Want to learn easy ways to cut expenses? We are your day to day guide on ways to cut down on the cost of necessities giving you more money to save and spend on the little luxuries of life. If you don't think you can afford that vacation or new furniture you have wanted, think again! We can show you ways you have never thought of to slash costs. Not only that, we encourage our readers to submit the cost saving ideas they have come up with.

Grown Your Own Garden

Planting your own garden can be an important tool in your quest save money and cut down on your grocery bill.. You don't need a large piece of property or any property at all. In fact a few simple containers on the back patio or balcony can provide ample produce to make it financially worth your time. If you don't have a balcony or any space for gardening many cities offer garden space for free or very low-cost. Many landlords are now starting to allow gardens in the apartments green space. The gardens promote community and give a sense of pride in ownership and make tenants happier.

Don't worry about having too much produce from your garden. Whatever you have left over you can trade for goods or services from families or friends, sell to friends and coworkers or freeze and can them to use later in the year. Although the costs of canning jars do offset the savings for the 1st year they can be reused for many years. Many people are happy to receive fresh produce as gifts or canned vegetables or sauces in a fancy jar with a piece of cloth over top can be given as a gift.

Even if you don't like vegetables and have no intention of using them for yourself they are very easy to grow and allow you a commodity to use to trade for things you may need or to spread good will that comes back to you in future. The family you give your extra produce to will usually be the first to come to your aid if you need help with anything. If you still have left over produce, you can always drop it off at the local shelters or soup kitchens for those in need.

The most economical way starting a garden is from seed in early spring or you can buy plants at local nurseries that are ready to plant immediately. The rule of thumb is that closest things are to nature the cheaper they are still it is always best start things you have grown yourself and to use as little processed food as possible. Not only is fresh produce better for you the exercise you get tending to your garden is also a health benefit. It also gives you time to get to know other individuals and enjoy the fresh air and for many it becomes a social outlet that not only doesn’t cost you money but saves you money.

You can try container gardening which is basically growing one or 2 plants in a pot on your balcony or patio to start with and get use to gardening. A couple of tomato plants are a good place to start. The tomatoes can be used in making pasta sauce, used on sandwiches or burgers and also used in salads. They are easy to grow and give you a lot of satisfaction.

 

Know Your Prices

The Internet has put then entire world marketplace at your fingertips. Never in history has it been so easy to both save and spend money. This is where we need to hone our self restraint skills and prevent ourselves from overspending. Remember the greatest bargain in the world is not a bargain if you do not need it or do not use it.

Learning in life never stops so if you don't know what items cost it is about time you started to learn. One way to do this is to make a master grocery list. You can make the list as elaborate or as simple as you like but what I like to do is instead of crossing off the item on my list once I put it in my cart I like to write down the price that I am paying for it. This allows you to get to know your prices and also helps at the check-out to make sure the price they are charging you is the price that is displayed (see article (Inaccurate Pricing for more on this subject). Once home you can even track how much you are paying for the products you buy so that you will know when you are3 getting a good deal and when to stock up on items that are a bargain.

For larger items, where the savings can be much bigger do your homework before going to the store. Scan newspaper ads and surf the Internet for the best pricing. If buying online, always remember to include shipping into the cost when deciding who has the best bargain. For many things like TV's etc make sure you compare by model number. When you go into the store to buy make sure and come armed with competitor ads as well as pricing for several models in case you deviated from what you originally intended to buy.

At one time there was really no way to negotiate prices at places like Best Buy but things are changing. Recently while shopping the staff member discounted a couple of items that I had wanted to purchase, which is always nice, but keep in mind that some stores may decide to inflate their price in order for their staff to bargain with customers.
For some, it is perceived value that wins them over rather than actual value. It is like the $100 dress marked up to be $200 and allowing the staff to give you 50% off. The customer walks out happy but still paid full price.

With careful planning and a little bit of patience you may never have to pay full price again, but knowing WHAT full price actually is combined with what a product is worth in terms of value is the starting point. The more you educate yourself the more opportunities will present themselves for saving more. Just make sure you are buying things because you really want and need them and not just because they are on sale. Buying a $200 dress for $100 is a waste of money if you will never wear it, or it does not fit properly and you bought it just because it was a good deal.

TIP: Everyone gets excited about success so for a full year, try and keep a running total of all the money you saved. Sure it will take a bit of work, but at the end of the year you will not only be stunned at how much you saved, you will also be surprised that at the end of the year, you have learned more about saving money and hence save more per month now than when you first started. The list can be simple, mine is just a 4 column spread sheet. First column is the date, second is the item name, next column amount saved and the last one is a running total.