Tip #10 – Start Packing Lunches!

Welcome to our tenth and final day of our journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000!  

This has been a really fun series of posts and it’s garnered a lot of great comments!  Keep ‘em coming everyone!

If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the last couple weeks we’ve looked at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.  If you have a tip that hasn’t been mentioned, or you’d like to add some additional thoughts to one of our existing tips, please let me know your best money-saving tip here!

We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Remember – each of these alone don’t seem to add much savings, but when combined they add up to over $10,000 of savings over this next year!  Even if you don’t reach that $10,000 mark, saving a few grand this next year will help build an emergency fund or get you started on investing!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Ok, so this one is similar to Tip #1, but I think it’s different enough to make a distinction and a separate post.  I guarantee there are some families that don’t go out to dinner very much as a family, but eat out for lunch almost every single day.

This was definitely the case for some folks I use to work with at former places of employment!

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How Much Does It Cost?

Well, this depends if you only have a half-hour for lunch and need to grab something quick, or if you’ve got an hour for lunch and like to hit a sit-down spot!

If you figure the average fast food meal costs anywhere from $5 to $8 depending on what you get and where you live and the average sit-down meal is somewhere in the $8 to $12 neighborhood, you’re looking at $25 – $60 a week if you’re eating out every day! 

Not only does going out for lunch all the time decrease the wallet size, but it increases the belt size!  Going out for lunch all the time is not good for you – unless of course you are disciplined and always make the healthy choice – I know I don’t!

But Leftovers Might Kill My Career…

Think I’m crazy?  Think again.  Helena Echlin from Chow.com says that bringing your leftovers makes you look less successful and also makes a statement to others that you are anti-social!

Maybe you should stop bringing your leftovers in your Superman lunch box – seriously, no one wants to know that you’re a big Clark Kent fan!

I don’t know, maybe bringing a lunch does ding your image.  As a self-employed, independent contractor, I guess I never really had to worry about the silliness of climbing the corporate ladder.  But I guess i can see the point.

Image vs. Reality – What’s More Important?

So bringing some leftovers to work makes you look like you’re at the bottom of the food chain!  It’s like anything else in our society these days – do we live for our image or do we live in reality?

How many people do you know that seemingly have it all – a lot of toys, a big house and nice cars – yet they’re up to their eyeballs in debt!

They aren’t rich, they just act like it!  So, let your co-workers rip on you because you’re bringing your leftover casserole while they throw their $15 lunch on their credit card and have some laughs.

You’ll have the last laugh after you’ve gotten out of debt and stashed $10,000 over this next year!

But I Don’t Know What to Pack!

Need some ideas for packing lunches?  Check out Alan’s Kitchen and his list of quick and easy lunch recipes!  If you have a plan in place you are much more likely to act on it.

One of the biggest tips to help you start packing lunches is to prepare a “leftover container” right after dinner that you can take with you for lunch the next day.  I know for myself that if the food isn’t in an easy-to-grab container the odds of me putting it in one in the morning decrease dramatically!

Estimated Savings: $25 – $150 per month

Let Us Know in the Comments

1. How much have you saved by packing lunches
2. Have you felt the temptation to go out for lunch to protect your image?

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #9 – Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Welcome to day nine of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000!   This has been a really fun series of posts and it’s garnered a lot of great comments!  Keep ‘em coming everyone!

If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the last couple weeks we’ve looked at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.  We’ll be finishing up our series this week!

If you have a tip that hasn’t been mentioned, or you’d like to add some additional thoughts to one of our existing tips, please let me know your best money-saving tip here!

We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

This is one tip that most people have probably thought of, but perhaps haven’t paid much attention to.  For whatever reason, we all get into a rut and so when our renewal notice comes we just pay the premium and on we go for another six months.

For many of us, the thought of getting auto insurance quotes and home insurance quotes isn’t all that appealling right?  So what do we do with things that aren’t that fun?  C’mon now, be honest – we put them off!  

 But, this is one area that you can really save some big money with a little front-end effort of getting some quotes!

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How Much Coverage Do You Need?

