This post is the first in a series called "Reader Stories" about tips, success, and lessons learned by our readers. Be kind and enjoy!
Today's Reader Story comes from a mother of two with an eye for discounts. She has found ways to save money on many items and services we all use every day. Many tips are so simple, they are profound.
I bought a house for $56k and a car for $16k just five years ago and have paid them both off with an income of $45k a year. I was also able to afford $6-8k a year in daycare expenses. How did I do it? Hopefully these tips will help.
1.) Budgeting- Review all credit card statements and ATM
withdrawals to find out exactly how much money they are spending in different
areas. From there, you can prioritize what's most important to you and
where you are willing to cut back on spending to free up money to put toward
their financial goals. Typically, people are spending a lot more money
than they realize on food, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses throughout the
day, and clothing. It's also a great idea to have people carry around a
check register or regular pen and paper to immediately write down every expense
they incur for one whole month. It's amazing how fast expenses add up!
2.) Auto-Deductions- Just like people have 401(k)
contributions set up to pull money out of the paycheck before you see it. People automatically adjust
their lifestyle to spend whatever is left in their account so you most likely
will not even miss it.
3.) If you
shop on the internet, don’t check out without googling a coupon code. I have saved over $100 and received
free shipping by simply finding these coupon codes online. I recently made a purchase at K-Mart
online free ship to store. The
local store already had the items I wanted and I used a coupon code to obtain
20% off my order and when I went to pick them up I didn’t have to wait in a
large line or go look for my items. They
had my items ready to go and I already paid. This saves time and money.
4.) Look at
all your bills? I have
saved $5 a month for a year just by calling my cable provider and asking if
there were any promotions or discounts available or anyway to reduce my
bill. I already had the
smallest package they offer but they still were able to give me $5 off a month
for a year because of my persistence.
5.) Don’t go
to the cell phone store, call them instead. I went to a sprint store and they told
me there was no such thing as a 500 minute plan. They told me this, I propose, because
they do not make any sales bonuses off selling contracts like this. I called sprint customer service and
obtained a 500 minute plan with free sprint to sprint (all I need) for $35 a
month on a basic phone. Not
having a fancy phone is an easy way to save money.
Today's Reader Story comes from a mother of two with an eye for discounts. She has found ways to save money on many items and services we all use every day. Many tips are so simple, they are profound.
I bought a house for $56k and a car for $16k just five years ago and have paid them both off with an income of $45k a year. I was also able to afford $6-8k a year in daycare expenses. How did I do it? Hopefully these tips will help.
The two biggest ways to manage or save money is through budgeting
and auto-deductions.
Stay tuned for part 2 and don't forget to comment and discuss!
Want to share your success and tips?
Email personalfinance4thepeople@gmail.com to find out how.
its really very nice post to read as i like the way you wrote it thnaks for posting ...
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