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Saving money is on everyone’s minds right now, but many people aren’t sure how to go about cutting day-to-day costs. Here are ten things you can do right now to put more money in your monthly budget.

1. Change your driving habits. Cut your fuel costs by driving less. Evaluate whether you really need to run to the store for a last minute item. Find ways to car pool with others and check out public transportation. Also, avoid idling your car longer than one minute.

2. Rethink your entertainment options. Instead of going out to the movies, hit the rental store. Limit your night out clubbing to once a month, and have friends over on Friday nights instead for potluck and BYOB. Utilize your local public library for books, music and movie rentals.

3. Lower your insurance costs. Insurance rates, especially auto insurance rates, can vary a lot from company to company. By getting at least three different comparison quotes, you could lower your premiums by hundreds. An easy way to do this is online at an insurance comparison Web site. Driving less and taking advantage of discounts can lower your rates as well. Also, consider raising your deductibles on both auto and home insurance to immediately lower your premiums. Just be sure you can come up with the higher deductible in the event of a claim.

4. Eliminate expensive gym memberships. If you need the incentive that comes with the gym social scene, look into joining a local running, hiking or other workout club.

5. Dine-in more often. Prepare more meals at home rather than eating out. Cutting out one restaurant meal a week could save you $70 or more a month, per person.

6. Brew your own. Gourmet coffee-to-go can cost you $3 or more a cup. Buy an inexpensive grinder and coffee maker and brew a thermos of the good stuff that you can take to work or school, for only pennies a cup.

7. Cut your utilities costs. Change furnace filters regularly. Install weather stripping around doors and windows. Fix leaky faucets and running toilets. Lower your thermostat and wear sweaters.

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It’s Friday and you just got paid! After sending off that last check to pay for necessities; food, car payment, rent, etc., you have $100 left. What should you do with it? Save it or pay down debt? It’s hard to give a one size fits all answer to that question. Everyone’s individual situations, goals and needs are different and questions need to be answered. First, what kind of debt do you have- mortgage loan, student loans, credit cards? Are you planning to make some large purchases such as a house or car? What are your investment goals/needs? For the next few weeks we will focus on ideas to get your savings, debt, and investing plan in order. First, who’s getting the most return on your savings account?

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Shoppers’ tips on how to negotiate in good economic times is a valuable skill any smart person who wants to save money should have. But in a deep recession like this country is experiencing now having negotiation skills can make the difference between financial survival or failure. If you’re a buyer you have an advantage especially if you’re in the market for a car, home, clothes or any big ticket item and you have the cash or credit to buy it.

But you’re not out of the woods and saving money in this tight economic climate isn’t an automatic slam dunk just because it’s a so-called buyers market. It would surprise you how many uninformed buyers still pay too much for product and services in this buyers market. Why? Simple, they don’t know how to negotiate.

Here’s 5 Tips To Negotiate More Confidently and Save Money.

1. Do Your Research Before You Negotiate – Not After.

Many people make the mistake of negotiating on the fly, without the benefit of properly researching prices, choices, options and other factors. They have the impression negotiation is a test of wills, quick comebacks or out-talking the other person. When in reality it’s the ability to set up a win-win situation where both parties arrive at mutual beneficial situation that will give you the best experience. This shoppers secret happens when you do your part and do the proper research. Because of the internet this is a much easier process than ever before.

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Everyone gets into a money crunch now and then and has to look for ways to save money in the budget. If money is tight and you need to find ways to save money, there are some simple things you can start doing today that will make a difference in your bottom line. It boils down to making choices between needs and wants. Here are some easy ways to save money by evaluating your current spending choices:

Ways To Save Money #1: Downgrade your cable TV or get rid of it altogether.

Have you looked at your cable TV bill lately? You may be paying for services or channels that you are not watching. Now is the time to reassess your TV habits and decide if the few shows you watch are worth the $50 or more per month bill. Check the available packages to see if maybe a lower priced option would work for you or consider giving up your cable TV for a trial period, say a few months. You might find that you don’t really miss it. Potential savings -$50 or more per month depending on cable TV packages.

Ways To Save Money #2: Learn to cook at home and stop all the restaurant dining.

If your budget needs a drastic overhaul, give up dining out for one month. Borrow a basic cookbook from the library and whip up some easy meals. Potential savings – $100 or more depending on how often and how much you typically spend eating out.

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Found this interesting article on ezine today:

Ok guys…I’m going to be perfectly honest here just like I always am and hopefully you’ll take my advice here so you don’t end up getting scammed like I was when I was looking for no Chexsystems banks in my local area.

I’ll start off by saying that getting scammed out of $300+ was something that I probably could have avoided IF I had just used this one technique that comes naturally to most of us anyway. But since I was stuck in between a rock and hard place at the time, and would have killed (not literally of course) for a checking account at that time I went ahead and let myself get scammed out of lots of money two times over. Was it a stupid thing to do? You bet ya! But since you personally know how it feels to be stuck in Chexsystems and to be totally unable to live a normal everyday life…sometimes it gets to you and it makes you make choices that you normally would not make.

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