It’s been a while since we did a giveaway of any kind on the site. I love giving stuff away, so this weekend when a giveaway opportunity was presented to me by the folks over at Snubbr.com, I jumped at it!
Snubbr.com is a site that offers buying advice for pretty much anything you might want to buy. Let’s say you wanna buy a new digital camera. Just hop on to Snubbr.com, post your question about which one they recommend, and they’ll forward it to experts to answer it for you, saving you time and stress.
Snubbr.com offered to sponsor a giveaway of a $25 Visa gift card for my readers. So today, we’re going to have a super easy contest to enter. Here’s how it will work:
- Leave a comment with your favorite money saving tip. The representative from Snubbr will pick the best one and send the winner a $25 Visa Gift card. The tip can be related to anything from relieving debt, budgeting, finding bargains, etc.
That’s it!
If you want, you can re-tweet the contest on Twitter as well, although you won’t be given any extra credit.
RT @moneymatters Win a $25 Visa gift card by commenting with your favorite money saving tip. http://wp.me/pig75-1qp
We’ll run the contest for one week, starting today. Good luck, and let the tips start flowing!
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the intro to snubbr.com (great site); I like Q&A sites in general and one devoted to product information is really helpful. I love to save money and have quite a few favorite ways to do it. The least painful and most fun way is the good old fashioned piggy bank or change jar. The bigger the jar, the better. I save change and watch it grow and grow. When I’m ready, I’ll roll the coins and use it for something fun. I’ve collected over $300 in change over the course of several months. Kids love to make their own piggy bank and it’s a great teaching tool.
I have learned to save alot of money in the past couple of years by reading money saving blogs for freebies, coupon with sale match ups, and great online deals.
Something that saved me a ton of money – and trips to the recycling center – was buying a Brita water pitcher. When I gave up soda (also a huge money saver), I started drinking lots of bottled water. I was forever buying cases of water, and the cost added up quickly. The Brita pitcher cost around $25 and the filters are around $5 each and last for two months. Better for my wallet and the environment!
Another thing that’s saved me money is paying bills months in advance. I can’t always do this, and not every company/entity is willing to negotiate discounts, but I’ve saved on trash pickup and rent by offering to pay three to six months’ worth of payments in one lump sum.
The main way we save for any “extras” not in our budget is to stick away all $5 bills that we receive. Some weeks we add $10 or $15 and some weeks we don’t add any, but it’s always nice to have that little bit of extra cash around to use when needed, and we don’t really miss the $5 bills when we take them out!
“Double the Pleasure” Savings tip: Save money and slim down. If you need to lose weight (and many people could benefit from losing a pound or two) motivate yourself by snubbing the junk food and saving that money each time instead. Take an inventory of your buying habits when you “somewhat mindlessly” buy & eat sweets and high carb foods, esp when you weren’t that hungry. Choose to save that money and put it in a jar or envelope. Consult your tape measure after 30 days to see if this strategy is paying off. When someone asks you where did all your inches go, point to you envelope and tell them you invested in “fat options”.
Huge savings on entertainment:
My husband and I love to go to the resale shops for our entertainment…books and old movies. Rummaging in the shops is also entertainment. Also, the library, buying or checking out movies and books. Bought a family movie there yesterday for $1.oo. Or, check them out for free.
Buying expensive cleaners for carpet is a real money zapper. I have one household item that has saved me a ton of money in this field. When white vinegar is applied to most carpet stains and left for a few minutes it removes them just like the magic you see on TV ads without the expense. It will not work on grease, but other things it does a great job on. I had a spill in the car carpet that I had tried to clean when it was fresh but couldn’t get it out. It had been in the car for at least 5 years and when I learned about this cleaner I tried it and it worked. You don’t have to wash out the vinegar from the carpet because the smell disappears when it dries, but I usually rinse it with cold water and vaccum it up so that I’m sure there won’t be any discoloring of the carpet.
Invite friends over instead of going out. Almost every activity at home is less expensive than going out. Invite some friends over and have a cookout or a potluck meal, then play some cards and have a few drinks. Everyone will have fun, the cost will be low, and the others will likely reciprocate not long afterwards.
Shop with coupon on sale and watch for clearance in stores and online. Have your own price book so you know the bottom line and not to be fooled by sale signs. Subscribe some good blogs to learn deals so you can plan ahead instead of shop around spontaneously. Set the budget, use cash!
My money saving tip is the pay it forward on loans, credit cards, mortgages and other debts. We always pay extra on our car loans and personal loans. This is saving us a ton of money in interest fees and it is paying the debt off at twice the rate. We are now nearly debt free, spend a little now, and you will save a lot of money in the long run.
Simple, go on a SESME diet. That is:
Stop
Eating
So
Much &
Exercise.
You’ll spend less money on food and lose wieght at the same time
My tip of saving money is to ask myself before I spend on a non-necessity item, “What else could I do with this money?” Most times the answer is I should be using that money towards paying some utility bill or gasoline or some other “must” payment. Stopping to think also helps me prioritize spending. OK, it is a bit too much over-thinking but it works for me.
Using the local public library has become a great way to save for when it comes to entertainment! I became a regular patron last year and really asked all about the services my library offers. Apparently, I am not limited to just my town’s library but I can borrow materials from other places. I borrow books and dvds. I enrolled in a free language program the library sponsors instead of taking classes at the local college for extra language lessons. I use their internet for up to two hours a day (so much faster than my own -plus the two hours Starbucks offers yeahy!) I go to the library also to leaf through newspapers and magazines, attend free concerts and movie screenings with friends on weekday nights, and occasionally (if it’s a book I really enjoy) show up to library book club meetings. Another great aspect of the library is that it’s local so you can just walk/bike there and save on gas! I even stumbled upon a favorite program of mine which is their volunteer tutoring program (for children who need some extra academic encouragement but unfortunately cannot afford the sky high prices tutors charge these days). I tutor a fourth grader and a second grader in reading and writing every Saturday morning. I really love it!
Random Tidbit – If you have any books and media you no longer need at home that you no longer use, the library will be more than happy to receive it AND you get a little tax deduction.
To save money and electricity, try building a solar-powered oven. The great thing about it is that you can build one mainly using common household items (cardboard, alumimum foil, tape, etc.)
Once it’s built, you can put many types of food in a pot, put the pot in your new oven, and place it outside in direct sunlight. It may take a little longer, but you can set it aside to cook while you’re at work. It kinda works like a slow cooker, but uses no electricity and saves money!
Check out more info here. http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/
I save $40.00 a week carpooling to work. It’s not my favorite thing to do as I like having my own car at work and listening to my favorite songs on the way to and from, but money is too tight not to carpool. I commute 500 miles a week and this has definitely helped out. Plus, the environment would benefit greatly from it if more people took advantage of this.
how to save money…hmmm…for me it’s more like how to not spend it so quickly on things i don’t need because when the cable bill comes around we’re feverishly looking for money to pay it. every time i go to purchase something is ask: really? do i really, REALLY want or need this? what can i put this money towards instead. i’ve lived my whole life following the “buy now, pay later” scam. well, now it’s later and i am paying for it…big time.
If you are buying something online, always check for coupon codes!
I have learned to save by using coupons for groceries and other eating establishments. Also paying credit card bills on time to avoid late fees
buying clothes and household goods at thrift stores, consignment stores
and yard sales.
my favorite money saving tip is combine store and manufacture coupons to max the saving.