Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Tip 1:


Maintain your car for fuel efficiency!

With gas prices as high as they are, fuel efficiency is a common topic. But not all of us can afford to run out and buy a hybrid. If you’re anything like me, you are guilty of not following some easy steps that could potentially save you big bucks at the pump. Luckily my husband is there to remind me. While I am no expert on cars, I talked to my husband and he shared the following tips with me:

1) Change your air filters regularly. This doesn’t cost much and could boost your fuel efficiency significantly, if you drive an older car.

2) Make sure your tires are at the recommended tire pressure.

3) Drive the speed limit! Most cars get their optimal fuel efficiency between 55-65 mph. No lead foot…this doesn’t mean you should speed in a 40 mph zone ;)

4) Get regular engine tune-ups and oil changes using the recommended oil for your car (check the owners’ manual).
If you are lucky enough to have the talent to do some of these things yourself, take a little time out of you day and do it. TIP: Many military bases have auto shops, where you can work on your own vehicles.
Cheers,

Nancy

Money Saving Tip 2:


Save BIG by calling your providers 
When we think about saving money we often think about living more conservatively and putting money aside. Many times we fall off because we just can't live without that daily dose of Starbucks coffee to get us going and we certainly don't want to give up date night. There are other options! I'm not saying that cutting out at least a few White Chocolate Mochas is a bad thing and date night can occasionally be be replaced by game night but here is a money saving tip that doesn't require any cutting back and could save you $600 or more in less than 1 hour.
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Recently my husband and I called the following companies:

-Cell phone provider
-Cable company
-Auto insurance company
-Credit monitoring company that we have a subscription with

We told them that we are considering switching to other companies to get a lower rate or canceling our service alltogether to save money and asked them what they could do for us to lower our bill.

The cell phone provider checked to see how much data we actually use vs. the plan we were signed up for and told us that based on our usage we would be completely ok with the 2Gig plan vs. the 4Gig that we were paying for. We changed plans saving us $15 month - $180 a year saved!

The cable company did the following. We have a subscription to HBO & Showtime. When we fist signed up for their services we got a HBO & Showtime free for 6 months deal, after 6 months we had to start paying for it. Due to our call they gave us another 6 months free HBO & Showtime deal. I forgot the exact amount but I beleive this will save us $30 or so a month for 6 months (afer which it will go up again) = $180 saved!

The auto insurance company looked at our records and asked if the miles we told them we drive each month are still accurate. Since my hubby works a lot closer now than he was when we first got the policy and since we haven't had any accidents/tickets, they gave us a $60 discount on a 6 month policy = $120 a year saved!

Lastly the credit monitoring company costs us $14.95 per person. We have 2 subscriptions. They are giving us next month free and then lowering our monthly payment to $9.95 per person for 1 year, which is their introductory rate= $139.90 a year saved!

All together we are saving more than $600 over the next year, just by making a few phone calls and it took us less than 1 hour (hubby called 2 places and I called the other 2). Also, if you or your significant other are in the military, EMT, a teacher, a police officer or firefighter, be sure to let them know as well. Most of these people get discounts. Not all companies will do something but it's worth a try!

*Questions? Comments? Ideas? Let me know!
 

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