

Mastering the Art of Spending Less

By Michelle Mason Rocks

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright Michelle Mason Rocks 2015
All rights are reserved to the author. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

My first book, dedicated with much love to my mother
PREFACE

When you look at where your money goes each month, do you find a large part of it is unaccounted for? Would you like to learn how to recognize and control that spending? Would you like to learn how to pay less for all the goods and services you use in your daily life? You are not alone. This eBook will help you.

My mother grew up during the Depression. She was also a single mother from the time I was five years old, raising me and my two older brothers on one paycheck, with no government assistance. I was raised to be frugal, to barter, to reuse, improvise, and in general live as cheaply as possible.

I have raised three children of my own as a single parent, and can tell you firsthand that the lessons my mother taught me are invaluable. We would not have been able to make it without the knowledge she passed on to me. We also would not have had the luxuries that make life nicer, without the hints and tips from her that enabled us to get those luxuries inexpensively.

I have used everything I learned from my mother in my own life, and found many ways to expound upon it. It wasn't until recently I realized this information could be beneficial to others.

I will share with you how to lower ALL your bills, pay less to travel, lower or eliminate fees, lower or eliminate deposits, negotiate all purchase prices, and in general live the best life possible for the least amount of money.

Michelle Mason Rocks

07/29/2015

All links in this e-book are the actual links represented.

I receive nothing for recommending the products or websites in this e book.

RETURN TO TOC will take you back to the Table of Contents

PREFACE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

IDENTIFYING NEEDS VS WANTS

CHANGE THE BOX

NEGOTIATION SKILLS

HOME

UTILITIES

TRANSPORTATION

COUPONS

FOOD

CLOTHES

SCHOOL

BANKS AND CREDIT CARDS

ENTERTAINMENT

TRAVEL

BABIES AND CHILDREN

PETS

SEASONAL

ONE TIME COSTS

CONTESTS

VICES

MISCELLANEOUS

WINDFALLS

HEALTH

CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

Within these pages, you will learn how to spend less money for every purchase in your life, giving you more money at the end of your month, instead of more month than money.

Aren't you tired of feeling so broke all the time? Of saying no too often when you want to say yes, because you can't afford it? Wouldn't you like to be able to relax about your bills, knowing that you've reduced them to an affordable amount?

Here are the tools that will give you freedom from stress over money. Less stress and more money certainly do make life more enjoyable!

You will learn how to reduce every bill you have, how to spend less on every purchase you make. You will have money for other, more pleasurable things in life- and spend less for them as well!

This book contains negotiation skills that will save you hundreds, will teach you how to lower your interest rates, how to get anything fixed cheaply, how to lower all your utility bills, the art of simple couponing, smart shopping to save thousands, how to travel cheap, and so much more.

Everything here is something I personally have used to improve my life. The techniques and tools in this book are ones that I use to live a better life. I have taught them to others; they not only work for me, they work for them. I know they will work for you too.

I know you will find many ways to Master the Art of Spending Less in your life. Please share your story with me! <https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MichelleMasonRocks>

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IDENTIFYING NEEDS VS WANTS

You absolutely need: shelter, food, water, oxygen, and friends. Anything else is a want. If your shelter is not a lean-to or a cave, you are living in someplace you want.

If transportation is a need for you, to enable you to go to work and fulfill your needs, acknowledge that transportation is a need. Your transportation could be provided by bus, subway, train, carpooling, taxi, hitchhiking (not recommended), biking, walking, skateboarding, etc. A car, of any kind, is a want, whether it is a new BMW or a 15 year old Toyota.

Recognizing something as a want is not a bad thing. It will enable you to make wiser decisions with your money. Consider the following scenario, viewing it first as a need, then as a want.

"This dress is on sale. It's my size and taste. I need a new dress for my supervisor's wedding next weekend. I'll buy it. What a great deal, this dress coming along on sale just when I needed it." You've decided that you need it, reviewed no alternatives, and spent the money. You've even convinced yourself that you made a good deal.

"This dress is on sale. It's my size and taste. I would like to have a new dress for my supervisor's wedding next weekend; maybe that will improve my chances for a raise. If I buy this dress I want for twenty dollars, I'll have forty left over, which means I'll be spending one third of my money. Do I want this dress that much? Do I have time to ask around and borrow a nice dress from my sister/friend/etc.? I could wear an outfit from my closet that is nice and hasn't been seen by any of my co-workers." Now, even if you do buy the dress, you've done so logically, aware of all consequences and having reviewed the alternatives. You've made a well-informed decision, which will lead to making more intelligent well-informed decisions. Should you not decide not to buy the dress, you just saved $20, just by thinking it through.

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CHANGE THE BOX

People talk about thinking outside the box. I want you to instead think about changing your box for a new box. This new box is called LESS. When you think about everything you hand over money for, mentally put it inside this box. When you think about new things you want to do with the excess money you'll have after using the tools in this book, you will be thinking 'outside the box' called we have called less, so you'll be thinking of its opposite, MORE.

You are going to learn how to spend LESS for absolutely everything you currently buy, and everything you ever will buy. You are going to learn how to have MORE of things you used to think were out of your grasp- what things, only you can say, it's your box.

Inside the box called LESS is every single thing you hand over your cash, check, or credit card in exchange for, be they products or services. Previously, you have been trained by society to expect that you always have to pay the amount listed- this fallacy keeps many people very broke. I will teach you how to put everything you buy into the LESS box.

Every single thing you buy has the same version cheaper, has a coupon, or has something that YOU can do that will lower the price. I will even teach you how to eliminate the cost completely, and get things for free.

From now on, you are going to think, how can I put this in the LESS box? What can I do to pay less for this item?

Think about money and purchases differently. You are probably in the habit of going to the store to buy whatever you need. Start using the new habit of figuring out how to get the item cheaper, or free.

A brief glance at Craigslist and I found FREE: couch, TV, coffeepot, barbeque grill, wood (firewood, scrap, and building), doors, landscaping supplies, recliner, and clothes. Under the BARTER section I found: tattoo for iPhone, boat for a pickup, video games for car stereo, carpentry for makeup lessons, website work for a scooter, a bike for a mp3 player, a camera for Halloween props, jewelry for purses, a wood chipper for kids' toys.

Here are some ways to pay less you may not have thought of before:

When making any online purchase, the final screen offers "enter a coupon code"- switch to a new tab, and Google "amazon coupon code" (replacing Amazon with the name of the site you're shopping at), then pop in the code for instant savings.

Check your local newspaper online to see if someone is selling the item cheaply.

Check your local discount paper (like Thrifty Nickel) to see if someone is selling, giving away, or offering a barter for the item you want.

Craigslist has a section of free stuff in every city, so do many major newspapers. Craigslist also has a barter section for every city.

Before you leave the house to go shopping, take 2 minutes to check Google for a coupon for the store or item, print it out and take it with you.

"Like" the page on Facebook of the business or item to get a discount.

If you have a Smart Phone, use the phone while you're there for discounts on the company's website, Groupon, or look for a QR code

Look for a "Text to Save" or Text for Free Stuff sign, common in movie theaters, bars, restaurants, and send a quick text for the discount/freebie.

Rent the item if you'll only use it a few times or for a short time.

Shop remnant and second-chance shops (look in phone book, Google).

Check the paper stand by the door when you walk in, and read the store's circular for a 10-20% off total purchases coupon, common in fabric & craft stores.

Keep all fast food and restaurant coupons you get in the mail in your car- you'll always have them handy for unexpected meals out.

Carry cash and ask for a cash discount.

Go to the library to get any media items for free. Many libraries now carry software, board games, and other office and entertainment items.

Ask friends if they have this item, can you borrow it or do they have an extra.

Make this item yourself.

Read the reviews of the item online- the item you think you want may not do what you want/need it to do, and a different cheaper version may work better.

Shop around online and via phone to find who has the best price.

Look for a school that provides the service you are after at a discount rate- dentists, mechanics, haircutting schools all provide these services very cheaply.

Shop around in a different type of store for the same item at a better price. Example: catnip for cats is 10 times the price in a pet store versus an herbal shop.

Share the cost with a friend, and split the item or share it.

Call or meet with a group that has an interest in what you are purchasing- fishing groups can provide you with free worms, cheap fishing gear and boats to borrow, while a gardening club can provide cuttings and seeds, a knitting group will have extra yarn, a cooking club may swap out kitchen appliances and give you spices.

Consider changing what you buy that will accomplish the same purpose- For example, once I was looking for a free-standing outdoor ashtray, to give as a gift to my friend. Every time I saw one, it was WAY outside my price range. Then I saw a metal plant stand for $10, and realized it looked exactly like an ashtray. I dickered him down to $4 cash, and my friend got an unusual ashtray, but one that worked fine nonetheless.

Accept that close can be good enough, and use that mentality to save money. When I went to the State Fair in Texas, parking in the Fair parking lot was $14, and you still had to walk about ½ mile into the Fairgrounds. People that lived across the street from the parking lot let you park in their front yard for $5. This only added about 100 feet to my walk, and saved me $9. Close is good enough was literal in this sense, but the mentality can apply to every purchase. Example- if you want a special tablecloth for your St. Patrick's Day dinner, and the shamrock tablecloth is $10, you can still have a special cloth that meets your theme by buying a solid green tablecloth for $2, saving 80%.

Simply ASKING for a discount will often get you one! Don't overlook this or dismiss it. At every register, every time, nicely ask if there is a discount available. Also check the back of your receipts from any register, there are often coupons printed on the back.

There are dozens of special scenarios that give people a discount, if they ask for it. Being a veteran, an alumnus of a college, a college student, a single parent, left-handed, disabled, low-income, the list is endless. If you live in a city that has one major employer, and you work for that employer, odds are you can get discounts everywhere in that city- they aren't advertised, you have to ask for them. For example, in Bloomington Illinois, State Farm is the major employer. When I visited a friend there, who worked for State Farm, she flashed her employee badge to get 20-30% discounts at the pizza parlor, movie theater, and mechanic when she got her oil changed- all unadvertised discounts.

Ask if there are punch cards available for your purchase- fill it for free stuff or discounts.

What I want you do from today forward is stop and think before you make ANY purchase, how can I pay less for this item? Start the habit today and develop it, and you will find that you never pay full price again.

Remember: Look for coupons; Comparison shop; Check for free versions (library, friend, craigslist); Use the internet (Google, Facebook, Groupon); Use your phone (text, QR code); Shop secondhand; Schools, groups, barter; Think different; Close enough.

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NEGOTIATION SKILLS

Negotiating is a skill that can be learned, just like any skill. Yes, some people are "naturals", but the rest of us can still train ourselves in an art that will serve to save us money on just about everything.

The first thing you must learn before you begin to negotiate is how to mentally prepare yourself. If you don't feel that you deserve to get a good deal; if you feel that debating the price isn't fair to the seller; if you feel that negotiating is somehow beneath you or is degrading in some way; if you have any negative feelings about negotiating, you will not succeed in your endeavor.

Start by telling yourself that you are very smart. You know what a good price is. You know what price you are willing to pay. You are a fair person. You make fair deals. Tell yourself these things, over and over if necessary.

Second, realize that you cannot hurt the person you are negotiating with; if the price you want is too low, and would financially hurt them, they simply will not accept it. So, there is no way for you to do damage to this person's income- quite the opposite, by negotiating they are getting more money than if you hadn't shown up. If you are only willing to pay $50 for an item marked $75, by selling to you they make $50; they would never have made $75 from you, because you wouldn't have paid that! Fifty dollars is much better to them than zero dollars. If you always think of your negotiations as win-win, then they will be. And that's what you always want, a win-win situation.

Now that you're all psyched up, the next thing you do is approach the seller. Begin by complimenting their work, and be honest. Talk about common interests, their children, the weather. Relax. Now explain that you understand they need a good price for their work, but that the price marked is outside of your range- would they consider less? Once you have asked this question, SHUT UP until they answer. Silence is your most powerful tool.

Silence allows people to make their own decisions and conclusions from their thoughts. When you interrupt that process, it makes the person less likely to want to please you, makes them more likely to say no. I worked in sales for several years, and in the beginning, I had people ready to buy, and I flapped my gums and they changed their minds. You can talk someone out of a deal much easier and faster than you can talk them into one. Let them talk themselves into the deal, while you use the power of silence.

Suppose they say no? Repeat the steps- tell them you like this item, you appreciate this item, you want this item. Ask them how much they can come down. Silence.

Ninety percent of the time, this will work, and you go to the next step. The ten percent it does not, chalk up to human nature and move on.

Once you have reached an agreement that less is acceptable for the item(s), the question that needs answered is how much less. This is when the price dickering starts. Get the seller to suggest a price first, and counter with a lower number, nicely. EX: "Sixty dollars? I was thinking more like thirty." They counter, "Oh, I couldn't go as low as thirty. I could maybe do fifty five." You counter, "I'm sure you could do better than fifty five." They counter, "Well, maybe fifty."

At this point, if there are any flaws in the item, or this is in any way a partial sale (like 7 hours in a hotel, for example, or an incomplete Monopoly set), then this is the time to bring it up. "Well, I would pay fifty if not for this crack right here." Then SILENCE.

Once you have gone over the dickering until you have both reached a point where neither person will budge, either buy the item at that price, or offer to barter. Do not push the person too hard. You want to part as friends; you want this to be a win-win. If you buy at their price, thank them for their item, and cooperation. Compliment the item again after you have paid them; say it will be well loved and appreciated.

Bartering is when you trade something of value for something else of value. Say you're trying to buy someone's car. They won't go lower than $3,000 after all your dickering, and you only have $2,000 to spend on the car. Plus, you will need money to pay the taxes, get the plates switched, etc. Instead of walking away upset, think outside the box and barter. Suppose you notice that the roof on their house is damaged, and you know how to repair roofs. "Well, if you buy the shingles, I'll fix your roof and pay $1800 cash in exchange for the car." If there is no big visual tell like that, start talking. Do they have children? Offer to babysit, or teach Timmy to play the guitar. Do they have pets? Offer pet sitting services, pet grooming services, dog obedience training. Trade your hot tub you haven't used in a year for half the price of the car. Does he complain that his wife's shoes are everywhere? You can build a closet organizer if you know construction, or offer to organize their home, if that's your thing.

EVERYONE has items and skills that are valuable to someone else. What you may consider a common skill, something "everyone" can do, might be the one thing this person can't do, or doesn't want to do. Can you cook? Offer two months of meals.

Once you've hit upon a barter they are interested in –you'll know they are interested, because they'll stop you, or they'll get a twinkle in their eye- briefly expound upon the details of what you are bartering. The hot tub works great, you have years of experience babysitting and are CPR certified, your cooking is always praised, whatever. Then, use the power of silence. Don't let your mouth run away, just give a brief bit of information, then let them think about it while you are silent.

Another powerful tool of negotiation is to get price quotes in writing. Let me give you a real life example. I was shopping for a bed. I shopped all over town, and found the bed I liked and wanted. The bed was on sale, so I got the manager to write down the prices of both the full size and the queen size, as I wasn't sure which size I was going to get when I came back on payday. When I returned the next week, the sale had ended; the price of the bed had gone up over $300. I pulled out my price quote and used it as a starting place. On sale, the queen size bed was $699. So this week it was $999, plus the rails, taxes, and delivery fee. I spent about fifteen minutes in my negotiations with the owner, and wound up paying $600, flat, in cash, for the queen. That six hundred included the rails, taxes, delivery, and set up charges. I also took the floor model; offering to take the floor model will often save you up to 10%, more if there is slight damage.

