Ok, I admit it. I’m good with money. I stay on budget, cut coupons, squirrel-away savings, and constantly look for the best deals possible. While I wouldn’t consider myself a financial expert of any kind, I am pretty creative with how I save and spend my money. Here are a few of my favorite money-saving tips:
I love ING. I set up a weekly automatic withdrawal from my checking account to my ING savings account. If the money isn’t in my checking account, I can’t use it! Automatic savings! 
Sell then Buy. If I want a new gadget, like a camera or an iPod, I sell my old one on Craigslist or eBay first and then put the money toward my new purchase. It feels like I am paying less than full price!
The $100 Rule. If I want to purchase something that costs more than $100, I make myself wait 1 week. During that time, I think about if I really need that item, whether I can truly afford it, and look around for competitive prices. Sometimes, I decide to purchase the item, sometimes I don’t. Giving some extra thought to an expensive purchase prevents me from wasting money.
Fun for Free. Boston has a number of free resources (online and print) that advertise events. Each week, I look for free (or very cheap) events to attend, so I fill my calendar with fun without shelling out a lot of money.
Pocket $5. I recently read this money-saving tip in a magazine, so I just started doing it myself. Every time, a $5 bill crosses my path, I store it in the side pocket of my wallet. When that side pocket starts to get full, I deposit my stash of $5 bills right into my savings account. Usually, I don’t miss those $5 bills, but they really add up!
What are your favorite money-saving tips?
Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the 
I like the pocket 5 and the $100 rules! Those sound really good
I like the Pocket $5 tip! I’ll definitely be translating that into RMB and pocketing every 20 RMB I get. I hope I’ll save up sometime soon! Thanks for the tips
Wei-Wei
I stash away all my $1 bills and all my change. I saved, just in quarters, $150 last year.
Good ideas! Thanks
And don’t forget to jar your change!
Each paycheck we put $25.00 towards a ‘wedding fund’. we got married years ago- but that account goes towards anything for upcoming weddings we attend. airfare,hotel,gift,dresses, etc. so it doesn’t feel like we have to shell out when the events come up! (i’m the only one who buys new dresses btw)
I do the same as Karen… and then before my boyfriend and I go on a vacation, we cash it all in and there is our fun money for the vaca. We spend as much of it as we want without guilt. It’s like paying yourself!
I automatically put money into my savings just like you–but instead of the 5 dollar bill rule, I do 1 dollar bills and occasionally 5 dollar bills. I use that money after I get about 100 dollars or so as FUN money. To shop, or save up for a vacation or whatever.
What fantastic ideas. I’m chronically low on cash, so I find myself raiding my change jar to buy groceries. Guess that’s a sign I need to budget better (and stop wasting so much money eating out).
Great ideas! For me, my favorite money-saving tips include organizing all my receipts in separate envelopes (i.e. Groceries, Restaurant Receipts, etc.) to keep track of what I’m spending per month, to ensure I’m on target with my monthly budget. I also keep track of my monthly income and subtract it from all the bills I need to pay each month in an Excel spreadsheet, which shows me what spending money I have each month. Finally, every time my paycheck is deposited, I immediately transfer $100 into my savings account – and I try to never touch my savings account!
I keep a mason jar in my car and anytime I go to the grocery store I put all the change in there. The change could be a few coins or a few dollars. I really don’t notice the difference in my wallet but I look forward to seeing how much is in there once it gets full!
this is one of my most favorite posts! I NEED to start selling my old stuff first! Not only do you spend less, but you create less clutter in your home!!!
I love the $5 idea. I am doing that now. Great post!
[...] Trading Up Downtown » Blog Archive » My Favorite Money Saving Tips [...]
[...] Trading Up Downtown » Blog Archive » My Favorite Money Saving Tips [...]
[...] Trading Up Downtown » Blog Archive » My Favorite Money Saving Tips [...]
[...] Trading Up Downtown » Blog Archive » My Favorite Money Saving Tips [...]
thanks for these tips!
here’s some of my own…
-i’m doing what’s called a piggy bank challenge. take a piggy bank that you can’t open without demolishing it (i couldn’t find one locally, so i’ve superglued the lid onto a protein powder container and cut a slit into it) and whenever you come across change, throw it in. i’m constantly finding change at work so i put that in a lot, but i’ve also that find that if i go out and withdraw cash for a nite out i’ll wake up in the morning counting my bills and not my cash. the bottom of my purse is a reservoir for toonies and loonies (canadian!) and since i’ve already considered them spent, i don’t miss them. same goes for money found in pants pockets, or jackets. i plan to open this in december and spend it on christmas gifts, or my christmas vacation.
-my bank , and i know of many others, offers an automatic savings program each time you use your debit card, or make a withdraw. every time there’s withdraw action on my account, fifty cents gets put into savings. i counted the other day and in less than a week i’d put 5 bucks into savings which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it sure adds up
-i pay myself %20 of every paycheck or money received. %10 goes into a savings account for special things like a trip or running shoes or whatever (this is also the account that 50 cents gets deposited into) and the other %10 goes towards a savings account for emergencies like car troubles, or medical expenses and rent.
[...] Trading Up Downtown » Blog Archive » My Favorite Money Saving Tips [...]
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