Path to millionaire journey starts with baby steps. This is a journey and strategies need to be adopted starting from day 1 to save money. We have collected and given 99 tips that will help you save money to start with
1) Open savings bank account - You can start creating bank account from day 1. As a parent you can create a new bank account to your baby as soon as they are born. IF not the moment you make your first dollar open your bank account. In general cases many people go behind checking account. In my experience savings account come with some restriction but offer interest rate. Henceforth, open a savings account immediately along with checking account
2) High interest rate savings bank account - This is an extension of tip 1. Recently I've started using fully online bank accounts like allybank, everbank, barclays, synchrony bank etc. I find that they offer atleast 1% APY as opposed to .01% to .08% rate in popular branded bank accounts. These bank function no different than bigger banks. They offer debit cards that can be used with major bank ATMs. Fees will be refunded in most cases. check with your online banks before utilizing the services
3) Retirement options - Once you start making money always focus on saving as much as you can on pre-tax basis. This starts with reading your employer handbook to determine what retirement options does your employer offer and start utilizing from day 1. In case of self-employment look for tax saving options that come as part of self-employment
4) 401K - This is a major tax saving tool that offers employee to save upto $18000 per annum on pre-tax basis as of 2017. The maximum contribution limit is set by IRS the Internal revenue service and keeps increasing from time to time. Only caveat with 401k being it should be sponsored by employer. The money saved in 401K account is both federal and state tax free. The amount is deposited in mutual funds and they offer dividends on annual basis. As with normal funds your funds charge certain fee on annual basis. Check your allocations and balance the funds regularly for better investment return
5) Solo 401K - If you are self-employed you can open 401K on your own. The maximum contribution limit can go upto $50000 depending on your income ranges. It would be preferable to talk to your CPA to know your annual contribution limit. Again this is 100% pre-tax and helps you save on federal and state tax
6) HSA - The Health Savings Account is a healthcare option that comes alongside HDHP (Highly deductible health plan). This account comes with annual contribution limit of upto $6750 per annum for family. This varies from year to year and limits are set by IRS. This option has reasonable premium option, but deductible is real-high.
7) 529 Plan - The moment you touch the cute little finger of your loved new born baby you start feeling the responsibility. This is children education savings plan. Though you can't enjoy federal tax benefits, some states like NYC offer upto 10K deduction in state taxes
8) Traditional IRA - If you dont have 401k option, IRA is an alternative tax saving option. Even though you have 401K, if you have salary within limits you can choose to invest in IRA. There are limits that caries from year to year as set by IRS
9) Roth IRA - This is post-tax instrument but have unique advantage of withdrawing earnings tax free once the roth IRA has been established and in existence for the past 5 years. Also, the investment earnings can be withdrawn for children educational purposes
10) Shop around of insurance products in case of self-employment
11) Save money on insurance combo - Most insurance companies offer best premium on auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance
12) Restaurant Rewards Program - If you visit restaurant regularly it would be better to first check and see if the restaurant has rewards program. Never miss the option to accumulate points, rewards, opportunity to avail freebies availing your loyalty to particular shop (or) restaurant
13) Download mobile app of major restaurants, shops, grocery stores to not miss loyalty visit
14) Shop clothing based on need not based on fashion. Look for shop deals , coupons, discounts, rewards, choose correct season for apparel purchase
15) Purchase any item with quality in mind. Even if it is $2 more today, the product will have to last more years so that there will be no need of re-purchase
16) Party/Event purchase at dollar store - Based on my personal experience, I spent nearly $90 in party store to host a party recently. Surprisingly at dollar store I see all those items all listed for $1. Ideally it would have cost be $25 or less. For anything and everything dollar store comes first
17) Purchase cutlery at dollar store - I used to buy knife, cutlery all for cheap and on deal at walmart all these years. Recently I can see knife at $1. This is found to be working fine without any issues
18) Don't think cheap items are always worthless - Above two points talk about my recent real life experience. So, never discount dollar products to be worthless
