Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Spend Less with this Unique Money Advice

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To save money, people usually get the ball rolling by creating budgets. It’s true that a budget is an indispensable part of being fiscally responsible, but it’s generally not enough. To spend less and save a lot more, it’s important to implement as many money-saving techniques into day-to-day life as possible. The good news is that those techniques are typically quite simple. A selection of especially unique tips for saving cash is highlighted below.

Unique Ways to Save Money

  • Pay Bills Online – Between online bank accounts and bill pay services, there’s no reason to mail a check again. Many major companies accept payments through their websites. That’s especially true about credit card companies. Even if a company doesn’t accept online payments through its website, most banks offer online bill paying services that can be used to sidestep the problem. Postage isn’t necessarily expensive, but it can add up over time. It’s also easier to pay bills on time through the Internet because the check doesn’t have to arrive in the mail.
  • Get Rid of the Land Line – It’s wasteful to pay for a cell phone and a land line. The majority of people have cell phones and smartphones these days, and most of them can do without traditional land lines. Even if a monthly land line bill is low, it’s still money that can be set aside for something else.
  • Spend Less on Kitty Litter
    img credit: deborahdegolyer on Flickr

    Stop Using Kitty Litter – Pet lovers can save huge amounts of money by potty training their cats. It sounds silly, but this trend is rapidly growing in popularity, and it’s a legitimate way to spend less on pet expenses. There are even products out there that make it easy to teach cats how to use regular toilets. The average cost to supply litter to one cat for one year is $100, so it’s possible to save a lot of cash by putting this tip to use.

  • Be Strict about Grocery Shopping – In addition to creating a strict grocery list and sticking to it, shoppers should give themselves specific time limits as well. When the clock is ticking, a shopper is less likely to dawdle around and be tempted to make random purchases. One good option is to set an alarm on a cell phone and to be in line by the time it rings. We go grocery shopping directly after Church while our oldest child is in Sunday school.  It gives us exactly 45 minutes to get all the shopping done and get back to pick him up.
  • Paint the Roof – Buying a new roof is a major expense, but painting one isn’t so costly. By painting a roof white, it’s possible to slash energy bills. Air conditioning results in extremely high electricity bills. White paint deflects the rays of the sun, which keeps a home much cooler. In turn, summer energy bills tend to be a lot lower.
  • Periodically Shop for New Vehicle Insurance – Instead of assuming that their vehicle insurance rates are fine, people should get into the habit of shopping around regularly for vehicle insurance. Rates often drop, but auto insurance companies don’t always pass those savings on to their customers voluntarily. It only takes a few minutes to get free online quotes for car insurance.
  • Turn Trash into Treasure – Garage sales are fine, but it’s possible to make even more money on used items by selling them online. Posting items for sale on auction sites like eBay is easy. They are exposed to a much larger audience, so it’s often possible to rake in a surprising amount of money. In some cases, this can even turn into a nice way to earn extra money on the side.
  • Get Discount Haircuts and Dental Work – While they are in training, fledgling dentists and hair stylists often provide their services for free or for drastically reduced prices. This is an excellent way to spend less on cleanings, haircuts and many other services.

To stay motivated about these unique money-saving tips, keep a running list of the amount that is saved every month. Then put that money towards your debt snowball, or split it between debt and a vacation fund! Most people are pleasantly surprised by how much less they spend after implementing just a few of these simple, offbeat techniques. Over the course of a year, these unusual tips can produce some truly incredible savings.