Before you get carried away and start raising your deductible and dropping coverage, you really need to do a little homework up front to figure out how much coverage you actually need.

Smart Money has a great article on auto insurance that walks you through the different options for your auto insurance and gives an idea of how much coverage you should be looking for.

Shop Around For Home and Auto Insurance Quotes

Ok, now for the fun part.  Before you give your existing company a call, you’ll want to give competitor’s a call and start comparing insurance quotes.  You’ll also want to check to see if your employer offers any discounts with certain carriers.  If you’re a Costco member, you get a discount as well. 

Make sure you know all the angles – most companies will offer you big discounts for buying both home and auto insurance – among other things through them!

Get as much information as you can and write it down.  You want to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples.  To help get you started here are some toll-free numbers to call so you can shop around:

Geico: 1-800-861-8380

AAA: (866) 539-8033

Allstate: 866 704 9900

Progressive: 1-800-776-4737

Or, you can always go on the web and get some free auto and home insurance quotes as well.

Simple Financial Lifestyle mentioned they recently shopped their car insurance and ended up saving $500 annually!  There’s some great potential savings because this type of insurance is very competitive – and companies want your business!

Call to Negotiate

Once you’ve got a pretty good idea as to what other companies will offer, you want to give your existing company a call first. 

Let them know that you’ve got a quote for “X” amount and you’re wondering what they can do to retain your business.  This works!  It’s amazing how many companies scramble to throw you a deal when they realize you’re about to walk.

There are some crazy discounts offered by the competition these days – ask your current company if there are any discounts you’ve been missing out on, like a safe driver discount, or a “I haven’t had a cold in two years” discount.  Anything!

If your existing company can’t match or beat the lowest price you shopped around for then it’s time to switch.  Yes it’s a pain, but it’s worth it.

Side Note: I don’t advocate going by price alone – you want to make sure you are with a legitimate company that has good claims-paying ability!  The last thing you want is to get into an accident and have a company that can’t pay!

Estimated Savings: $25-$100 per month

Don’t Forget To:

1. Check out the other money-saving tips in this series!

2. Leave a comment below letting us know how much you’ve saved by negotiating your home and auto insurance!

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #8 – Use Coupons, For Everything!

Welcome to the eighth day of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000! 

If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.

On Thursdays we’re going to look at a tip, but also hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Some of you are going to hate this idea!  Some of you can’t stand the thought of being “one of them” – you know what I’m talking about…a “coupon clipper”.

For some, just the thought of cutting coupons is torture enough.  I totally get that – I do.  I have to admit that I have a major advantage here.  My wife LOVES coupons, coupon-clipping, and finding good deals.  So, I rely on her for our savings in this department.

But, with the internet, coupon clipping doesn’t have to be old school – you know, where you sit down with the Sunday paper and a pair of scissors and clip away!  Although, that does save money too!

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Ways to Find Coupons

Let’s take a look at a few unique ways to get on board with coupons to help you stash some money!

Check Websites

There are a plethora of coupon websites out there that offer deals and keep consumers up to speed on some great savings.  A few that come to mind are Wise Bread, who offers their  ”Best Deals Today” list and newsletter that you can subscribe to.  Mummy Deals is a great coupon site that my wife frequents regularly.  If you’re looking for coupons for restaurants, you can’t beat Restaurant.com!

Utilize Your Email

I had not thought about doing this until I received this guest post from Ann Smarty!  This is a pretty cool little system to take advantage of deals out there without getting overwhelmed!

Sign Up For Birthday Clubs or Fan Clubs

This is one of my favorites!  As long as you don’t mind getting inundated with emails, this is a great way to get special offers and coupons emailed to you all the time! 

A lot of restaurants will give you a free meal on your birthday.  One local place we like gives you your age in years as a percentage discount off the bill! 

Use Google Search

Maybe you’re looking for a new computer and would like to get some good laptop deals or notebook deals.   Before you go to the store, do a Google search and type in best laptop deals, notebook deals or laptop coupons and find out what’s out there to help you save some money!

If you’re a big Overstock.com fan, you can Google Overstock Coupons or Overstock Deals and get some great internet coupon codes for them.