19) Purchase toys at discount stores - Again I used expensive branded stores for toy purchase. My next choice was costco as I had costco membership and was of opinion that the toys are cheap and will last longer. IF you look at life of toys they are nearly 6 months to 1 year and life of toy need not be given too much importance. A friend suggested me to try discount stores like amazing savings, dollar mart, dollar tree for all toy purchase. I find lots of options at great affordable prices here
20) Room sharing - This is a way to save money on rental. If you are smarter you can purchase apartment, share it with friends pay the mortgage from the money you make from rental sharing. All that needs is little responsibility and confidence to proceed further
21) Save on rent - Choose a place based on your usage. If you dont want additional space rent it in case of your own home, share it with more roommates in case on rental
22) Save on groceries - To keep this simple, create a list of groceries needed for the month, prioritize it, wait on coupons, buy items that are on deal. If an item is not on a deal but needed, go ahead and purchase it without delay
23) Purchase toiletries in bulk - Typically thanks giving, December time frame you find great deals on toiletries like soap, shampoo, toothpaste all will be on bundle, sale in the month of november, december. Also the items have expiry date of minimum one year. Henceforth, purchase and stock items in bulk for next 1 year. Check the expiry date carefully before purchase
24) Buy glass items needed for decorating home in dollar store. This week I did go to dollar store and could see glass bottles of different shapes in circle, pot, heart all for $1. Same items cost no less than $2.99 in stores like walmart
25) Check your spending on home decoration items - Look for deals, purchase items in shops like dollar store to cut down expenses
26) Buy postal envelope in dollar mart - Again this costs more in places outside dollar store
27) Create baby registry in target.com - Signup for coupons in target.com that will help you get email alert on baby items on sale. As with toiletries baby items can be stacked in bulk
28) Save on baby formula by signing up with popular brands like enfamil, similac. They send you monthly coupons, sample formulas that help you save good
29) Check with your insurance company and avail opportunity to get your breastpump for free from companies that have tie-ups with health insurance providers. This helps you save better
30) Utilize free programs from health insurance companies rather than spending on health membership clubs. Check with your insurance provider to learn more. In addition to availing program for free these programs help you earn money towards incentives
31) Negotiate on home improvement and maintenance professional search - Pick and choose atleast 10 service providers in your area, mail them your requirements and get quote. Talk to them individually and negotiate a price 10% lower than cheapest quote. This will hep you save better
32) Check with auto insurance companies periodically to cut down insurance and save better. None of the insurance companies will tell you about it. IF you have better driving record, you have great negotiation options to choose from
33) Signup with deal sites like groupon, livingsocial, adility, atcost, bligdeal, buywithme, clickon to get coupons on spa, beauty parlor in your area. On an average this helps you save 30% to 70% in some cases on beautician, spa costs
34) Deals from sites like groupon, livignsocial,adility,atcost, bligdeal, buywithme,clickon will help you save on event tickets, entrance passes in zoo, aquarium etc
35) Signup with local zoo, aquarium, spots locally. In the newsletter you get to know details on ongoing events, deals, ticket pricing discounts, children programs and lot more. this helps you save better
36) Check your medical claims carefully, see if you can negotiate with healthcare provider to cut down on bills. Typically if you would have availed service from hospitals, they offer programs that does offer discounts upto 20% if you choose to pay the bills with credit cards instantly. Ask them even though they dont offer something on their own
37) Buy monthly passes on public transportation to save 20% cost on transportation on an average
38) Choose to rent your car to friends and family on weekends if you dont use it during weekends
39) Shop around for best mortgage rates during home purchase. Say you would have gotten pre-approval from mortgage banker. But that doesn't end here. You need to shop around, negotiate on interest rates. This helps you save in longrun
40) Accumulate points in travel sites like expedia, priceline, orbitz etc. I choose to make use of single travel site for all my booking. Though before any travel I make it a habit to check for best deals in kayak, make sure same deal is available in the travel site, book it from my travel site so that I can accumulate points, use it better
41) Avoid travel agents for booking your travel both local and international. I happened to contact a travel agent for my international travel booking last year. We nailed down on a price and I asked him 30 mins to come up with my credit card and full details. He called me 20 times in 30 mins. I did doubt and checked kayak, found the same tickets $100 less. So, do little work yourself, save bleeding money on travel booking
