How to Save Money at Home

When searching for ways to cut costs, it's tempting to overlook the minor expenses. But $2 here, $5 there really adds up over time. Try these painless ways to save money.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Coffee maker
• Library card
• Willpower

1. 
    

   Cancel your magazine and newspaper subscriptions. You can read them online, and recycling bins are a great resource for barely used magazines.

2. 
    

   Save water. Turn off the faucet while you're brushing your teeth. And when it comes to the toilet, follow the "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" rule.

3. 
    

   Cancel your home phone's extra features -- caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, three-way calling -- even long-distance, if you have a good cell phone plan.

4. 
    

   Make your own coffee, refill your water bottle with tap water and stop smoking.

5. 
    

   Pay bills through automatic draft. You'll avoid late fees and save a surprising amount of stamps.

6. 
    

   Ask your electric company whether your home qualifies for a discount for being energy-efficient.

Tips & Warnings

• The library's another great resource for newspapers and magazines (as well as, obviously, books).
• If your cell phone is reliable and has good reception at your house, consider canceling your landline phone altogether. This alone could save you several hundred dollars each year.
• "If it's yellow, let it mellow" will save many gallons of water every day, but this is a good rule to skip when you have company, lest they just think you're gross.
• After setting up automatic draft, still be sure to check your bills for inaccuracies each month.

[RENorton]

on 9/29/2008 Thanks for the helpful tips. This is a very informative, well-written piece. Excellent work! Thanks for sharing this!

[QuackJack]

on 8/27/2008 Good advice. Thanks for the tips. I just recently got robbed by my phone company. They claimed, they didn't receive my check, turned my phone off and charged me a reconnection fee, as well as late charges. I now go to their payment computer at their mobile phone store to make payments. Let them throw somebody else's payment in the trash and get paid for it.