Right Size Life!!! Saving Money Tips Blog

Hi,
One of the most valuable saving money tips is to pay off your debts. This week I am offering a guest post by Mr Jason Holmes. Jason Holmes is a regular writer with Debt Consolidation Care.

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Ways to Pay Off Debt

by Jason Holmes

Ways in which you can save money while having fun on your vacation

All of us like to spend quality time with loved ones and de stress on a vacation. However, if you are planning to go on a vacation but can not really relax because too much money is flowing out of your pockets, then you should consider a few simple ways in which you can save a lot on your trip.

Here are a few frugal ways that you can adopt to save on your vacation.

Save on hotel costs

Try staying with family or friends: Where ever you are traveling to, you may first consider if you have relatives or friends staying there. If so, then you can stay with them, instead of staying at a hotel and paying for it unnecessarily. Even if you cannot do this for the entire trip, you can do it for a few nights, this way too you will be able to save something. Saving will also help in opening different ways to pay off debt.

Use online discount hotel rates: Whenever you are making a reservation try to use online discount services. Never pay the full price. If you are already sure where you want to stay, then you can make an online search and find out if you can get any coupons. These coupons help you get discounts and stay in hotels at cheaper rates, this helps you save money.

Lower your expectations: You can also save a lot on vacations, if you lower your expectations a little bit. This implies that instead of making reservations in three star hotels, you can look for good two star hotels and make reservations there.

Save on food expenses

Try cooking for yourself: You may not much like the idea of cooking on your vacation, but it is one of the best ways to save money. However, you may develop a liking towards cooking on vacations if you consider that it is a lot more fun. This is because it will be a new experience for you.

Make sure you eat more for lunch: In most places dinners are more expensive than lunch. So you should try and eat more for lunch and have a comparatively lighter dinner. This is a healthier option as well, along with being pocket friendly.

Try and avoid breakfast from hotels: Breakfasts too costs more in hotels so try and avoid having it from there. Try and find out a local cafe where you can eat. It will be cheaper and a lot more interesting as you get to explore.

Save on car rentals

Use a small car: It is no use taking a very fancy big car. You may not even require the extra space that the car has and taking a bigger car would mean that you have to refill more gas that bigger cars need.

Fill up gas yourself: In case you need fuel after renting a car, get the refueling done yourself. This is because the rental company charges you for the full gas tank, no matter how much you use.

Jason Holmes is a regular writer with Debt Consolidation Care and is also a contributory writer with other financial sites. His expertise is woven around various aspects of the debt industry and with his e-books he tries to impart to people the different situations and simple solutions to get out of difficult situations. Some of his works include e-books like ‘Credit Score The Quintessential Therapy for a Happy Pocket’, Take Creditors and Collection Agencies to Small Claims Court’ and, My Story- From Depression To a Smile’.

I spent Thanksgiving this year at a church with a friend helping with a dinner for the less fortunate, and if you’re looking for saving money tips, this is a most excellent way to not only save money, but to make new friends and learn more about people’s lives in general. It also gave me a good feeling of being more connected to the community and of having made an accomplishment.

If you’re unfortunate enough to be one of those out of work and struggling to put food on the table, I can really empathize with you, as I have been there numerous times in my life. There are some creative ways to lessen the pain, however. One of these ways I have found is to volunteer to actually work at a food bank. This way, not only do you get free food, you also have an opportunity to network with people. I actually got a job doing landscaping by talking to people at the food bank. Another way to get food for free is to offer to provide a service for a restaurant, such as washing windows, in exchange for a meal or two. I know it sounds a little farfetched, but if you can overcome your fear of rejection and exhibit confidence, you will be surprised at how well people react.

If you happen to be more fortunate, but still looking for saving money tips, it might still be a great idea to volunteer at such events. It’s a great way to get involved with community, and get a perspective on people’s lives around you. It really doesn’t have to be a holiday event either. Many churches and community organizations have regular charity events throughout the year.

I assume you are intelligent and sophisticated to not be sold on the idea of going out the day after Thanksgiving and spending a whole bunch of money you don’t have to get a whole bunch of junk that you really don’t need. Take the day off and do something fun. I don’t recommend that you get radical with this “buy nothing day” and start causing traffic jams or anything like that. Heck, even I bought a pair of glasses today. Is it just me, or does it seem a little wacky for someone to camp out on the doorstep of a Target store in order to be the first in line for the latest flat screen TV? What’s wrong with the TV she already has at home? If you’re really looking for saving money tips, this might be one of the areas of your life to really examine. Just for example, I’ve had the same cell phone for 5 years. I know that a new phone is going to happen for me sometime in the next few years, but it’s really worth it to take your time and shop around for something that is practical and reasonable. There are a few saving money tips for you!

Till next time,

Hal

Is it worth it to go to many different stores for their deals?

Have you ever wondered, when considering saving money tips, if it is really worth the extra effort to go from store to store to save a little, or even a lot, on the different deals that certain stores have?

