If it were easy to build wealth, we’d all be rich!

To build wealth is not easy.

To build wealth is very hard, but the good news is that with a few simple steps you can start building wealth too!

It’s funny how we seem to make the simple things in life more difficult?  Isn’t it?

Take getting out of debt for example. At the core, it takes simple steps:

• Stop racking up debt
• Start paying more on the balance to knock it out!

But the simple things in life aren’t always easy, are they?  There’s a difference between the two.  

Simple means it isn’t complicated.  It doesn’t take much to build wealth.

In fact, in a few steps we all can build wealth.

Unfortunately, the majority of folks in America don’t seem to follow these three simple steps to build wealth.

Becoming a millionaire or just building wealth in general, as this article from Free Money Finance describes, is simple. 

Although I don’t agree with FMF’s title (he says it’s easy), it’s still a great post to make the point. 

Below you’ll find my thoughts on three simple steps to build wealth: 

1. Build Wealth by Spending Less Than You Earn

If you want to build wealth, the first thing you’ll need is income. 

No money, no wealth.

Unfortunately I’ve seen time and time again in my business where even folks who are making a good income don’t have much to show for it.

They spend way more than they earn, they live paycheck to paycheck, and they continue to increase their lifestyle with every jump in income.

One thing is clear, in order to achieve the goals you have – whether it’s paying off debt, saving for emergencies, buiding wealth, or funding your retirement accounts – you must spend less than you make!

How to do it: Set a certain percentage you will save from each paycheck and adjust your budget to help cut back on expenses so you can save more.

2. Build Wealth by Investing Your Savings Regularly

Once you set a certain percentage for savings from each paycheck, then you’ll need to figure out where to put it. 

You can invest into accounts like 401ks, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, or non-retirement accounts as well.

Once you figure out what type of account you’ll be investing into, then you need to decide what type of investments to hold in these accounts. 

These can range from index funds, mutual funds and ETFs to stocks or CDs. There are an endless array of investments to choose from.

The best way to invest wisely is to diversify yourself in a portfolio with find good-performing, consistent investments.

How to do it:   Regularly invest your savings into this diversified portfolio. Consistency is where you will see the traction toward building wealth.

3. Build Wealth by Doing This for a Long Time

Setting a certain percentage aside for savings, investing those dollars in a well-diversified portfolio of solid investments, and doing it for a long, long time is when you will take things to the next level.

Not taking advantage of compounding interest is one of the biggest mistakes we can make with our money!

When you let time work for you, reaching your goals becomes much easier.

That’s why you always hear advisors and bloggers say to start saving early in life!

How to do it:  What are you waiting for? Don’t waste any more time, just do it and build wealth!

Set a target percentage to save, invest into a well-diversified portfolio, and do it for a long time…You’ll thank me 25 years down the road!

This post was originally written for ChristianPF.com. You can check out the original post here.

John Wesley was an 18th century English preacher who focused on the justification by faith as well as social issues like prison reform and slavery abolition.  He began small groups of believers throughout England that focused not only on gaining scriptural knowledge, but also personal holiness and discipleship.

He and his brother Charles were instrumental in beginning the Methodist denomination. But John Wesley also gives us an insight into how we should handle our money.

Here are three things John Wesley teaches us about money from his sermon, The Use of Money:

1. Gain All You Can

I love that Wesley doesn’t condemn making money.  In fact, he suggests we gain all we can.  But, he does provide some caveats, which are very useful in determining how we should go about making money:

1. Don’t gain money at the expense of your health.  Essentially Wesley says we shouldn’t work til we drop just to make more money. We need to learn when to rest.
2. Don’t gain money at the expense of your soul.  In other words, don’t engage in activities that are not pleasing to God and may cause damage to your soul. For example, a sales job where the company requires you to lie about a product or competitor to get ahead.
3. Don’t gain money at the expense of your neighbor. Don’t take advantage of others in order to get ahead.  In today’s society, it’s customary to view others as stepping stones to our fortune. Wesley warns against such thoughts.

Wesley goes on to say that we should always seek to improve upon the ways we make our money – to get better at it.

Gain all you can, by common sense, by using in your business all the understanding which God has given you. It is amazing to observe, how few do this; how men run on in the same dull track with their forefathers. You should be continually learning, from the experience of others, or from your own experience, reading, and reflection, to do everything you have to do better to-day than you did yesterday.