You can find internet coupons and coupon codes for just about anything!  There is no reason to pay full price - Google it and see what kind of deals can be had!

Coupon Trains

This is new to me.  I found this idea on GroceryCouponGuide.com!  Basically what you do is find three to six other people who share your affinity for coupons and deals, preferably with different needs (i.e. one needs pet food coupons, the other diapers, etc).

The “conductor” starts with an envelope of 40-200 coupons, takes out what he or she needs and replaces them with coupons that won’t be used.  The envelope then gets mailed to the next person who does the same thing, and on it goes down the line.

It’s a way to stockpile some good coupons that you need, although it does take some work.  It could be well worth it if you have the right people in your train.

Entertainment Books

This is one of our favorites too!  We love the Entertainment book.  For $20, you get a book full of coupons to restaurants, entertainment venues etc.

We buy one every year and probably get at least two to three times the savings from that book!  It’s great and it allows us to eat out a little more often without spending additional money.

More Money-Saving Tips From PF Bloggers and Readers

Donna, a reader and commenter on R2 says,

A price book is essential to finding the lowest prices on groceries and to recognize a real sale. I also never trust the warehouse store as the cheapest source of all items. By comparing prices and knowing a real sale the savings can really add up.

The Debt Hawk says,

One of my favorite tips is to increase your 401k contribution percentage by the amount of your annual raise. This is one of the best ways for people to reach the 15% contribution limit. Since you have not gotten used to the raise yet as part of your disposable income, you will not even miss the money, but you will be increasing your savings a lot year after year.

 Budgets Are The New Black says,

I gave up my cell contract and switched to prepaid!

Are you a coupon clipper?  Tell us some more great ways to save using coupons!

Estimated Savings: $25 – $50 per month

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #7 – Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food

Welcome to day seven of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000! 

If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.

On Thursdays we’re going to look at a tip, but also hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Uh-oh!  I can already hear you now!  “Oh no he didn’t just attack my Snickers and soda jones!”  “He better not tell me to cut out my mid-afternoon Funyons and Red Bull snack!”

Now just hear me out a second.  There’s a reason why 44 major food and beverage marketers spent $1.6 billion to promote their products to children and adolescents in 2006.

Americans are junk-food-junkies!!  And we spend a LOT of money on this garbage every single month.

Now, I’ve got a major sweet tooth and would eat junk every day if I could.  Thankfully my wife is not a big junk food fanatic, so I’m able to avoid a lot of the costs because she does the grocery shopping.  And I’m OK with that because I’d be twice my size if I ate what I wanted on a daily basis.

Not only that, but our grocery budget would be much larger as well. 

My wife and I do not drink soda, rarely buy potato chips and almost never have “snacky foods” in our cupboards.  Our snacks of choice are granola bars, pretzels and ranch dressing or chips and salsa!  These are the only things close to junk food that we really buy.

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Junk food is not cheap, and it adds up pretty quickly!  In fact, JD from Get Rich Slowly recently admitted slipping back into bad junk-food habits and shelling out close to $100-$150 in one month on this stuff!

Financial Samurai mentioned that as part of his health kick, he cut out ALL sodas & high sugar related drinks from his diet and started drinking more water.  Not only does he feel better, but he lost weight and saved roughly $100 per month from that alone!

How to Kick the Junk Food Habit

 The only way to kick a habit is to replace it with something positive.  You can’t just go cold turkey on something and expect to just fight cravings without getting your mind off of it.

So, instead of soda – drink water or ice tea (your own fresh brewed!).  Instead of candy bars do what the contestants on Biggest Loser are told to do – chew a piece of sugar-free gum, or eat some veggies!

The idea is to quickly tackle any craving with a healthy or positive alternative. 

Once you start getting used to this new lifestyle, it will become like a positive habit itself.

So go ahead, kick the junk food habit and slash your grocery bill for some more savings!!

Estimated Savings: $50-$100 per month

How much have you saved by cutting out junk food from your grocery bill?

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #6 – Get Rid of Your Home Phone

Welcome to day six of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000! 

If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.

