Find 10 new ways to save money

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From capping our gas and our electricity to finding out that we can save by switching our Broadband to a provider who will also take over our BT line (and not charge us) to the numerous vouchers and savings.

I think this is more than makes to the 10 ways to save money!

just that I don’t have time to think about it right now.

This is going on the back burner for a while.

Not really new but I’ve got into the bad habit of buying lunch, which is just throwing money away really.

So for the month of August, I am going to make lunch each day.

I’m also going to note my spending which again will hopefully show further drains on my very small purse!

at PetFoodDirect.com. Back when my only choices were getting pet food at the grocery store in single cans, going waaaaaay out of my way to Petsmart, or ordering from PetFoodDirect, the choice was easy. I could buy in bulk from Petfooddirect and it would be shipped to me. It was not much more expensive than single cans at Kroger, and much easier.

But now that Petsmart has moved to the same shopping center where Kroger is, no problemo! I can buy 2 months’ worth of cat food and forget about it.

The hard thing about Petsmart is the cats that are there for adoption. I went yesterday, and there were so many beautiful cats and kittens needing homes. I was really drawn to a sweet older cat (not that old, just a year, but past the traditional adoption age). But I wished her well and left her, knowing that my two at home are exactly what I need right now.

I could sell my car. It’s a 1998 Honda Accord with just 50,000 miles on it. It makes sense, because when we get the wheelchair van, we will have 3 vehicles: the van, the Accord, and hubby’s RAV 4.

Selling the Accord would save money in a few ways: no gas for it, no repairs for it, no insurance for it. Also, we’d be ahead whatever amount it was sold for.

Since Nick no longer drives, it makes even more sense. Three vehicles, one driver . . . you do the math.

But here’s the deal. I don’t want to give it up. It’s good on gas, it drives well, and most of all, it belonged to my mother. I had always planned to drive it till it was falling apart.

If I alternated cars, I would extend the life of the RAV 4, which is a 2005 and has quite a few good years left on it. In the end, I might actually save more by keeping my Accord and not having to replace the RAV 4 as quickly.

That would mean I’d drive the wheelchair van only when I was taking Nick somewhere—just as well, since it has a V-8 engine and will undoubtedly have a big appetite for expensive gas.

Okay, to heck with it. I am keeping my little car AND getting it painted and undentified.

So . . . paint job and dent removal . . . $500
New parking pad for my house . . . remains to be seen.
Keeping my li’l car . . . priceless! :)

I had honestly toyed with the idea of saving money by not buying books. I used to use the library much more than I do now, but I just can’t get to the library that much anymore.

What I end up doing is just buying what I want to read, a very expensive habit. Paperbacks these days are $7.99 at the very least. Hardbacks are often on sale but can still run $20. So what is a reader to do?

In my case, a reader is to avail herself of the wonderful Good Books Cafe at the Goodwill Center. It’s right across the highway from my work. I went there today jsut before work and snatched up and bought five gently used hardbacks, including a book about baseball for Nick, for just $25. That’s less than I would pay for five new paperbacks.

So, my number one way to save money is to buy books cheaply.

I just worked out how much I have spent there in the last 3 weeks it’s shocking!! As I normally get my lunch on the way to work… plus the rest but it’s just added up to an incredible amount.

Must curb this

Finally, I’ve reduced my monthly bill from £37.50 to £25 and increased my free minutes from 300 / 100 texts to 850 / 100 texts

I didn’t get a new phone though but even if I buy one in a few months time I’ll still be saving about £80 plus I have far more minutes so I’m unlikely to go over that now!

As Tesco would say ‘every little helps’

I’m coming to the end of my contract and after 18 months I’m sure I can seek out a much better deal even if it’s just more free minutes & texts…. so that’s mission one!

And I`ve moved the list to listsofbests, so I don`t forget what I put in there. Finding ways to save money is only the tiny first step afterall, the real work is actually doing the things on the list!