Cutting Costs - The Easy Way!

As a family with two young boys living on one income, it is sometimes hard to make ends meet and afford the things we want.  Finding discounts and ways to save does not have to be a burden.  In fact, it has actually become enjoyable to us, and even though we've been doing it for years now, we still feel a little thrill of victory when we successfully reduce a bill or save money at a store.

A great first place to start reducing costs is by taking a good look at your monthly bills.  We were able to save money by switching our car insurance (do your research...don't listen to commercials!) and cutting out some things on there that we really didn't need.  Also, we called our cable provider and dropped down to their lowest, unadvertised plan (we lost mostly channels that we didn't watch anyway and most shows are on the internet nowadays) and negotiated a discount at the same time - a lot of times if you are a good customer and you ask, they can do something for you.  Of course, saving on gas and electric by being careful and using less (think unplugging and carpooling) are always great ways to cut costs too.

Another great way to save, of course, is by using coupons.  My neighborhood paper offers a service called "Deals Delivered," where they deliver me the coupon portion of the paper every Saturday for free!  Call your local paper to find out if they have something similar.  If not, buying the Sunday paper will usually net you a good ROI (return on investment) anyway.  Checking a store's website, or other printable couponing site, for printable coupons before you go is also a great idea.  Don't forget that most stores will accept both a manufacturer's and a store coupon for the same item.

Remember, the internet is a great source for helping you save money.  Always check multiple sites to comparison shop before making a purchase; just make sure a site is reputable before you buy.  Use your smartphone to your advantage.  There are many free price scanner apps out there that will help you compare prices quickly at stores.  As an added bonus, you can also check reviews for items to make sure you are getting a good value for your money.  Also, for you avid readers out there, check out your local library's digital book selection.  Mine has media available for Kindles or for download to read on your computers or other applicable device.

I hope my advice has been of some use to you.  Every penny counts - they add up to be dollars!  Happy saving!