On Thursdays we’re going to look at a tip, but also hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

This one can be related to Tip #5, but it’s important enough to note a distinction.

Many of you have probably already gone this route, but I’m sure there are a few of  you that haven’t.  It’s funny, I say this as one having not had a home phone in about five years to getting one with our new place and here I am writing that you should get rid of it.

The main reason we got one was because it was actually a little cheaper to get the very basic land line package so that we could upgrade our high-speed internet.  The land line cost itself (minus the taxes) is $8.50 per month and it includes 30 local phone calls. 

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For years, however, my wife and I used our cell phones exclusively as our only phone options.  We had plenty of minutes and it allowed us to save some money on the land line service.

After researching phone and internet plans when moving into our new home, I realized just how expensive that home service can cost!

Aside from our basic, no-frills, “don’t-call-too-many-people” plan, the next cheapest plan was around $25 a month!  Tack on your taxes and surcharges and you’re upwards of $35-$40 pretty easily.

Alternatives to Land Line Phones

As I already mentioned, just using a cell phone is a great alternative to paying for a home phone. But there are other alternatives out there as well.

Matt from Steadfast Finances says he trimmed the telecom fat by cutting out his land line AND cell phone and only uses services like Skype or Magic Jack.  He’s saving $50 per month by making some cuts. 

I asked Matt if he missed his cell service at all, and he said, “Not really, even after four years.  There is a bit of freedom without  always being “reachable” 24/7.”

Kudos to Matt.  I know I couldn’t go without a cell phone, but he does make a good point about always being reachable.  Of course, I could always turn the cell off too – but I never do.

Matt is just one of many people that are making a move to internet phone services like Magic Jack and Skype.

Who hasn’t seen one of those cheesy Magic Jack infomercials!?  Along with Vonage, these are probably the three most popular services like this out there.

I’ve heard some good things about Magic Jack, but also some not so good.  A site called Spot Cool Stuff, gives a really great and in-depth review of Magic Jack, Skype and Vonage! 

The conclusion is if you want cheap, go with Magic Jack, but there are some negatives that go along with it – so buyer beware.

The bottom line is that this is just another area that needs to be evaluated in the grand scheme of things to see if you can cut back and save a little cash.

Estimated Savings: $25-$50 per month

What are your experiences with home phones?  Have you cut the cord?  How much have you saved?

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #5 – Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Welcome to day five of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000!  If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.

On Thursdays we’re going to look at a tip, but also hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!  If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Here’s what we’ve been through so far:

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

According to J.D. Power and Associates, the average cell phone bill is about $63 a month, but with the rise of smart phones and iphones, the cost is going up!  In fact, the article points out that those who use their phones for email, texting and downloading spend on average $14 more per month than those who don’t!

Many times, folks who sign up for a plan rarely review what they’re paying for and anaylyze their usage.  It’s important to take a look at how many minutes you are using and what exactly is included in your plan.

These things can add up pretty fast, so what’s the best way to negotiate your way to a lower cell phone bill?  It can take shape in a few different forms, so let’s take a look.

Check into Corporate Discounts

You’re probably well aware that many large companies sign contracts with cell phone providers at discounted rates.   What you may not know is that many of those discounts are available to employees even if the company isn’t shelling out the dough for your phone.

In fact, my company offers discounts with the four main carriers and once I found out I called our cell provider immediately and asked for the corporate discount.  That was good for a 16% break!

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 Check into Bundling Discounts

If you have your internet, tv or even a land-line with another company, give them a call.  Many times, these companies are willing to offer some bundling discounts to get more of your business.

Give your current cable or internet provider a call and let them know you’re shopping around for cell providers and ask them what kind of discounts they can offer you to get you to switch your plan.

Call to Negotiate Your Own Discount

This is the hardest one on the list because it takes determination, courage and talking to customer service!  But it can be done.  Just like most companies, it’s cheaper  for cell companies to retain a customer than it is to acquire one – this works in your favor.

The Dollar Stretcher has a great post about optimizing your cell phone plan.  I’ll reiterate some of their points here.

