Born To Spend? 15 Ways To Save Money This Year
By Sara Vigneri
The desire to spend money is in your genes. If you are currently struggling to curb your spending, odds are you come from a long line of spenders according to a study out of the University of Washington. When researchers studied 15,000 sets of twins, they discovered they had the same spending patterns, even if they lost contact with one another. So if you were born to spend, try some of these strategies.
AVOID SALES
A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that when shoppers see savings slogans they are more likely to spend money. For example, Walmart’s “Save money. Live better” slogan actually increased spending among participants in the study. Unless you intended to purchase an item before heading to the store, it’s best to skip past the sale items.
SKIP THE SODA MACHINE
According to TIAA-CREF, simply skipping a daily trip at work for a soda or bottled water could save you $30 a month. If you invest that $30 a month at four percent annual interest calculated monthly, you will end up with $3,744 in ten years. Bring in your own reusable bottle of water from home to keep at your desk.
CARRY CLEAN MONEY
Recent research determined that people are more likely to spend dirty, crumpled money. The “ick” factor of dirty dollar bills means people are more likely to spend them, just to get rid of them. Next time you withdraw cash for spending money, ask the teller for crisp bills.
CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE
According to the FTC, the simple act of keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure can save you $100 a year on gas. Every time you fill up your tank, make sure you tires are properly inflated.
SWITCH YOUR ENERGY PLAN
If your family clears out of the house during the day you can save money by switching to a time-of-use rate plan which allows you to pay lower rates for off-peak energy usage. Be sure to turn down the thermostat before you leave for work and reserve energy-guzzling functions like running the dishwasher and washing machine for the evening.
KEEP LARGER BILLS
A 2009 study examined the spending habits of people carrying large bills compared to small bills and determined that participants were more likely to spend money when they had singles and coins.
BUY EFFICIENT BULBS
You may balk at those higher priced energy efficient bulbs, but they last longer and use less energy, thereby saving you money in the long run. According to GE, if you swap ten 60 watt bulbs in your house for those spiral bulbs, you can save $57 in energy costs.
KILL YOUR CABLE
With the amount of entertainment available for free on the internet, it’s amazing that we are still paying $100 or more for cable a month. Cut your cable, stick with Netflix or Hulu and you could save roughly $1000 a year.
BRING A GROCERY LIST
Heading to the store without a list is asking for trouble–research shows that shoppers spend 50 percent more than they plan because of impulse purchases. Make a grocery list before heading to the store and stick to it.
PLAN YOUR MEALS
Another pitfall for shoppers is buying too much food. Americans waste $1600 a year on food that gets tossed out. Carefully plan your meals and only buy the ingredients you need to avoid waste.
MAKE YOUR OWN DETERGENT
Did you know there is a black market for Tide? At $10-$20 a bottle, it’s no wonder that thieves are stealing them from the shelves. Save money by making your own laundry detergent recipe courtesy of the Duggars, a family with 19 kids.
• 4 cups hot tap water
• 1 soap bar
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup Borax
1. Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
2. Fill a five gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
3. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use.
TRY SAVEUP.COM
Compared to spending money, saving is so boring. But a free online program, saveup.com, turns saving into fun by rewarding you for making deposits or paying down debt. Every time you sock your many away, you earn the chance to win prizes like cars, vacations or even a $2 million jackpot. Saveup.com recently reported that over half of the participants using the website successfully reduced debt.
PICK ONE GOAL
The idea of saving for retirement, vacation, college and a bigger house can be mind-boggling. Don’t overwhelm your brain – instead, pick one goal to save toward. A study in the Journal of Marketing Research determined that a single savings goal leads to more money socked away compared to multiple goals.
MATCH YOUR BOSS
If you aren’t taking full advantage of your employers 401k matching contribution you are literally passing up free money. Make sure you are contributing the maximum amount on your company’s 401k match program.
SKIP PAYMENT PLANS
Researchers from Stanford University used brain scans to show that people feel pain when they see high prices for items they want to purchase. Stores try to mask big numbers by creating payment plans or hiding fees in subscription services to help lessen the pain of the purchase. Ignore the monthly fee and force yourself to examine the entire cost of an item before spending.