42) Make it a point to check gmail promotions tab before you make any purchase for any reason. There can be unexpected deals from merchants that you would have worked with longtime back. These deals could have been something that you would not have imagined, some new programs from them that they did introduce very recently, some on sale coupons etc
43) Sign up with walgreens.com, cvs.com to get coupons offers on products even like fitbit devices
44) Signup with health savings programs. There are some online options that pay you say $5 for completing 50000 steps in fitbit. I have joined one such program with walgreens when they originally introduced their rewards program around 2014-2015 timeframe. This motivates you to workout and save better
45) Avail the home pharmacy program option from your health insurance company. The price of prescription drugs from these companies are found to be 5% to 15% less than their pharmacy counterparts like walgreens, CVS even costco pharmacy in some cases
46) Costco photography department offers cheapest passport size photograph pricing. They are cheaper than CVS, private photographers. If you have camera at home, confident photographers take a picture yourself, upload it onto some online software programs that will help you get passport pictures online, take simple printouts online that is even cheaper than costco
47) Sign on bonus on banks are something you can't discount. I read many articles talking for and against opening many bank accounts for sake of signon bonus and their impact on credit score. IF you already own house, you don't have to worry about this. These signon bonuses are enticing and easy free money that you cant ignore. The rate of return is far better than stocks in many cases
48) Save on high interest rate credit cards. Check for offers that have very great balance transfer option with as low as $5 or 3% balance transfer fee
49) Consolidate multiple credit cards with as high as 20% interest rates onto a single credit card with as low as 8% interest rates. This loan consolidation is a common offer email I get from banks like discover card
50) Apply for travel rewards credit card, use it for travel expenses. These cards offer additional reward points on travel purchases
51) Signup with rental car service companies like Avis budget, Enterprise rent-a-car to sign-up with them in their programs like enterprise plus. This helps you save lot of money and get deals from them
52) Choose to travel with children in lap before they turn 2 years. Kids below 2 years have free entrance ticket, free travel tickets and lots of free perks in many visiting spots, airlines
53) When it comes to stock trading make use of etrade brokerage accounts that charges you as little as $10 per trade. They dont charge on commission basis
54) Some credit card companies like chase offer unbelievable travel reward points on any spend within stipulated time frame . Much of them have fee waiver during first year even of not the fees is ignorable in first year.They can be closed at end of first year
55) Rather than adding spouse as additional partner to single credit card, each one of you can apply separately and this provides additional monetary sign-on benefits
56) Have membership with premium hotel groups that offer enticing reward programs that can be transferred, combined and utilized for maximum benefit
57) De-clutter kitchen shelf and organize groceries regularly atleast once a month. This is a house keeping tip that internally helps you save money. Before you generate your upcoming month grocery bill you can be double sure if there is sufficient stock or you still need to make the purchase. This helps you stockpiling groceries and save money that otherwise would have been spent unnecessarily
58) De-clutter and organize refrigerator shelves regularly. This will help you store vegetables fresh, make use of sensitive vegetables first, avoid vegetables and fruits from getting spoiled
59) Organize your dress shelves regularly so that you will come to know what apparel to purchase, plan and purchase it at deal and discounts
60) Sell old books via amazon, ebay etc. If you don't want to sell the books donate it to library. This can be shown towards tax deduction that particular year. talk to your CPA to know more on this
61) Talk to your cellphone company to see if there are some current offers and options that will help you reduce your cellphone bill. As an element of good will you will get some $20 to $25 credit if you call them may be once in a year or 6 months at their will. I've seen this happening with my mobile providers in the past
62) If you have smartphone like iphone, samsung S series etc you will be tempted to make use of internet from your mobile device. This is really expensive. Make sure you enable wifi from day 1. When you enable this typically this is part of your internet service provider and cheaper than direct data usage
63) Talk to your internet service provider to cut down frills that add additional pricetag in your internet bills
64) Make use of proper window shields to avoid seepage of cold air. this helps you save better in heater bills