2. Save All You Can

After having gained all we can, we should save. Wesley warns against throwing it away toward frivolous niceties and fanciful pleasures. He suggests avoiding excessive spending so we can save money not to hoard, but so we can put it to good use.

Do not throw it away in idle expenses, which is just the same as throwing it into the sea. Expend no part of it merely to gratify the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride of life.

3. Give All You Can

Wesley says,

But let not any man imagine that he has done anything, barely by going thus far, by “gaining and saving all he can,” if he were to stop here. All this is nothing, if a man go not forward, if he does not point all this at a farther end.

Nor, indeed, can a man properly be said to save anything, if he only lays it up. You may as well throw your money into the sea, as bury it in the earth. And you may as well bury it in the earth, as in your chest, or in the Bank of England.

Not to use, is effectually to throw it away. If, therefore, you would indeed “make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness,” add the Third rule to the two preceding. Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then “give all you can.”

What a challenge! If you don’t give, you are essentially throwing your money into the sea!  Those are strong and challenging words from Wesley.

How Are You Doing With Gaining, Saving, & Giving?

Here are some resources to help you:

Gain All You Can

• How to make money with a blog
• 20 Income Generating Ideas
• 24 Home-Based Business Ideas

Save All You Can

• 10 Money Saving Tips to Help You Stash $10,000
• 3 Simple Steps to Build Wealth
• 4 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money

Give All You Can

• How to Build Generosity into Your Budget
• Radical Generosity in a Sea of Stinginess
• The Great Paradox of Generosity (And Why It’s So Hard to Believe)
• 5 Ways You Can Become More Generous
• How Much Should a Christian Give?

Let’s get the conversation going, how are you doing with these three things? Which one is most difficult for you?

If you compare energy prices online, you’ll see that there is always room for saving money on your bills. Somebody is always offering a better deal than everybody else. It’s nice to save of course, but the way of the world nowadays stipulates that we have to pay out regularly simply to go about our daily routines.

As much as we don’t like to admit it, modern life in the developed world is almost entirely dependent on electricity. Lights in shops are ablaze for hours on end, computers in offices are overheating from overuse, and TVs in homes are shouting away night after night.

So much of our entertainment and our day-to-day needs and pursuits are based on a reliance on electricity. The scary thing is that this reliance has become somewhat unconscious, almost natural, to the modern day human.

The question is:

Could you live without electricity for a day?

Most people would be inclined, naturally, to say yes, but many others would openly admit that they could never go a day without their phone, laptop or iPod. Well, if you were to go a day without electricity, you could argue that these things could be charged the night before, but that would be cheating now, wouldn’t it? You are still using stored electricity.

The name of the game is to go a whole day without anyform of electricity. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, it doesn’t seem that unreasonable.

Instead of using a dishwasher, hand wash your pots like they did fifty years ago. Instead of watching TV for hours, read a book in candlelight like they did in centuries gone by. Instead of using an oven, cook your dinner over an open fire like they did thousands of years ago.

Well, maybe that last one is a bit far-fetched in this urban age. I wouldn’t advise having an open fire in your apartment or living room and I don’t really fancy being the instigator of a frenzy of fires engulfing the towns and cities across the world.

[Jason: Although you could grill out more! Just don't use the electronic ignition! ]

The point is, there is a lot of money to be saved on your bills if you can just manage to live for 24 hours every month without electricity.

It’s an achievement that would not only ensure that you’re doing your bit for the environment, but it would surely also instill a sense of pride in you that you can indeed live like a caveman (or a modern day caveman, at least, with sinks and dishcloths and candles and matches).

This is a guest post from MoneySuperMarket.com

There are a number of ways to save money on insurance rates. This list grows even more when you consider the specific ways to save on various types of insurance (auto, health, home, life, etc). Today, we will take a look at 5 general ways that you can save money on insurance coverage.

1. Shop Around For A Better Rate

It can be very easy to just stick with the same insurance company year after year. Especially if you have not had a bad experience with them! However, you may be costing yourself hundreds of dollars a year by not shopping your insurance rates.

There are various websites that will offer basic price comparisons, or you can even contact your potential insurers and ask for a more specific quote. Just be sure that the quotes are all based on the same variables, so that you can perform a true comparison.

