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Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Tips

How to Save Real Money When Running the Family Car

Your car will serve you well, and cost effectively, if you take the time to learn a few basic maintenance skills. Ready to start? Let’s go.

There are many areas where you can save real money when running your car. Some of these are:

– Actual running expenses

– Minimizing servicing costs

– Reducing the slide in value as it gets older

Let’s look at each of these areas in turn.

Actual Running Expenses – save on day-to-day running costs

a) Go easy on the throttle and the brake pedals. If you anticipate the traffic and road conditions a little more, you can save fuel and brake pad wear. Don’t be in such a hurry, go easy on the car controls.

b) Keep the tires at the correct pressure. If they look to be wearing unevenly, get them checked. Get a wheel alignment done at least once a year.

c) Shop around for the best fuel deal. Use coupons or dockets always.

d) When it’s time for new tires, shop around. Don’t be afraid to ask “What is your best price?” Compare prices and brands. Get to know the most suitable tire for your type of driving needs. Play off one retailer against another. The same goes for brake pads. Don’t just accept any quote.

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August 27, 2009
Money Saving Tips

Pay Less for Your Phone Service

pay less for your phone service - try VonageTelephone service can be expensive if you are not actively looking for the best bargains.  A lot of people these days don’t even pay for a home line.  They just use a cell phone.  If you do still like having a line at home, Vonage might be a good option for you.

We’ve been using Vonage for about 3 years and it is quite cheap compared to other phone companies in our area.  We pay on average $25 per month and that includes talking to people overseas in addition to local and long distance calling.

In order for Vonage to work you need to have a high speed Internet connection as Vonage uses Voice Over IP technology (VOIP).  The quality is good and if you move to another city or even to another country, you can keep your phone number.

The only major downside about using Vonage is that if your Internet goes down, your phone service does too.  We are fortunate to live in an area where our Internet seldom gives us issues, but if you are already have Internet connectivity troubles, I certainly wouldn’t recommend signing up for any kind of VOIP service.

There is really no need to be paying high prices for phone service nowadays as there is so much competition.  Check out your different options and don’t feel like you have to stay with your current phone service provider.  Besides, if you are considering changing phone companies, your existing phone company might offer you a better deal in order to retain your business.  There are also some free alternatives out there such as Skype.  Skype works great for connecting with friends internationally.  The bottom line is just make sure you are not getting ripped off.  You want quality service but you don’t want to have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

August 23, 2009
Money Saving Tips

Ways To Make Food Go Further

Whether you are following a tight food budget or just want to cut down on your meat consumption, below are some simple ways to do both.

save money by making your food go further *Add some rolled oats and an egg to raw ground beef and mix it all together.  Then, cook as normal.  The meat tastes the same and it goes a lot further.  This works great for meatballs and hamburgers.

*Cook with lentils and smaller portions of meat rather than using large meat portions.  Lentils are inexpensive, healthy, and contain lots of protein.

*Roast a chicken and eat it for more than one meal.  The roasted chicken could be for supper.  Then, remove the left over chicken from the bones and use it for sandwiches, quesadillas, salads, or chicken potpie.  (There are a lot of ways to use left over chicken!)  Then, boil the bone to make a delicious soup broth.

*Add rice when cooking meat loaf. It tastes great and you won’t need to use as much meat.  Grated carrots also work well in meatloaf.

*Rather than serving whole steaks, dice them up and stir fry with veggies.  The meat will go a lot further and served with rice or needles, stir fries make for a delicious meal.

*When making chili, add a can of corn and a few cans of different kinds of beans.  It will make a lovely, thick dish without adding a lot of meat.

*Buy a turkey around Christmas or Thanksgiving when they are extremely inexpensive.  Ask to have the turkey cut into halves or quarters and then freeze them.  If you decide to cook the whole turkey, freeze leftovers and use them in salads and for sandwiches, etc.  Boil the carcass to make turkey soup.

July 29, 2009
Money Saving Tips

Make Your Own Wine

save money by making your own wineIf you enjoy having a glass of wine now and then but you really don’t like spending the money on it, consider making your own wine.  My husband and I just made our very first batch recently and although it is somewhat time consuming; it’s also kind of fun. It will probably take us less time the next time we try it because we will know what we are doing.  The first time we had quite the adventure filtering our wine, but nonetheless we learned how to do it so the next time should be much easier.

We purchased a wine kit and with all of the supplies we spent about $190.00.  We ended up with 31 750ml bottles – so that works out to approximately $6.10 per bottle.  When we make our second batch, if we end up with the same number of bottles, they will only cost $2.25 each because the only thing we will need to purchase is the wine mix.  Not bad! 

So, if you are up for the challenge of trying something new, and you enjoy drinking wine, you might want to consider making some, too.

The kind we made – Australian Cabernet Shiraz – took us one month to make by going through 4 stages.  The last stage took the longest because we had to filter the wine and then bottle it and cork it.  The other 3 stages were quite simple and didn’t take very much time at all. Winemaking is fun and if you like drinking wine, this is definitely a cheaper option than buying it from the store where you will pay at least $10 per bottle plus tax.  Wine makes a great gift, too, so you can share the fruits of your labor with others!

Happy winemaking!

July 3, 2009
Money Saving Tips

Quick Tips When Filling Up With Gas

Here are some interesting tips that I read in Shameless Shortcuts that I thought were worth sharing.  Taking good care of your car will always pay off in the long run.  Try these simple tips below:

1. Make sure that you keep at least a quarter tank of gas in your car at all times.  By doing so, you are keeping the electric fuel pump lubricated and it will last much longer.  If you drive near empty often you can wear out the fuel pump and they are expensive to replace.

2.  Once you hear the click on the nozzle, stop pumping.  You can damage the emissions canister if you overfill your tank too often.

3.  The best time to buy gas is in the cool of the morning or late evening because gas pumps measure gasoline by volume, not density, and gasoline is densest when it’s cool.

4.  Check your owner’s manual to check what the best octane level is for your car.  There’s no need to buy the most expensive gas if you don’t need to.

June 25, 2009