The Top 12 Ways to Save Money in a Weak Economy
Economic downturns aren’t ever especially fun, but as Adam Smith noted centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although none of us can say for sure when this most recent slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of sparing your wallet in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:
1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do some of our shopping on the Internet now, not as many of us seem to have learned to coupon-hunt on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com list thousands of current offers at merchants across the Web.
2. Use price-comparison sites such as Shopping.com, Pricegrabber.com, Google Product Search, and mySimon.com to find the best deals online.
3. When you’re out at a store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” and then the name of the item you’re looking at. Google will reply with a message quoting the online prices. To compare prices at stores near you, visit ShopLocal.com.
4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club such as Costco or Sam’s Club and buying things in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a sizeable family.
5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is often in the marketing hype and not the product, anyway.
6. Withdraw your cash from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.
7. Buy locally-raised food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce. Prices are often lower there because the food doesn’t have to be transported very far.
8. Shop at dollar stores. You should have an easy time finding them since they’ve been popping up all over the place recently.
9. Buy discount prescription drugs at online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying less than half as much for the generic medications available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medicines at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
10. If your vehicle is seven years old or older and/or worth $2,500 or less, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance. Your deductible may be approaching the value of your car anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk dealer and you to the dealership.
11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to text message, so save yourself from unexpectedly high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messages.
12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are great resources for finding everything you need, from used furniture to baby gear. By buying from local sellers, you can save on shipping costs too.
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