1. Do your research on other plans out there. 

If you’re with Sprint (like I am) then spend a few minutes and check out what AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile offer for similar minutes.  If they are comparable or better yet, cheaper, then you’ll want to make a good note of what they’v e got.

The best way to do this is through a site called Bill Shrink.  All you do is enter the amount you currently pay for cell service and click enter and this site will let you shop different plans to evaluate the least expensive out there.  It’s a very cool site.

2. Give your cell phone company a call.

Be nice when you call.  You’ll get nowhere with an attitude!  Politely let them know that you are shopping your plan and you’d like to know what they can do for you as a current customer.

For this to work, you must be willing to drop your carrier.  More than likely, they’ll run through their plans and tell you there ins’t much they can do.

3. Ask to be transfered to the Retention Department

Again, you want to be truthful in this.  I do not advocate lying to get a discount.  But, if you are willing to drop your carrier, the Retention Department is where the authority is.  They are the ones who can reduce costs and make things happen.

When you do get transferred, you’ll want to politely let them know that you’re trying to cut some costs and one of the ways you wanted to do that was by lowering your cell phone bill. 

They’ll tell you  that you need to drop your minutes.  Let them know that if there’s nothing they can do that you’d like to cancel your contract.

If you’re willing to cancel your contract, this should work.  If it doesn’t, then give one of the competitors a call and ask them what kind of deal they can give you.  You should be able to save some cash doing these things.

Estimated Savings: $10-$25 per month

What has been your experience with getting a discount from your cell phone carrier?

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #4 – Turn Your Heat Down

Welcome to day four of our roughly 10-day journey, where we are looking at 10 money-saving tips to help save $10,000!  If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday through Thursday.

On Thursdays we’re going to look at a tip, but also hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!

If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Friends who know us will laugh at this one.  Our house is always the cold house!  We try to turn the heat up when we have company over to accommodate, but they’ve wised up and started bringing sweatshirts and slippers now!

We do this mainly to save money on our heating costs.  As my wife always says, “There is no reason why you shouldn’t have to put on a sweatshirt and a blanket in the winter time!”

We also do this because we love to sleep in colder temperatures.  Neither one of us sleep well when it gets hot, so we turn that thermostat down to 63 degrees at night.

If no one is going to be home for the day, we leave the temp set at 63.  If someone is home, then we crank that puppy up to a balmy 65 – sometimes 66 on a really cold day!  We throw on sweatshirts and deal with it.

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You’re Nuts!

That’s usually the response we get when we tell people what we set our thermostat to, but I’m glad we are not the only ones out there. 

As promised we wanted to take a look at some PF Bloggers ideas on how they’ve saved money as well.  Take a look at these two submissions I received regarding turning the thermostat down:

Rainy Day Saver says:

We set our thermostat to 63 degrees to reduce our heating bill. It’s worth saving about $200/month.  Yep. The 7-degree difference from 70 degrees to 63 saves us a lot of moolah!

Kyle, from Suburban Dollar says:

I work from home all by myself, and to cut down on heating costs I keep the thermostat set at 63 degrees inside and bundle up while I work. 

Great job guys!!  In Kyle’s post, he had a link to an article by USA today that talks about the Challenge to Be Chilly.  They go on to say that some folks are doing this to save money and some are doing this in an effort to go green and conserve energy.  One family saved over $800 last year by turning their heat down and employing some energy-saving tips!

How Much Can You Really Save By Conserving Energy?

For most of you out there, you’re probably thinking, “OK, that’s great, but how much can you really save?  After all, it’s not worth saving $5 or $10 if I’m going to freeze my fanny off!”

According to Bill Pindle, deputy director for the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), “The rule of thumb is that you can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat”. 

If you turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed — a total of 16 hours a day – you can save about 14% on your heating bill, says Prindle.

That’s a pretty good savings! 

Where I live, in the Chicago area, the average monthly heating bill in 2007 was $218.  In New York it was almost twice that, just shy of $500!  A 14% savings on those two numbers is roughly $30 – $70 per month in savings!!

Fight the Temptation to Crank It Up!