65) Switch off TV, radio, fan and such electronic gadgets when you no longer make use of this. This helps you save money in utility bills
66) Buy cleaning solution on deal and in bulk from stores like costco, walmart
67) Costco membership offers plenty of benefits particularly great savings in diary products like milk, yogurt, fruits etc. Check the monthly savings guide from costco that gets shipped on monthly basis
68) Look for local shopping guides to get deals on summer camps, local classes, classes that gets conducted in local community that helps you save better. Such classes are typically conducted in local temples, libraries, community halls etc
69) Save on school bags, stationary items by purchasing in off peak season
70) Purchase laptop only based on your requirement. Often we get enticed by server type 16GB memory, 2TB hard disk configuration which is not needed for your daily needs. Saving and choosing correct PC configuration will help you save closer to $500
71) Save money on hosting package by purchasing in bulk like 3 year on deal price. I make use of siteground and love them. IF you buy brand new hosting at siteground it comes with free domain for one year after which you will pay somewhere around $17 per year. This is a reliable web hosting company for both personal and business websites in my opinion
72) Purchase cheaper domains from godaddy, remap the name servers to best and cheap hosting providers like siteground to save better. Some godaddy coupon offers run upto 5 years on deal price. Avail this opportunity
73) Apply for target.com credit card that offers enticing 5% off on all the purchases made with this card in target both in-store and online. However maintaining one additional credit card is little extra work you need to do
74) Choose to buy kirkland products while you are in costco, simple example ebing I started buying kirkland water instead of poland spring recently and don't find much difference but good price difference. Choose to replace brand items with kirkland. I've seen very great savings particularly with vitamin pills, generic pills
75) Flu shots in costco have been found to be cheaper than flu shots in other pharmacy
76) I prefer payless for shoe purchase. They offer better quality shoes for better price
77) For winter clothing shop during summer. I buy items in stores like burlington coat factory, costco, walmart to save better. Also these are quality items that last longer
78) Purchase cooking oil in bulk at costco. This is an expensive cooking ingredient that can be saved by making right purchase
79) Replace your cable with netflix that offers plethora of options for as low as $11 per month
80) Choose to stick to single auto repair shop for oil change. Some auto repair shops offer customer loyalty programs like oil change free after certain number of oil changes. Same does apply for tire change etc
81) Check deals on tire prices in shops like costco, firestone, bridgestone to get coupon deals. Have membership with them to get monthly coupons shipped to inbox, mails etc
82) Visit your dentist, vision checkup done, annual physical done once a year. All these are covered for free by most insurance providers. Check with insurance providers on this. Also reporting these activities will help you earn rewards
83) Save in 403(b) pension plan if your employer does offer one
84) Utilize credit card cash back rewards on bigger gift cards, travel points redemption for better yield compared to direct cashback redemption
85) Use proper cards on proper purchases. Say cards like discover card offers about 5% cash back on purchases in online retailer like amazon.com in chosen seasons. Similarly chase offers restaurant 5% cashback, grocery 5% cashback, barclays travel reward card offers double points on travel purchases like airfare, hotel, rental car, vacation tickets. Make it a point to activate cashback calendar in all cards beginning of season so that you dont miss this option
86) Pack your lunch to save money on outside food
87) Locate a travel planner who does offer service for free. This is common in case of disney vacations
88) Prepare list of places to visit before travel. Navigate to each and every website, look for online coupon, deals, book in advance as online sale will offer discounts in some cases
89) Save money on fuel by sharing the ride, car pooling to distant places
90) Hand made crafts are best for occasions like birthdays, valentine's day etc
91) Restaurant offers sale online, discounts during occasions like diwali etc
92) Prepare home made sweets, savories in bulk. store it for snacks rather than relying on outside food
93) Make use of newspaper as an alternate to shelf mats in kitchen
94) Purchase kitchen plastic boxes in cheap stores like walmart, dollar store, amazing savings etc
95) Purchase coffee maker at home, buy coffee sachet from starbucks, make coffee at home to save better in latte if you are coffee fanatic
96) Buy handbag, leather belts, luxury items from stores on deal and on sale
97) Pay the extra money saved towards mortgage principal to pay back the amount as soon as possible
98) Replace yellow bulbs with white bulbs to save on electricity bills