2. Increase Your Deductible

No matter what type of insurance you are dealing with, this is a surefire way to decrease the cost of coverage. The simple reason is because now the insurance company is on the hook for a smaller portion of your losses.

Before you increase your deductible, make sure that you have an emergency fund that is large enough to make up the difference, and cover any out-of-pocket costs that you are now responsible for.

Before you decide to make this change, call up your insurance carrier and find out if it’s worth it.

3. Combine Your Policies

Most insurers will offer a discount if you choose to have all of your various policies with one company. There is usually a discount for having multiple cars, and then adding your homeowner or renter’s insurance, life, and other types of coverage under one account.

This is for several reasons. The first reason is that they are now making a lot more money off of you, and therefore are willing to offer you a discount in order to entice you to say.

Second, they are saving money by being able to add multiple policies, but only one new customer – they can now send out one communication instead of four!

Another reason for the discounts is the fact that it will be much harder for you to move all of your policies to a new company. Therefore you may not be as willing to put in the necessary work for comparison shopping.

4. Work Directly With The Insurer

Using an insurance agent can help when comparing rates and types of coverage. They can also be helpful when it comes to determining if a particular insurer is right for you. However, all of that comes at a price. The insurance agent will earn a commission for their services, and this is usually added to the cost of the coverage.

Not all companies will sell directly to consumers, but there are some that will. Going this route does not guarantee the lowest rate, but it’s worth a shot to check.

5. Don’t Use It

I know that sounds silly, but the more you use your coverage, the more you risk your premiums rising. If you really think about it, insurance is one of those things that you buy and hope to never have to use. This also goes back to the higher deductibles – this way you won’t have to report smaller claims (just take it out of your emergency fund)!

photo by David Hilowitz

Reader Questions

1. What have you done to save money on insurance?
2. How often do you compare rates?

Recently we wrote about how social media can ruin your finances.  But, what about the flip side?. 

Can we use social media for financial help?  Can it really help us save money, become more frugal, and help us be more successful with our finances? 

There are plenty of ways that we can use social media to help our pocket books. Here are just a couple, but I’m sure we can come up with some more!

Find Items You Need

One of the biggest trends I see on Facebook, especially with mothers of small children, is asking for baby/kid’s clothes. 

This is genius!  Kid’s clothing is getting more and more expensive these days!  By finding used items in great shape, you can save a ton of money.

Before Facebook if you wanted to get kids clothes from your friends or even extended friendships, you would have had to call each one of them up on the phone and ask.  Let’s be honest, was that easy to do?  Calling a friend and asking for kids clothes seems to me as being a little intrusive and needy.

Now, with Facebook or even Twitter, you can just throw it out there on your feed.  If people have it and want to help out they can!  Also, now you don’t feel the rejection of the other person saying “No” to you over the phone.

You may not want to do this all the time though.  A person that constantly is asking for something through Facebook can give their friends the feeling of being used.

Sell Items You Don’t Need

Looking to unload a few items for some extra cash this holiday season?  Let everybody know exactly what you have and how much you are selling it for!  You never know if one of your friends or followers have a need.

Another tool you can use that most people don’t even know about yet is Facebook Marketplace.  It’s a great way to find and sell your things locally.  It could be a Craigslist killer if it catches on!

You see that Xbox 360 in the corner that has been just sitting there for months?  It could give you a little coin to go towards your savings, night out, or for new Christmas presents!

Get Coupons and Discounts

Have you heard of foursquare?  This is a fun little phone app that allows you to “check-in” at the places you go.  If you check-in the most at a particular place you can earn the title of “Mayor” for that particular venue. 

One example is Starbucks.  They were giving $1 off coupons for coffee products for the Mayor of that location.  If you go to Starbucks as often as I do, this could save you some good money!

Even if you are not the Mayor of the venue, you can still earn savings just by checking-in to the location through your phone app.  The screenshot above shows a coupon you could receive from Bath & Body Works just by checking-in.

Go ahead and download the app from your favorite provider and see what places you go often provide discounts.

Lower Interest Rates

On our post about how social media can ruin your finances one of the commenters made an excellent point.  Finance and loan providers are doing searches for you through social media networks when you apply for a loan. 

They can deny you or give you a higher interest rate if they see something on your profile that would scare them into thinking you are a greater risk than you really are.

