The Top 14 Ways to Save Money in a Weak Economy
Economic downturns are never much fun, but as Adam Smith noted over two centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although no one can say for sure when this latest slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of sparing your wallet in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:
1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do part of our shopping on the Web now, not as many of us seem to have gotten into the habit of coupon-hunting on the Web. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com list thousands of current offers at merchants all over the Net.
2. Use price-comparison sites like Pricegrabber.com, Shopping.com, mySimon.com, and Google Product Search to find the best online deals.
3. When you’re out at a store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” followed by the name of the product you’re looking at. Google will reply with a text message quoting the online prices. To compare prices at stores in your area, use ShopLocal.com.
4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club such as Costco or Sam’s and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a sizeable family.
5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing hype and not the product itself, anyway.
6. Withdraw your money from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.
7. Buy locally-sourced food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce. Prices are usually lower there since the food doesn’t have to be transported far.
8. Shop at dollar stores. You should have an easy time finding them since they’ve been turning up all over the place in the recent past.
9. Purchase discount prescription drugs at online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying well under half as much for the generic pills available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medications at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
10. If your vehicle is seven or more years old and/or worth less than $2,500, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance. Your deductible may be closing in on the worth of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk yard and you to the dealership.
11. Keep cell-phone costs under control. Today’s kids love to text message, so save yourself from unexpectedly high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messages.
12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are superb resources for finding everything you need, from vintage furniture to baby gear. By buying from local sellers, you can save on shipping costs too.
13. Go to matinees. The matinee showing is frequently more reasonably-priced than peak-time showings.
14. Install Power Planners (see www.energycsi.com/energysmart) to lower the energy usage of your electrical appliances.
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