99) Recently I came to know that we can negotiate utility bill rates by talking to utility provider. Check the utility providers in your area to save better
1) Open savings bank account - You can start creating bank account from day 1. As a parent you can create a new bank account to your baby as soon as they are born. IF not the moment you make your first dollar open your bank account. In general cases many people go behind checking account. In my experience savings account come with some restriction but offer interest rate. Henceforth, open a savings account immediately along with checking account
2) High interest rate savings bank account - This is an extension of tip 1. Recently I've started using fully online bank accounts like allybank, everbank, barclays, synchrony bank etc. I find that they offer atleast 1% APY as opposed to .01% to .08% rate in popular branded bank accounts. These bank function no different than bigger banks. They offer debit cards that can be used with major bank ATMs. Fees will be refunded in most cases. check with your online banks before utilizing the services
3) Retirement options - Once you start making money always focus on saving as much as you can on pre-tax basis. This starts with reading your employer handbook to determine what retirement options does your employer offer and start utilizing from day 1. In case of self-employment look for tax saving options that come as part of self-employment
4) 401K - This is a major tax saving tool that offers employee to save upto $18000 per annum on pre-tax basis as of 2017. The maximum contribution limit is set by IRS the Internal revenue service and keeps increasing from time to time. Only caveat with 401k being it should be sponsored by employer. The money saved in 401K account is both federal and state tax free. The amount is deposited in mutual funds and they offer dividends on annual basis. As with normal funds your funds charge certain fee on annual basis. Check your allocations and balance the funds regularly for better investment return
5) Solo 401K - If you are self-employed you can open 401K on your own. The maximum contribution limit can go upto $50000 depending on your income ranges. It would be preferable to talk to your CPA to know your annual contribution limit. Again this is 100% pre-tax and helps you save on federal and state tax
6) HSA - The Health Savings Account is a healthcare option that comes alongside HDHP (Highly deductible health plan). This account comes with annual contribution limit of upto $6750 per annum for family. This varies from year to year and limits are set by IRS. This option has reasonable premium option, but deductible is real-high.
7) 529 Plan - The moment you touch the cute little finger of your loved new born baby you start feeling the responsibility. This is children education savings plan. Though you can't enjoy federal tax benefits, some states like NYC offer upto 10K deduction in state taxes
8) Traditional IRA - If you dont have 401k option, IRA is an alternative tax saving option. Even though you have 401K, if you have salary within limits you can choose to invest in IRA. There are limits that caries from year to year as set by IRS
9) Roth IRA - This is post-tax instrument but have unique advantage of withdrawing earnings tax free once the roth IRA has been established and in existence for the past 5 years. Also, the investment earnings can be withdrawn for children educational purposes
10) Shop around of insurance products in case of self-employment
11) Save money on insurance combo - Most insurance companies offer best premium on auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance
12) Restaurant Rewards Program - If you visit restaurant regularly it would be better to first check and see if the restaurant has rewards program. Never miss the option to accumulate points, rewards, opportunity to avail freebies availing your loyalty to particular shop (or) restaurant
13) Download mobile app of major restaurants, shops, grocery stores to not miss loyalty visit
14) Shop clothing based on need not based on fashion. Look for shop deals , coupons, discounts, rewards, choose correct season for apparel purchase
15) Purchase any item with quality in mind. Even if it is $2 more today, the product will have to last more years so that there will be no need of re-purchase
16) Party/Event purchase at dollar store - Based on my personal experience, I spent nearly $90 in party store to host a party recently. Surprisingly at dollar store I see all those items all listed for $1. Ideally it would have cost be $25 or less. For anything and everything dollar store comes first
17) Purchase cutlery at dollar store - I used to buy knife, cutlery all for cheap and on deal at walmart all these years. Recently I can see knife at $1. This is found to be working fine without any issues
18) Don't think cheap items are always worthless - Above two points talk about my recent real life experience. So, never discount dollar products to be worthless
19) Purchase toys at discount stores - Again I used expensive branded stores for toy purchase. My next choice was costco as I had costco membership and was of opinion that the toys are cheap and will last longer. IF you look at life of toys they are nearly 6 months to 1 year and life of toy need not be given too much importance. A friend suggested me to try discount stores like amazing savings, dollar mart, dollar tree for all toy purchase. I find lots of options at great affordable prices here
