Tips on how to save money in these tough times

Hi there.

This is a simple little list that I composed of things we can change in our everyday lives, that will make a difference on the bill totals at the end of the month. Those of you living in NZ, would have seen shows like “The Money Man”, where Ex-marine and tough-talking financial trainer Brendon Johnson, puts willing candidates through a boot camp on how to save money and get rid of dept. This is nothing like that, but kudos to the TV show, they have some great Ideas. The difference between this and the show.. You can decide whether you want to follow the tips and no one is going to make you eat uncle Tobey’s oats for breakfast! OK, Here we go! (feel free to post some good ideas, if I missed anything…)

1. Light bulbs: an ordinary 100w light bulb uses, well, roughly 100w per hour that’s if it is on. So switch of the light when you leave the room. This Will make a difference to you electricity bill. When that ordinary 100w bulb eventually dies, replace it with a 40w energy efficient fluorescent bulb. Sure, these bulbs cost a bit more, but, as the watt rating suggest, they use less power. Now here is the tricky part. Florescent bulbs actually use less power, the longer they’re illuminated. No not really, but they DO use slightly more power to “start”, when they are switched on, than ordinary bulbs. so think ahead a bit. If you are using fluorescent bulbs, don’t switch them on and off all the time, you’re wasting energy and money! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=turn-fluorescent-lights-off-when-you-leave-room
2. Dryer: Clothes dryers, although they are very helpful (especially in NZ), can use massive amounts of electricity. To save some money, where washing is concerned. Try to wear clothes twice before washing them. This will reduce the amount of washing that you have to do and when you do wash, try to air-dry your washing, instead of throwing everything in the dryer. When it is absolutely necessary to use the dryer, set it to a lower setting, so that it uses less electricity.
3. Services: When times are tough, like they are now, governments try to save money and increase income. Privatized companies realize this and capitalize on that knowledge by maintaining or even dropping their prices. Services, like water and electricity, Telephone and Internet, etc. can be acquired at a lower monthly rate by selecting another provider. I’m not saying that the government owned companies aren’t always the cheapest. I’m saying that in countries like New Zealand, where competition is the norm, it is certainly worth it, to shop around for a better price a bit. I found, for example, that I could save $40 per month, by joining Orcon, in stead of Telecom. Likewise, we save some money by getting our electricity from Genesis, in stead of Mercury. There are also some other providers to consider. Depending on your needs, you may decide to choose a different provider. and a different package.
   

   Mercury Energy	Telecom NZ
   Contact Energy	Orcon
   Genesis Energy	Telstra Clear
   Meridian Energy	Slingshot Broadband

4. Food: This is one of our larger expenses. On a weekly basis, we used to spend between $350 and $400 per week to feed 3 people. To fix this, we made a shopping list of cleaning and sanitary products that are needed. Then we made a menu of meals needed for the week. We subtracted the products that we have in the pantry and conclude a list of food items needed for the week. Finally we have shopping list of items that we need for the week. When we finally finished the shopping from the list, we had only paid $280. We had saved between $70 and $120. We have followed this recipe continuously for a number of weeks. with a very similar result. We now budget only $300 per week in stead of $400.
5. Sell,sell,sell!: Everybody I know, has some stuff lying around their houses, that are no longer used. Some of these “white elephants”, are worth some money, if you know what you’re doing. For such items there are many on-line selling solutions, like Trade-me and e-Bay. Some important points to remember when selling items on-line:
   • Be Honest and realistic. Note all damages and features and the proper condition of the item and don’t reserve $50 for an item that is worth only $20. You’re only frustrating yourself and potential buyers.
   • A picture is worth a thousand words, so 10 pictures should be worth 10 000 words, right? Make sure your pictures are in focus.
   • Remember to post a comment, on every sale, about the buyer. It will help you build credibility and trust in the on-line community.
6. Shop around before buying: Before buying anything, ask yourself: “Do I REALLY need this?” and if the answer is yes, then ask yourself: “Can I get it cheaper else-where?”. Most often, this answer will also be yes. If it is something that costs a bit of money, say more than $50, then take a day to sleep on it and to check for a better deal on Trade-me.
7. Budget: Set up a weekly or monthly budget, depending on how often you get paid and when your greatest expenses are paid. Our greatest expenses are food and rent, which are both paid weekly and our salaries are paid fortnightly, so a weekly budget will work best for me. It sometimes helps to use a tool to help with the budgeting, something like MS Money or even MS Excel. And if you’re like me and you prefer not to support Bill Gates and his mates, then there are many open-source free-ware options available: Open Office.Org, Sorted.org, Freeware Downloads. Personally, I prefer to build my own budget sheet in a spreadsheet application, like excel. The important thing here, is that you determine how much money you can move to your save on every pay cycle and to then move that money to a separate savings or investment account, before you have a chance to spend it. Note that no-one gets it right the first time around. It sometimes take one or two cycles.

These are 7 simple steps that will make a difference. I’m certain that there are many other ways to save, but as of yet, I’ve not thought of them. When I do, I will add them to the list, but in the mean time, if you have any ideas, please comment and I will gladly add them to the list. Until then, happy saving!