55 Ways To Save Pennies

Published June 2nd, 2008

Given the slowly rising cost of many day to day products and services, many of us are having to make some adjustments in our daily lives to help offset these increases.  For some of us these changes are necessary in order to not accumulate further debt, for others they are necessary to help pay off debt, and for others still changes are necessary in order to maintain the same standard of living despite rising fuel and food costs.

Saving a few pennies a day in many different areas of your life can soon add up to dollars, and at the end of the year, even hundreds of dollars.  For those that are skeptical, I encourage you to pick a few things and deliberately try them for a couple of months while tracking your expenditures, and you may see that with minimal effort some very real money can be saved.

I decided to write this post about many small things because we are all busy, and especially when we are stressed, big changes can seem scary. 

Some of these points will work with your situation, and some will, not, but hopefully at least a few of these suggestions will help if you choose to implement them.  Throughout this post you’ll also find links to other articles I’ve written and sites to help you save money, improve your health, and help the environment as well–these links are in orange.

55 Ways to Save Pennies…

On natural gas and hydro

1.  Turn the temperature on your water heater down a couple of notches–especially in the summer.

2.  Turn your fireplace pilot light off in the summer so you don’t have the extra heat in your home.

3.  Avoid paying for “phantom load” (the energy that some appliances etc. use even when they’re off), by unplugging anything unnecessary when not in use, especially before you leave the house in the morning and before you go to bed.

4.  Wash at least the colours and dark clothes on the cold water setting.

5.  Line dry clothes in the summer or at least hang some of them up in a dry area of your home

6.  Sew UV blocker backing into your curtains, this will help to keep unwanted heat light out in the summer and heat in in the winter.

7.  Take advantage of natural light early in the morning and later in the evening by not turning on lights unless absolutely necessary. 

8.  Take advantage of any rebate and discount programs your utility provider might offer.  For example, my local hydro company offered a challenge last summer that if you were able to cut your July consumption by 10% over the previous year, you would get a 15% discount on your September bill!  Some utility companies in my province (Ontario also periodically send out coupons for power saving household items like CFL bulbs and programmable thermometers).

9.  Search out and stop any drafts in your doors and windows–this is just as important in the summer as it is in the winter.

10.  Try setting or programming your thermometer just a couple of degrees higher in the summer, and lower in the winter when you’re not home.

11.  Actually study your utility bills, know your consumption pattern, and consciously challenge everyone in your home for a reduction over the same time last year.

12.  When you have to replace or purchase an appliance, try buying one with an energy star or other energy efficient rating, nowadays, you can even look up this info for second hand purchases provided you have the model number on the appliance.

On water

13.  Buy a shower timer, agree on a reasonable time limit (3 or 5 minutes) and try sticking to it, this may help to offset some of the extra water you use in the summer for your lawn and garden.

14.  Gradually replace water saving shower heads for every shower used in your home when they are on sale…they don’t have to cost a lot to get the job done.

15. Pick up a second-hand rain barrel, or some other device to help you collect and redistribute the water that comes out of your eavestroughs.

16.  Water the lawn and garden before sun is really up or after dark to avoid losing and wasting water to the sun’s evaporative effects.

17.  Pay attention to the weather report to avoid doing a major watering effort right before in rains.

18.  If you wash dishes by hand, consciously pay attention to the timing, challenge yourself to work a little faster so less water goes down the drain (unless you use the method where you fill up the sinks).

On banking and bills

19.  Develop a simple system to make sure your bills remember to get paid, and paid on time.  Late and interest fees can really add up over time.  More tips on this in 6 Ways to Avoid the Cost of Procrastination

20.  Sit down and review how much you are really paying every month and year in fees for all of your bank accounts.  Consider switching to a no fee banking system like ING direct, or if you want to stay with one of the big banks, call your personal banker or accounts manager up, tell them how much you’re paying a month, and ask what can be done to lower it.  Most of the time they can get creative and find ways to help you.