20) Room sharing - This is a way to save money on rental. If you are smarter you can purchase apartment, share it with friends pay the mortgage from the money you make from rental sharing. All that needs is little responsibility and confidence to proceed further
21) Save on rent - Choose a place based on your usage. If you dont want additional space rent it in case of your own home, share it with more roommates in case on rental
22) Save on groceries - To keep this simple, create a list of groceries needed for the month, prioritize it, wait on coupons, buy items that are on deal. If an item is not on a deal but needed, go ahead and purchase it without delay
23) Purchase toiletries in bulk - Typically thanks giving, December time frame you find great deals on toiletries like soap, shampoo, toothpaste all will be on bundle, sale in the month of november, december. Also the items have expiry date of minimum one year. Henceforth, purchase and stock items in bulk for next 1 year. Check the expiry date carefully before purchase
24) Buy glass items needed for decorating home in dollar store. This week I did go to dollar store and could see glass bottles of different shapes in circle, pot, heart all for $1. Same items cost no less than $2.99 in stores like walmart
25) Check your spending on home decoration items - Look for deals, purchase items in shops like dollar store to cut down expenses
26) Buy postal envelope in dollar mart - Again this costs more in places outside dollar store
27) Create baby registry in target.com - Signup for coupons in target.com that will help you get email alert on baby items on sale. As with toiletries baby items can be stacked in bulk
28) Save on baby formula by signing up with popular brands like enfamil, similac. They send you monthly coupons, sample formulas that help you save good
29) Check with your insurance company and avail opportunity to get your breastpump for free from companies that have tie-ups with health insurance providers. This helps you save better
30) Utilize free programs from health insurance companies rather than spending on health membership clubs. Check with your insurance provider to learn more. In addition to availing program for free these programs help you earn money towards incentives
31) Negotiate on home improvement and maintenance professional search - Pick and choose atleast 10 service providers in your area, mail them your requirements and get quote. Talk to them individually and negotiate a price 10% lower than cheapest quote. This will hep you save better
32) Check with auto insurance companies periodically to cut down insurance and save better. None of the insurance companies will tell you about it. IF you have better driving record, you have great negotiation options to choose from
33) Signup with deal sites like groupon, livingsocial, adility, atcost, bligdeal, buywithme, clickon to get coupons on spa, beauty parlor in your area. On an average this helps you save 30% to 70% in some cases on beautician, spa costs
34) Deals from sites like groupon, livignsocial,adility,atcost, bligdeal, buywithme,clickon will help you save on event tickets, entrance passes in zoo, aquarium etc
35) Signup with local zoo, aquarium, spots locally. In the newsletter you get to know details on ongoing events, deals, ticket pricing discounts, children programs and lot more. this helps you save better
36) Check your medical claims carefully, see if you can negotiate with healthcare provider to cut down on bills. Typically if you would have availed service from hospitals, they offer programs that does offer discounts upto 20% if you choose to pay the bills with credit cards instantly. Ask them even though they dont offer something on their own
37) Buy monthly passes on public transportation to save 20% cost on transportation on an average
38) Choose to rent your car to friends and family on weekends if you dont use it during weekends
39) Shop around for best mortgage rates during home purchase. Say you would have gotten pre-approval from mortgage banker. But that doesn't end here. You need to shop around, negotiate on interest rates. This helps you save in longrun
40) Accumulate points in travel sites like expedia, priceline, orbitz etc. I choose to make use of single travel site for all my booking. Though before any travel I make it a habit to check for best deals in kayak, make sure same deal is available in the travel site, book it from my travel site so that I can accumulate points, use it better
41) Avoid travel agents for booking your travel both local and international. I happened to contact a travel agent for my international travel booking last year. We nailed down on a price and I asked him 30 mins to come up with my credit card and full details. He called me 20 times in 30 mins. I did doubt and checked kayak, found the same tickets $100 less. So, do little work yourself, save bleeding money on travel booking
