41. BUFFET MEALS
42. CABLE NETWORKING
43. PROPER MAINTENANCE
44. COMPANY STOCK / 401K
45. FAMILY HAIRCUTS
46. WANTS VERSUS NEEDS
47. REFINANCE
48. GO GENERIC
49. STOCK UP
50. SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES41. Buffet Meals
When taking the family out to dinner, consider restaurants that
have buffets. In many cases, the prices are outstanding and a
parent can share with a small child. In addition, many buffets are
“all you can eat” and of course, there is something for everyone.
42. Cable Networking
If you have a computer upstairs and another downstairs and you
use high-speed data, have one of the computers as the primary
computer and the other as the backup. This way, you are only
charged once for Internet access and a small fee of $10 to $15 a
month for the second computer. This is a great bargain!
43. Proper Maintenance
Purchase an annual home warranty policy. These policies can run
from $350 to $500 a year and offer extremely valuable options.
The way most of these policies work is that if you have something
break, such as your garage door, dishwasher, air conditioner, etc.,
for a minimal fee, usually $50 to $100, a serviceperson will come
to your home to fix the item.
Best of all, if you have five things broken and the same
serviceperson is qualified to fix all of them, you are still charged
the $50 to $100 fee once, not five times. For your automobile,
you might look into purchasing an extended warranty. If you ever
need either one of these policies, they will save you tremendous
value.
44. Company Stock / 401K
Contributing to employee stock options or a 401K plan is a
wonderful opportunity to save. Most companies will match your
contribution, sometimes dollar for dollar, up to a maximum,
generally 6%. From each paycheck, you can have a small amount
of money deducted (1%) and up. Over time, that money grows
and since the business is providing a match, you get free money.
45. Family Haircuts
Look for hair styling shops that offer family deals or learn how to
cut hair yourself. Many families take care of their own haircuts
and put the money they would have spent aside as a vacation
fund. This system works out perfectly.
46. Wants versus Needs
Make sure the thing you want to spend your money on is a “need”
and not a “want.” Sometimes this can seem like a fine gray line
but if you stick to the need list, you will spend less.
I know one guy who used to say “If I still want it in 3 months time
then I’ll get it”.
9 times out of 10 in 3 months time he found that either he or his
children had forgotten about that particular want and therefore
had saved themselves from wasting money on an impulse buy.
47. Refinance
With interest rates being so low, consider refinancing your home
and/or securing a debt consolidation loan. You might have to
come up with a new closing cost but once paid, you will have
lower payments, better terms, and save thousands of dollars over
the years.
48. Go Generic
When buying food, try some of the generic items. Unless you or
your guests are connoisseurs of fine dining, they will not know if
the green beans were generic or a top name brand.
Once you add some butter, salt, and pepper, no one will know the
difference except you -$79 per can versus $33 per can!
People do not realize that many generic brands are actually
manufactured by name brand companies, just branded with a
different name. In fact, companies such as those that make snack
foods will have conveyor belts that run side-by-side – one for the
name brand and one for the generic brand.
This is quite common and the only difference is the label and
price.
49. Stock Up
As you shop, if you notice that a brand you and your family use on
a consistent basis is on sale for a great bargain, stock up. As an
example, if you use a particular type of shampoo costing $4.50
per bottle and you find it on sale for $2.50, go ahead and buy two
bottles. You should only do this on items you know will be used.
50. Shopping for Clothes
There are many secrets relating to saving money on clothing. As
a perfect example, rather than buy a matched suit for $450, buy
the pieces separate. This will save you about $100 to $150.
Additionally, buy several pieces that can be mixed and matched,
giving you six outfits out of four pieces.
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