Want to Play a Game? 20 Ways to Save Money.

Whatever impetus you might have for saving money, I have found it to be the most rewarding if you turn it into a game, keep score and tally your annual savings, one win at a time. It makes it easy if you keep a running list of your wins and convert each monthly, weekly or daily saving into an annual number. 

I recently met with the candidates at Right Management Florida and we brainstormed and shared tricks and tips for saving money during our job search. Those notes are shared here. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments below. These are in no order in particular:

1.  Home Security: call your provider and let them know you are considering canceling your service and ask if there is anything they can do to make it more affordable to save your business. Several in class reported this had resulted in monthly savings that really added up. If you are in dire straights and need to cut the cost altogether, ask someone you know that has your service to request new signs for you and just post the signs in your yard as a deterrent.
2. Water Delivery: After 1 year most contracts convert the monthly rental to full ownership of your unit. You can save a bundle by cancelling the water delivery and buying the spring or purified gallon jugs to refill your last large water container. 
3. Electric Bills: Increase your interior temperature 2 degrees in the summer and reduce it 2 degrees in the winter. 
4. Water: If you don't have a water saving toilet, put a brick in the holding tank in the back of your toilet to reduce the water for every flush. 
5. Water: Turn the water off while you are brushing your teeth.
6. Water: Turn down the number of minutes on your irrigation settings. Look into something called Rachio to electronically control your irrigation based on weather reports and other factors. 
7. Water: Save money by washing all of your clothes in cold water. Saves money on heating the water and usually cuts down on the cycle time. 
8. Cell Phones: Call your cell phone provider and ask if there are any discounts available to keep your business. If you are outside of your contract, they usually make an effort to reduce monthly costs. When I called, they asked me how old I was and my rate went from $89/month to $64/month because I qualified for the senior discount. Also if you have Xfinity Internet/Cable, you can normally get a data limited plan for under $20/month and by using the Comcast hot spots you can easily stay within your data plan. 
9. Cable Bills: One approach to saving money that may feel daunting is to cut the cable and go with one of the streaming services such as Roku, Amazon Fire or direct streaming to a Smart TV. From a quick survey of my tech savvy friends Roku seems to be the preferred option and costs about $50 per month. However, you need to add the costs of any content providers to that amount, such as Netflix, Hulu or HBO. Make a list of your must have channels and then price each one to make sure you really do get a savings. Roku is a service and not a content provider.
10. Groceries & Household Items: Shop the circulars. If you are willing to drive to several stores and limit your purchases to only their loss leaders, you can save a bundle. But control impulse purchases or you lose the game!
11. Reward Cards: Get them and make sure you log your purchases against them. Some companies gift you with "free stuff" for birthdays ($15 from Benihanas) and company anniversaries (Coopers Hawk). 
12. Lunches: Pack your lunch and save about $125/month or $1,500/year. 
13. Gift Card: Find and use your gift cards. Put them in your wallet and make a point to go to those places you have cards for. 
14. The Early Bid Gets the Savings: Get to establishments during early bird and happy hour prices and enjoy your favorite meal and a drink for less than just a meal at most places. However reducing your dining out habits is a very effective way to score big in the savings game. 
15. Gas Cards: Shop at Publix when they offer the Gas Savings cards based on purchases of grocery products. Buy $50 in groceries (and who doesn't spend at least that amount) and get a $10 gas card when you present the coupon from the in-store circular or newspaper insert. Some nice cashiers will split your $100 order so you can qualify for $20 in savings. 
16.  Insurance: Shop your auto and homeowners insurance. Auto insurance companies are required to give you a discount over 3 years if you complete the Mature Driver Course or a Safe Driving course. The amount varies by provider but the average is 10% off. In addition, if you agree to install and record your driving habits, you may qualify for additional discounts. The only catch, as of this writing, they don't have a device that works on electric vehicles.  
17. Drinking and Dining: On the occasions that you do decide to dine out, have a glass of wine or cocktail at home before you go. Alcohol has a very large mark up and you will feel satiated when you arrive and not feel the need to order or drink more than you want to spend.
18. Coffee: Everyone knows the cost of Starbucks really add up so either make your own before you go or shop around for a more affordable option. Wawa stores offer coffee for a buck. 
19. AARP: If you have an AARP card, it will afford you discounts and savings on everything from your Denny's bill to eye glasses. Check out their site to get the latest list of savings. 
20. Dry Cleaning: Instead of paying those big dry cleaning bills, check out one the dry cleaning kits available at the grocery store and save some coin instead of being taken to the cleaners.

Hopefully these ideas will inspire you to start your own game of "how much can I save" and I wish you great luck on your journey. Please feel free to add your ideas below.  And for homeowners, here is a link for things you can do to save almost $4,000 per year.