While I was very proud of my negotiations skills in buying the bed, a large part of making that deal work -besides the written price quote- was the fact that I paid cash. Cash is a very powerful negotiation tool. It is a visual, tangible amount of money, not some numbers on a piece of paper. A person might not take a check for $1200 during your dickering, but they will take a thousand dollars cash. It's an instant gratification response that happens to everyone. Use it wisely, and in your favor. Anytime I go to buy something, whether I'm going to a yard sale or buying a new bed, I carry cash with me. I advise you to do the same. I was down to $700 firm on the bed before I pulled out the six $100 bills and sealed the deal. Cash knocked off an extra hundred dollars!

Do not forget human nature- use it to your benefit, and avoid the detriments. What am I talking about? Well, I've always found negotiations go best at either 10:00am or around 1:30 pm. This is because people are not hungry at those times (typically), so they are less likely to be grouchy. If you're stopping at a yard sale at 6:00 am and the only person you see is someone with a coffee cup and a cigarette they're about to light, you should really wait until they've finished both before you approach them. If the person is sick, offer sympathy; in the middle of a conversation, wait (patiently) until they are finished. End of the day, I-want-to-get-out-of-here grouchiness can work to your benefit. When they don't want to spend time on a long dicker because they're tired, hungry, or it's starting to rain, lowball them. You're still giving a win-win; they now don't have to load that item back up in the rain, or whatever. Remember, they can say no if your price is too low...but sometimes you're more likely to get the best deal at the last possible minute.

My first negotiation (I was 14) was for a magazine table for my mom at a Renaissance Festival. The tables were solid wood, and topped with decorative tiles. He wanted $60 for the table, plus $6 per tile ($72 total). It was the last day of the fair, a plus. I got him down to $35 and he wouldn't budge- then the sky opened up. He now had to load all of his inventory in cold rain, and the quicker the better. We paid $24 cash for the table and 4 tiles ($84 value, saved $60, or 71% off).

Remember the 5 key points of negotiating: Ask, Dicker, Barter, Cash, and Silence. Yes, you will occasionally get a no; but treat those rare no's as learning experiences, and count your yeses. Even if they say no, you're no worse off than if you had said nothing.

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HOME

Deposits and down payments can be worked off, negotiated down, waived, or broken up into the first three months of your rent. All deposits are negotiable, no matter what the person demanding money from you says. (See PETS) The rent amount can be negotiated, as can every word in the lease, and the length of the lease. Work it, using the information you learn from this e-book.

Some sellers will let you rent to own, which is fine if you agree with the terms- in writing of course! I do, do hope that anytime you are renting a residence of any type, you are taking "before" and "after" photos from your move in/move out to document existing damage. This is a must for all renters, even if you are planning on renting to own. You might change your mind about buying after three months; you need that proof. Even better than just taking pictures is printing out copies of the pictures and taking them to your landlord; have them photocopy the pictures, then initial and date the photocopies. This should be done within three days of your move in/out. If you fail to document every inch of that place, you WILL be screwed on your deposit when you leave, guaranteed.

Paying rent on where you live is like throwing money down an endless hole- you'll never get it back. In the vast majority of cases, you will pay LESS each month to OWN your own home. As an example, when I owned a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a large front & back yard, I paid a little under $400 a month. At the same time, apartments in that area were renting for $600-$750 a month; houses were renting for the same. By having a mortgage instead of a rent payment, I saved at least $200 a month. I put less than $2,000 down on my home. When I sold it 10 years later, I got a check in my hand for over $12,000. So I put $50,000 into my residence (down payment of $2,000, plus $400/month for 10 years), and made $12,000 when I sold, giving me a loss of $36,000.

HOWEVER, if I had rented for that period of time, at the $600/month rate, I would have put $72,000 into my residence, and that entire $72,000 amount would be forfeit to me. I paid exactly HALF for a roof that was mine, vs. paying for someone else's roof.

There are TONS of programs to help you buy your own home. Every state has a first time buyer's program- and if it's been more than 3 years since you owned a home, you qualify as a "first time buyer".

<http://www.hud.gov/buying/localbuying.cfm>FOR A LIST OF PROGRAMS BY STATE

You can get a HUD or VA loan no matter who you are. You do not have to be a veteran, or meet any special personal criteria. There may be criteria for the house.

A quick note about looking up stuff online; there are a lot of sites looking to take your money for information. Shun them! SHUN I say! This information is FREE, plus a lot of those sites just take your money, and don't even give you the information! When it comes to home buying, NEVER give your banking or credit information out online for home searches, foreclosure listings, etc. Your county clerk's office has a list of foreclosed homes in your area. Call them or look up their website online.

Once you are in your own home, you will probably want to fix it to suit your tastes. Find cheap (or free!) paint and remodeling supplies by investing just a few minutes' work.

Call local hardware stores for discounts on custom paint that was ordered but not picked up. Call construction companies and remodeling companies for left over paint from jobs they have completed. Ask these same businesses for scrap wood, nails, screws, windows, staircase banisters, carpet pieces, and so on. Scour the local papers for sales, and arrive early- with cash.

www.doityourself.com Just about anything you want to do, this site will teach you how to do it yourself.

You may be able to refinance your existing home mortgage to lower your mortgage payments. Read this article first to see if a refinance would save you money, and is a good idea: <http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/loans/12821>

Regardless of the amount of your mortgage payment each month, you could always pay a little more- even a little, like five bucks. You want all those extra dollars to go to the principle- so just to be sure it gets handled correctly on the other end, make that extra amount its own check, and write "pay to principle" in the memo line. Why does it matter where it's paid to? Well, for the first 20 years or so of your 30 year loan, you are paying THE INTEREST. A tiny amount of your monthly payment goes to the principle- and by tiny, it might be only 1%. Only after all the interest is paid do the full amounts of your payment go towards the actual amount that purchases the home, the principle.

Let's say your home cost $50,000 and you pay $500 a month for your mortgage. About $490 is going to the interest (what you pay for the privilege of making payments), and $10 is going towards that $50,000 that has to be paid before you own it. In this scenario, sending in $510 a month is the equivalent of TWO months of payments- twenty will go to the principle instead of ten, and you just shaved off one $500 payment. Send in $550 a month and it's like making five payments a month, every month. That turns into equity for you, meaning more money to you in the future, and huge returns on the amounts paid.

Save money keeping bugs and rodents out of your home with natural insect repellants. They are cheaper, much safer for you and your family, and just as effective, if not more. A simple Google search for "make your own natural insect repellants" will give you plenty of options for mixes inside the home, and plants at your perimeters for barriers.

When it comes to home insurance, take the time to shop around. A few phone calls could save you hundreds a year. Don't go for the ads, call and get quotes. Raising your deductible will save on your monthly payments. Combining your home insurance with your auto and/or life insurance policies will often save a substantial amount. Ask what gives a discount- you'd be surprised at the unadvertised discounts that exist.

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UTILITIES

Electric

Water

Phone

Cellular

Internet

ELECTRIC AND GAS

A letter of credit from a former utilities company or a letter from a guarantor can get your deposit waived. The letter from the guarantor usually needs to be from someone using the same utility company, who has a good payment history.

There is also a discount in some cities for low-income homes- and if you qualify for a discount on any one utility, in most areas you automatically qualify for a discount on ALL of your utilities. Call your utility company for an application.

If you are late on your utility bills with no hope of paying it in sight, you can contact local agencies who will help pay your bill. In many cases, they will pay ALL of your utility bills; in some cases they may help with your rent; they may pay a capped amount towards your bills, only one bill, etc. All of these agencies are here to help when you need it: Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, and Community Action. Look in your Yellow Pages under Social Services, or call your utility company for assistance.

You can request a one-time courtesy credit of a late fee, and you can request it more than once- as long as you don't abuse it by being late every month and continually requesting a credit. If you're only late once every six months or so, they generally don't mind crediting you- if you ask.

Ask both your electric and gas company to come to your home to check for leaks, and give you an Energy Audit. This is a free service. Spend $10 on some weather stripping and plug the leaks they point out, and watch your bill DROP; you'll get more than ten bucks back the first month.

Weather strip your doors, where the big leaks are, and check your windows also. Add insulation to your attic. Many cities offer free insulation and weather stripping for those who cannot afford to buy their own. Call your city's information line or your utility company to see if this is offered where you live.

The most important area to insulate is your hot water heater. If your hot water heater doesn't have a "blanket", buy one and put it on- it's easy, just wrap it around like a coat, and watch your gas bill plummet. Buy a hot water heater blanket at the hardware store.

Spend some time over a weekend checking to see what takes the most usage in your home. Do this for your electric by turning off all of the breakers, note where your dials are on the meter, go back and turn on one breaker. Depending on what you have running or plugged in, add or remove one item at a time to see what makes the dial creep, and what makes it spin. Go back to your breaker box, turn off the circuit you just checked, and do the next one.

When I did this, I found my largest electrical usage was from lights. Large appliances made the dials turn, but overhead lights and lamps made them spin like windmills.

If your main usage is your lights, consider compact fluorescent bulbs. They are not cheap to buy (look for multi-packs for savings), but they pay for themselves QUICK in the drop in your bill, as these bulbs use only a small fraction of the electricity a standard incandescent light bulb uses. Multiply the electric saved times all the bulbs in your home, and you could save hundreds of dollars a year just by changing the light bulbs! Plus, these bulbs will last for YEARS.

A motion sensor will also allow you to have light when you need it, without having to run that bulb for hours. They are great for the front and back porch, and the living room, which people tend to drift in and out of without turning out the light.

After you've seen what pulls your electric usage the most, look at the appliances pulling the most wattage. Look for what you can do without and unplug it forever, replace it with an energy efficient Energy Star appliance, or at the very least unplug when not in use. Coffeepots, toasters, sewing machines, can openers, cell phone chargers- these don't need to run 24/7. Unplug them when they are not actively being used. Devices that are left plugged in draw power even when they are not turned on. Using a power strip will enable you to kill the power to multiple items at once by unplugging the strip. Use a battery powered or manually wound clock instead of an electric clock.

Walk through your home and see what you leave running in the background, and get in the habit of turning off and unplugging unused VCRs, DVD players, stereos, computer monitors, speakers, printers, game consoles, etc. Put your computer into sleep mode when you are finished and don't plan to use it for a half hour or more.

Cleanliness and proper maintenance will extend the life of your appliances- it will also allow them to work more efficiently, reducing your bill. Your microwave oven needs to be spotlessly clean to work at peak efficiency. Your refrigerator and freezer will use less electricity to run if they are kept full- so hang on to some old milk jugs, fill them with water, and use them to fill space. Clean the coils/grate behind your refrigerator/freezer to reduce its energy drain, and extend the life of the appliance. It's just dust and hair, so vacuum it or wipe with a damp cloth.

Energy efficient appliances can pay for themselves quickly. I just got a new TV on Black Friday for less than $200. The sticker on the screen announcing it costs $13 a year to run showed me that this new TV, replacing a 25 year old behemoth, would pay for itself in a year in electric savings. After that, I simply save $200 a year on electricity for the TV.

Replace the filter in your air conditioner once a month- that's a big one that most people forget about. Filters are generally $1-$4 each, and not replacing it will result in a burned-out motor, which will run you a few hundred dollars (painful personal experience). Keep the grass cut short around your air conditioner's pad. Failure to do so will result in high grass, which will result in bugs, which results in bugs clogging up your AC unit. So keep the grass trimmed and hose down the AC unit often.

You can check your gas usage in the same manner you checked your electric- turn everything off, then turn on one gas-run appliance & check the gauge on your gas meter.

Once you know what items cost the most to run, manage your usage accordingly. For oven savings: use the oven in the evening or early morning; don't preheat your oven; turn the oven off five minutes before the timer, and leave the door closed; don't peek to check on food in the oven, as this will let the heat escape and lengthen the cooking time; don't let flames wrap around pots on the range, the flame should stay underneath the pot. When buying a new oven, get one with an electric pilot light to save on gas.

In the winter, when you are done cooking & have turned the oven off, open the oven door and let the residual heat warm your home, instead of the heater. In the summer, use the oven as little as possible, and run the exhaust vent to draw the heat out.

When you go to cook a meal, write down all the items you need out of the fridge and get them out all at once, instead of opening and closing the door over and over. Similarly, put them all away at once. Cook double or triple servings, putting the leftovers away for lunch or dinner later in the week- save on your gas and food bills!

Open curtains in the winter to let in light and heat, and keep them closed in the summer to keep the heat out. Your ceiling fan should blow down in the summer, and draw up in the winter- this will blow the cool air around in the summer, and circulate the warmth in the winter. There is a small switch on the base of the fan that changes the direction.

Energy efficient windows will lower your bills by a small amount, and will pay for themselves in the long run. Buy new windows only if you own your home and are planning on staying there for ten years or more.

Set your water heater to 120 degrees to lower your gas costs, especially if you use a lot of hot water. Hot water usage can be reduced by using a timer to take 10 minute showers, running full loads (instead of partial) in the dishwasher & washing machine, washing laundry on cold (except for towels and underwear, which need to be scalded in hot to kill bacteria), and line drying instead of running the dryer. I can tell you that clothes washed in cold come out every bit as clean as clothes washed in hot- cleaner, most of the time, because stains don't set when washed in cold.

Automatic thermostat timers are the easiest way to save money on your energy bills. For around $100, you can buy and have installed a digital thermostat that can be programmed to turn the heat/air on/off at certain times of the day. So, while you are at work, the house can be 85 degrees. It can be programmed to start cooling one hour before you come home, so that when you arrive your home is cool, and the air didn't have to run all day.

Use manpower instead of electric power. In other words, use a rake or broom instead of a leaf blower or hose. You'll get fresh air, sunshine, and exercise, and save on your bills!

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WATER

Everyone knows to turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth, right? You can also reduce your water consumption by installing low-flow shower heads, faucets, and even toilets. You can put a weight in the toilet tank, this will displace some water so that when it refills, there is less water in the tank. A good weight would be a water-filled 2 liter soda bottle. Do NOT use a brick! It will disintegrate, and flush pieces of brick into your pipes, and clog them.

All leaks should be fixed right away. This is for two reasons. One: a drip as slow as once a second will cost you five gallons of water a day ($20 a year). Two, a slow drip can escalate very quickly into costly repairs involving replacing walls, floors, etc. Nip it while it's cheap. Most faucet leaks from the spout can be fixed by simply replacing the washer. How to replace a washer: grab the ¼" round area underneath the spout and twist off counterclockwise. Take this with you to your hardware store. Show it to an employee, and ask for a washer to fit that size- this will cost you a whopping two bucks, in exchange for about twenty washers. Pop out the old washer with a pair of tweezers, put the new one in, and screw it all back into the faucet clockwise.

Run only full loads in the dishwasher and washing machine. Today's dishwashers typically use less water than hand washing. Wash your car at a car wash, not at home. Time limit your showers to ten minutes. Reuse gray water. Gray water is water that has been used once, but the water is still good- gray water would be, for example, water that you used to heat a bottle for a baby. That gray water could be used to water your plants (after it cooled), scrub your floor, etc.

Water your yard in the early morning hours. This not only saves on your water bill, but is better for the root systems of your plants and grass (several professional gardeners told me this). You save water by doing it in the morning because it won't all dry up in the sun, requiring more water.

In a choice of human versus water for chores, go for the human power- sweep the driveway instead of hosing it clean. Yes, hosing is quicker. But sweeping can be done fast with a large push broom (that you bought on sale!), is cheaper on your water bill, builds muscle, AND is better for the environment.

Many cities have a discount program for you water bill if you qualify. Call your water company for more information.

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PHONE

Working in customer service for a large phone company for two years, I learned a lot of ways to lower your home phone bill.

First, examine your bill carefully. Call your phone company (best time to call is Tuesday through Thursday, about two hours after the lines open) and ask them to itemize and describe every single charge on your bill. In the two years I took calls, over 85% of the calls were about billing errors the customer just noticed, even when they were charges that had been billed incorrectly for years.

