Posted on November - 16 - 2010

Simple Ways to Save More Dough!

guest post: LOZO

For some of us, the idea of saving money is exhilarating. We’re motivated by the goals it’ll help us achieve, whatever those goals may be: putting a kid through college, retiring a couple years early, taking that much-needed vacation or just the peace of mind that we’re able to pay our bills each and every month.

For others, it feels like a downright pain in the butt. You can’t even think about your goals because you just see all the sacrifices you’re making to save a buck. And—let’s be honest here—even if you’re motivated to save money, it’s still going to feel like a pain in the butt sometimes.

Whichever camp you fall into, it’ll make your life easier if you focus on simple ways to save. Here are a few to keep in mind…

  • Use Coupons: Whether you’re shopping for groceries, a new TV, a train ticket or really anything at all…always, always, always look for a coupon first! You’d be surprised just how frequently and easily you can find coupons for nearly any purchase. The next time you plan to buy something, spend just 5 minutes doing a quick search for a coupon. A good place to start is LOZO’s coupons page, but a quick look through the Sunday paper or a search on Google using some keywords (eg. “Amtrak coupon”, “Samsung TV coupon”, etc.) are also likely to yield some good results.
  • Cut Out the Stuff that Doesn’t Matter: If you love going to the movies, by all means…keep going to the movies! But, I’ll bet if you look at the way you spend your money over the course of one month, you’ll find something that you don’t really care that much about that you’re spending more money on than you think. Maybe it’s the coffee break each day, maybe it’s the Chinese take-out once a week, maybe it’s an expensive shampoo…whatever it is, find it and cut it out!
  • Maximize Savings on Your Monthly Bills: Take a look at the essentials: groceries and utilities. One way or another, you’re spending money on these every month and will continue to do so for the rest of your life. If you figure out how to cut them back by just $20, that’s $240 a year, $1,200 over five years and so on. These are the best types of savings to find because they’ll give you value month over month. To get started, visit LOZO and we’ll show you how to save money on groceries and how to lower your utility bills.
  • Re-Look at Your “Big” Expenses: Refinancing the mortgage on your home or your auto loan might allow you to make lower monthly payments and to pay less overall. This can be a particularly good idea if your original rates weren’t very good and/or your credit has improved since you got your mortgage or loan. If that’s not the case, you’ll probably want to find other ways to save some dough. Do some research to see if this makes sense for you (on the auto loan front, there’s plenty of informative articles right here on this very blog).

If you enjoy saving, then you can take pleasure in these simple ways to do it. If you don’t enjoy it, well…hopefully these ideas are relatively painless! Either way, happy saving!

This guest post comes from LOZO, a free website that shows you simple ways to save money with all the best tips, deals, coupons and more. In addition to LOZO’s website, you can also find their tips on Facebook, Twitter and their “money-saving tip of the day” newsletter.

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