10 Ways to Save Money This Week!

We are a society of instant gratifiers--the faster the better...that could possibly be why we are a society in deep debt (enjoy it now, pay for it and the interest later).  Well for those of you who like your food fast, your coffee instant, and results immediately--here are several approaches to saving money that you can feel the benefits of (nearly) now--or at least at the end of the month when that end actually meets the other.

TOP TEN WAYS TO SAVE THIS WEEK

1. Walk, bike, ride the bus, or ride-share to work  (erideshare.com).
2. Take a lunch to work and/or take a lunch while running errands.  (My favorite is a thermos of cold water and some jam sandwiches--this stops my kids in their tracks when away from home--they say they are hungry and they've just spotted golden arches.)
3.  Cook your meals at home--its healthier, cheaper and in some cases more rewarding.
4.  Follow the rule at my house, "Less than a mile walk or bike in style."
5.  Avoid phantom electrical charges--even when electrical gadgets are not in use they still consume energy.  Unplug those babies or put them on a power strip and shut it off at the source.
6. Disguise and use up your leftovers--here's the skinny on leftovers  (I'll get into it more later I'm sure)--add a broth to leftovers and it's soup--add a starch; potatoes, pasta, rice--bon appetit...it's a casserole.  You can also use those leftovers as lunch (see #2).
7.  Get a library card--free books, movies, magazines, books on tape (my library even offers free language classes online).  Who needs to pay for media entertainment (when you have a resource like the library for FREE)?
8.  Hang your clothes out on a line and air dry.  But doesn't that take special equipment?  My clothes currently hang on a rope tied to our deck and our swing-set.  Is it tacky? Absolutely!  However, I take my tacky savings all the way to the bank when I save an estimated $50 a year on my seasonal outdoor drying.  (I have in the past dried electrically during the winter--I'm going to attempt indoor drying this upcoming season--I'll let you know how it goes.)
9.  Put your debit card out to pasture--calculate exactly how much money you will need to get through the week for gas, groceries, etc. and take only that amount out--it is those small unexpected (and often unnecessary charges) that push us away from financial goals.
10.  Go on a money fast-- Jeff Yeager, The Ultimate Cheapskate, first introduced the world to the money fast--not spending for a day, a week, or A MONTH!  Go ahead and try it--if you could avoid spending any money one day each week--what could that add up to for you?

This list is not exhaustive--I barely scraped the surface--but none of these items cost you in initial investments and you can start now.  Have a happy and frugal day.