When you speak to a representative, take the time to ask around for a seasoned, experienced person to review your bill- and bend over backwards to be nice to them! Go over the bill line by line and write down their suggestions to lower your bill; ask for their name and extension, then call and verify the information with a second rep. If the information the first rep gave you was accurate, keep their number and deal only with that person in the future.

You may be paying for a rental phone, and many companies have a policy that after so long renting (typically ten years) the phone is yours- but they don't always have the billing set up correctly, and you may wind up paying many extra payments you don't need to. I personally refunded a lady over a thousand dollars for three years' worth of incorrect billing on a rental phone. (She got the refund at Christmas, which was nice)

You may be paying for calling features you don't need or which don't work- or that you didn't know you had. I had multiple customers without a caller ID capable phone, who had no clue caller ID was on their plan, and their bill. There may be charges for insurance plans that you no longer need; items which should be free or discounted due to the special you have with the company, or the length of time you've been a customer. Bundling your calling features may also save you. If you have three or more features you're paying for separately- caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, voice mail, call forwarding, etc.- a package may be cheaper. The key word there is may- call and inquire.

Long distance charges may bill incorrectly, or you may be on a long distance plan that doesn't suit your needs. If you're paying more than $30 a month for long distance, consider getting an unlimited long distance plan with a major carrier, such as AT&T or Sprint- these plans are typically around $25 a month.

Taxes may be set up incorrectly, charging you city taxes when you live outside the city limits, charging you for the wrong city, or charging you for multiple cities. Small item, but it adds up; I fixed many of these during the time I worked for the phone company.

If you have usage-sensitive charges, such as *69 or information calls, you can request that the access to these features be blocked. This is typically a free block, and takes 1-2 days to activate. You may also order a large package or unlimited usage of 411 and *69.

900 & 976 numbers, chat lines, collect calls, and international dialing can be blocked. Additionally, there is a law that if you call to complain about huge bills for these services for calls you didn't make (your nephew was in town and ran up the bill, your 6 year old did it, etc.), the phone company is required by law to credit your account for the full amount of all charges from not only that bill, but for any charges that show within the next 30 days. Under those circumstances, they will automatically put a block on your line to prevent that particular service. You have no choice about the block at this point, but you also don't have to pay the $600 phone bill.

If you are being billed by a second party for internet access (such as AOL), e-mail, voice mail, roadside assistance, collect calls you never received, etc.- these service can be blocked. The phone company will not issue you a credit for these services, as they weren't the ones billing you. You have to write the original company that charged you- you will only get a credit if you write directly to them, sending it certified mail- phone calls won't work. Be sure to include a photocopy of your phone bill.

Dial up internet that has generated long distance charges must be disputed with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). I took hundreds of complaint calls for long distance charges to numbers their ISP (such as AOL) assured them were local. They weren't. You should always call your phone company anytime you are given a dial up number and ask your phone company if the numbers are local. I had only a few dozen people that bothered to check their dial up numbers (which they were assured were local)- for most of them, their entire list of numbers were all long distance. In two years, at 100 calls a day five days a week, I only had ONE caller that had a list of dial up numbers to check that turned out to all be local.

Of those customers with large long distance bills because of long distance internet access numbers, those who contacted their ISP (AOL, etc.) were usually given the run around, and wound up paying their bill in full themselves, with no credit. The few who got their accounts credited were the ones who took my advice, and wrote directly to their ISP, sending the letter certified mail. It sometimes took two months, but this is the ONLY way to get money from these companies.

Credits can be issued for loss of service (whether it was your fault, their fault, or the weather), billing errors, late fees, and courtesy credits for missed appointments.

If you are going to be leaving your home for an extended vacation or your phone service is at a seasonal residence, call and ask for a discount or suspension of billing. Many companies have "vacation service" where you pay a minimal amount to keep the line active. If you are leaving your home, be sure to put a combination lock on your NID- this is the box outside of your home that has the phone lines running in/out. There is a hole there for a lock- use it. Otherwise, thieves can walk into your backyard, plug their phone into your NID, and call China, all on your bill- and there's no credit on that one.

If you rarely use your phone, ask if there is a measured rate of service available. This will lower your monthly base rate, but you will be paying per call- so only choose this option if you're sure you won't use the phone much. Weekend rates will be cheaper, keep this in mind when calling family and friends, even locally. Do NOT choose measured service if you are using any type of dial up internet, even with local numbers- you will be charged for every minute you are online, if you have a measured rate.

If you have measured service and your bill gets run up due to telemarketer calls- or you are just sick of all the telemarketer calls, you can be added to the National Do Not Call list. This is a government service that makes all telemarketers remove your number from their database within 30 days of your being added to the list. They are required by law to comply. You can use the Do Not Call list for your pager, cellular phone, and fax line(s) as well. Register online at www.donotcall.gov, call 1-888-382-1222; for TTY call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the phone number you wish to register.

If you have special services you pay for on your phone bills (caller ID, internet, etc.), you may be able to get a monthly discount, just for asking. Sometimes, asking isn't enough. If the service you're getting is available elsewhere (such as cable internet or VOIP phone), let your phone company know you are considering another company, due to price considerations. They will then transfer you to their retention department, where all the really sweet deals are made. The retention department exists to keep you as a customer- the corporate suits know that it is cheaper to keep an existing customer than advertise to attract a new one. Retention can offer you ½ off caller ID for a year, 20% off internet, or similar deals to keep your service.

Every state has a phone discount program for low income households. Call your phone company for Lifeline qualifications in your state, and to request an application. These programs can cut your phone bill to as little as five dollars a month, depending on the state you live in.

When you are signing up for new service or moving your phone service, these discount programs will also assist with connection and transfer fees, and may get deposits waived.

Deposits may also be waived with a letter of credit from a former utility, or a guarantee from an existing customer with a good payment history. Since deposits can run $60-$200, deposit waivers are worth taking the time and trouble to get.

If you get behind on your bill, call the collections department right away. They will work out extensions and payment plans with you, which will save you money you would have otherwise spent on late fees and reconnect charges.

Consider getting a VOIP phone (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which runs off a cable line instead of a phone line. The downside to VOIP is, if the power goes out, you have no phone. The upside is, for around $30 a month you get the phone, caller ID, voice mail, and unlimited nationwide long distance 24/7 \- some companies cover Canada in their unlimited plans as well; ask around. My daughter has a Magic Jack, $30 to buy and $20 a year; when they are downloading on the computer, the phone goes out. If you don't draw a lot of power on the internet through gaming or watching movies, Magic Jack is a good choice. I have a Magic Jack Plus, which cost $70 and doesn't need the computer ($70 includes first year of service), $40 a year for service starting next year ($3.33 a month for my phone). The downsides: the time stamp on the caller ID and voicemail are in "magic jack" time not mine, there is no caller ID on the call waiting, you have to pay $10 annually for your phone number. The Lifeline discounts do not apply to Magic Jack phones, but that annual fee is pretty cheap.

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CELLULAR

I worked for Verizon Wireless for six months, during which time the calls were so slow we went through training sessions every day; I am very well trained in this industry.

Similar to a home phone, ask about deposit waivers, request courtesy credits for late fees, review your bill to make sure you are only paying for services you really want, and are getting the best price on them. Do you really need roadside assistance from your cell phone company? It may be available through your insurance, credit card, free through your work; you can be added to a family member's package, etc. Also, unless you paid through the nose for your cell phone, the phone insurance is not worth getting.

Request credits for dropped calls, down time, roaming charges, failed text messages, and accidental internet connections. You can request blocks for text messaging, roaming, and internet access. Many reps will tell you there are no such blocks- I was personally told such by my cell company for six months, by a dozen different reps, and I knew better. I kept on calling until I found a rep who knew what I was talking about, and added the blocks I wanted. Persistence pays off, especially with a smile in your voice.

Review your normal monthly usage. Are you actually using all that mobile-to-mobile, and is it worth it for you to pay extra for earlier nights or extra minutes? If you are consistently under your minutes, switch to a lower plan. If you are consistently over your minutes, raising your package will save you money, as it's the overage charges that really affect your bill.

If you really want to lower your bill even more, you'll want the retention department. Never directly ask for retention- instead, say that even with the changes made, your bill is still too high. Wonder aloud if you might be better off switching to T Mobile (or any other major competitor). You will be asked to hold, and switched to retention, where the power to keep the customer resides. Retention has the power to give you 50% off your bill, a new phone, free unlimited text messaging, and more (these are examples, not company specific, and don't hold me to them!). In exchange, they will ask you to extend your contract. At this price, why wouldn't you? Don't be afraid to hold out for more, and don't feel bad about talking to them. It costs the company a LOT more money to acquire a new customer than it does to make you happy enough to stay. They know this, which is why they have the retention department- you are not taking advantage of them, you are helping them keep a customer, which in turn saves money for both you and the company. That's what I call a win-win situation.

There is now a "Lifeline" cellular plan, called Assurance Wireless. If you meet the income requirements, you can get a free cell phone, and free monthly minutes and texts. You can only have Lifeline on your cell phone OR on your landline, not both.

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INTERNET

Cable vs. DSL is pretty comparable in price, so go with whichever is your preference, or whoever gives you the best deal. If you use dial up internet, be sure to read the information about dial up internet charges in the PHONE section, above.

Instead of paying to use internet at home, use the free internet offered at the library or on college campuses. Look for areas with a Wi-Fi to use your laptop to access the internet for free. Try <http://www.hotspot-locations.com/>to locate a hotspot Wi-Fi access point in your area. Be sure to have a good firewall active on your computer when using Wi-Fi.

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TRANSPORTATION

Parking passes and toll road passes are cheaper when purchased for longer periods, so get the annual or two year options. There are also discounted passes available if you are: a student; a senior citizen; a veteran; in financial need of a discount. Call or visit the website of the agency in charge of the passes, and ask what discounts are available- they are everywhere. These discounts apply to bus and subway passes as well.

When your car breaks down -as it inevitably will- get out the phone book or go online to find a Mechanic School. I found one at a state college about 30 miles away. I had to make an appointment, and wait 3 weeks to get my car fixed- but there were NO labor charges, I only paid for the parts. I paid $600 for work that I was quoted almost $3,000 on elsewhere; I saved over $2,000+ in labor charges, and the mechanic students gained knowledge and skills.

When you can't use a mechanic in training to fix your car for one reason or another, you can at least save on parts. Used and rebuilt parts are available at junk yards and through your mechanic. I was quoted $800 for a new alternator a few years ago; I called around and found a rebuilt one at a junk yard for $50, which they installed on the spot for another $20 (the labor at the mechanic selling the new alternator would have been around $200). The alternator was rebuilt by a mechanic with over 20 years' experience, and had a 30 day guarantee; I used it for 3 years with no problems. Any time you need a large ticket part for your car, make some calls, get it used or rebuilt, and save a bundle.

Auto maintenance/repair self-help is available free at http://www.2carpros.com, and <http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/cartalk>.

Regular maintenance will prevent many breakdowns. You should check and add these fluids monthly: oil, brake fluid, water, antifreeze, transmission fluid, power steering fluid. Instructions on how to do so are listed in your vehicle's owner's manual. If you do not have the owner's manual, you can Google this information very easily online. You should also add DISTILLED water (only!) to your battery every month, clean the battery terminals with a wire brush, and tighten the battery cables. Note that if you use any water other than distilled you will destroy your battery.

This monthly maintenance should also cover a visual inspection of your engine and the underneath of your vehicle. This way you can spot any loose or frayed belts, hoses, nuts, etc. A worn out belt will cost you $7 to replace; a belt that breaks while you are driving will cost you a tow truck and mechanic, plus any damage to the engine that occurred as a result, plus the time and inconvenience. The visual inspection under the vehicle is to look for fluid leaks, a loose muffler, or anything out of the ordinary. Again, fixing these small problems NOW will save you a lot of money and hassle later.

Part of your regular maintenance routine should include checking the air in your tires. A $2 gauge will more than pay for itself in fuel savings and safety. Properly inflated tires will give you better gas mileage, grip the road better (increasing safety), and last longer.

When you buy tires, consider buying used tires. Every city has at least one used tire dealer, look in the Yellow Pages. Here you can buy quality used tires for a fraction of the cost. I typically spend $20 for a used tire -that includes the stem, balancing, and mounting fee- instead of $80-$100 for a new tire.

Other things you can do to improve your gas mileage include: Take unnecessary weight out of your car. You are paying to move that car and everything in it- do you really want to pay to haul around the 20 lbs. of fabric samples in the backseat? Empty out your car of everything but the essentials, and start saving on your gasoline bill today.

Keep the windows up. Yes, A/C and heat do use a little bit of fuel; but the drag on the car created by the wind resistance of an open window uses a lot more fuel.

Drive the same speed, and give plenty of room between yourself and other drivers to avoid frequent braking. Maintaining the same speed for long distances gives you better mileage- haven't you ever noticed how far you can go on a tank of gas while on a road trip? Notice that it's usually twice as far as you'd get driving to work and errands? That's because you're not stopping, going again, stopping... Same applies to speeding up to pass people, or having a varying speed from not paying attention. You are burning fuel! Set the cruise control, if you have it.

Turn off your car if you will be waiting longer than 1 minute; otherwise, let it idle. If there is a long, slow train crossing in front of you, shut off the engine.

If your car gets lousy gas mileage, consider trading it in for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. You should sit down with a calculator and pen and paper, and figure out if it is worthwhile to trade, or not. Here's how to calculate that information, plug in your own numbers:

Write down how much you spend on gas per week, and keep track of your mileage for one week. For this example, let's assume you drive 200 miles per week, and spend $43 a week on gas, and gas is $3.25 a gallon. You're spending $186.33 a month on gas for this vehicle ($43 a week times 4.3 weeks). You are driving 860 miles a month (200 miles per week times 4.3 weeks). We use 4.3 for a month because no month is exactly 4 weeks.

So you need a vehicle that will cost less for gas plus the car payment each month than you're currently paying, $186.33 for 860 miles. The car you are considering will get 32 miles per gallon; total miles of 860 (you'll still drive the same distance) divided by 32 miles per gallon equals 26.9 gallons of gas. 26.9 gallons times $3.25 per gallon equals $87.43 a month in gas costs. You're currently paying $186.33 for gas; $186.33 minus $87.43 is $98.90. If the car payment is less than $98.90, it is a good decision to get the more fuel-efficient car.

If you are replacing your current car, instead of selling it directly, trade it in at the dealership you are buying from. You will get more value trading in to a dealership than you would from an individual sale.

To get the best deal on a vehicle upgrade, follow these guidelines:

Visit every dealership in a 20 mile radius (if you are able to), and take notes of the makes and models you are interested in, with their prices. Go online and research the models you liked. Check the mileage, safety info, recalls, consumer comments, and so on.

Return to the dealerships that you liked and talk with one salesperson about the vehicle(s) you liked. Bring your notes, and update your notes as you go. As you inspect each vehicle, write down the VIN number- found on the side of the driver's side door or on a small metal plate on the dashboard, where the dashboard meets the window. Take and keep the salesperson's card. Repeat with each dealership.

Pay $30 for an unlimited access account at CarFax. Run each of the VIN numbers you gathered, checking for disclosed damage, if it was a fleet vehicle, has more mileage than disclosed, etc. Fleet vehicles are driven a LOT, like a taxi, and are usually a poor choice.

Google standard prices for the year, make, and model of each vehicle you still have on your list. Add this information to your notes. Eliminate some of your choices based upon the information you found.

Return to the dealerships. Test drive the vehicle(s) left you are interested in. Ask the salesperson for their best deal. Do not mention your trade-in at this time. Do not enter their office. Thank them for their time, tell them you're still thinking, and leave.

