10 Easy Ways on How To Save Money Without Changing Your Everyday Spending!

Do you want to save money? Do you want more money? Do you want your money to stretch further? I don't care how much money or how little for that matter, if you live in America your answer to all three is a resounding YES! Whether you have too many credit card bills, student loans, or saving for a house, there are so many great ways to save money that many of us have not thought of. Through the counsel of smarter people than myself, I have gotten some great tips that have served me well in my search for more money. I felt that I should share some of these great tips with others, so that way others could find the same financial benefits that I have.

If you are super serious about saving money, I strongly recommend these articles as well:

• how to change your spending without really feeling it
• websites to personal budgeting tools, gas checkers, and coupons among other things
  

Sometimes gas prices get out of hand, especially with oil spills and the recession! So it only make sense that we should think about driving more cost efficiently. One way to do that is to slow down. By driving the speed limit, we will have a great deal better fuel efficiency. Another great way to do that is to take out any extra weight from your trunk. By lowering the weight of the car, there is less effort on the engine. Keeping your tire pressure full is a great idea as well, as this will also increase the fuel efficiency.

Do you need to stop at the car wash to get your car washed, or can you do it yourself. If you have children five or older, I can guarantee, they would be more than happy to help you out without you spending much money! I have to admit, I usually pull my car in the driveway of the family I nanny for, give out five sponges, fill up a bucket and have them at it. It keeps them entertained for nearly an hour, spraying each other giggling, and just having fun! Plus I NEVER have to clean my car!

Get creative! Learn how to mend, so you don't have to send it out, or scrap it altogether. Make your own cards! There are many great ideas out there! Ask yourself, is this something you can do yourself? If so, why hire someone else to do it.

Do you have both a cell phone and a land line? Are they both important in your daily life? If you rarely use your home phone, it may be a good idea to drop it. If you need more than one line, then consider getting a second cell phone, many companies will only charge an additional 9.99 for an extra line.

What about your viewing habits in the summer. Most people watch much less tv during the summer. It may be a good idea to cut back on what channels you get during the summer. Or if you don't use netflix as much during the summer, either cut back, or pause your account!

Most bills are negotiable. I am notorious amongst my friends for getting good deals on anything from tv to interest rates on my credit card. Most companies have some wiggle room.

Most the utilities you can call them every six months and ask them if they are having any promotions that you are eligible for. Unfortunately most of these only last six months. So you have to call back in six months. The good side is you often can get your bill almost cut in half! Many of these utilities that I have been successful in negotiating is cable, phone, and internet. Many companies offer packages, although make sure the package is worth it. Because I have found that sometimes the packet sounds good, but you can get a better deal by breaking it up.

Interest rates on credit cards are often negotiable as well. Yes, they are! I have called many times and asked for a reduction, and received one. Sometimes they have to do something special, like close my old card, and open a new one. Other times they have been able to change it in their system just because I called. Many of these will change back to the regular rate after six months to ago!

If you are planning on staying in your house, you may want to consider looking into getting your mortgage refinanced. Right now, mortgage interest rates are at an all-time low. It's worth your time and energy to see if you can get a lower interest rate! A one percent difference is a tremendous amount of money in the long run, and even in the short run.

For instance, let's say you have a $200,000.00 thirty year mortgage at 6.5%, you're payment each month will be approximately, $1264.14 according to bankrate.com loan calculator. Using the same calculator, a $200,000.00 thirty year mortgage at 5.5% would be $1135.58. That's a savings of a little less than $130.00 a month, and $1542.72 a year! That's more than an entire mortgage payment cheaper. Feel free to play with the bankrate.com calculator, and you will find that looking into it would be very beneficial. 

Let's face it, there is more reasons to go green, than just saving the world. Going green is often economically beneficial as well. Here are some great going green tips!

Use energy efficient light bulbs!

Fix leaky toilets. Does your toilet constantly run, or is there a steady leak in your faucet. By getting them fixed you are not only saving our fresh water supply, but also your checkbook.

Yes, spend the time to cut coupons. They cost you nothing but time, and include many of the products you buy on a regular basis. There are also many websites where you can get good coupons even some free samples. It's well worth your time.

There are several sites you can go to. For one you usually can get a coupon from a products site, as well as from sites like coupons.com among many others.

Every Sunday newspaper, they will have ads for the top one to five grocery stores in your area. Go through them, see who has milk or pop on sale. I know Meijer's here in Eastern US often will have amazing sales a few weeks out of the year where you can get awesome products at real cheap. I often go shopping on those weeks. During this time period they usually have 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese for $1.00. Seriously, how cool is that! Well, due to my memory of a fish, I once went to Meijers three times in one week, buying this great deal. Each time forgetting my previous trip. Well, my husband with a much better memory, brings this up every time we eat macaroni and cheese. In case you are wondering, we eventually ate all 30 boxes!

Do you need the house at 72 degrees when you are not home ten hours a day for five days a week. What about while you sleep, do you need the temp at a certain temperature? By getting a thermostat that has a timer you are able to set the thermostat to turn off when you leave for work, and turn on right before you get back, so you never realize that your house ever cooled down or heated up. You can also set it so that way the house is warm when you wake up, so that way you can sleep in the cool, but not freeze your toes off in the winter. Aside from that, you are saving money due to not having the thermostat always running at 72 degrees!

There are so many great sites out there that will help you. My personal favorite is mint.com, others include: 

• geezeo.com
• wesabe.com
• moneytrackin.com
• clearcheckbook.com
• buxfer.com
• pearbudget.com
  
• and my personal favorite mint.com

Basically you put in all your bills into their secure system, and they will break it down for you. I am only experienced with mint.com, but I do know most of them will break it down to you by showing you graphs of your spending, giving advice where to cut, and send you weekly updates on the status of your spending. It's a great tool to help you analyze your budget without having to do all the math yourself. These are really awesomely great tools!!!

Bottom line, if you are serious about saving money, all of these tips can help. But budgeting is not just about your personal budget, but also budgeting your time. Good luck with any of your decisions, and let me know if you have any great tips yourself!