Frugality is fashionable. 5 great ways to spend less and save more without crimping your style, from group coupons to e-books.
By Jennifer Chappell Smith
Chastened by the recession, Americans are saving more of their money.
The U.S. personal savings rate rose to 6.4 percent in June, reports The Wall Street Journal. That’s up from 6.3 in May, according to the latest Commerce Department figures, and a huge leap from the less than 1 percent workers socked away during the height of the spending jag, says the Journal.
These five strategic money moves can help you stretch your take-home pay and save $500—starting now.
According to the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), you spend up to 50 percent of your energy bill to heat and cool your home. Installing an Energy Star-rated, programmable thermostat, which automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the day, helps you save big. Potential Savings: $100 per year
2. Shave $10 from 10 Spending Categories
This tip from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling assumes you actually have a budget. If you don’t, just creating a monthly spending plan can help you ID trouble spots and ways to save.
Once you have your bills and buying habits categorized, cut $10 from variable areas—groceries, clothing, gifts, etc. “You’ll never miss it,” says the NFCC’s Gail Cunningham. Potential Savings: $100 per month
3. Snap Up Deals on Group Coupons
Growing in popularity, websites that bank on group buying power can help you save your favorite things—a cut and style, dinner out, and more. Just don’t fall for deals on what you typically wouldn’t buy.
Sites such as groupon.com and LivingSocial.com arrange deals with local businesses by promising to deliver lots of customers. You can buy, say, a $60 haircut for $30, or $40 worth of food for $20 at a favorite French bistro. Most of the sites serve select U.S. cities for now. Potential Savings: up to $80 for two or more deals
4. Wash Clothes for Less Cash
If you install an Energy Star-labeled washer, you’ll use about half the energy than a 10-year-old model consumes, says ASE. Potential Savings: up to $120 a year on combined water and energy bills
5. Enjoy e-Entertainment
The electronic versions of books, TV shows and music simply cost less:
Download the eBook version of that best-seller for as little as $9.99 instead of buying the more costly hardcover. Sure, you’ll miss the feel of a crisply turned page. But, we’re talking a $17 savings. Buy two eBooks and save $34.
Kill your $60 middle-tier satellite TV package and watch shows free on Hulu.com. You can even subscribe to moderately priced services like Hulu Plus or Netflix for less than $10 per month.
Download tracks on iTunes and forego CDs, with their security tape and plastic cases that crack. If a CD costs $15 and you download just four songs from it for $1.29 each, you save about $7.25.
Potential Savings: $101.25 combined
Stretching dollars has become almost essential for many. “Unlike the mythical pot at the end of the rainbow that is unattainable, this one is within their reach,” says Cunningham of the NFCC. From adjusting your W-2 withholding rate to stopping costly habits such as buying lottery tickets, her organization offers other ways to save; visit nfcc.com.
5 Ways to Save $500
Frugality is fashionable. 5 great ways to spend less and save more without crimping your style, from group coupons to e-books.
By Jennifer Chappell Smith
Chastened by the recession, Americans are saving more of their money.
The U.S. personal savings rate rose to 6.4 percent in June, reports The Wall Street Journal. That’s up from 6.3 in May, according to the latest Commerce Department figures, and a huge leap from the less than 1 percent workers socked away during the height of the spending jag, says the Journal.
These five strategic money moves can help you stretch your take-home pay and save $500—starting now.
1. Program the AC
According to the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), you spend up to 50 percent of your energy bill to heat and cool your home. Installing an Energy Star-rated, programmable thermostat, which automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the day, helps you save big. Potential Savings: $100 per year
2. Shave $10 from 10 Spending Categories
This tip from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling assumes you actually have a budget. If you don’t, just creating a monthly spending plan can help you ID trouble spots and ways to save.
Once you have your bills and buying habits categorized, cut $10 from variable areas—groceries, clothing, gifts, etc. “You’ll never miss it,” says the NFCC’s Gail Cunningham. Potential Savings: $100 per month
3. Snap Up Deals on Group Coupons
Growing in popularity, websites that bank on group buying power can help you save your favorite things—a cut and style, dinner out, and more. Just don’t fall for deals on what you typically wouldn’t buy.
Sites such as groupon.com and LivingSocial.com arrange deals with local businesses by promising to deliver lots of customers. You can buy, say, a $60 haircut for $30, or $40 worth of food for $20 at a favorite French bistro. Most of the sites serve select U.S. cities for now. Potential Savings: up to $80 for two or more deals
4. Wash Clothes for Less Cash
If you install an Energy Star-labeled washer, you’ll use about half the energy than a 10-year-old model consumes, says ASE. Potential Savings: up to $120 a year on combined water and energy bills
5. Enjoy e-Entertainment
The electronic versions of books, TV shows and music simply cost less:
Potential Savings: $101.25 combined
Stretching dollars has become almost essential for many. “Unlike the mythical pot at the end of the rainbow that is unattainable, this one is within their reach,” says Cunningham of the NFCC. From adjusting your W-2 withholding rate to stopping costly habits such as buying lottery tickets, her organization offers other ways to save; visit nfcc.com.