Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

The art of frugal living: 5 ways to save every day

Times are hard. Now is the time to learn the art of frugal living. This is not about living a miserable life. It is about how to spend and shop sensibly. It is about cutting out waste. It is about looking after the pennies to look after the pounds. Here are five tips to start frugal living.

1. Do your supermarket shopping at end of week just before closing time. You will be amazed how much prices are reduced as "sell by dates" expire. The food is still OK to eat but you have saved money.

2. Go through your bank statements and check out all your regular payments and subscriptions. Are you still paying for stuff you no longer need? Are you paying for satellite channels you no longer watch?

3. Switch off all your power appliances at the wall before going to bed at night. Many electrical items still use electricity even when off but still connected at the wall. Do you really need to use both the oven and microwave as a clock?

4. If you like reading, stop buying books even if you think you're saving money by buying all your books online. Instead make full use of your local library. Its free, you can have as many books as you like and you can also order any book you want to read.

5. Go online and make sure you are getting the best possible deal on your finances including your savings, your credit card and insurance. Check out too how much you are paying for things like broadband, phone, gas and electricity. And when you see a better deal, switch.

-- freeshipping.org/blog