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Saturday, September 13, 2014

87. Tips to Save Money - Part 10

What are some of your tips to save money? Here’s some personal experience on great ways to save an extra buck. I'd love to hear your tips! I have a list of about 60+ tips to save money. This is part 10 tips 37-39. I hope you enjoy!

37. Negotiate your Service Contracts 
(Think Internet, Satellite, Cell phone provider, etc.)




For all the services you have consider keeping a calendar of when the service contracts expire. Then call the respective internet, satellite (if you must have one), cell phone provider, etc. every so often and ask for promotional prices. Be willing to switch providers if the company won’t give you a discount. Typically, promotions are for six months or a year. So what I’d suggest is call back right before the promotions are up and ask for the discount again.  We’ve done this each 6 months or a year with our internet provider. This year alone we reduced our cell phone bill by $75 a month and the internet service by $15 a month.


38. Save Money on Pet Food



The easiest way to save on pet food is not to have a pet. I realize, however, that many people do. So here's a good way to save money on pet food - particularly dog food.  
1. Buy only the cheapest dog food there is.
2. Round up all the food leftovers from the preparation of the food in your household such as potatoes skins and egg shells.
3. Round up all food leftovers from your family meals including chicken bones, etc.
4. Boil everything in a large kettle.
5. Grind all the leftovers and small bones in a large meat grinder.
6. Boil again with rice.
7. Put the mash in plastic bags in the deep freezer in portions to distribute later on.
8. Defrost and add to dog food.



39. The 24 Hour Waiting Rule for Large Purchases





When making big purchases consider waiting 24 hours to sign the contract, swipe the card, or pay cash. We were considering getting satellite recently. Some nice associates from AT&T came knocking on our door offering a deal for $40 a month to add AT&T Uverse. Turns out we already had A&T Uverse Internet so it was actually going to cost about an additional $60 a month. That was $720 a year before taxes. We slept on it for a night and the next morning we realized that the additional cost just couldn’t be justified at this stage of our lives. So we decided not to get satellite. It was a good decision for us as we’re taking that money and using it towards paying down our home mortgage quicker.

A rule of thumb is to differentiate between needs and wants. Think in terms of must haves (something you need or is required) and nice-to-haves (something you’d want or is optional). A need could be a vehicle for transportation. But is a sports car a need or a want? Is the latest model a need or a want? You get the picture.



Which tip did you like best? What tips have worked for you? 

See the full list of tips to save money for the other tips and parts! Leave a comment! 

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