Wait three or four days. Clean your current vehicle during this period, inside and out. Remove all personal objects from trunk, seats, and glove box.

Eliminate more of your choices, narrowing down to a maximum of three.

Return to the dealership(s) that carry your 3 choices, and ask what you can get for your trade-in. Thank them, let them know you'll decide soon, and leave.

Go home and make up your mind which vehicle to get.

Return to that dealership, talk to same salesperson. Plan on being there all day; even if you are not, you will not feel time pressed. Go just after lunch; you don't want to sit there hungry, it will affect your judgment and resistance.

Take the quote they gave you on the new vehicle, and negotiate it down. Take the quote they gave you for your trade-in, and negotiate up. Read the NEGOTIATION SKILLS section before you go, and WORK IT. Stay polite and relaxed, and just keep trying and trying until they refuse to budge any further. Then smile, shake, and take the deal.

Whether you are paying on a new or used vehicle, if you are financing, it always benefits you to pay to the principle. Even ten extra dollars a month will make a difference. You can call where you send your payments and ask them how much of each payment goes to the principle. If you can send that much extra each month, you are literally making a double payment- even better than double, because you will pay off the balance sooner, thus reducing the overall interest. Be sure to send the extra payments in a separate check, marked "pay to principle" in the memo line.

Simple but effective savings; buy your vehicle fluids in bulk. Oil is cheaper by the case or gallon jugs, as is transmission fluid. When it comes to antifreeze/coolant, make sure you are NOT buying the 50/50 mix. Yes, you should have a mix of 50/50 in your radiator, BUT you should not have to pay for WATER. A gallon of 50/50 is usually about a dollar cheaper than the full version, so some people think they are saving a dollar; what they are really doing is paying almost twice as much for the fluid, and tap water. If you like carrying 50/50 in the trunk to fill up with, mix your own in an empty coolant jug (do not use water or milk jugs, they are not able to handle the chemical, very bad).

To reduce what you pay in parking tickets, moving violations, etc., I have a very simple solution: avoid getting these tickets. If you speed, pay attention and keep your speed down. If you cannot, use your cruise control, or install a governor underneath the gas pedal. Buy a radar detector. Don't dodge in and out of lanes. Keep your stickers current. Use your turn signals. Keep the lights functional on the outside of your vehicle. Don't tailgate. Don't run red lights. Pay attention to where cops wait to ticket people, and be cautious in those areas. DON'T TEXT WHILE DRIVING- this kills more people than drinking and driving. Give yourself enough time to get to where you are going, including accounting for traffic, and give yourself enough time to park. Keep a cup of change in the cup holder to pay parking meters and toll booths.

If you do get pulled over by a law enforcement officer, follow these tips to avoid a ticket:

Using your turn signal, pull over as quickly and safely as you can. Remember that the officer will be walking on the drivers' side- make sure it is safe for them to do so when you choose where to park.

Immediately put your vehicle in Park and take your foot off the brake.

Roll down your window.

Turn off your vehicle.

If you need to get your papers out, turn on the inside dome light.

If you did not have your seat belt on, do NOT try to 'sneak' it on at this point.

Have your license, insurance, and registration in your hand.

Make eye contact, smile, and BE POLITE.

Do not volunteer information- don't say "You pulled me over for speeding, didn't you?". That simply tells them that you KNEW you were violating at the time, and makes it more likely you will get a ticket. If they ask "Do you know why I pulled you over?", say "No". You don't know, so don't guess.

Once you have been informed of your violation(s), accept that you did those things, why, and assure the officer that you will not repeat. Thank them for alerting you of your misbehavior. Be polite, and sincere.

BEFORE the officer walks away to run your records, ask very nicely if you can be let off with a warning. This is the only time you have to talk your way out of the ticket. Once they go back to their patrol car and run your information, they typically start writing the ticket in their car- and once it's written, they cannot undo it no matter what. Don't mention the word "ticket". Say something like, "I'm really broke right now, and I would really appreciate it if you would consider giving me a warning." Then shut up and wait. You will most likely be told that will depend on what they get back from your records on the computer. If you have been nice up to this point, and your record is clean, you will probably get the warning.

I have found this method to be 95% effective. Should you get a ticket, you can still save money. Immediately go to the courthouse and ask at the information desk if you can take defensive driving to reduce your fine. Ask if there is a hardship discount. Ask if there are student discounts, senior discounts, whatever. There will be paperwork to file, but these five minutes may save you up to half off your ticket. If you still cannot afford to pay your ticket, ask for a payment plan. Sometimes an automated electronic recurring payment will give you a discount; ask.

Shop around for car insurance- bearing in mind they are running your credit report every time you get a quote. Improve your credit to get lower car insurance rates. When you find your insurer, get the highest possible deductible- you aren't going to file for a small claim anyway, and you'll save more than enough to cover what you may pay if necessary. Pay for longer time periods to save money- a yearly rate is cheaper per month than monthly payments. Combine your vehicle insurance with home, life, etc. for discounts. Ask about safe driver, student, and defensive driver discounts. Ask about AAA discounts, AARP, anything you are a member of- you never know which may net you a financial break. My insurance gives a $20 annual discount for going paperless. Companies give discounts for liking their Facebook page, for belonging to special groups (like Mensa), for alumni of certain colleges, for being left-handed. ASK!

Another insurance break I just learned from my mother- if you can prove that you don't use the vehicle much, you will get a discount. Take in your old receipts from oil changes, tire rotations, or any mechanical work that shows the date and your mileage at that time. If you are using less than the standard amount of mileage for the year, you get a discount.

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COUPONS

There are coupons for everything, from oil changes to discounts on shoes.

Coupons can be found in the Sunday paper of large cities. Major cities have a thick coupon section. If there are no good coupons in the paper where you live, consider purchasing a Sunday only delivery from a nearby major city. You will more than recoup your cost for the paper in the coupons. Phone books have coupons in the back for local businesses. Chamber of Commerce offices often have coupons. Some cities will have a coupon book compiled by a local group (such as the Boy Scouts, for example), that will have hundreds of local coupons, with the book selling for $20 and the group keeping the profits as a fund raiser.

Coupons can be found online through thousands of sites. Try www.coupons.com, www.couponmom.com, www.fabuloussavings.com, and www.coolsavings.com. Manufacturers will also mail you coupons if you send them a polite letter asking for some, or email them through their website. You can also buy coupons online.

Is it worth it to clip coupons? Well, here's another real life example. My mother got an entire grocery cart FILLED with food (the bottom rack too), the total was close to $200. After the coupons came off, she owed ELEVEN DOLLARS. So yes, I'd say it's worth it.

Clip only the coupons you will use- if you don't have a dog, there's no point in cutting out a dog food coupon. However, there are some places (I saw this in a Laundromat) that offer a coupon exchange, where you can drop off coupons you don't use, and pick up some that you do. If you spot a place like this in your area, then by all means clip every coupon. Or start up your own coupon exchange.

Check the stores in your area to find out who doubles or triples coupons, and if that is offered all the time, or has a price limit- "What's your coupon policy?" When the new ad sheets arrive in your mailbox each week for the various grocery stores, get out your coupons and compare them to the sales. That is where the real savings add up.

Example: Kroger offers double coupons up to 50 cents on Sundays. They have a sale on Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, 36 oz. bottle for $1.29. You have a 50 cent coupon. If you go on Sunday, after the coupon is doubled, you will pay 29 cents for the bottle of Ranch, saving 78% off the sale price.

While you can't use more than one coupon on the same item, you can use multiple coupons together for multiple items. Example: You have a coupon that gives you $1.00 off a gallon of milk when you buy any size box of Cheerios. You also have a coupon for $1.00 off Cheerios. You can buy the milk and the Cheerios together, and save $2.00.

Stock up when you have the coupons available for sale items, or even better, coupons for loss leaders. If they insist on one coupon per person/visit, you can leave the store and re-enter to buy multiples, and/or have someone with you for other purchases.

Loss leaders are sales that stores run to get you in their door, expecting that you will make more purchases while you are there. Stick to your guns, get the sale you came for, and leave! Everything else in the store will be marked up to offset the loss leader- don't fall into their trap. An example of a loss leader: Walgreen will offer canned mushrooms for ten cents each, limit 4. Since canned mushrooms typically go for about $.80, this is a great deal. Walk in with fifty cents in your pocket, get your loss leaders, and get out.

Keep your coupons sorted out in one of those accordion files you can pick up cheap. Sort them by the method that works best for you. My mother filed hers alphabetically, by category. So her mustard coupon would be in the C's, for condiments, and a coffee coupon would be in B for beverage. Some people file by expiration date. I personally file by what aisle it's located on in my store. Find what fits your brain, and go with it.

DON'T buy something you would never ordinarily use just because you have a coupon! It doesn't matter if it's only 39 cents after the coupon, if you will never use it; you have WASTED 39 cents, not saved anything!

Fast food and restaurant coupons are best kept in the car, where you will have them handy when you go out. Restaurant coupons can also be printed off your computer before you leave; check the restaurant's website for deals. There is a new service called Groupon at <http://www.groupon.com/> that offers deep discounts on many businesses in your area- sign up, give your zip, and get up to 50% off just about anything. Check for signs near the front door for 'text to save' deals to get instant discounts.

Ask around for regional offers. My friend lives in Dallas; her local grocery store gives 15% off the total order on Cowboys game nights if she shops in a Cowboys jersey.

Punch cards are everywhere; Baskin Robbins, Salvation Army Thrift Stores, grocery stores, hair cutters, pizza parlors. My local co-op store has punch cards for bread, cookies, and walking to the store; my mom's has one for milk. Keep them with you, and remember to get them punched. Once the punch card is full, you get free stuff.

Many stores will price match a competitor's ad. So for example, if Wal-Mart has bananas on sale in their ad for 25 cents a pound and you shop at Kroger (and your Kroger price matches), bring the Wal-Mart ad with you to Kroger, and get Kroger's bananas for 25 cents a pound.

When all else fails, ask! I recently was shopping in a clothing store, and when the cashier was ringing me up, I asked if she had any coupons or discounts. Since she had fliers around town offering 10% off, she gave me the 10% discount, just for asking nicely!

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FOOD

Growing your own food is an inexpensive way to supply you and yours with healthy food. Gardens can be in raised beds, window boxes, or a shared parcel of land in town. If you are not the gardening type, you can still reduce your food bill by picking your own fruit, berries and nuts at farms on the outskirts of town. Some farms will let you pick for a flat rate for the day or by the bushel; some will let you pick for free if you give back half of what you picked, so they can sell it. This is definitely worth looking in to.

Every city has a food bank, and every state has food stamps, and stores which accept food stamps. To inquire about food stamps, look in the Government section of your phone book, under "Health and Welfare", or visit the website http://www.fns.usda.gov/FSP/.

Food banks are available in most cities to help with basic staples. Food banks can be found on a list at your local food stamps office. Most are only certain days and times, and you can only go a limited amount of times- ask. Expect to find canned goods, dry goods, bread, and freezer items.

Many thrift stores offer day old bread and baked goods. Bread is also usually available through Community Action.

Some cities offer boxed deals, usually through a church; these are items that are just past their expiration, but it doesn't matter- things like toilet paper, toothpaste, aspirin, salt, etc. A flat rate of generally $5 will get you a box full of items, worth at least $50.

Your city may have a "second chance" grocery store. This is a store that gets cans with torn labels, cereal boxes that got sliced with a box cutter, and feminine products that have "expired". While I wouldn't buy any dented cans, I have gotten cereal for a dollar a box simply because the box was crushed (the inner bag of cereal was still sealed). I also bought expensive name-brand female products for a dollar a package- and I stocked up for several years' worth for $20 when they had that sale. Check your phone book under "grocery" and "discount", and ask around for information on these stores.

Bulk sales can save you money, but not always. Check the price per pound/ounce/etc. to see if you are really getting a good deal. Bulk sales include warehouse membership clubs (such as Costco), and bulk auctions, which are springing up all around the country. Check the auction and/or announcement section of your local/regional paper. You can go in with your friends and neighbors on bulk items, and divvy them up.

Coupons are a fabulous way to save a LOT on your grocery bill. For a little bit of time and effort on your part, you can save over 80% on your shopping bills. I had one shopping trip where my 4 door car (including a previously empty trunk) was packed to the gills with groceries, for a cost of $37. Read the COUPONS section of this document. There is a TV show called Extreme Couponing, these people save close to 100%- but they also spend 35-50 hours a week on their coupons. Around 2-5 hours a week clipping coupons can save you 50-75%, depending. Well worth it.

Bulk cooking will save you lots of money, as well as time. If you're going to take the time and trouble to make chili/lasagna/tuna casserole/etc., then make a big batch- say triple what you normally make. Put some leftovers away in the refrigerator and the rest in meal-sized portions in the freezer. You will not only save on your grocery bill, but your energy bill will be lower from not using the oven as often.

Cheap cuts of meat can be made much more palatable with an overnight marinade, or sitting for 20 minutes in meat tenderizer. I buy steaks that are $6 for a package of 4 steaks, and by the time I'm done tenderizing them and seasoning them, you'd think that package of steaks would have cost over $20. DON'T buy cheap meat that is a funny color, or smells- it has gone bad, and you will get very sick.

Proper food storage is extremely important, not just for your health, but your wallet as well. It doesn't really matter if you saved $50 on groceries this week, if most of it winds up in the trash, does it? Spend $10-$20 on a good brand of foil (Reynolds) and some good freezer containers (Glad or comparable brand). Get the large containers, about 8" long, 5" deep. Anything smaller won't hold enough to be worthwhile; anything bigger and you risk food poisoning, because the area is too large to cool quickly enough to prevent bacteria build up. When you get ready to freeze your leftovers, make sure the rim is clean, the lid is sealed tight, and that you have "burped" the package to get as much air out as possible. You can also wrap items tightly in foil, folding the foil around your items like a burrito, with all edges sharply closed. Keep your bulk dry goods (all sugars, flours, baking sodas, pet food, etc.) tightly sealed in Tupperware-like containers to keep out bugs, and make sure all lids are on tight.

All jar lids in the refrigerator should be clean and tight fitting. The inside and outside of the rim must be spotless, to avoid bacteria breeding in this area, and thus contaminating the entire jar of jam, mayonnaise, etc. This applies to all plastic squirt bottles, indeed any condiment or storage container of any type in your refrigerator: ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, olives, mayonnaise, jam, jelly, barbeque sauce, steak sauce, salad dressing, etc. Tub butter should be kept free of crumbs, again to prevent breeding of bacteria, and to slow the breakdown of the butter. Mayonnaise jars should not have chunks of tuna, pickle relish, or bread inside the jar- fish them out promptly with a knife or spoon, and keep it clean. Ditto for jelly and jam- there should not be smears of peanut butter or bread crumbs lurking inside, unless you want things to breed in there.

Being prepared to eat at home, by having adequate groceries through wise shopping and preparation (freezer meals), will diminish the frequency of eating out. Even the most inexpensive fast food adds up so quickly.

I had a friend ask me to help him figure out where $600 was going every single month. He made no large purchases, and could not figure out where his money was going. I asked him to walk me through a typical day. Coffee from a drive-through on the way to work, candy/chips from the vending machine mid-morning, fast food lunch, coffee in the afternoon, fast food dinner on the way home. I pointed out the coffee he bought was $3 a coffee; he was indignant, saying he could afford a $3 coffee. I pointed out that two a day equaled $6 a day, which is $180 a month. A dollar a day in the vending machine was $30 a month. Lunch was typically $2-4, which was $60-$120 a month. Dinner was usually about $6, which makes that another $180. I realize I'm counting every day, but his spending habits were no different on the weekend. He was spending about $16 a day on food and drink (minimum), which was $480 a month- just from what he remembered during the phone call. He was appalled. The simple solution? Buy a coffeepot and all the accessories (including travel mug), buy some sandwich bags and brown-bag lunch, and keep quick food in the house to eat at home.

