Summer Savings
Saving money is top of mind for just about everyone these
days. With vacationing and other summer fun activities front and center, saving
is no easy task. Why not explore and take advantage of creative ways to save? Here is a list of resources and tips that
will help you do just that.
Saving at Home
Cell phones: Many of us
have cell phone plans that don’t fit our needs, but we still don’t take the
time to find a more suited plan. www.billshrink.com and www.validas.com will evaluate your usage to
identify where you can save. www.myrate.com will allow you to compare
rates. You can get free texting service
at www.texplus.com.
Water/Coffee: Many
households rely on bottled water these days.
You would be surprised how much you can save just by purchasing a Brita
filter and drinking the filtered tap water instead. You can now savor the taste of Starbucks’ and
Dunkin Donuts signature blends right from your own home. So why spend $5.00 at the store for the same
thing? Make it at home and save!
Movies/Books/Music: Rather than going to Red Box or paying for
pay per view flicks, visit the library. The library is a great place to access
free movies, work out videos, books, and music.
Also, take advantage of the free e-books available for download on
kindles or other devices. There are
sites such as www.hulu.com and www.crackle.com that offer free movies to download as well
Computers: You don’t have to pay upwards of $30 for computer
protection. Avast Antivirus and Microsoft
Security Essentials is free. You can
also save when troubleshooting computer issues by visiting www.techguy.org. If you are looking for an online storage
solution, check out Windows Live Skydrive.
It will provide free storage space (currently 7 gigabytes of free
space), and protects files and photos from crashes or theft.
Heating/cooling: Ask your local
electric or gas utility for a free or low-cost home energy audit. The audit may
provide ways to reduce home heating and cooling costs by hundreds of dollars a
year.
Groceries: Bankrate has a great compilation of ways to save on
groceries. Click
here to read more.
Online shopping: www.freeshipping.org
directs you to retailers who offer free shipping on every order and it also
gives you coupon codes to get free shipping at other retailers.
Automobile Savings
Repairs/service: Almost everyone has had an experience where
they feel their auto service bill is questionable. Visit www.repairpal.com
to see if you are getting a good deal on car service/repairs.
Car values: If you are in the market for a new or used car, and
want to see what others are paying currently for that specific type of vehicle,
visit www.truecar.com. www.edmunds.com is another good resource.
Gas: Gas buddy is an app
that helps you find gas stations sorting either by location or price, using GPS
technology.
Click here
for more cool apps to make your drive easier.
Travel Savings
Passports: Instead of paying to have your passport photo taken
at the post office or CVS, take a picture with your digital camera and upload
it to www.epassportphoto.com.
Hotels: Visit www.priceline.com for a searchable database
of hotel freebies. Then check out www.tripadvisor.com
to read reviews of thousands of hotels.
If you are trying to determine if promotional offers are worth it or
not, check out www.dealbase.com. This site offers a “deal analyzer,” which
dissects promotional offers to let you know just how much you’ll really save by
going with that deal.
Airfare: Visit www.kayak.com to find the cheapest fares available. Then go to Bing’s Travel “price predictor” to
help you decide the best time to buy. It
can forecast when the cost of the airfare will go up or down. www.yapta.com
tracks fares for you and will shoot you an email if the cost of your flight
goes down.
ATMs: Check out www.allpoint.com
or www.moneypass.com for ATM machines
that won’t charge you for using them.
Dining Out: If you are
looking to save while dining out with the family, check out www.kidsmealdeals.com. This site will find restaurants offering free
meals for kids. Many restaurants have
deals like this in place on one specific day during the week. You can also find
deals by checking out www.groupon.com and www.livingsocial.com.
Car Rentals: www.kayak.com offers deals on car rentals, but click
here to see some highly rated apps that can help you as well. Car
rentals.com is another excellent site to search, and they recently came out
with their own app as well, which has been receiving great reviews.
Financial Savings
Credit report: Don’t
underestimate the power of your credit score.
This number will have a huge impact on your ability to obtain loans, and
will help determine the rate you get.
Visit www.annualcreditreport.com
for your free annual report. Visit www.creditkarma.com to obtain your free
score.
College: www.upromise.com turns your everyday
spending into money for college education.
Cash rewards for eligible purchases such as groceries, gas, dining out
and travel can be automatically transferred into your child’s 529 account. You can also visit sites like www.fastweb.com to search colleges, look up
scholarship matches, get financial aid tips and advice, and more. A great site to review is http://www.savingforcollege.com/tools_calculators/. It is packed with calculators, tips, 529
information, and featured scholarships.
Banking: Visit www.findabetterbank.com to compare
banks and credit unions in your area that fit your needs and preferences such
as free checking, online banking, overdraft protection, etc…
Enjoy the summer months, and remember to take advantage of
all of the excellent tools and resources available to help you save!
No comments:
Post a Comment