This is really a multi faceted question, and many variables come into play here. I think you will be shocked at some of the insights I’m going to share with you here. Have you ever stood there, looking at the high price of something, like a gallon of milk, knowing that another store, a half mile away, like the drug store, for example, has the same gallon of milk for a dollar less? I have, and I finally figured out the marketing strategy that is used here. That strategy is to get you into their store. Store X (a grocery) has a sale on milk that goes on for a number of weeks, and you find that you can also get a few other items there at a reasonable price. Then suddenly, the price of milk at store X has gone back up to the brand name prices, but you discover the same day that store Y (a drugstore) has an even lower price on milk. However, you find that store Y has much higher prices for most other items. In addition, store Y has a whole bunch of other things that are tempting, and since you’re there already, you decide to just browse the aisles for a few “good deals”.

The real question you have to consider is: How much is your time worth? Let’s say you’ve been shopping at store X for some time, and even though sales come and go, you’ve been able to get most grocery items at a somewhat reasonable cost. Since you’ve been reading about saving money tips you find that store Y has this discount on milk and you’re going over there to save, say, four dollars on a couple of gallons of milk. After all, it’s only 5 minutes away (you think).

So you make the trip to store Y and actually it takes 10 minutes each way because it’s Friday afternoon. Then, as mentioned above, you spend a little time looking around and end up buying something you don’t really need, like a bag of candy or cookies that you’re probably just going to take to the office anyway. So there go another 15 minutes and probably another couple of dollars. This is how human nature works. I’ve done the same thing in the past. That is, until I started to see the whole picture of how I was wasting my time. You have just spent about 35 minutes of your time, not to mention fuel for your car, to “save” what may be four of five dollars on a couple of gallons of milk. That is an irreplaceable amount of time you could have spent with someone you love.

Is it worth it? You decide. It may be worth it to you. I would say for small or single units of one item it probably isn’t worth it, especially a perishable food like milk. If you’re stocking up on staples like rice, potatoes or other types of food with a longer shelf life, then it probably is worth it. It really helps to have your list and plans together so that you don’t have to make separate trips out to the store later.

Keep reading for more saving money tips.

Till later,

Hal

June 11, 2010
Speaking of saving money tips, I accomplished a tremendous savings last week. It turns out that my car needed a new timing belt. I got two shop estimates. One came in at $485 and the other was $513. Ouch. Plus when am I going to find the time to take it in?  I got to pondering my money saving tips experiences and it turns out that my neighbor (the one who is a good mechanic) had some free time last saturday. He said just get the parts and he’d show me how to do it. So I actually did all the work. He actually instructed me to wash off the engine first with a pressure washer (which he had sitting around) and then proceeded to just instruct me as to what to do. In fact he was working on another project too. So I did all the work, and it only took a couple of hours. Fired her back up and there you have it. Actually, out of gratitude, I spent a couple more hours helping him change an engine in a Subaru. But I would have possibly spent some time waiting for the car in a commercial shop anyway, so not too much time lost there. So here’s the total cost: $53.00 for the cost of the timing belt, and the cost of a couple of cases of beer for my friend(little extra’s like this go a long ways, especially if they are unexpected. I’ll be posting saving money tips more frequently from now on.
Talk soon,

Hal

One of the most interesting saving money tips I’ve learned is the ability to seperate the experience of being in a pub from the experience of drinking beer. This came about because, at a certain point, I started to notice that drinking beer upset my stomach, and I started to have wine instead. However, the wine was more expensive. And either way, you have a tab of at least ten dollars and often more likd fifteen dollars after even a couple of beers or glasses of wine at a pub.
It made me start to realize, the real reason people go to pubs anyway is to socialize. I mean, you can take your six pack of cheap beer home and get soaked by yourself, but what fun is that.
I used to think that staying away from pubs is the best approach to saving money. But we humans are social creatures by nature and need companionship, and if we’re single, even more so, most of us anyway. So, what has worked for me is to go to pubs a few times a week and just order coffee or water with lemon. And it turns out to be just as enjoyable as drinking beer. And it’s worth it to shell out two or three dollars even for water, so you don’t look like a total cheapskate, and the next time you come back they’ll remember you for it. And so what if the bartender thinks you’re an alcoholic? This happens all the time, and people don’t think anything of it. The enjoyment you get out of life is really up to you anyway, whatever others think.  It’s good for your health as wall as for your wallet too.  I guess it goes without saying, if you really are an alcoholic maybe hanging out in pubs is not something you can do without giving in and drinking,  and maybe you shouldn’t do it..    If you seperate the two, drinking and being at a pub, it’s a good thing to be able to do.

But anyway, saving money tips is not about deprivation, it’s about connecting with people and getting the most out of life’s experience.