21.  If you do leave large amounts of money sitting in your account for any amount of time, consider opening a high interest savings account.  It’s not the best long-term savings vehicle, but if you need to have money sitting in a bank account for a little while at least you’ll earn a few cents or a few dollars of interest (after all…the bank is making major interest on your money while it sits in your bank account…)

22.  Always keep a lookout in the media and on your bills for rebates, special offers, and price reductions on the services you already use (like long distance), and call them to get the new price–they won’t be in a rush to tell you that the price has gone down!

23.  Cancel one non-essential luxury item that you can do without, like a magazine subscription that you could get for free at the library, or that gym membership you don’t use.

24.  Provided you pay your credit card off every month, and it is a free card, consider a cash back or incentive credit card.

25.  Take part in loyalty programs, even the small savings like Canadian Tire money as cash back and Pioneer Bucks for future use at Pioneer gas stations help a little bit–just make sure you are shopping at stores that aren’t over-priced for the incentive they give.

On food and groceries

26.  Clip coupons for anything you do or may potentially use if the price were right.  Most importantly have some kind of a organization system and set location to store these coupons until needed.  Even better, use a coupon on a sale item!

27.  Plan ahead.  Read more about this in Eco-Friendly Entertaining and 10 Ways to Save on Groceries.

28.  Use the scale to weigh things you are paying for by the pound to help you keep within your budget. 

29.  Scan all flyers for loss leaders (the one or few items that are on deep discount that week just to get you into the store), you’d be surprised what item might be on sale at a store you don’t usually frequent, if it’s convenient or a great deal, then you can swing by that store and stock up on said item(s).

30.  Eat what’s on sale that week and get creative with what meals you prepare, a lot more on this in My 25% Grocery Savings Rule.

31.  As you are walking through the grocery and other stores, always scan the aisles for any coupons you can grab (I once took 8 coupons for $1 off Eggo waffles which were able to use for a few months!)

32.  Remember that one serving of fruit is not that much, consider getting the same quantity of smaller pieces of fruit in order to save some money (for example, buying 6 small bananas instead of 6 big ones).

33.  Get to know the prices and stores, and know where it is least expensive to buy certain items especially the staples like milk, bread, and eggs. 

34.  Use your freezer.  This can apply to many things like stocking up on sale items, or freezing extra batches of food for lunches and dinners.

35.  Make at least one restaurant-quality meal instead of eating out every week. You will save big and can use some of the ingredients for other meals as well.

36.  Make a commitment to do little things to get in shape and eat healthier, more on this in Frugality and Calorie Control

37.  Read 100 Frugal and Healthy Eating Habits…plenty of food for thought on how to navigate certain social situations that are going to cause you to overeat and overspend.

On entertainment

38.  Borrow movies or whole seasons of TV shows from your network of friends, family, or co-workers instead of renting.

39.  Watch movies or TV online.

40.  Swap playlists with your friends for your MP3 player.

41.  Have board game night with drinks instead of going out.

42.  Only go to the movie theatre if it’s cheap night or you have a 2 for 1 coupon, some sources include cereal boxes or Pizza Pizza promotions here in Canada.

43.  Look in the arts and entertainment section of your local paper for free/inexpensive art shows, craft shows, festivals, and performances.

44.  Have your friends over for a Nintendo Wii party!

45.  If you’re going to an amusement park or other attraction always look for discount tickets, now often you can pay less by pre-purchasing gift cards or buying online.

46.  If you do want to buy a single magazine for a trip, get it for less at Costco.

47.  Every time someone recommends a book you might want to read, write it down.  Keep a running list of books you want to read and see if they’re available at your local library. If they’re newer and not available yet, or the waiting list is too long, you might be able to get a great deal at www.amazon.com

On gas for your car

48.  Leave a few minutes early so you can drive a bit slower and use less gas

49.  Use the cruise control when it is safe to do so.

50.  Dump the extra junk out of your car–your car has to work harder the more it weighs.

51.  Make sure your tire pressure is right.

52.  Perform timely oil and filter changes.

53.  Plan your errands, and you can even car pool with a neighbour to do so if it works out.

54.  Consider walking or biking shorter distances

55.  Read 25 Ways to Save Money for some bigger ideas on saving money in addition to the small ideas above.

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