42) Make it a point to check gmail promotions tab before you make any purchase for any reason. There can be unexpected deals from merchants that you would have worked with longtime back. These deals could have been something that you would not have imagined, some new programs from them that they did introduce very recently, some on sale coupons etc
43) Sign up with walgreens.com, cvs.com to get coupons offers on products even like fitbit devices
44) Signup with health savings programs. There are some online options that pay you say $5 for completing 50000 steps in fitbit. I have joined one such program with walgreens when they originally introduced their rewards program around 2014-2015 timeframe. This motivates you to workout and save better
45) Avail the home pharmacy program option from your health insurance company. The price of prescription drugs from these companies are found to be 5% to 15% less than their pharmacy counterparts like walgreens, CVS even costco pharmacy in some cases
46) Costco photography department offers cheapest passport size photograph pricing. They are cheaper than CVS, private photographers. If you have camera at home, confident photographers take a picture yourself, upload it onto some online software programs that will help you get passport pictures online, take simple printouts online that is even cheaper than costco
47) Sign on bonus on banks are something you can't discount. I read many articles talking for and against opening many bank accounts for sake of signon bonus and their impact on credit score. IF you already own house, you don't have to worry about this. These signon bonuses are enticing and easy free money that you cant ignore. The rate of return is far better than stocks in many cases
48) Save on high interest rate credit cards. Check for offers that have very great balance transfer option with as low as $5 or 3% balance transfer fee
49) Consolidate multiple credit cards with as high as 20% interest rates onto a single credit card with as low as 8% interest rates. This loan consolidation is a common offer email I get from banks like discover card
50) Apply for travel rewards credit card, use it for travel expenses. These cards offer additional reward points on travel purchases
51) Signup with rental car service companies like Avis budget, Enterprise rent-a-car to sign-up with them in their programs like enterprise plus. This helps you save lot of money and get deals from them
52) Choose to travel with children in lap before they turn 2 years. Kids below 2 years have free entrance ticket, free travel tickets and lots of free perks in many visiting spots, airlines
53) When it comes to stock trading make use of etrade brokerage accounts that charges you as little as $10 per trade. They dont charge on commission basis
54) Some credit card companies like chase offer unbelievable travel reward points on any spend within stipulated time frame . Much of them have fee waiver during first year even of not the fees is ignorable in first year.They can be closed at end of first year
55) Rather than adding spouse as additional partner to single credit card, each one of you can apply separately and this provides additional monetary sign-on benefits
56) Have membership with premium hotel groups that offer enticing reward programs that can be transferred, combined and utilized for maximum benefit
57) De-clutter kitchen shelf and organize groceries regularly atleast once a month. This is a house keeping tip that internally helps you save money. Before you generate your upcoming month grocery bill you can be double sure if there is sufficient stock or you still need to make the purchase. This helps you stockpiling groceries and save money that otherwise would have been spent unnecessarily
58) De-clutter and organize refrigerator shelves regularly. This will help you store vegetables fresh, make use of sensitive vegetables first, avoid vegetables and fruits from getting spoiled
59) Organize your dress shelves regularly so that you will come to know what apparel to purchase, plan and purchase it at deal and discounts
60) Sell old books via amazon, ebay etc. If you don't want to sell the books donate it to library. This can be shown towards tax deduction that particular year. talk to your CPA to know more on this
61) Talk to your cellphone company to see if there are some current offers and options that will help you reduce your cellphone bill. As an element of good will you will get some $20 to $25 credit if you call them may be once in a year or 6 months at their will. I've seen this happening with my mobile providers in the past
62) If you have smartphone like iphone, samsung S series etc you will be tempted to make use of internet from your mobile device. This is really expensive. Make sure you enable wifi from day 1. When you enable this typically this is part of your internet service provider and cheaper than direct data usage
63) Talk to your internet service provider to cut down frills that add additional pricetag in your internet bills
64) Make use of proper window shields to avoid seepage of cold air. this helps you save better in heater bills
65) Switch off TV, radio, fan and such electronic gadgets when you no longer make use of this. This helps you save money in utility bills