Until next time,

Hal

Here are a couple of saving money tips that are particularly appropriate for this time of year. Riding your bike in the rain is a necessity if you live in a place like Seattle, and we do. In addition to other rain related attire, I spent quite some time researching shoe covers, only to find that none of the bike stores carried the right kind for me. Most of them are made for those special narrow bike shoes, which I quit using for various reasons, so what I was really looking for was just a thin, waterproof cover that I could put on over my sneakers. I decided to make my own out of plastic grocery bags and rubber bands. It really works. The only drawback is that you have to replace them every few trips. I’ll eventually get some better shoe covers, but for now, I’ve been using these, and it has saved me from going out and buying something I think won’t be a good fit. I’ll have some more saving money tips about bicycling in the near future, so stay tuned.

Also, I’m still working on the research about how much energy can be saved by using a compost tumbler. It’s very interesting.

Until next time,

Hal

The average family will save about 22 gallons of gasoline per year by having a compost tumblers .   This comes from adding up all of the energy used by the heavy equipment needed to mine or dig up the raw materials for industrial fertilizers, energy used for processing these materials, energy used for transporting them to warehouses and for packaging and shipping, whether in bags or in bulk, energy used for turning nitrogen and natural gas into ammonia, and finally, the energy used by all the garbage trucks that eventually haul most of this stuff to the landfill once it is discarded.  The compost tumbler circumvents all of this, by keeping all of the organic in a local area.  Next I plan to calculate how much total energy could be saved if everyone did composting.

For more information, visit:  http://aboutthecomposttumbler.blogspot.com/

Hala

Hi,
With all of the research I’ve been doing on the compost tumbler, I almost forgot that it’s that time of year when we start to think about what we’re going to plant in our gardens, how much we’re going to plant, and when we’re going to plant it. So I’m going to put together a post about planting in a few days. But first, since i’m so involved in my research about the compost tumbler, I want to provide some more information about just how much energy can be saved if everyone used a compost tumbler. I will provide that soon, but I have to warn you that it is a larger project than anticipated. You have to think about all of the different ways that energy is saved by using a compost tumbler, like less diesel fuel used by excavators digging phosphorus ore out of the ground. Talk soon. Hal

http://www.composttumblersite.com

By now everyone knows about composting, but did you know that with a compost tumbler you can create organic fertilizer for your garden in as little as 6weeks?  The compost tumbler provides a great way to reduce household waste, provide nutrients for your garden vegetables and flowers, and reduce your carbon footprint all at the same time. Using composters will improve the quality of your soil with the least amount of time and effort. 

Healthy soil provides a stable base for plants to grow, and yet is loose enough for roots to penetrate, well drained, and rich in organic matter. This is one step on the road to self sufficiency, and will help with saving money as well.  Compost tumblers come in various shapes and sizes, and you can likely find one that is right for your household and garden. 

There are various sources of plans for building your own compost tumbler as well.  Basically a compost tumbler is a cylinder set sideways on a stand with some means to allow a turning so that the compost contents can be turned over periodically.  The most simple design will include a 55 gallon drum set on a stand with rollers.  The most convenient way of filling and emptying the unit is to have an opening cut into the side of the drum with latches attached so that it can be tightly closed.  In addition to an opening, small holes, around 1/4 inch in diameter, will be required, for air to infiltrate and expedite the composting process. 

 Some of the advantages of  compost tumblers are the neat appearances compared to messy compost piles, and exclusion of vermin from the compost drum.  For more information on the compost tumbler,  visit http://www.composttumblersite.com.

Hal Merrill

One of the saving money tips I want to make more than any other is the idea of living without paying rent.  Most of us just take for granted that we have to have this big mortgage or rent check that we have to come up with every month.  What if we didn’t have to come up with all this money every month?  What if we could keep that money, that we work so hard for, for our own?  Maybe we could get some new clothes or get the car fixed like we should have done two months ago, or maybe just add to a savings account.

There really are some ways to live without paying rent.  And they don’t have to include staying at the homeless shelter downtown.  I’m going to touch just briefly on some of them here, and you can see them in much more detail in my book, “Survive With Little or No Money”, soon to be available on this website, in which I divulge many more saving money tips throughout.

Some of the ways to live rent-free are more desirable than others.  Some of them fit for some people and not for others.  If you are already renting an apartment of some kind, the quickest way to reduce your rent would be to get some roommates.  Depending on who it is, it may be more desirable to get some people living with you who may travel a lot.  There are professionals who travel all week and may even be gone several weekends out of a month.  You may get some family members to move in with you if you can be comfortable with that.  This happens all of the time. 

Another way to cut down on rent expenses might be to rent a storage locker and store your furniture and just rent a room in a house.  If it were for long term, it might be even better to just sell the furniture.  This happens more often out of necessity than by choice, though it can be by choice.

One of the coolest ways to live for free is to house sit for people who are gone part of the year or who have their house on the market. Lots of people just have houses that they want someone living in just so they won’t look abandoned or empty.

 All of these methods require some sort of sacrifice.  But who knows how it might change your life.  I will keep posting saving money tips here for your information as my research continues.

Until Next time