about $57, netting me about $200 just for using a credit card in this situation. I could have done even better by forseeing this was going to happen and having a bigger Flexible savings acount (saving money on my taxes), but oh well.

I do have to have the caveat this only works if you have money in the bank to pay off the balance. If I kept 5700 on my credit card for a year at 13% interest, I would have had to pay $740 in interest.

jasedona · **Posted:** Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:20 am

I used to hit up happy hours all of the time, until I realized that I was actually spending more than I would have on a normal dinner out....

steveM · **Joined:** Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:33 am **Posts:** 6

Not bad I like this, $4 is $4, and even $1 is $1 if it is really free

When i was younger and had almost no may all the time, I wasn't pay attention on $1 or even $10 , I always tough "who cares, this $1,$10 or $100" doesn't make difference and not solving me any single problem", but now, I have a lot more than before, and now I feel good when save even few bucks. So that is mostly I love this 'trick' and like you said $4 is $4

DDDebt · **Joined:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:51 pm **Posts:** 1

How about looking at the pricing of things along with their sizes. For example, a case of .5 liter bottles of water totaling 24 liters is $5; but the shelf above sells 1 liter bottles for $1. Which is cheaper? The case because you get twice the amount for the same price. And, in states where you can return bottles you also get near a dollar back when you redeem the bottles.

Here's another one - look at the ounces in the following example.

Purina Deli Cat 12oz. $1
Clover Valley Cat Food 14oz. $1 (store brand)

Which is cheaper? Most people will pick up the Purina because they recognize the name, and never bother looking at the size per cost comparison.

andrewkr80 · **Joined:** Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:42 pm **Posts:** 2

If you have a smart phone, the amazon price check app is a real money saver. It allows you to scan bar codes or search an item at the store and find the best price available on the web.

easy trick I do to save money

Who is online