If you want to see how much you're spending on fast food, coffees, sodas, and the like, simply keep track for one week. Put a piece of paper in your pocket, and every purchase that you eat or drink gets written down. You will be surprised how fast the little, under-$2 purchases add up to break you. To combat, brew your own coffee, buy sodas at the grocery store (when they are on sale!) in 2 liter or cans (your preference), ditto with PowerAde's, tea, etc. If you like the size if the to-go bottles that your preferred fast beverage comes in, then save one, wash it out, and fill it at home with your less expensive beverage. You can then have drinks to carry in the car, to work, etc.

Carry your own snacks, in your purse, backpack, briefcase, etc. Mix up small bags of munchies, like nuts, dried fruit, jerky, etc. Keep one with you at all times, to avoid buying snacks. Buy some compartmental storage containers, and prepare your lunch for the next day when you make dinner at night. All you have to do in the morning is grab it on the way out the door. You can make up fast breakfasts the same way; cook a quiche and save it in the fridge, bake biscuits while you fry sausage and individually foil wrap sausage biscuit sandwiches, make a large batch of pancakes on the weekend and save them in baggies, and so on.

If you must go out, take coupons with you to your restaurants! EVERY fast food chain, mom and pop pizzeria, sandwich shop, bakery, and the like prints and distributes coupons, and most of them offer online coupons as well. The online deals can be sweeter, but not always- check, just like you would with bulk purchases.

There is a wonderful product called a Misto that will save you money on cooking sprays (like Pam). Misto sells for around ten dollars; add a few tablespoons of oil & pump it to pressurize, and you have cooking spray. My Misto paid for itself in about 14 months. I've had it for six years, so it has saved me around $45 so far. Look for it in cooking stores, Bed Bath and Beyond, or online. You can use organic virgin olive oil, flavored cooking oils, and some people have extra Mistos for misting lemon juice.

The most important part of economizing on your food is not to skimp on quality. Healthy, quality food will pay for itself in fewer doctor's visits, lost days of work, medications, etc. It will also extend your life. Everyone knows what healthy food is- snacking on nuts instead of chips, dried fruit instead of candy, limiting red meat, eating fish, salads, and the like.

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CLOTHES

Thrift stores are a wonderful place to get fabulous deals on really NICE clothes. All major chain thrift stores sort all their clothing before putting it out, and weed out the torn & worn. I have seen many a thousand dollar wedding dress in a thrift store for $40. Jeans typically run one dollar, shirts one to three dollars, and most dresses and outfits are five to ten dollars, depending. There are upscale thrift stores, which only carry high end labels, such as Versace, Vera Wang, etc. There are vintage stores, resale stores, and consignment stores, all of which carry quality clothes for a fraction of the original cost.

Almost every city will have a clothing closet, which will hold about what a thrift store does- only the clothes are free. If you need clothes for a special interview, new job, whatever, they are there to help. Look in Social Services in the Yellow Pages, and if that nets no results, start calling the largest churches in the area. Clothing closets can also be located in an unused room in one of the schools; call your school district's main information number to inquire.

You can create a clothes swap with your friends and neighbors, on both a permanent and loan basis. Everyone brings as many items as they want to permanently get rid of (including accessories), and everyone brings any items they are willing to loan out. Have a sign out sheet for each loaner item, with who owns the item, who borrowed it, when, and a detailed description. This way, if you need a special dress for Friday night, you can borrow one from your swap friends, and not pay a dime to look great! You can expand this to include purses, jewelry, shoes, perfume, sunglasses, etc.

If you absolutely, positively, have to have some expensive accessory, you can rent it. www.bagborroworsteal.com/ or www.renttherunway.com/to rent out designer handbags, jewelry, and more. You will have to pay a deposit, which is refundable.

There are differences between quality, expensive clothes, and inexpensive clothes. Quality clothing is made from quality cloth that will last, thread is strong, seams are tight, and buttons don't wiggle. When you are buying any item that you expect to wear more than once, or for more than one year, always buy the quality item. If you are in a thrift store and there is a $30 shirt there as I have described (that would retail for over $200), or you can get five "everyday" shirts at $6 each, GO FOR THE QUALITY. It will last you a long, long time, and be less expensive than replacing shirts that will wear out quickly.

The other distinguishing feature of quality clothing is the fit. Good clothes look good because they are made to fit your body. You can spend $200 on a few nice, quality outfits from the upscale thrift store, and wonder when you wear them why they are just not that great. This is where you need a tailor. A tailor can fit any outfit to you very inexpensively, and the price drops if you do several pieces at once- or offer to barter in exchange. Look in your Yellow Pages under "tailors", "seamstress", or "alterations".

One place you should NOT pinch pennies is with cheap laundry soap. A relative of mine once bought me a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap, which cost $3. That cheap soap completely wrecked the first load I ran, destroying over a hundred dollars' worth of clothes by eating holes through the fabric.

On a final note, many outfits could have been saved from the rag bag if they'd simply been taken care of sooner. Take the five minutes to sew on a button, patch the small hole, mend the rend, and the like. You can find instructional videos for basic mending on YouTube. RETURN TO TOC

SCHOOL

Backpacks were the bane of my budget while my children were in school. They tore them up anew each school year. I finally stopped buying a new backpack every year, and looked for used ones at thrift stores in June and July. The used backpacks lasted just as long, one school year, and cost me a dollar each, instead of fifteen dollars each new. After a few years of this, I discovered quality backpacks. If you are a parent of a child in fifth grade or higher, invest in a quality backpack; it will last for years, possibly through their college years.

Purchase all of your school supplies for the year in August. This is the time when you can get spiral notebooks for nickel, loose paper for a dime a pack, 24 packs of pencils for a quarter, and other great deals. In August, look for the loss leaders, like a jump drive for 99 cents at Office Depot, quality backpacks on sale at a sporting goods store, Post It notes for a dime at Staples, etc. Remember to get your loss leader and get out.

If the public school your child attends charges tuition, books, and/or lab fees, ask if these can be waived/reduced. Most schools have a waiver form you fill out, and the fees disappear. Athletic and activity fees can also be waived, but it has been my experience that they want you to work those fees off, usually in the form of service at the park (I ran the nacho stand for 6 hours in exchange for my daughter's $60 soccer fee), or by assisting the teacher/coach in some manner.

If your minor child is in public school, apply for the free/reduced lunch program. If you receive food stamps, your child will automatically be approved for free lunch- which includes free breakfast too (you have to fill out the school's form). Reduced lunch, if you qualify, will take off about half what your child will have to pay for meals at school.

Parents, you can painlessly save money towards your child's future tuition costs by using college match credit cards and shopping cards. http://www.upromise.com, <https://www.babymint.com/>

College students should take advantage of every opportunity to apply for grants, scholarships, and work study programs. Campus work study gives you an easy job with a boss who understands the pressures of being a student. Plus, every dollar you earn is matched and paid towards your tuition, doubling whatever you are making an hour. Apply for every scholarship you see, even if it's fifty bucks. If you win ten of them, that's $500- even if you don't get them all, are you going to turn down fifty free dollars?

Start by applying for your Pell Grant at <http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/>, <http://studentaid.ed.gov/> and <http://www.ed.gov/finaid/landing.jhtml> are government run websites to legitimate scholarships. YOU SHOULD NEVER PAY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH. They are not only rip-offs, you can do the same thing they would do (if they delivered, which they don't) in minutes for free. Plus you would be giving your social security number and other private identifying information to shady people, not a good idea.

College text books can be purchased used directly from other students in your area (read bulletin boards), through a physical used bookstore, through used online bookstores and direct online sales from students. You will get the best deals by buying your books early, and by buying used. http://www.textbookx.com and <http://www.allbookstores.com/> have engines that search to compare and find you the lowest price for your book on the web. It helps to have the correct ISBN when searching. I saved over $300 (half) my textbook costs one semester by buying used ones through these search engines.

I discovered that renting textbooks can be even cheaper than buying used. CheapTextbooks.com is a good site, one I have used with good results. I rented my books for one semester for about half of what I would pay for used books; or one-fourth what I would pay for new books. I have used them for 2 semesters, and had only one problem, which they not only took care of immediately, they were very nice about it.

You can also save a lot of money on books by setting up a study group prior to the beginning of the semester. One book for every two people should work well, but you can do less if necessary, and people are cooperative. If you do this for all of your classes, you will only have to purchase/rent less than half of your textbooks. Work out a time schedule for how long each person can have the book to study for quizzes, tests, research papers, etc. You can also borrow books from other students not in your group, but that are in the same class. Be considerate with their property.

A desire for knowledge often comes at a price, but it doesn't have to. You can get access to M.I.T. courses for free through their open courseware program at <http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm>. Other colleges and universities are offering this as well; Google "open courseware".

College fees and tuition rates can also be waived and reduced. It is not something that is printed in the catalog or online, but ASKING the Financial Aid department for hardship assistance can reduce around 30% of your school charges.

College loans can be consolidated, have the interest rate lowered by asking, and every loan provider has a needs-based repayment plan that is extremely low (or zero, if your income is very low). Student loan payments can be lowered by ASKING for the hardship payments, and then proving you cannot afford the full payments. Expect paperwork, get it done, and reduce your monthly payments every single month.

There are a lot of reimbursement programs available through your employer. If where you work has more than 100 employees, odds are there is a tuition reimbursement program. Sign up, pass your classes and your job will pay for your school. Like other reimbursement programs, where there is one, there are more. My employer reimbursed me for legal costs for a step-parent adoption, $2,000. Talk to the head of your Human Resources department to find out what reimbursement programs your job offers.

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BANKS AND CREDIT CARDS

Shop around when considering where to bank. A few phone calls can save you monthly fees, check fees, ATM fees, and overdraft fees. By comparing banks, I saved $20 a month, easy ($240 a year). With all the varieties of banks out there competing for your business, you should never have to pay a monthly fee. Many banks waive the cost of printing your checks, and will refund a foreign ATM fee if you save the receipt.

Since the banks really are competing for your long-term business, many are now offering a bonus for opening an account with them. Typically these offers give you $100 for: opening an account with $100 and keeping that in there for 30 days; or opening an account and signing up for Direct Deposit. These offers come in the mail, are printed in local papers, in the back of the phone book, or in community coupon books. Free $100!

There is no logical reason to pay for overdraft protection. Instead, throw $5-$50 into your account and don't record it, don't touch it. Then if you've made a mathematical error, or just forgot to write something down, you're covered. In the event that you overdraft anyway, overdraft fees are easily waived- just call customer service and ASK. Don't forget your NEGOTIATION SKILLS, including the power of silence.

A really easy way to save some money for a rainy day is to round all your transactions when you record them. Round all deposits down to the nearest dollar, all withdrawals up to the nearest dollar. If you deposit $218.75, mark down $218, and if you buy something for $11.04, subtract $12. Just rounding all your change like this will do several things- one, the math is easier with whole numbers, two you'll remember your balance quicker, and three you'll accumulate $20-$50 a month (depending on how many transactions you have) that you can either keep saving, or use for other things.

Credit cards are fighting for your business. No matter what your current interest rate is, you can always call and request a lower interest rate. If you've made timely payments the last six months in a row, they're very likely to accommodate you. Any time you are in this situation, remember your negotiation skills. When they offer to generously lower your interest by 2%, counter and ask for 10%. Negotiate, asking for a larger limit- if you show your commitment to the company and a willingness to charge more, it's the same as waiving cash in their face. Google low interest credit cards for some comparisons cards to consider switching to. If your current credit card company won't cooperate with you, let them know you are considering switching. (See RETENTION)

Late fees and over the limit fees will be waived if you simply ask, as long as you have not abused the asking. If it's your fifth over the limit in the past 4 months, plan on paying it. Otherwise, call customer service and pretty please them. If you know you are going to be late paying, call one week BEFORE the due date to tell them; this protects your credit. You save the late fee, and they won't ding your credit report for a late payment IF you call them early enough.

Like a home mortgage, payments to any type of credit card are applied to the interest first. Send extra amounts, even a dollar, to the principle every month in a second check.

Paying your credit card on time every month is the same as putting money in your pocket. You save late fees, and you improve your credit, which means you'll pay less in the future for anything that checks your credit (insurance, mortgage, and car payments). Remember that if you mail a check, you're looking at 8-10 days for processing. Complaining that you mailed the check before it was due is like shouting at a wall. You know it takes time to mail it, for the bags of mail to be collected, sorted, and opened, and then thousands of accounts to have their payments noted to their individual accounts. So don't play that card and expect it to work; it won't. Mail the payment a week after you receive the bill, or better yet, pay online or have an automated payment- electronic payments process in 2-3 days.

One of the major things that affect the interest you pay is what your credit score is. If you've improved your credit, call and ask for a better interest rate. The best way to improve your credit score is to improve your percentage of debt per debt. Stay with me, this will make sense quickly. Let's say you have two $5000 credit cards, each with a $4000 balance- $8,000 in debt total, each card is at 80% capacity. Your friend Steve has three $5000 credit cards, two with $2600, and one with $2800, for a total of $8000 debt. Steve has better credit than you. Why? Because two of his cards are at 52% capacity, one at 56%, and THAT is what affects your score. How much of the credit line you are using per debt is more important to your credit rating than how much total debt you carry. You and Steve both have the same amount of debt, but your percentage is 80% per debt and his is in the 50% range, which means his credit score will be higher with every credit bureau. So pay down your individual debts to below 70%; if you pay an account off, don't close it, keep it open so that 100% available credit boosts your score.

Check your credit report for free once a year at <https://www.annualcreditreport.com/> Check your credit scores, all three of them, for free at <https://www.creditkarma.com/>. It is important to check the data for errors. When I checked my credit, my score was in the upper 500s (bad). I found SEVENTEEN ERRORS on my credit report- most of them were multiple accounts for the same debt. There is a "report error" button to notify the creditors of the error. Take the time to provide good data in a report- note that the account numbers are the same and provide the number (on the report, copy and paste), that the same debt is listed twice, once with your full name, once omitting your middle name. Be thorough. Expect it to take a few months for this to be fixed and updated. When I checked 3 months after reporting the errors, my score was in the low 700s (good!).

Old unpaid debts 'roll off' your credit report after 7 years. There can be a problem with this scenario- sometimes a new debtor buys the old debt, then 'updates' the date on your credit report. They are not supposed to do this, but of course they try every chance they get. So if you have an unpaid debt on your credit report, check if it is the original debtor or a new one, and check the dates; if the date the original debt was incurred is over 7 years, you can have that removed from your report, and your score improves.