66) Buy cleaning solution on deal and in bulk from stores like costco, walmart
67) Costco membership offers plenty of benefits particularly great savings in diary products like milk, yogurt, fruits etc. Check the monthly savings guide from costco that gets shipped on monthly basis
68) Look for local shopping guides to get deals on summer camps, local classes, classes that gets conducted in local community that helps you save better. Such classes are typically conducted in local temples, libraries, community halls etc
69) Save on school bags, stationary items by purchasing in off peak season
70) Purchase laptop only based on your requirement. Often we get enticed by server type 16GB memory, 2TB hard disk configuration which is not needed for your daily needs. Saving and choosing correct PC configuration will help you save closer to $500
71) Save money on hosting package by purchasing in bulk like 3 year on deal price. I make use of siteground and love them. IF you buy brand new hosting at siteground it comes with free domain for one year after which you will pay somewhere around $17 per year. This is a reliable web hosting company for both personal and business websites in my opinion
72) Purchase cheaper domains from godaddy, remap the name servers to best and cheap hosting providers like siteground to save better. Some godaddy coupon offers run upto 5 years on deal price. Avail this opportunity
73) Apply for target.com credit card that offers enticing 5% off on all the purchases made with this card in target both in-store and online. However maintaining one additional credit card is little extra work you need to do
74) Choose to buy kirkland products while you are in costco, simple example ebing I started buying kirkland water instead of poland spring recently and don't find much difference but good price difference. Choose to replace brand items with kirkland. I've seen very great savings particularly with vitamin pills, generic pills
75) Flu shots in costco have been found to be cheaper than flu shots in other pharmacy
76) I prefer payless for shoe purchase. They offer better quality shoes for better price
77) For winter clothing shop during summer. I buy items in stores like burlington coat factory, costco, walmart to save better. Also these are quality items that last longer
78) Purchase cooking oil in bulk at costco. This is an expensive cooking ingredient that can be saved by making right purchase
79) Replace your cable with netflix that offers plethora of options for as low as $11 per month
80) Choose to stick to single auto repair shop for oil change. Some auto repair shops offer customer loyalty programs like oil change free after certain number of oil changes. Same does apply for tire change etc
81) Check deals on tire prices in shops like costco, firestone, bridgestone to get coupon deals. Have membership with them to get monthly coupons shipped to inbox, mails etc
82) Visit your dentist, vision checkup done, annual physical done once a year. All these are covered for free by most insurance providers. Check with insurance providers on this. Also reporting these activities will help you earn rewards
83) Save in 403(b) pension plan if your employer does offer one
84) Utilize credit card cash back rewards on bigger gift cards, travel points redemption for better yield compared to direct cashback redemption
85) Use proper cards on proper purchases. Say cards like discover card offers about 5% cash back on purchases in online retailer like amazon.com in chosen seasons. Similarly chase offers restaurant 5% cashback, grocery 5% cashback, barclays travel reward card offers double points on travel purchases like airfare, hotel, rental car, vacation tickets. Make it a point to activate cashback calendar in all cards beginning of season so that you dont miss this option
86) Pack your lunch to save money on outside food
87) Locate a travel planner who does offer service for free. This is common in case of disney vacations
88) Prepare list of places to visit before travel. Navigate to each and every website, look for online coupon, deals, book in advance as online sale will offer discounts in some cases
89) Save money on fuel by sharing the ride, car pooling to distant places
90) Hand made crafts are best for occasions like birthdays, valentine's day etc
91) Restaurant offers sale online, discounts during occasions like diwali etc
92) Prepare home made sweets, savories in bulk. store it for snacks rather than relying on outside food
93) Make use of newspaper as an alternate to shelf mats in kitchen
94) Purchase kitchen plastic boxes in cheap stores like walmart, dollar store, amazing savings etc
95) Purchase coffee maker at home, buy coffee sachet from starbucks, make coffee at home to save better in latte if you are coffee fanatic
96) Buy handbag, leather belts, luxury items from stores on deal and on sale
97) Pay the extra money saved towards mortgage principal to pay back the amount as soon as possible
98) Replace yellow bulbs with white bulbs to save on electricity bills
99) Recently I came to know that we can negotiate utility bill rates by talking to utility provider. Check the utility providers in your area to save better
