Money Saving Tips from the Tennessean Newspaper

Money Saving Tips from the Tennessean Newspaper (Some are really good!)
• Check gasbuddy.com to find out the cheapest places to buy gas
• Split meals at restaurants.
• Eat off the appetizer menu.
• Consider a vacation at home
• Make your own ice for a party.
• Grow your own herbs. You can enjoy them all summer and then freeze or dry them for winter
• Put your business card in every available fishbowl drawing for a free meal.
• Check couponcode.com before every purchase
• Dilute your liquid soap with a little water.
• Share the newspaper and/or magazines with a friend or neighbor.
• Pick up free samples wherever you can (and give them away if you don't need them yourself).
• Picnic instead of eating out.
• Use a soaker hose instead of watering with a regular hose.
• Try not to buy any clothes that have to be dry-cleaned.
• Bring your own bags to the grocery.
• Use store brands. They're usually cheaper
• Stay away from the mall. If you don't go, you don't face the temptations to buy.
• If you just have to go shopping, get your buying fix at thrift and consignment stores instead of
• top-price retailers.
• Read online instead of paying to subscribe to publications.
• Do it yourself.— cut grass, clean house, make dinner, sew, paint, change the oil, etc.
• Evaluate all of your bills to be sure you're getting your money's worth for every service. If you're
• paying for cable but don't watch much TV, cancel it. If you make most of your calls on your cell phone, ditch the land line.
• Have a game night with friends or family instead of going out.
• Buy 50-cent greeting cards at Dollar General or Deals instead of paying $4 or $5 for a card.
• Set cruise control at 65 mph instead of 75. According to www.edmunds.com, the average
• savings achieved by dropping from 75–65 mph would be 12–14 percent.
• Keep your thermostat on the recommended settings instead of making it so cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The rule of thumb is that for every degree up during winter's chill or down during summer's heat, you're looking at least a 5 percent cost increase.
• Use fans to supplement your air conditioning. I read that you can set the thermostat on 80 degrees and with a fan running, it will feel like 72 degrees in the room.
• Order water when you go out instead of soda or tea.
• Make your own iced tea with a tea bag instead of buying tea. You can make a whole pot for pennies.
• Pack a cooler for the car when you travel or plan to be out all day.
• Share vacation expenses with another family by renting a condo together at the beach.
• Shop with a list.
• Use e-mail instead of snail mail whenever possible.
• Use automatic or electronic bill pay instead of having to use all of those stamps.
• Use freecycle.org for acquiring or getting rid of stuff.
• Make the most of your library — not just for checking out books, but for borrowing movies
• Use bouillon cubes instead of canned broth in recipes.
• Carpool — at least a few days a week.
• Use the cheap dry cleaners. Why pay $6 or $7 when you could get it cleaned for $1.75. There are several $1.75 Park Avenue Cleaners in the Nashville area.
• Buy day-old bread at bread outlets
• Reuse gift bags.
• Use plastic grocery bags for trash can liners.
• Wash your clothes in cold water.
• Use cloth towels instead of wasting all of those paper towels.
• Get a water filter instead of buying all of that bottled water.