15 Money Saving Tips
Why spend more than you need to?

With a recession here
or on the way, here's how
to chop your expenses
on home, auto,
entertainment, travel
and more.

By Russell Wild

Ben Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Quite obviously, Ben didn't have to deal with income taxes. Today, a penny saved, assuming you fall in the 28-percent tax bracket, is more like 1.3 pennies earned. On the following pages, you'll find tips galore for saving not pennies, but dollars — lots and lots of dollars.

1. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME: Planning a vacation? Why stay in a crummy hotel room when you can occupy an entire house for less? The Caretaker Gazette is a bi-monthly newsletter that lists rent-free house caretaking opportunities around the world. The publication costs $29 a year. Subscribe online at www.caretaker.org, or call 715-426-5500.

2. NO CALL WAITING: The telephone market has become terribly competitive. And, even though picking and choosing plans can sometimes be a pain in the neck, it can save you lots. "If you're still with a plan that hasn't changed in a year or more, you may be paying much more than you need to," says Irene Leech, Ph.D., associate professor in consumer education at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.

The first thing you need to do is to check your bill carefully. Are you using each and every option you're paying for—caller I.D.? Call waiting? Call forwarding? If not, nix'em. Second, are you on your provider's most economical plan? Call and ask — "'Given my typical month's phone usage, do you have a better deal for me?"— Those moves alone could save you 25 percent on your bill.

3. REVIEW INSURANCE POLICIES: 1) Are you paying for disability insurance, even though you're no longer working? That's $200 a month you can save right there. 2) Indemnity income riders, which pay you for days in the hospital, are almost always a waste, says Leech. Save the $20 a month. "Most hospital stays today are very short. Indemnity income is a big consumer rip-off." 3) An even bigger rip-off, she adds, are the credit life payments often hidden buried in the credit contracts you'll sign to buy a car or large appliance. You may be paying $4.00 or more a month so that in case you die, and your choose not to pay off the car or refrigerator, it won't be repossessed from your heirs. But that's their choice. Maybe, just maybe, they don't want your pink Cadillac.

4. BE A CHEAP DATE: On the dating scene? "There are great ways to get to know your new special someone that won't put you or your date in the poorhouse," say the folks at Match.com, the online dating website. Match's frugal but fun recommendations include.

* A picnic lunch
* A museum outing
* A visit to a botanical garden
* The zoo

5. BUY A SECOND-HAND CAR: A two-year old car with 40,000 miles, unless it's a model particularly known for its durability, will generally sell for 50 percent of the cost of a new car, yet it will still have 75 percent of its life ahead of it. The warranty may have expired, but the costs of repairs should be much less than the payments you'd make on a shiny new number.

6. CHECK YOUR TIRES: According to automotive expert Lauren Fix, a few simple steps can lower your gas expenses dramatically. First, keep your tires properly inflated. You lose up to two-percent of your fuel economy for each pound of under-inflation. You also wear out your tires before their time. Check tire pressure against the door placard or behind the gas door. Never use the number on the tire. Always check your pressure once a month. Don't warm your car up for more than 30 seconds, even on cold winter mornings. It isn't necessary. Modern engines are designed to warm up as they drive. Total gassavings per year, following all the tips above, assuming a mid-sized car driven 15,000 miles: $96.

7. RENT A CASKET: Often, the families of those who choose cremation invest in a fancy casket that quickly winds up as ashes. What a waste of good wood. Rent a casket instead of buying, and you'll save plenty. A typical oak casket runs $2800 to buy; only $700 to rent. "The casket rentals have been getting more and more popular," says Robert Maitner, Jr., owner of Maitner Cremation Services of Jersey City, New Jersey. "The casket, by the way, is just the outer shell," he adds. "The body never touches it."

8. DON'T BE A BULB BOOB: Those incandescent light bulbs you've been using for years haven't changed a whole lot since Mr. Edison invented them 123 years ago. They're strictly 19th century technology. Consider modernizing. According to The Alliance to Save Energy, compact fluorescent bulbs, which can almost always screw into the very same fixture, emit roughly four times the amount of light for every watt of electricity. And the fluorescent bulb will last 13 times as long (about 10,000 hours versus 750) hours. A fluorescent bulb costs about $11, which is comparable to the cost of 13 incandescent bulbs. But, assuming you keep your lights on four hours a day, you'll save roughly $9 a year in electricity for each compact fluorescent you install.

