Getting rid of unused items. Clearly, using garage sales, classifies, online selling forums, etc. Raise useful cash. Less obvious is how much we lose in depreciation on many items (especially computer stuff and electronics), as well as the amount of money and time that must be spent storing everything. Donating to charity avoids the effort of sales, while resulting in tax savings if you itemize deductions.

Give public resources a chance. While they vary in quality, many public libraries, parks, pools, paths, etc. Offer a great deal of satisfaction, while costing little or nothing.

Share meals out, and omit boring fixins’. Try to split one entree, cutting the bill almost in half right there. (I say almost because we still tip as if we ordered two entrees’“it’s not the staff’s fault we’re trying to be frugal!) An added bonus for those losing weight, you are cutting down on your calories/fat. Also omit the $2-4 soda pop or beer, water is better for you and you can get those at home for much less. Try going at lunch time, the lunch menu can have the same food at a cheaper price as well many times

Look for opportunities to “go in” with others more generally. Do this with double prints on developed film. Rental cars or trucks for transport, vacation homes, entertainment like kid’s clowns or trampoline rentals, warehouse memberships, etc offer other examples of this.

Watch for opportunities to negotiate on price or service. Just about everything can be negotiable. Whether it’s worth the effort or potential discomfort in a given circumstance is another issue, but it rarely hurts to ask.

Downgrade to minimal cable. This process can be hard at first, so try lower your channels 1 level/tier at a time and see if you can manage that first, then try another tier/level. Find coupons for buy get 1 free on movie rentals.

Consider the used market. Not just cars, but used furniture, durable goods, electronics, and clothing can often be had as good as new for a fraction of the cost. Consignment shops are an excellent resource here and even dumpster diving works for some.

Use ATM’s strategically for cash. If you have an online bank that rebates fees, like FirstIB.com or bofi.com, OR if you use your credit union’s ATM, you should be able to enjoy the speed and convenience of ATM cash withdrawals without ever having to pay for it. Or bypass ATM’s altogether and write a check for over the amount if you need less than $20 cash.

Only buy the lowest octane gasoline recommended for your car’s engine (check your manual). Higher octane gas offers NO improvement over lower octane, unless your car needs it’“and it runs 7-35 cents more per gallon.

Comparison shopping for large or recurring items. Items like insurance are significant expenses that can can vary a great deal by provider. An annual check might be boring, but needn’t take a great deal of time and could save significant money.

Learn about, watch, and take care of your credit rating. With each passing year, credit ratings play a greater and greater role in determining what kind of lifestyle can be afforded at a given cost. This is obvious and well known in areas like home loans, but also true for insurance rates, credit card and other rewards programs, and even job and rental applications.

Experiment with brand substitution. Sometimes, generic or off-brand products aren’t a substitute without hardship (i.e. notably lower product quality.) However, they are surprisingly similar a high percentage of the time, and can save big money, especially spread out over many months.

Selective use of coupons and rebates. These promotions can save a person a great deal. The key here is (a) not to buy items that wouldn’t be purchased but for the perception that one’s getting “a deal,” and making sure that the benefits are worth the costs. For instance, I’ve greatly cut down on the number of coupons I cut personally, because I discovered that I was only redeeming about 1 in 10 before the expiration date. I also don’t bother with most rebates below $5-$10’“the effort and time to cut the UPC, fill out the forms, make copies, and track increasingly unreliable rebate houses isn’t worth the effort and time. (Then again, I’m surely less organized and efficient than many of you in matters like this.)

Selective stockpiling. It’s easy to make the mistake of buying too much in order to save a modest amount per unit bought, wasting space and money. But some products are especially well-suited to stockpiling because they are non-perishable and sometimes sold at great discounts.

Frugal phone use. Competition has made frugal phone options more plentiful than ever, even as the phone has become a more crucial tool in all our professional and personal lives. Using pre-paid long-distance cards rather than paying for a plan’“a great idea. Another favorite of dial-up users is a little-publicized service called “busy call forwarding,” which most local phone services offer for $1-3 a month.(Check with your provider). Rather than paying $7-10 for voice mail, you can forward calls to free online voice mail, or to voice mail on a second line.
Other suggestions involve leveraging one cellular plan’s cheap long distance, using Vonage.com if you make or receive many calls to an outside area code, or buying a flat-fee long-distance plan.

Making your money work for you. Many withhold more than they need to from Uncle Sam every year, giving the government an interest-free loan. Better to pay off debt or invest that money during the interim. Similarly, avoiding impound/escrow accounts is a FREE option with home mortgages’“and it means that YOU are able to use that money in the interim.

Use the “pause and think” method of buying. When you see something you like, write it down and keep the paper in your wallet/purse. Then atleast 48 hours later, decide if you still NEED it or not.

Vehicle shop with value in mind. Unless cars are a hobby and you’re fairly savvy about obtaining and reselling them, they will be one of the biggest money drains in your family budget. While there are obvious ways to save a small fortune here (share one reliable car when practical, buy an older used car and take care of it, etc.) one does NOT have to forgo luxury to be frugal here. For instance, check with an insurer about different rates for cars of a similar class BEFORE buying. Also an option is to consider buying a used luxury DOMESTIC car, which has often depreciated much faster than it’s foreign siblings and can be had for a song (often with cheaper replacement parts too.)

Think counter-culturally. Advertisers are paid big money to convince us that we want or need something we didn’t previously want or need, and to spend resources on it. The ubiquity of ads suggests that their efforts have been wildly successful.

DIFFERENTIATE between your NEEDS and WANTS.

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com and is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years. Dawn can be reached at Frugalforlife@gmail.com