In these tough economic times, you want to keep as much of your hard-earned cash as you can. Here are some less-costly alternatives for everyday purchases and a few little splurges.
Groceries
For many families, a bulging budget is the result of excess spending at the supermarket. Ditch the gourmet grocers and shop at warehouse stores. While you’re at it, use coupons, which you can find online at couponmom.com, coupons.com and couponcabin.com, among others. Or, for $5.95 a month, you can get customized coupons from Shopping Nanny. Shopping Nanny recently guaranteed that if you spend more than $90 a week at the grocery store, you’ll save $40 a month using its service, or your next month’s membership is free.
Long-distance calls
E-mail and Facebook are great ways to stay in touch with friends and family, but sometimes you simply need face time. With Skype and Google Talk (you’ll need a Gmail account), you can “call” anyone in the U.S. for free via your computer as long as they have the same software in their computer. If the computers have a built-in camera (webcams cost as little as $30), you get video as well as audio. Logitech webcam owners can also use the free Logitech Vid service for video calls.
Connectivity
Bundling your cable TV, phone and Internet service can save you, dare we say it, a bundle. For example, you pay $85 a month for 12 months if you sign up online with Verizon for unlimited local and long-distance calling, high-speed Internet service and DirecTV with DVR service. That saves $50 a month compared with buying the same services separately.
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Checking accounts
Banks everywhere are eliminating free checking accounts, but with a little creativity you can still avoid paying that extra $8 to $15 a month. If you arrange for direct deposit or maintain a minimum balance, or bank online and skip the paper statement each month, your bank is likely to waive the fee. About 750 community banks and credit unions offer free checking accounts with no minimum-balance requirement. They’ll also pay as much as 3.5 percent interest if you use your debit card 10 to 15 times a month, arrange for one automatic payment or direct deposit each month, and receive your statement electronically. A partial list is available at checkingfinder.com.
Water
A low-flow shower head is easy to install: Just screw off the old shower head and twist on the new. Because it restricts the water output to no more than 2.5 gallons per minute (older shower heads send as many as 5.5 gallons per minute down the drain), you can save 25 percent to 60 percent of the water and 50 percent of the energy it takes to shower and shampoo you and your family. A low-flow shower head generally runs $10 to $20 (some utility companies give them away). And fixtures labeled WaterSense go as low as 1.5 gallons per minute, saving 7,300 gallons and $30 to $100 a year compared with their 2.5-gallon-per-minute counterparts.
Cell phone plans
Wireless carriers keep you tethered to them with two-year contracts and tempt you to renew with snazzy new phones or monthly discounts. But you can slash your costs with a prepaid plan, especially if you’re paying extra for text messaging and data plans. All of the major carriers, plus a number of smaller firms, offer prepaid plans. Compare them at prepaidreviews
.com/compare, then check the carrier’s Web site for more details. Before you compare plans, decide what is most important to you. For example, some providers offer free talk on nights and weekends, no activation or roaming fees, or free 411 calls.
Greeting cards
You don’t have to spend $3 to $5 for a greeting card. You can find hundreds of free cards online that you can send via e-mail. But some prefer a more personal touch. And hand-made cards from your children wishing friends or family members a happy birthday or happy anniversary, or inviting them to a party, will mean more than a store-bought card. (If you’re hosting an event, don’t forget about Evite.)
Jeans
Suppose you try on a pair of True Religion jeans that look great and fit you perfectly. But they cost $200. Go home and log on to a discounter site, such as upscalejeans.com or bluefly.com and save as much as 50 percent. Or check out a consignment store near you for a gently worn pair.
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