9. HIT THE GYM--AT HOME: You're determined to get into better shape. You could buy a monthly membership in a gym. Or you could invest in some home gym equipment. "But ask yourself honestly if you're the kind of person who can work out at home, by yourself. You don't want to buy a piece of exercise equipment and have it get used as a coat rack," says Leech. Monthly membership in a gym typically costs about $30 a month. A good exercycle can be had for under $500 or far less if bought on craigslist.com. "And you've also got to figure in the time saved and the gas money spared by not running to the gym."

10. GO OUT ON A LIMB: The National Park Service will pay your way, provide lodging, and even give you a small salary in exchange for working with tourists or trees. Retirees Marianna and Scott Broaddus of Glen Allen, Virginia, once spent three months in Yellowstone. They helped manage a Park Service restaurant six to eight hours a day, and the rest of the time they were free to commune with nature. "It was one of the best vacations we ever had, and we got paid for it!" says Marianna. Contact the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. at 202/208-6843. Or read all about the deals on line at www.nps.gov/volunteer/index.htm

11. GO DUTCH: Time to get those tulip bulbs in the ground. Economy maven Elizabeth Cline, author of The Bargain Buyer's Guide, suggests that you stock up at Van Engelen, Inc., for prices that absolutely can't be beat. "Tulip bulbs through Van Engelen, especially their end-of-season sales, tend to run about a third the price of even Wal-Mart!" says Cline. It's true. A recent hop onto their website revealed an almost infinite variety of Dutch flower bulbs selling for less than 30 cents apiece. See their online catalog at www.vanengelen.com, or call 860-567-8734 for a free print catalog.

12. GROW YOUR OWN: It's amazing what you can grow with a handful of seeds, a little plot of land, or even a few large pots out on the patio. Now only can you save money growing your own tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, mint, peppers, or squash (some of the easiest crops to grow), but yours will be so much tastier than anything you can buy at the supermarket. One of the best books for beginning gardeners, a classic in the field: Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew (Rodale Press, 1981), deeply discounted at Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) for $11.87 plus shipping.

13. CHECK OUT DISCOUNT REPLACEMENT CHECKS: Your bank may charge you as much as $20 for a box of 200 replacement checks. You can do much better. Several independent printers can beat the bank's price by a long shot. Direct Checks Unlimited of Colorado Springs, for example, sells most checks for $8.95 per box of 200. First-timers get four boxes for the price of three, and no shipping cost. See their extensive collection of check designs online at www.checksunlimited.com. Good deals can also be found at Checks in the Mail, in Irwin, California. Contact 1-800-733-4443, or order online at www.checksinthemail.com. Prices start at $9.99 for a box of 150 checks.

14. SPICE UP LIFE: Baking a pumpkin pie for the holidays? Egg nog? Hot apple cider with cinnamon? Buy your spices through the Atlantic Spice Co., and save 50 to 90 percent off supermarket prices! Atlantic also sells nuts and seeds, teas, and herbs, all for dandy discounts. Purchases can be made online or by mail. Go to www.atlanticspice.com, or call 1-800-316-7965.

15. HALF PRICE MAGAZINES: Share magazine subscriptions with a like-minded neighbor or friend. That's a 50 percent discount right there. In addition, subscribe by phone and try negotiating a special rate, such as professional, senior, or student. Often you can shave a few percentage points off the price merely for the asking. Don't renew magazines that you rarely read. (You can always find them at the library.)

GIVE IT UP: Now that you've saved all this loot, be generous, and give some of it away to charity. But know that you can even save while giving away! First, by writing your check to a qualified charity before December 31, you can deduct the amount you give from your income taxes for the current year. (Not so if you wait till January 1.) Second, if you give an appreciated asset, such as a stock fund that has climbed in value over the many years you held it from, say, $1000 to $2000, you and the charity benefit doubly. As long as you transfer the actual fund, without first cashing it out, you don't have to pay any of the capital gains tax that you normally would have to pay. And, the charity gets the full $2000 value, which they can then cash out on, without having to pay any tax, either. Everyone winds up ahead!