How to Save Money

In our bad economy everyone is looking for ways to save money. I have a few helpful hints that might save you several thousand dollars over the course of a year. Although most of my money saving ideas are just common sense, a review of some basic ideas my help you to think about where you could economize a little.

I have often been accused of being penny wise and dollar foolish. Yet saving a penny here and can soon add up to a lot of dollars. Lets begin in the home. You can save a little by cutting down your electric bill. Turn off lights, TV’s, radios, air conditioners, and other electrical appliances when they are not in use. And sometimes you have to go around the house to check the kids’ rooms and turn things off. Turn the air conditioner down just a little more in the summer. We keep ours at 77 degrees. Turn the heater down to sixty-eight during winter months. You can always wear a sweatshirt if that’s too cold for you. And, turn it up a couple degrees when friends come over.

It goes with out saying always wait until you have a full load when you use the dishwasher and clothes washer and drier. It doesn’t hurt to do the dishes by hand once in awhile. Make a compost pile for most garbage instead of putting it down the disposal. Pour grease into an old coffee and not down the sink. In warm weather, barbecue instead of using the oven and heating up the kitchen.

You can save tons of money by shopping carefully. Never buy bottled water. You can buy a water softener for a little as three hundred dollars. It won’t take many years for it to more than pay for itself. I find that even though we have fairly hard water, it taste just a good from the tap once we put it in the refrigerator and cool it down. Don’t buy soft drinks. Not only are they too expensive, they are also very fattening. Make your own ice tea, or lemonade. Never go shopping on an empty stomach. When you are hungry you tend to do impulsive buying. Make a shopping list and stick to it. I don’t go so far as to cut out coupons, but I know some friend who do and save a pile of money doing so.

Shop around for the stores that are least expensive. In our neighborhood the closest store happens to be the one that charges the most. It sometimes pays to drive the extra mile to get a better deal. Usually it is better to shop at a super market than at a neighborhood grocery store. However, we found that one little grocery store in our neighborhood has a meat counter where you can buy a meat package of fifty pounds of mixed meats for one hundred and ten dollars. That is two dollars and twenty cents a pound for the meat. The mix contains steaks, tri-tips, pot roasts, chicken, and pork chops, and it is high quality meat. It pays to shop around.

Some times it is better to buy a generic product rather than a name brand, not always. I found some generic foods that don’t taste as good as the name brand. So, when I buy a generic, I give it the taste test. If I find no difference in the taste, I stick with the generic.

You can always save a lot of money on auto expenses by doing the little jobs your self. Almost anyone can change their windshield wipers, change their oil and oil filter, change their air filter. Shopping for the best auto mechanic is crucial if you want to save money. I like to use the smaller shop where the guy who works on your car is actually the owner. In the last shop that I used, the owner did most of his own work and supervised the young mechanics that worked for him. We developed a personal relationship and he took good care of my car. He charged a reasonable rate and never did any repairs that didn’t need to be done. He retired two years ago, and I am still shopping for a new mechanic.

Always compare prices when you need to get some repairs done on your car, and let the dealer know that you are getting another estimate. This is a place where you don’t want to be dollar foolish. When I asked my old mechanic who he would recommend after he retired, he recommended the shop that I used before I found him. He told me that they were a little high on the prices but that they always did dependable work. It pays to spend a little more for quality work.

And just what do you mean by dollar foolish? A friend of mine use to say, “Buy cheap get cheap.” I have been criticized for paying over two thousand dollars for an i-Mac when I could have had a P.C. for a thousand dollars less. However, I have found over the years that apple computers last longer than P.C.’s and have fewer operational problems and few if any problems with viruses. If an i-Mac last for ten years or more like my last one did, the extra money that I spent was really a savings. A laptop would have saved me some money, but I so all my work at home and a desk top last longer. In another instance it was said that I was being dollar foolish because I bought a Nissan Quest van when I could have saved several thousand dollars by buying a cheaper brand. I needed a van to haul my grandkids around. My old Nissan Quest had over two hundred thousand miles on it and was beginning to need major repairs. I figured that since the old Quest ran for two hundred thousand miles with no major repair bills it would be economical to pay a little more and save on repair bills in the long run.

In one instance, I was very dollar foolish in buying health insurance. When I retired I asked one of the old timers who had retired a couple years before me what he thought the most economical health insurance plan would be. He said without a doubt, the Blue Cross plan that our district provided for us was the most economical. He said that he had looked at dozens of plans. I didn’t realize at the time that he didn’t have social security, and wasn’t eligible for Medicare. I stayed with Blue Cross for six years. Then, I finally checked out other plans and discovered that I could insure my wife and I with Secure Horizons and get the same medical coverage for six thousand dollars a year less. Don’t ever take anyone else word for the final word. Check it out for your self.

Entertainment can be very expensive, but this is one area where it is easy to cut back and save a lot of money. We don’t need to eat out two or three times a week, especially when we’re not working full time and have a little more time to spare. Learn to cook and you will not only save money, you will eat better. If you share the cooking with your spouse you can take turns and make your own special dinners. One of my specialties is spaghetti and meatballs. I’m also in charge of the barbecue.

When you do eat out, look for the smaller owner operated restaurants. Again, shop around if the food is good, the atmosphere good, the service good, and the prices low, come back. Avoid the chain restaurants for the most part as they tend to have inferior food at higher prices. Go very light on the wine or beer with your meal. It is much less expensive to open a bottle when you get home, and safer too.

Walking is a very inexpensive form of entertainment and it also helps to keep you healthy. If you can walk to work just think of the money you will save. If you can walk to public transportation, again what savings. And as you walk take in the sights and enjoy yourself.

I love to walk in San Francisco. If I drive to the city, I often take a cooler filled with bottled water from my tap, and sandwiches. I’ve often spent a whole day in the city without spending a single penny. San Francisco is a city made for walkers. You can study the pyramid building and the other sky-scrapers in the financial district, glide through the crowds in Chinatown, rest in Washington Square, take in the view from the outside viewing area at Coit Tower, or enjoy the bay view from Fisherman’s Wharf without spending a single penny. If I take Bart or ride across on the ferry, I may have a light lunch at one of the coffee houses, or splurge on a dinner at one of the many Italian restaurants.

Saving money is easy if you are conscious of why and how you are spending it. Be conscious of every penny you are spending and don’t spend your dollars foolishly.