Unpaid debts hanging over your head can cause stress, sleepless nights, and constant negative reports on your credit. Contact your creditors to pay off these old, closed accounts. Once an account goes unpaid for 3 months, it goes to that company's collections department- if this is where you are, call collections to make payment arrangements to protect your credit. If this continues unpaid, 3-6 months after collections your account will be closed and sold to an outside collection agency. Any payment arrangements will have to be negotiated with the new collection agency. This new company bought your debt for pennies on the dollar, which means you can negotiate with them to pay the debt off for less than its face value. Once the debt is unpaid for a further year, it generally gets sold to a different collection agency for an even greater reduced amount, and this repeats as time continues. So if you have an old credit card that was originally $2,000, and you haven't paid on it in two years, you're probably getting mail offering you deals to pay it off. The bill will now say you owe over $4000 from all the fees and fines- you know, they can legally ASK for any amount they want, it doesn't mean they'll get it, and it doesn't mean you legally owe those fees. At two years old, this debt has been sold to the current company for less than $500. Know this when you call them to settle; the older the debt, the less they paid for it, the less they'll take to settle the account. Once it's paid, the entire original debt will be removed from your report and marked as "paid"- no matter what you paid. It will not say you only paid 25% of the account, it will just show the account is paid and closed, and your credit score goes up.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Borrow your movies from the library, for free. If there's a new release out you want to see, request a hold on it at the library in advance- they'll call you, and hold it for you to pick up. The library also carries CDs you can check out for free, instead of buying new ones. You can get all your books, magazines, newspapers, and books on tape for free at any library. If the item you want is not available at your library, they will check the county for the item. If it is not in the county, you can still get it for free through the Interlibrary Loan, or ILL. All you do is fill out a slip of paper, give it to the librarian, and wait. Your library will search the entire United States for the item you want, and get it sent to them. Your librarian will then call you to tell you that your item has arrived- sometimes from 3,000 miles away!

Libraries can and do reduce and/or waive late fees. Some libraries will hold food drives, called "food for fines", where you can bring in canned food to have your fines erased. You can also just tell a librarian you can't afford the fines you have.

Almost all magazines and newspapers are available for free online.

You can buy your entertainment used online (eBay), in a used bookstore/music store, or set up an exchange program with your friends/neighbors. "You've never seen Independence Day? I'll loan it to you if you let me borrow that new dance mix CD you got." There are online book exchanges, such as Book Crossing, <http://www.bookcrossing.com/>. There are free books available in e-book format, simply type in "free eBooks" in Google and you'll find a few million. You won't find new books this way, but if you want to read War and Peace, this works.

Don't have cable, or can't afford to keep paying for it? Hulu offers thousands of television shows and movies for free at www.hulu.com.

Netflix offers unlimited online access for $7.99 a month. I use this program, and I have access to thousands of movies, documentaries, and TV shows available 24/7 through their website, and we watch it on TV through the Wii, or on our computer. Netflix offers a lot of deals for new customers; look around for a lower rate, first month free, etc.

Memberships can get you discounts at movie theaters, video rental stores, hotel rooms, pizza parlors, and more. Memberships would include AAA, AARP, any Honors club, Student IDs, Moose Club, Elk Club, Eagles Club, Kiwanis, etc. Have your card ready and ask. My Moose membership gives discounts on car rentals, hotels, LASIK, all types of insurance, cell phones, internet, golfing, and hearing aids (and more).

Matinees are the way to go if you must see a movie in the theater. If you are a student, take your student ID with you as well, you might get a deeper ticket discount, or a food and drink discount. In fact, students should keep their ID with them at ALL times and ask for a discount with it EVERYWHERE they go, for EVERY purchase. You'd be surprised who offers discounts without advertising it. Many theatres have a "text us for a free item" promo poster in the lobby- spot it, text it, free stuff!

Community memberships also provide free entertainment, in the form of open mic night, karaoke, pool, ping pong, darts, movie night, etc. Visit the members based community centers in your area to find one you like, such as the Moose Club, Eagles Club, etc. A small annual membership fee will provide you year-round access to entertainment.

Don't pass up the free entertainment offered by your city/county, such as fireworks displays, parades, and the like.

Virtual museum tours offer you masterpiece viewings online for free. You can tour the Louvre, the Smithsonian, and so much more.

Anytime you are making an entertainment trip that you will repeat, such as the State Fair, a large water park, a Renaissance Fair, etc., it is generally a good idea to get the Season Pass. A Season Pass to most of these venues is twice-three times the amount of a daily fare, so if you go often, you will save a lot of money. Don't waste money buying a pass you won't use- get it if you know you'll go, and be sure to take it with you!

If you are making a one-time trip to an expensive venue, look for out of the ordinary deals. For example, I got in half price to Six Flags once by bringing a Dr.Pepper can, and in free to the State Fair by bringing in four Pilgrim's Pride labels (this was in Texas, where Dr.Pepper manufactures and there is a Pilgrim's Pride factory). These offers will be mildly advertised in the local newspaper or grocery store- hunt for them. I usually find them in the Travel section on a Wednesday- don't know why, but that's where they put small local discounts like this.

Software- try before you buy, always. You can get a free trial version of almost any published software for 1 week to test drive it. No matter how little the software costs, if it's not compatible with your computer, or you just don't like it, you save 100% by finding that information out before you purchase. Consider freeware and shareware options also, they will have similar programs to what you're thinking of purchasing. This applies to video games also- try it first by renting it or borrowing it! Gamefly lets you rent unlimited video games through the mail for a flat monthly fee- and first month's free.

Special occasions can be special AND inexpensive. On our anniversary, I purchased pinwheel stuffed steaks, vegetable kabobs, and stuffed mushrooms from the meat counter in Safeway. I got some individual cheesecake slices from the deli, and a bottle of wine. Grand total was $19 for our special meal. Yes, I had to cook, but I didn't have to do any prep, just literally throw these things on a tray and put into the oven. Appetizers for two, dinner for two, dessert for two, bottle of wine, tax and tip in a restaurant would have run at least $60. By doing it this way, I still didn't have to work for our meal, cleanup was a breeze, and the food was excellent, all for 1/3 the price.

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TRAVEL

Shop around, shop around, shop around. Check fares in at least five different discount sites, such as cheaptickets.com, priceline.com, Travelocity, etc. Book as far in advance as you can, this will save you a lot of money. Sometimes flying to a nearby major city and renting a car to drive the difference will save you hundreds. As an example, I fly to Las Vegas to visit relatives that live 100 miles away, the tickets are usually about half of what they would be to fly directly to their city.

Use membership discounts (AAA), search for coupons online, at the Chamber of Commerce website of the city you are traveling to, in travel guides displayed at gas stations, and inquire about deals at the front desk when you check in to your hotel. Online only deals can get you great package savings, discounts on car rental, discounts on entertainment rentals (like skis, scuba gear, etc.), free gifts, and more.

Travel memberships can give you discounts on hotel, airfare, car rentals, and local food and entertainment. For example, renting a car with my AAA membership saves me 20%. Check your membership details at the membership's website.

Membership to specific companies will get you FREE stuff. Like a three day hotel stay, free flight tickets, seat upgrades, free rental cars, and more. If you travel at all, pick one airline, one hotel, and one car rental company to always use. (And one casino, if you gamble.) Sign up for their "customer loyalty" programs, and reap the rewards. If you can use more than one membership, like getting points from your credit card company when paying for your hotel/air, by all means stock all that free stuff up!

Just this week, I spoke to a woman who is taking a family vacation next weekend. There are six people traveling- ALL their airfare is free thanks to frequent flyer miles. The rental minivan is free for the duration of their stay, due to always renting from the same company. Their passes to Disney -for the six of them- for three days is free, thanks to loyalty points from nationwide hotel stays. They are getting a free Jet Ski rental (for 6) due to points. They own timeshare property nearby, so they paid no hotel rates. They estimate spending $500 for food and souvenirs, as every other aspect of their trip is FREE. For six of them. To Disneyland, for a three day weekend. Nuf' said.

A National Parks annual pass is $80, and covers four people in a vehicle. This will give you unlimited entrance to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and all other National Parks. More information is available at <http://store.usgs.gov/pass/general.html>.

If you did not plan ahead, or have unexpected stops along the way, you can still negotiate the hotel room price. This is not something that is advertised, but just keep trying. Whip out your Student ID, any/all membership cards you have, and cash. I got a hotel room that was billed at $55 a night, plus taxes (which would have brought it to $64), for $40 cash. If the rooms are vacant, they aren't going to make ANY money, so they will take what they can get. Before you walk in to negotiate the room rate, check your wallet; remove large amounts of cash and excess credit cards. Figure out the amount you are willing to pay for the room, and carry only that amount in your wallet- leave the rest of your cash and credit in the glove box, lock your car, and go in. Cash makes a big impact in negotiating, and can give you discounts throughout your travels.

If you are taking a road trip, take some time to do a few simple things in advance that will improve your fuel efficiency, and save you money at the gas pump. Remove all excess junk from your car. Keep your spare and jack, of course, and check that the spare is actually inflated to the proper pressure. Inflate all your tires to the exact proper air pressure. Check all fluid levels, and top them off. If you have the time and money, get an oil change, and your fuel filter changed, if needed. When you fuel up for a long road trip (over 600 miles), buy premium fuel. The difference in price will be more than compensated by the increase of miles per gallon you will get. You will have to stop to fuel up less often, and notice you have covered many more miles. This will also prove beneficial when you have finished your trip, as you will have cleaned your fuel lines with the higher quality gas. Drive the speed limit, preferably with the cruise control on- varying your speed reduces gas mileage. (Read gas mileage for more on this subject)

If you are traveling with friends, there are group discount rates available everywhere. Get the discount arranged when you book, not after you arrive.

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BABIES AND CHILDREN

Healthy babies come from healthy pregnancies. If you are pregnant, do not skip or skimp on doctor's visits or vitamins. If you cannot afford these items yourself, you can get free prenatal care and supplements, regardless of which state you live in. More information can be found at <http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/prenatal-care.cfm>

State medical insurance can cover your hospital bill, and may cover birthing centers or midwives. It depends on the state, so ask your local Medicaid office (found in the Yellow Pages under Government, or look online).

Breast feeding is the most nutritious food for your baby, and it's free. Visit the La Leche League at <http://www.llli.org/> for information, questions answered, and general breastfeeding assistance.

If you decide not to breast feed, make sure to take advantage of coupons on formula. WIC, a nationwide program, provides coupons for FREE formula. Every city has a local WIC chapter, found in your phone book or at http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/.

When heating up formula for your baby, please do NOT boil plastic bottles, as this will release toxic chemicals from the plastic into the contents of the bottle. Instead, heat your liquid separately, and then pour into the bottle.

A healthy baby tends to stay healthy. Take your infant to their doctor visits regularly. There are free shot clinics throughout the country. Ask your Medicaid worker, your pediatrician, or search online.

You can make your own baby food very easily and very cheaply. Puree an apple, mash a banana, or blend up orange juice very simply. It's just as easy to blend up vegetables, grain, and meat, or make your own blends. Be sure you are introducing grains and meats as your pediatrician recommends- you can cause future intestinal damage to your child by feeding them grains and/or meats too soon, before their system can handle it. Ditto for animal milk, any dairy products, and citrus fruits.

Diapers can be either cloth or disposable, and they are equal when it comes to their impact on your wallet, AND on the environment. Cloth diapers have to be washed often; make sure to run full loads to reduce your utilities. Disposable diapers should be bought with coupons, which can be found in the paper, on manufacturers' websites, etc.

Infant and child furniture can be purchase quite cheaply through thrift stores and yard sales. Be sure the distance between crib slats is no more than 2 ¾ inches- a standard today, but not so on older cribs. Do NOT purchase a used car seat- you cannot tell by a visual inspection if it has been involved in an accident, which would make it an unsafe seat for your child to be in. Some hospitals, police departments, and counties give away car seats for free; call around early in pregnancy, as there may be a waiting period.

Thrift stores and yard sales can supply all of your child's needs very cheaply. They are a great place to get furniture, clothing, toys, bottles, bedding, and more. When my first child was born (25 years ago), $60 at a yard sale got me: a crib, a changing table, several dozen cloth diapers, and two yard size trash bags full of clothes. Babies grow so quickly that it is so not worth it to buy them new clothes, no matter how cute they are.

Don't be afraid to ask friends and relatives for hand me downs. Once someone has had their "last" baby, they are more than happy to give away mountains of stuff for infants and children. This is a great way to get bulky items, such as high chairs, or even everything you could possibly need. Your aunt/neighbor/cousin/etc. will be delighted to have the extra space, and you will save several hundred dollars.

I just had a baby in September 2011. I spent less than $200 for all her gear, by buying everything at thrift stores (except for the car seat, which I got new, on clearance). This includes: swing, car seat, changing table, crib, crib mattress, crib sheets, playpen, highchair, stroller, baby seat, bathtub, baby monitor, breast pump, breast feeding pillow, bottles, diaper bag, toys, books, and all of her clothes.

When you are ready to leave your bundle of joy, be it for a few hours or the entire day, you will need to have a sitter or daycare. A great way to save money here is to get to know other moms in your area, and arrange a trade for sitting time. You watch my baby for four hours on Friday night so we can go to dinner, and I will watch your toddler for four hours on Tuesday so you can run errands. If you have a large enough pool of parents, you can cover work shifts as well. Everyone in the sitter club saves money, and knows they are leaving their child with someone they trust.

Toy exchanges are a terrific way to supply your child with a new and interesting toy, without having to buy one every few weeks. Simply get together a few other moms (from your babysitting group for example) and agree to swap out four toys a month. You bring 4 toys you child hasn't touched in a few weeks, and pick 4 from the toys others brought. Stuffed toys should be put in the dryer, and hard toys washed with a mild disinfectant before giving them to your child. This will reduce the likelihood of passing illnesses around via the toys.

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PETS

You can negotiate pet deposits very easily. Let me give you an example, from my life.

I was moving into an apartment in an area that had three apartment complexes available. I drove around, immediately marked one off my list, and had a fairly good idea of which one of the other two I wanted. I drove back to the first complex, the one I wouldn't consider (it was gated, which doesn't work for me), and requested a brochure or flier from the office. They happily gave me one. I asked about their move-in specials. They told me they were waiving pet deposits ($300), and taking $100 off the cleaning deposit. I asked them to write that information on the brochure, and initial it. I thanked them and left, and drove to the next complex, where I repeated the process. This complex was offering no cleaning deposit ($600), and half off first month's rent ($325). I had them write this on their brochure and initial it, and went to the last complex.

The last complex was the one I wanted; I liked the layout of both the complex and the apartment. I asked them for their brochure, and their current offers. They told me they were offering $200 off deposit, and half off pet deposit ($125). I stayed and chatted, asked to see an apartment, and kept up friendly conversation the entire time. When we returned to the office, I pulled out the brochures of their competitors. I asked them what they could do to match or better them. They rose to half-off deposit (which was initially $600, half would be $300), and half off pet deposit. I countered, they countered, I watched their expressions. Just when they looked the least tiny bit exasperated, when there was a gleam in their eye that said "You'd better take this and be happy!" I accepted. I got my full pet deposit waived, half off my deposit waived, and half off my first month's rent.

This was a savings to me of $850 ($250 pet deposit, $300 deposit, $300 rent). Their original offer was a discount of $325. I saved $525 extra for 30 minutes of effort.

There are over 23 million hits on Google for "pet health insurance". These plans will give a discount on vet costs and medications, lab fees, and so much more.

You can look up Spay and Neuter clinics in your area that are low-cost or free at <http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html>. You can also Google "free spay clinics", which will give you around eighteen million hits, or "free spay clinics in Dallas" to limit hits to your area (replacing "Dallas" with your city or nearest major city).

Bulk cat litter can be purchased very cheaply through nurseries- the kind that grows trees, not the ones with babies. Five dollars can get you a 5 gallon pail, which should last you around 10 weeks, depending on your feline situation. You can also get cheap/free sawdust if you live anywhere near a lumber mill and cheap or free hay if you live near wheat fields. Hay that is rotted is not safe to use as a litter, as it will make your animal sick; however, hay that is simply too old to be sold as feed will be around half price, and makes excellent cheap bedding for rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, mice, etc.

Food for your non-human friends can be purchased in bulk, if you have the space and the ability to keep it sealed against insects and/or rodents. Spending only $50 for a year's worth of food for your pet is great; losing three quarters of it to rats and flies is heartbreaking. Whatever container you place your bulk animal food in, make sure it seals air-tight, and is ideally up off the floor. A large trash can on wheels works fine if it has a tight-fitting lid. Shop at large warehouse type outlets, where you can buy 50-100 lbs. of food in one trip. This applies to birdseed, cat food, dog food, rodent food, etc.

