Eighteen Ways to Save Money in a Down Economy

Economic downturns aren’t ever especially fun, but as Adam Smith noted centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although none of us can say for sure when this most recent slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of stretching your cash in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:

1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do some of our shopping on the Web now, not as many of us seem to have learned to coupon-hunt on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com offer thousands of current offers at retailers all across the Web.

2. Use price-comparison sites such as Pricegrabber.com, Shopping.com, mySimon.com, and Google Product Search to find the best deals online.

3. When you’re at a store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s text number) and enter the letter “f” and then the name of the item you’re considering. Google will reply with a text message quoting the online prices. To compare prices at local stores, use ShopLocal.com.

4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club such as Costco or Sam’s and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a large family.

5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is often in the marketing hoopla and not the products, anyway.

6. Withdraw your money from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be found on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.

7. Buy locally-grown food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce and meat. Prices are often lower there because the food doesn’t have to be transported far.

8. Shop at dollar stores. You shouldn’t have a hard time finding one since they’ve been turning up all over the place recently.

9. Purchase discount prescription drugs from online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying less than half as much for the generic medicines carried by these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medicines at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

10. If your car is seven or more years old and/or worth $2,500 or less, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance.  Your deductible may be nearing the value of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk yard and you to the dealership.

11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to send text messages, so save yourself from unexpectedly high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messages.

12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are great resources for finding everything you need, from vintage furniture to baby gear.

By buying from local sellers, you can save on shipping costs as well.

13. Go to matinees. Matinee showings are often more reasonably-priced than peak-time showings.

14. Install Power Planners (see www.energycsi.com/energysmart) to lower the electricity usage of your electrical appliances.

15. For your next date, plan a romantic picnic instead of going to an expensive restaurant. Pack a blanket and a cooler full of your favorite foods and you’ve got yourself a cheap rendezvous. Add some color with a bottle of wine.

16. Instead of paying for software, look for (legal) free software from places like Download.com and SourceForge.net. Depending on how you use a given type of software, the free alternatives will often be just as good as the paid versions.

17. If anybody in your house is a student, pick up the Student Price Card from SPCLive.com. It’s only $8.50 and will get the holder 10% to 15% discounts in dozens of participating stores.

18. Control your thermostat. Using a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature will reduce energy usage when you’re sleeping and out of the house. Prices range from $30 to $120, but you'll cut your bill by 10% to 20%.

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