It will only take one day of you freezing your tail off to say, “Forget this, it’s not worth it!”.  Don’t do it.  Start with turning your thermostat down a few degrees to save some money and get used to the chill.

Buying a programmable thermostat will be a good investment for you as well, that way your temperature will automatically drop when you go to work and when you go to bed so you don’t have to always remember!

Give it a shot and see what happens!

Estimated Savings: $25-$200 per month!

How much have you saved by turning the temperature down?

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #3 – Cut Your Cable

Welcome to day three of our roughly 10 day journey to save $10,000 over this next year. If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Thursdays we’re going to hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here! We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!

If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

I know I’m stepping on to some thin ice here, but I just have to do it.  The average digital cable subscriber spends approximately $75 per month and many pay well over $100!

Now before you get too upset – I am NOT suggesting you need to get rid of your cable altogether, although there are some who are in full support of cutting cable completely and have saved a lot of money doing it!

Take for example, Kita – from Personal Finance Journey.  She recently posted about how she got fired up to knock out some debt and made a radical decision to cut off her cable completely and saved over $70 per month!!

What I’m suggesting here is at the very least taking a look at your bill and sacrificing a bit to help shave some expenses.  Especially with all of the technology out nowadays like streaming from Netflix, Xbox or even just using your computer to watch shows online – there is no reason why you can’t find the shows you want.

Seriously, do you really need 800 channels? 

My wife and I just recently moved in our new house and after some debate we decided to go with the Direct TV family package, which includes channels we like HGTV, DIY and Food Network.  It also has all the cartoon and kids programming that we wanted as well since we have a daughter that is totally into Dora.

 It only has 50 channels, but the regular rate is $43 per month with taxes! 

It doesn’t have ESPN, but can I get by without it?  No – I mean Yes, yes I can.  I can actually check any highlights I want on ESPN.com! 

Will I miss some games I really want to see?  Sure, but I can see most of the games that I’m into and if there is something I want to see, I can always find a friend or family member and invite myself over!

I remember talking to someone a while back who was loaded to the gills with credit card debt.  It was so bad that the interest being paid was similar to most people’s mortgage payment! 

One of the things they staunchly refused to cut back on was their $150 cable bill stating they “needed” all those movie channels and premium packaging for their teenage boys.

One of the things you can do also is to negotiate with your cable provider for a lower rate.

So, take a look at your cable bill – see if there are some channels that you can do without for a while and give your cable company a call!  You’ll be glad you did.

Estimated Savings: $25-$75 per month

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Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Tip #2 - Entertainment

So, we’re on day two of our roughly 10 day journey to save $10,000 over this next year.  If you missed the introductory post of 10 Money-Savings Tips to Help You Stash $10,000 you’ll definitely want to check it out so we’re all on the same page.

But to sum it up – here’s our mission:

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

On Thursdays we’re going to hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here!  We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!

If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2 Evaluate Your Entertainment

Over the course of this journey, we’re breaking down the US Bureau of Labor’s statistics on average consumer expenditures and taking a look at some ways to cut back. 

Next we tackle your entertainment.

Maybe your entertainment budget includes going out to eat like ours does, but even so you should probably evaluate your other forms of entertainment.

According to the most recent survey, the US Department of Labor reports that the average American family unit spends $2,698 a year on entertainment costs – or roughly $225 per month!

Are you movie buffs and love going to the theatre?  You’re well aware it’s easy to drop a 20 spot without blinking.  After your ticket, a popcorn and a soda, your Andrew Jackson is throwing you a goodbye kiss on the way to the register!

Maybe you enjoy going to professional sports games, going out for a night on the town with some friends or hitting up the local Starbucks several times a week while reading a book. 

Again, the challenge here is not to get you to stop doing these things – it’s to challenge your conventional thinking to see if there are some ways to trim the fat.

Finding Frugal Entertainment Alternatives

If you’re a social butterfly, this doesn’t mean you have to turn into a homebody or that you can’t get out of your house to have some fun, but think about some alternatives.

How about starting a Frugal Club like Tisha talks about over at Wise Bread.

The first rule of Frugal Club is you don’t talk about Frugal Club!