If you don't have the space to bulk shop pet food, at least take advantage of the numerous coupons available. If you live in a major city, the Sunday paper will ALWAYS have a coupon for pet food in it- at least one, and usually for $2 or more off- giving more than the return on the dollar you spent on the paper. "Pet food coupons" gave me over nine million hits on Google. The back of EVERY phone book has coupons, usually for percent off at a local pet store. These can save you even more than the brand coupons.

You can make your own pet food very easily and cheaply. Here is a recipe for a crunchy dog/cat food from the book, "Food Pets Die For" by Ann N. Martin.

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups rye flour

1 ½ cups brown rice flour

1 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon dried kelp or alfalfa

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 ¼ cups beef or chicken broth or stock

Optional: dried catnip or brewer's yeast

Mix dry ingredients. Slowly add broth and oil. Roll out into a thin sheet on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool, break into small pieces. Toss lightly with catnip or brewer's yeast. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator.

This is one of many pet food recipes from Ann's book. BTW, "pet food recipes" gives 37 million hits on Google. You could narrow that by inserting your animal in the search; "rabbit food recipes" for example. A great recipe for fish food can be found at <http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-fish-food/112.asp>

If you have an animal that eats other animals, breed their prey at home instead of repeated buying. This would include mice, crickets, etc.

There is now a non-profit group providing pet food to low income homes. It is called Pet Food Stamps. It opened in New York but is going national. You can sign up today, and if they expand to your area you'll be first on the list. <https://petfoodstamps.org/>

You can make your own herbal flea collars by mixing equal parts of rosemary, tea tree, and citronella oils. Soak a length of cotton or any soft fibrous material in this blend for at least half an hour; dry for 24 hours (minimum) before tying around your pet's neck.

You can make your own herbal medications for your pets, potentially saving you thousands of dollars on medications, not to mention saving on vet visits, since your pet will be healthier overall. Google is your friend.

My cat seems to enjoy her toys more than most other cats. I've spent just over $5 (total) for her two favorite toys, which are a laser pointer and a piece of string. The string was originally an old shoe lace, so my real expense was the $5 for the laser pointer. You can also make catnip "mice" by tying some catnip up in an old sock; just knot the sock closed, you don't even have to tie it. Catnip is extremely cheap in bulk; only the suckers buy the half ounce packages on the cat food aisle for $4.00. Go to a health food store and look for catnip in bulk bins, and keep your cat happy for pennies.

Dogs go crazy over tennis balls and playing tug of war with a piece of rope. You can get a piece of rope free at most hardware stores if you ask the lumber department- they get their lumber tied with rope, and it breaks or gets cut, leaving little (six to twelve inch) pieces all over the ground. Tennis balls can be bought cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales, or you can pick up dead ones around tennis courts for free.

If you have to leave town and cannot take your pet with you, ask a friend if they can take your animal, or come visit it while you are gone. Offer a barter exchange on craigslist for the pet sitting. This will save you boarding fees from a kennel while you are gone, being not only cheaper for you but emotionally better for your animal as well. If you must board, be as choosy as you can be according to your time. Look for boarding coupons in your phone book and online, and/or ask for a discount.

If you are considering purchasing a new animal, shop for one that is genetically healthier than other breeds. For example, Chihuahua dogs get sick easily, and can be expensive to maintain. Ask your vet to recommend the healthiest/strongest breed of whatever species you are considering, and begin to choose from that selection.

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SEASONAL

Any time you consider buying new seasonal clothes, buy them out of season if you can. Buying a thick winter parka in March means paying you will pay only $17 for that coat, versus $90 in December (my $17 parka from Old Navy). All of your winter clothing and gear should be bought in March-April if you plan on buying new: sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats, thick socks, and snow boots. Camping gear goes on sale in October-November, when the Holiday clothing and items start arriving- this is the time to get hiking boots, fishing gear, barbeque grills, camouflage, tents, etc. I got a $120 two room tent for $20 by buying it out of season. Get your swimwear (and pool gear, water toys, goggles, etc.) in the late fall. Wedding gowns and tuxedos are on sale in February. Evening gowns (prom gowns) are cheapest in the summer. School clothes (t-shirts, jeans, etc.) are cheapest in April-May, when stores are clearing room for all of their summer sales. Sports equipment is cheapest when that sport's season is ending. Bikes are cheapest in the fall. Computers are cheapest late June/early July. School supplies are cheapest just prior to school, early August.

Holiday decorations can be purchased off-season for 90% off. Yes, NINETY PERCENT OFF. I went to a major craft store two days after Halloween and spent ten dollars, which gave me $100 worth of decorations- three large bags full. I spent thirty dollars there the day after Christmas, and got several years' worth of greeting cards, a 6 foot tree, many rolls of wrapping paper, tree trimmings, and home decorations for the entire house.

Learn how to prune and trim your own shrubs and trees, and avoid paying for this simple maintenance. Again, library books abound, and the internet is available.

Mow your own yard, rake your own leaves, clean your own gutters, and shovel your own snow. It's really not that hard, doesn't take much time, and the investment in tools pays for itself really fast. Plus, by now you should be savvy enough to have bought those tools at a yard sale for a pittance!

Properly maintain your central air conditioner by changing the filter monthly, if you use disposable filters. Disposable filters are one dollar apiece- if you don't change them, you will pay at least $100 to have someone come and fix your unit- mark your calendar and change them every month. You can also buy reusable filters; they just have to be hosed down in the garden or washed in the tub. While you are hosing outside, hose off your central AC unit to get rid of bugs & pollen that can clog your system. My mother paid $200 to have our AC unit lines flushed, because it was full of ants. Keep the area around the unit clean, grass trimmed, trash picked up, etc.

If you have a room air conditioner, be sure to clean it and refresh the water often. Many people forget about changing the water, so the same water stays in there- breeding all kinds of nasty stuff. That bacteria and mold-laden water is then blown all over you. Several large outbreaks of disease in office buildings were traced to the water in the portable air conditioner.

Central heating should be maintained as well. You can usually get an annual "checkup" of your unit for less than thirty bucks- and it's worth it, for it can spot problems that would cost you hundreds. It also ensures the safety of your unit, which keeps your home and loved ones safe- priceless.

Chimneys also need maintenance to function properly, and cheaply. There are cheap chimney cleaning logs that you throw in every so often to keep down the buildup in the stack, saving you the cost of a chimney sweeper. Check out  http://www.repair-home.com/outdoor_chimney_chimney_maintenance.html for information on chimney maintenance.

Garden costs can be easily reduced. Join a local gardening or agriculture club to share seeds and cuttings, as well as to get tips and fun social time. You can even trade seeds online, at sites like <http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/exseed/>. Borrow garden tools you will not use often. Rent large garden tools, like a rototiller, if you cannot borrow them. Making your own compost is cheap, easy, and does not take up much space. Making your own fertilizer is cheap and easy as well. Call around to restaurants & grocers to find donations of fish bones, cooked vegetables or vegetable tops, etc. Plant a cheap cover crop like alfalfa, and plow it under for awesome green fertilizer. Get free sawdust from lumber mills to use as a barrier instead of buying mulch. Plant bamboo so you can grow your own garden stakes and trellises by using the bamboo. Use water gel crystals mixed into your planting soil to reduce watering costs.

Create your own greeting cards with software programs and a printer, construction paper and decorative scissors, or unlined paper and crayons. Handmade cards are not only cheap, they are considered more thoughtful, and are more likely to be kept by the recipient for years. Take a day to make up several "happy birthday", "get well soon", and other cards you would use regularly. Keep them organized for easy mailing.

Homemade gifts are touching, appreciated, and very easy on the wallet. The potentials here are unlimited. Make what you know, are good at, and have fun making. While I would shudder at the thought of getting a bottle of Kraft Barbeque Sauce for my birthday, I would treasure and be delighted with a friend's homemade barbeque sauce, from their own special recipe. Apply as you like to you and your loved ones' interests.

Do not be afraid to purchase a 'used' gift from a yard sale or thrift store. I have done this for most of the gifts I've given most of my life- often people don't know, because there are a lot of brand new items in resale venues. Get creative! I found a book on tea ceremonies in one thrift store, paired it with a lovely teapot from another, and a box of new tea from the grocery store for a unique gift set that was less than $7.

Taxes. You cannot escape them. Resistance is futile! File online for FREE at www.irs.gov, or free in person through the AARP. You don't have to be a member of AARP, or even old enough to retire to get them to process your taxes for free. Call your local chapter from the phone book, or visit www.aarp.org.

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ONE TIME COSTS

I would imagine most people reading this are not in the income bracket to afford cosmetic surgery, or cosmetic dentistry. Yet even here, there are deals to be had. I'm talking half off braces, 20% off whitening, half off LASIK, and more.

First, search for deals in your phone book, and then look online. Yes there are coupons for tattoos, eye surgery, and breast reductions. Call the office and inquire about specials (like 25% off laser hair removal). If that results in a dead end (unlikely!), there's always the magic wand: cash.

Save up as much as you can towards your cosmetic procedure, or use any windfall towards it. Withdraw it in cash, and take it with you to a consultation. Use your NEGOTIATION SKILLS to get a cash up-front rate. If your orthodontist wants $4,000 paid over two years for your braces, they might very well leap at the opportunity for $2,000 cold hard cash NOW. They save money by not having to bill you, remind you, wait for payments, worry that you won't pay, etc. They can also deposit that money now, where it will draw interest and make up the difference- so you both walk away happy.

If you are completing some sort of project that requires tools, ask your friends and neighbors if you can borrow the tool(s) needed, rather than buying it. If that doesn't work, ask about renting the tool for the day from any hardware store. This would be a good option for say, a post hole digger or an extension ladder, depending of course on the size of your project, and how long you need the tool.

Safety gear and equipment, such as helmets, hard hats, goggles, etc., should not be overlooked because you are trying to save money. I have lost count of the number of people I have met who are brain damaged from not wearing a helmet- this affects all of their future earnings, as well as running up a huge hospital bill. Don't skimp on your safety. If you cannot afford a helmet, there are free helmet programs everywhere.

Court fees can be reduced, deferred, or waived. You have to ask, and fill out a form. I got my divorce filing fees deferred for one year, after which time they allowed me six months of payments to clear the costs. I've had moving violations waived due to low income. Speeding tickets may be cleared in full by taking Defensive Driving. The defensive driving class runs around $30, cheaper than a speeding ticket by far. Should you have any fees being assigned by a judge, tell the judge you have a limited income, and ask for assistance.

Free legal advice is available through government programs and Legal Aid. You may also find a legal roundtable that meets regularly in your area that offers free advice. There are some lawyers that will work "pro bono", which is Latin for free. These websites list pro bono lawyers: <http://www.probono.net/>, <http://probonolawyers.org/>. Paralegals can also prepare legal documents, such as divorces, for a fraction of what a lawyer would charge.

Job related purchases -such as uniforms, shoes, licenses, etc. - may be refunded partially or entirely by your employer. They will not offer the information, you have to ask. If your employer does not reimburse you, you can claim them on your taxes. Traveling for interviews and relocating for a new job are also tax deductible- save those receipts!

Shipping boxes and moving boxes are FREE at grocery stores and liquor stores. I cannot believe people pay for boxes when they move- you can get just as good boxes for free. Wal-Mart sends their boxes back, so don't ask them; some stores sell their cardboard, but most just cut them open and burn them. Call your nearest major grocery store and ask if you can get boxes, and ask them when they stock, which is generally 11pm. Go to the store ½ hour after that (in this scenario, 11:30), and head to the cereal and frozen food aisles. The boxes that are unpacked on these aisles are the strongest (frozen) and best all-purpose sizes (cereal). Talk to the employee who is stocking that section, tell them you're moving, and ask them to save you all the boxes they open in the next hour or so- they'll probably ask you to bring them a cart to put them in. Do so, then return in one hour to pick up 60 or so boxes, all flattened; with a tape gun you're set to pack. If you have a lot of glass or knickknacks, be sure to get alcohol boxes, either from the grocery store or liquor store. They are extremely strong and durable, and have separators inside to keep things from banging together during your move. Large hospitals are also good for boxes; they get regular shipments in sturdy boxes- call and speak to the purchasing department.

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CONTESTS

You can enter many contests and sweepstakes online. Others require a postcard, or an envelope with a submission form. Why enter contests and sweepstakes? Because you can win tons of stuff that you then don't have to pay for. Everything has a contest, from a year's worth of groceries, to free gas, to contests to win a wedding gown. There are drawings for diamond jewelry, plasma TVs, makeup, golf clubs, vacations, you name it.

Contests that require submissions in envelopes will usually allow you to enter multiple times, as long as each envelope has a 3"x 5" index card with your name, address, and phone number. Read the contest rules- if you are limited to five entries a day, stick to that. If you're drawn as the winner, and they check (and they do) and you had six entries that day, guess what happens? You've violated the rules and they pick someone else.

You will be taxed on anything you win, but you can also subtract from that anything you paid to enter contests for the year. So keep track of your postage and envelope costs in a monthly journal, and write them off the taxes on whatever you win.

Find contests in any magazine in the library, or just Google "contest".

Legitimate contests will not come to you- if you get mail saying you won a contest, walk away from the scam. Likewise, emails and texts telling you that you won a contest you never entered are fraudulent. "Like" or "Forward" this in an email or on Facebook will not win you anything either, use common sense. Real contests will have a list of rules and requirements, and will never ask you for any money.

If you are told you won something and just have to pay the taxes to receive it, don't fall for that scam. Taxes on contest wins are paid directly to the IRS when you file your normal annual taxes, period.

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VICES

Purchase the cheap red wine in the large jugs, with a screw top lid. These wines taste as good as the pricier wines when left exposed to air for a few hours. Pour into individual glasses, and let set out for at least one hour, three is better. No, it will not taste like an expensive wine, but this makes the $10 a gallon wine taste like $40 a gallon wine.

Brew your own beer and/or wine. Brewing is cheap. My brother makes his own beer. He spent $27 to get all of his start up supplies and equipment. That made him five gallons of beer (equal to 53 cans of beer). It took him $6.15 to make the next batch, replenishing his supplies. Each batch at $6.15 makes 53 beers- approximately twelve cents per 12 oz. of beer, or a penny an ounce. ($1.44 a twelve pack)

The basics you will need include a five gallon glass, an airlock, a racking cane, a 5 gallon plastic container, yeast, malt, and hops. There's a little more to it, but that's the essence.

Brewing is not that difficult, nor does it take up much space, or time (well, your time anyway). You can stash the whole getup in a spare closet, or even fill the closet around it if you have a lot of stuff and no space. Setting up will take you probably an hour to do it right, and then you'll spend maybe five minutes a week checking on it. Expect this process to take at least a month. So an hour and a half (give or take) of your time can net you five gallons of beverage.

There are thousands of books on brewing, as well as thousands of websites and DVDs and online videos. Brew supply companies provide free recipes and instructions, and many have a toll free help line as well. You can brew beer, wine, or mead. Pick your drink, and get started on the first, cheap batch. After you have perfected the method (at least a dozen good batches in a row), you can start modifying the recipe to suit your tastes. This is the time when $5 on a seasoning can dramatically improve the taste of your beer, mead, or wine. I have hundreds of brewing recipes on my pinterest.

Should you choose to brew mead, check your phone book for beekeepers. You can buy honey in bulk from them, and can negotiate a good price, because you'll be back. If there are no beekeepers in your area (highly unlikely), you can purchase bulk honey from any brew supply company. Hops can be purchased significantly cheaper from an herb supply company rather than a brew supply company.