Goes the same if you seem to be a model citizen on your social media profiles.  Keep your profiles clean, this could give your loan officer a warm fuzzy feeling and could make them more willing to help you out.

Use Social Media To Your Advantage

These sites are out there and they are FREE (for now).  Why not use them to leverage your finance needs too!  Just remember to not get addicted, because it can ruin your finances just as easily as it could help.

Let’s hear from you…How are you using Social Media to save money?

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 money saving tips to 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, just imagine if you got on board with these money saving tips  – how much better financial shape would you be in?

You’d feel better about yourself and your future and you’d be in a position to do things you really want to do with your money.

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 day.

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

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 check out these money saving tips and 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!

If you’re looking for more ways to save money - Check out 10 Money-Saving Tips to Stash $10,000!

The price of oil has steadily increased for the past few months. 

Saving money on gas doesn’t mean you need to run out and buy a new hybrid. 

Here are nine things you can do right now to save money on gas so you don’t break the bank when you’re fueling up for your summer road trips:

Save Money on Gas by Pumping ‘Em Up

Believe it or not, properly inflated tires can help improve your gas mileage. 

According to the Alliance to Save Energy, low tire pressure can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 3.3%. 

Check your car’s manual or driver’s side door panel to find out the proper inflation for your tires and check regularly.

Save Money on Gas by Being Passive Not Aggressive

Do you drive like you just held up a bank? 

Aggressive driving (i.e. speeding, jackrabbit starts, aggressive braking) can lower your fuel economy by up to 33% at highway speeds according to the Alliance to Save Energy. 

Driving sensibly and more smoothly will help improve fuel economy by as much as 66 cents per gallon says the Consumer Federation of America. 

Edmunds.com explains that if you slowed your 0-to-60-mph acceleration time down from your current 10 seconds to a more normal city pace of 15 seconds, you’d feel an average of 31% savings on your gas costs.

Save Money on Gas by Passing on the Premium

Unless you are driving a high end sports car, most makes and models will perform fine on regular unleaded gasoline. 

Premium fuel may boost engine performance a little in some cars, but does not improve fuel economy. 

Your owner’s manual will give you recommended octane, but it is just that, a recommendation. 

Martin Peters, manager of public relations for Porsche Cars North America Inc. stated in an interview with the Associated Press that even their cars ”will run on regular fuel without damaging the engine,” and the higher octane is really just for “optimum performance.”

Save Money on Gas by Quitting Excessive Idling

Do you warm up your car up to a balmy 85 degrees on a cold winter day or sit in massive traffic jams during rush hour? 

Limiting your idling can reduce fuel cost by roughly 19%. 

If you are idling for more than a minute, it is recommended you shut down your engine.  This may not be possible in work traffic, but can be done if you are stopped at a train. 

Also, limit your “warm ups” on your car to only a minute or two.

Save Money on Gas by Slowing Down

This might be tough for some of us, but gas mileage decreases rapidly over 60 mph. 

Every five miles per hour over 60 is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon of gas. 

A blogger at Wise Bread talks about how he increased his fuel economy by 15 mpg’s by simply slowing down. 

Save Money on Gas by Planning Ahead

Do you tend to run multiple errands during the week?

Try planning ahead to reduce the number of trips you are taking by combining your errands into just one or two days.  

Also, plan your routes in advance for the most efficient path to reduce excess mileage.

Save Money on Gas by Shopping Around

Technology makes shopping around so much easier when it comes to finding the cheapest gas prices. 

You don’t have to drive around from station to station looking for the best deal. 

Check out GasBuddy.com.  This handy website can help you find cheap gas prices in your city. 

Save Money on Gas by Lightening Your Load

All that “junk in your trunk” can be a real drag on fuel economy. 

According to Brian Carr at dailyfueleconomytip.com, for every extra 100 pounds you carry in your vehicle, you reduce gas mileage and fuel economy by roughly 2%. 

He tells of his real life example of taking out his golf clubs, cd cases and library books and shedding 44 lbs.  It all adds up.

Save Money on Gas by Taking the Challenge

The Alliance To Save Energy has a fun website calculator called the Drive Smarter Challenge.

This allows you to enter the make and model of your car and your zip code and they will show you the potential gas savings for your vehicle while they walk you through each idea. 

Save Money on Gas Because It All Adds Up!

While these ideas may not seem like a lot on their own, as a whole they can begin to add up and put some cash back in your pocket.