Sorry, just seeing who’s on their toes.

Try waiting for a movie to come out on DVD or going to the town’s local theatre if you have one.  Sure, you won’t get to see the latest and greatest, but you’ll save some money.

Try getting together with some friends at your house and enjoy a game night! 

We just did this last weekend with some friends.  We ordered pizza, played some games, had great conversation and a ton of laughs!!  Total cost?  $10! 

Get your friends on board with your saving challenge so they’re not enticing you to go out every night. 

Try alternatives like local museums that offer free or discount days. 

You get a bunch of friends together and go camping.  My wife and I do this every year and we love it!

Get creative, frugal living doesn’t have to be boring! 

You don’t have to stop spending on entertainment, just look for some fun ways to cut back.

Estimated Savings: $25-$100

Share Your Thoughts!

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Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!

Who doesn’t love to save a little extra cash each month? Finding ways to save money, trim the fat and pocket some coin each month isn’t easy, but it is simple.

The question is, “Will you do what it takes – and if so, what will you do with the extra savings that you find each month?”

Saving the extra cash is critical because let’s face it, the average American spends more than they make! 

Most people find other ways to spend their money rather than socking it away into an emergency fund or long-term savings.

But, if you got on board with this challenge, you’ll be in much better financial shape, feel better about yourself and your future and be in a position to do things you really want to do with your money like helping others.

So here’s what we’re going to do: 

• The Goal: Save $10,000
• By When: This time next year
• How: By implementing 10 money-saving tips 

The Plan to Save $10,000

For the next couple weeks we’re going to look at one money-saving tip each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

On Thursdays we’re going to hear Personal Finance bloggers’ and hopefully some readers’ ideas and experiences on how they’ve saved money!

If you’d like to be included in the Thursday posts – please let me know your best money-saving tip here!  We’d love to hear your stories of what you did and how much money you saved by implementing your tip!

If you’re a blogger and have posted about your money-saving tip, please include a link to your post!

When all is said and done and you’ve implemented each of these 10 tips, you’ll have saved over $10,000 this next year! 

Of course, not everyone will be able to save 10 G’s, but even if you don’t save quite that much, saving a couple thousand bucks will be worth it!! 

So, are you ready to come along for the ride? 

Let’s save some money!!

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Let’s be real here.  We probably all spend a little too much on going out to eat.  It’s hard to walk out of  a chain restaurant and not drop $30-$40 on a meal if you get an appetizer, two entrees and a couple drinks!

How often do you do that per month or even per week?  As you’re well aware, this can add up pretty quickly.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in their 2008 Consumer Expenditures press release - they cite the average 2.5 unit household spend approximately $2,698 on food away from home! 

That works out to be roughly $225 a month on going out to eat!! 

Let that sink in a minute.  $225.

Now, I love going out to eat – who doesn’t right?  It’s fun, it’s easy and there is some pretty good food out there.  But hear me out for a second -

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What if, instead of going out three, four or five times a month you cut that back by two!  Only two! 

I’m not asking you to give up eating out completely – that’s just silly and you and I both know YOU WON”T DO IT!  It won’t be a goal you can commit to for a long period of time.

But, giving up two meals is a goal that you can reach!  Give it a shot next month and see what happens. 

What should you do instead?  Well, invite some good friends over, grill out or cook a good meal and enjoy conversation at home rather than in a restaurant.

Or, why not invite a few couples over and each have them bring something.  You can do dinner theme’s so everyone brings something that goes together. 

Start rotating houses every month and have a good time with great friends eating good food and saving some good money.

You’ll be surprised at how much fun you can have by doing this and you’ll feel good about yourself that you saved some money!!

Estimated Savings: $40-$100 per month

Share your thoughts below on how much you’ve saved by cutting back on eating out!

Check Out All The Tips From Our Series

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Tip #5: Negotiate Your Cell Phone Plan

Tip #6: Get Rid of Your Land Line

Tip #7: Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food!

Tip #8: Use Coupons, For Everything!

Tip #9: Negotiate Your Home and Auto Insurance

Tip #10: Start Packing Lunches!