A few weeks back, Bankrate.com wrote an article in which they quoted The Cheap Chick (Unbeknownst to me, mind you. But who am I to look a free advertising gift horse in the mouth?). I took a few of the ideas presented in that article and put a new twist on them for today’s Fox 9′s Morning Buzz segment (don’t worry, I referrenced my source). And so, today you are reading an article based on a segment based on an article, which quoted one of my past segments. Got that? Good, there’ll be a quiz at the end…
Extreme Ways To Save
In mid-August, Bankrate.com ran an article discussing a few of the “out there” ideas people had to save money, or even earn a bit of cash. Best of all, they quoted me! Here are some extreme ways to save money. Which ones will you do?
Sell your car and take public transportation. I own my car outright, but I still pay around $40 a week in gas, $56 dollars a month in car insurance, and if you factor in about $750 for repairs and maintenance, I pay over $3,000 a year. However, if I was to take the bus, at the highest rate the Metro area ($8 per day from Anoka to and from downtown), I’d pay around $2000 for the year, saving me $1000.
Take in a renter/boarder. You can pay down your principal balance faster with that rental income. Make sure you have a written lease agreement, and that it’s signed by all parties, to protect your rights AND your renter’s rights.
Downsize your house. The housing market may not be the best for sellers, but if you can break even on the sale of your home, you’re actually ahead. Because when you buy a new, smaller home with a smaller mortgage, you’ll save thousands of dollars a year. Remember, it’s a buyer’s market, so prices are LOW, especially if you buy a smaller home now, rather than the big house you bought at the height of the market.
Don’t use your credit card. Set a budget every week – or every DAY if you have to – and pay what you need to pay with cash, not credit. Meanwhile, pay down the credit card balance on the card you’re not using. If you need a credit card, see if you can have your interest rate lowered on it, and/or pay off the balance in full each month. And make sure you’re earning something with that card, like cash-back rewards or frequent flier miles.
Get rid of your cable, your Internet connection, and (if you don’t use it) your gym membership. If you don’t have television reception without cable, you can buy an indoor HDTV antenna for around $50, or simply go without TV for awhile. Also, you can use the Internet for free at your local library, or if you have a laptop, take advantage of free WIFI areas. And if you aren’t using your gym membership, you’re wasting money paying for one.
Don’t buy new. Set yourself a challenge and see how long you can go (for instance, say, a year) with either making do with what you already own or buying secondhand the items you need. Excluding underwear, of course. You can take advantage of garage sales for the remainder of the summer, and then shop at thrift stores and consignment stores for the rest of the year.
Set yourself a spending limit. For example, you could, like I did, spend twenty dollars or less on every single item you buy for a full year. As you might recall - That’s how I became The Cheap Chick.
2 Comments
We went with only one car for a couple of years. In the long run, it did end up saving us money (I would take the bus to work) but with active kids, it could be logistically difficult at times. We now have a 2nd car, I still take the bus 3 times a week to save on gas, although I have gotten used to sleeping in an extra hour.
We haven’t had cable, because of the cost but mainly because of the constant channel flipping and bickering amongst the kids about what to watch.
We also have a family membership to the local community center, $500 a year I believe and that allows us to use the pools at Oxford and Highland Park plus the workout equipment and gym. This comes to about 41 bucks a month for all 6 of us.
I was fortunate enough to be given a treadmill someone didn’t want, so I save on a gym or YMCA membership.
I prefer public transportation over driving, and take it whenever possible, even though it can be inconvenient. In the Twin Cities, depending on what bus pass you buy, or amount that you reload onto your Go-To card, you get a few dollars extra tacked on, over the price that you paid. If I drove everywhere, I’d surely spend much more on gas and car upkeep.