Make your own soda, tea, and sport drinks. There are machines you can purchase to make Pepsi, Coke, whatever- if you're not willing to give them up, and you have soda as a regular purchase, bite the bullet and make it for 1/10th the price. Like southern sweet tea that's sold for $3 a gallon? Brew your own for 42 cents a gallon- 9 Lipton tea bags (small), 1 gallon water, 1 ½ cups sugar. Bring ½ gallon of water to boil, remove from heat, throw in all the tea bags and sugar, cover. Come back in 10 minutes, stir really well to dissolve sugar, add other half gallon water, refrigerate. Look up recipes to brew your own ANY kind of liquid drink, from root beer to instant breakfast shakes, and save away.

Roll your own cigarettes. A cigarette machine is typically less than ten dollars. There are electric machines that claim they are "automated", but only do one cigarette at a time- not worth it at $70-$100. A box of tubes will cost you around three bucks for 200 tubes. A bag of tobacco will run you around a dollar an ounce; there are several sizes and brands available. You can also buy menthol tobacco, and flavored filters. Eight ounces of tobacco will create one carton of cigarettes. So if you figure $3 for the tubes, $8 for the tobacco, that's $11 a carton, $1.10 a pack- or 5.5 cents per cigarette. You can even grow your own tobacco- less than ten dollars in seed will net you a year's worth of tobacco. You don't need a lot of space to grow it, and the tobacco plant is very easy to grow. Google "tobacco seeds" for more information, to buy seeds, or for grow instructions.

If you don't roll your own, get cigarette coupons by going to <http://cigarettecoupons.org/> or contacting the manufacturer directly. Buy cigarettes online for DEEP discounts. Seneca cigarettes, for example, <http://www.senecacigarettes.org/> are $23 a carton when purchased through the website.

Quitting smoking aids can be quite pricey- but not for you. Look for state wide quit programs and local quit groups via the internet and phone book (call the hospitals also). They can assist you with free stop smoking supplies, like patches or gum. They also provide emotional support, and group meetings- all free.

Carry a set amount of cash with you to gamble, leaving your plastic at home. Gamble at the same casino/chain every time, and join their loyalty club. Realize that the slot machines are for suckers, and stick to table games. Use your loyalty club EVERY time you sit down at a table (or a slot, if you can't stay away). Use it every time you get a drink, purchase anything in the gift shop, or rent a room from the casino. Gamble sober- the free drinks are there to entice you to keep gambling when you are losing money to the casino. Stay sober and you'll win more and lose less. Set a "loss limit" before you go gambling, and stick to it. Record your wins and losses in a notebook (lottery too). If you end the year having won money and have to pay taxes on your wins, you can deduct all of your losses if they are documented in a dated journal.

Birth control can be obtained free from any Planned Parenthood in the nation. They will also have literature about the different types available. If there is no Planned Parenthood in your area, know that females can have their birth control covered by Medicaid.

Condoms and lubricants have coupons! Look in men's magazines, and online. All other sexual aids and accessories have coupons, sales, clearance sales, etc. Don't be embarrassed to ask to spend less!

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MISCELLANEOUS

Agencies that rent you furniture, appliances, and electronics for a "low weekly payment" are a very poor financial decision. You could pay $1,000 to rent a television for a year, and not even own it. Whatever it is you are considering renting, check the newspaper "for sale" ads, the freebie newspapers, hit some yard sales, etc. Rental centers should ONLY be used for a temporary short-term lease. EX: your stove is broke, people are on their way for dinner, and it can't be fixed for a week.

Haircuts, manicures, pedicures, and other beauty treatments can be significantly cheaper by going to a beauty school. You will have the work done by a student, and checked (and fixed, if needed) by their teacher, who will be a certified Cosmetologist. My local school charges $5 for a haircut, PLUS offers a punch card, which gives me the 5th haircut free.

It wasn't until I had three children that I started listing batteries as a monthly expense. If this is you, invest in rechargeable batteries and a good charger. I paid $20 for a charger with 4 AA batteries about two years ago, and I am still using those same 4 batteries. Count up how many batteries you use, especially the common AA: in your remote, clock, mouse, keyboard, electric toys, etc. Then buy that many rechargeable batteries and you're set. If you can't buy many at first, just start with the starter pack (charger + 4 batteries), and as you need more, buy a pack of rechargeable instead of standard batteries. I figure I've saved about $10 a month on batteries since I switched to the rechargeable.

Thrift stores, swap meets, pawn shops, and yard sales are places just waiting to save you tons of money. Think jeans for $1. Two end tables for $10, delivered. I got a bike, a rake, and a stack of picture frames for a total of $2. These are actual examples from my own life. The pawn shop in my town carries Xbox games for $4 each, versus $20+ in the store. I've seen camping equipment, hunting gear, collectible treasures and antiques, and just about anything that humans make and sell for 1/10th of their price in one of these locations. They are definitely worth a visit, or three.

When you go to a yard sale or swap meet, don't buy one thing and then keep looking. Pick up what you want, or if it's a large item, point to it and ask for it to be held while you shop. When you have got absolutely everything you are going to buy, ask how much for the lot. This should knock another 10-25% off the prices that were posted, depending on the person you are negotiating with. (See NEGOTIATION SKILLS)

Dollar stores are good for items that are cheap anyway (shower curtain hooks), or that will be used only once (birthday party decorations). I have found really great wall art in these stores, as well as picking up a kitchen broom for a dollar, a trash can, etc.

Any time you are purchasing a new item, a few minutes spent shopping around can save you a lot of money. I have found a price difference of $10 on a new book carried at one store in town versus another bookstore in the same town- it took me a whole 30 seconds to look it up online. The larger the price of the item, the more important comparison shopping is. If you can, buy the floor model of the new item you are purchasing. This will often give you a further discount. I recently bought my son a brand new name brand laptop for $285.00 (originally $650). I found a store that had them on sale, waited until they went to clearance, and then got another 5% off for taking the floor model. If the floor model is damaged, ask for a deeper discount. A scratch across the back of the laptop could have knocked another 5% off our laptop. Any merchandise you are buying which has damage, you can request a discount. You only get it if you ask, so speak up!

Cash also brings strong bargaining power to the table, especially for big ticket items. If you walk into a local television shop, and the TV you really want is $650, you can negotiate the price down with the owner. You are willing to pay $500; he won't go lower than $550. Get out your five one hundred dollar bills (the only cash you have on you), and count them out one at a time on the counter (or TV or whatever). Give him a minute to look at the cash, then swoop it up and move to put it away. 99 out of a 100 times, he will go for the $500 in cash.

Stamps and envelopes are a relatively small expense, but small savings can add up. Paying all of your bills online could save up enough for a nice pair of shoes. Example: you pay 10 bills by mail a month. Stamps are 44 cents apiece, and a box of envelopes is $2 for 50 envelopes. That's $.48 to mail each bill, at 120 bills a year, equals $57.60.

Cleaning supplies do not have to be expensive, or extensive. I get by on a powdered cleanser, window cleaner, and vinegar. That cleans everything in my house.

Anything you can buy, you can make for next to nothing, or find online for free. For example, video game walkthroughs are $15 in the game store, and free online. You can learn how to make your own shampoo, conditioner, body soap, cleaning supplies, whatever. You can get books from the library on the subject, find detailed instructions online, even watch online videos for demonstrations (there are currently over 2,000 videos on YouTube that show how to make soap). You can even make your own OxiClean with sodium percarbonate, which you can buy in pool supply stores. Pinterest is a great site to find do it yourself and make it yourself instructions, for EVERYTHING.

Free instructional videos that will help you save money online at http://rosieknows.com.

Free computer support is available through http://support.microsoft.com, www.techguy.org, and www.computerhope.com.

Appliance repair help is available at www.repairclinic.com.

Being organized will save you money. If you can't find things, you will buy replacements for those things. Your bills will be late because you couldn't find them, or find your checkbook, which means late fees. Spend a weekend organizing your stuff and your papers- that time is money saved.

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WINDFALLS

You get a large tax refund, hit a winning scratch lottery ticket, or otherwise get a lump sum of money. This is a windfall, whether it's $500 or $50,000. Used properly, this money can be worth more than its face value. Used improperly, it's just gone.

Most people live paycheck to paycheck. This means, they aren't used to having an extra shot of cash, so they don't have plans. Without plans, most people will say "Whoo hoo!" and order pizza, and without a coupon even, because "dammit I deserve a splurge". That "I deserve a little splurge" comment loops, you blink, and the money is gone.

So make plans for ANY windfalls, have a list. Write down everything you personally could conceivably do with any 'extra' money. Split this master list into 4 separate lists-under $50, $50-200, $200-$500, over $500. When you add the items onto this list, put your personal most important item first, the 2nd most important second, and so on. Now, when you get a windfall, you already know what YOU feel is important to spend this money on, YOU have control, and YOU will reap the benefits.

Some ideas of good ways to spend windfalls:

Purchase an energy-efficient appliance to replace one that is not. Refrigerator, freezer, television, washer, dryer, computer- the energy efficient versions of these items will save you so much money on your electric bill that they will pay for themselves in one year. This means you keep saving money every year forever. Negotiate, of course, using cash to get the best deal.

Offer a lowball payoff of an old debt. This will improve your credit, lowering other bills (like insurance, interest rates), which will save you more money.

Get a tune-up on your vehicle to improve your gas mileage, and extend the life of your vehicle. (use a coupon and negotiate with cash)

Pay down the balance of one credit card, to improve your debt percentage, improving your credit. This will also save you money from interest charges.

Buy something in bulk you normally use monthly and get in small quantities. This will save you on the overall cost of the item(s), plus save you time and gas by not having to make repeat purchases.

Pay for services in bulk you pay for monthly, if you get a discount for annual payments. Car insurance, for example, is about 20% cheaper paid for annually instead of monthly.

Throw some money in a PayPal account to take advantage of cheap sales on eBay.

Extend the life of something instead of replacing it. Example: new springs and slipcovers for the couch for $50, now the couch is good for another two years, and you don't have to spend hundreds to get a new couch.

Buy something you don't currently have, which you can use to save money. For example, if you are currently paying for Starbucks coffee every day, buy a nice coffeepot, coffee, filters, etc., brew your own and eliminate that expense.

Buy something you don't currently have that you can use to MAKE money. Example, you're a great seamstress, but have no equipment, or shoddy equipment. Buy a new sewing machine, threads, etc. to earn money sewing. If you're a graphic artist, buy new software, printer, etc.

Pay for a membership that will give you discounts on things you already buy.

Buy items which reduce ongoing bills: low-flow shower head, automatic thermostat, etc.

Buy something that will allow you to change services to save money. Example- switching cellular carriers, you have to buy a new phone for $100 but your monthly bill will be $20 cheaper, paying the phone off in 5 months.

Pay in advance for a vacation- the earlier you book, the cheaper the trip. Using a windfall properly, you could have a dream vacation to Hawaii for 4 people for under $1500 total. Shop around, book early, use loyalty points, memberships, and coupons of course. The main savings in airfare and hotel is from early booking, a minimum of six months in advance, which can save you half off standard pricing.

Upgrade your wardrobe. Take some time to shop smartly with this money, and get some nice (inexpensive) pieces to replace worn ones, or to simply upgrade your look, increasing promotion possibilities.

Fix something that's costing you money. The leaky roof, leaking sink, leaking oil pan in your car- this is the time to repair it. Use the skills I've taught you to negotiate and barter with the roofer, plumber, and mechanic, and use cash.

Pay for a certification or license that will further your career, and generate a raise.

Downsize. Use the windfall to get a smaller cheaper place to live (use it for moving, deposits, etc.), to get a smaller cheaper vehicle, and so forth.

Set up a garden. Spend a little money now to grow food for 1/10th the prices in stores, saving you huge on your food bills.

Get a special item off your wish list. Shop around, pay cash, trade, barter, pull out all the stops; this is the time to get that tattoo, hot tub, or other special one-time purchase.

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HEALTH

Medications can be obtained cheap or for free directly from the manufacturer. Visit <http://www.needymeds.org/> for more information. Your doctor probably has a bag of medication samples; ask for them, you may get enough for several months. Also, the generic version of medicines works exactly like the non-generic, for a fraction of the cost. There are pharmacies now offering $4 prescriptions for commonly filled medications. Many offer $10 for a three month supply. You will have to get your doctor to dispense a three month prescription; the pharmacy will not take a "30 day, refill 12" prescription and give you 90 days for $10. The prescription has to read "90 day, refill 4".

I never get the flu shot, but if you do and plan on continuing, you can get your flu shot for free. Google "free flu shot California" (or whatever state you are in), or "free flu shot Dallas" (or whatever city). You will find many locations offering the shots for free.

I am a huge fan of herbal healing. If you choose to use herbs for your health, make sure to check for interactions with your over the counter or prescription medications, or other herbs. You should tell your doctor and pharmacy what herbs you take on a regular basis. Especially your pharmacist, they can cross-reference.

Lice can be an expensive health issue if not approached correctly. I once spent over $300 on lice sprays and shampoos before I discovered the cheap way- mayonnaise, vinegar, lice comb, and a vacuum. Lice can be killed through a variety of natural ways, and can also be prevented naturally. Personally, I saturate the head for 30 minutes with mayonnaise (suffocates the lice), rinse out, wash out (regular shampoo), then rinse with straight white vinegar. White vinegar dissolves the glue that holds the nits (eggs) onto the hair shaft. Comb out (with a good metal lice comb from pharmacy, $5) thoroughly and you're done. Lice sprays for your car and furniture are needless. *Simply vacuum any area that has had a head on it, including head rests on chairs and in the car. Throw all pillows and stuffed animals in the dryer on high. Soak all hairbrushes and combs in a 50/50 bleach water solution for 10 minutes, then rinse clean. Wash all your bedding and towels in hot water, and dry on high.* (All of these instructions between the stars apply to scabies also.) With scabies, you should also have everyone in the house bathe in quick succession, with a clean towel & washcloth each, then immediately rewash the towels and washcloths in hot water and dry in a hot dryer.

Dental and vision colleges are in many cities- great way to get these items taken care of if you don't have insurance. The students are carefully supervised and their work checked; expect to save at least 50% compared to going to a 'certified' dentist or optometrist.

The best thing you can do for your health is take steps to stay healthy. Take a daily multivitamin. Get fifteen minutes of full exposure sun in the early morning or early evening. Quit smoking. Drink lots of water, every day. Anything that is not water does not count as water- soda, coffee, tea, juice. Anything with caffeine or alcohol requires so much water for your liver to process it that you lose water from your body with every sip. Get enough sleep, and exercise three times a week. Flood your home with fresh air once a day. Eat organic fruits and vegetables. Eat as low on the food chain as possible. Eat very little (or no) processed foods. Avoid fast food and avoid eating anything with a shelf life of over a year.

After all, if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. RETURN TO TOC

CONCLUSION

I have taught you many ways to spend less money in lots of different areas of your life.

You have learned how to negotiate, the power of silence, how to use cash to save more, how to make double payments easily and cheaply, and how to spend less for everything from vacations to plastic surgery. You now know how to find discounts everywhere for everything, and how simply asking can save you money.

You now know how to use the library, Google, and craigslist to provide you with free stuff, saving you money in virtually every area of your life. You have learned how to barter and trade to obtain items you need without paying for them, from household goods to useful services.

You know how to improve your credit, reduce all your bills, and minimize your debt.

You now know how to pay less for school, pay off your mortgage early, painlessly save money, and shop around for the best deals.

I've taught you some skills that will extend the life of your appliances and car, how to set up a good deal, even how to avoid getting a speeding ticket!

Develop the habit of looking for ways to spend less, and you can be a Master in this Art.

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