This article was written by Jonathan Milligan who writes for CPACareerCoach.com and SimpleLifeHabits.com. Jonathan has a passion to inspire others to reach their full potential in life. His website is dedicated to teaching others how to form simple life habits in the area of money, relationships, faith, and time management.
I love saving money. It has become my new passion in life. What is funny is that I am not a naturally frugal person. I am very spontaneous, creative and always looking for ways to change my routine. The important thing to remember is how to change your routine without changing your habits, but we will leave that for another blog post. Today I want to discuss some simple money saving ideas that you can start today.
My wife and I have been on a truly remarkable journey over the last year or so and love to explore new ideas for saving money. I have many more to share with you then just three but here is a quick and dirty list of my favorites:
1. Get the Local Newspaper
The funny thing is that I have avoided getting the local paper for the past several years. If you were like me, I used to think:
- Why do I want old news when I have the internet?
- I’m busy, isn’t it just a time waster?
- Too many advertisements and junk
However, once my wife started getting into “couponing” my eyes began to open. This post is not meant to be an exhaustive list of how to do coupons as my wife is more the expert. However, there are several coupon inserts that come in the Sunday paper that can be combined with grocery store sales. Just do a search online and you will see a huge coupon phenomenon taking place. People are getting addicted. Just this last week we bought over $180 of groceries for around $80.
In fact, just the last Sunday on the front page of the paper was a sticker for $5.00 of a purchase of $50.00 at Publix. Now let me ask you this question: If a $5 bill was taped to the front of the newspaper, would you snag it and put it in your pocket? Of course, you would.
2. Drop Kick Your Cell Phone
My wife and I used to pay over $180 a month for our two cell phones. Do you realize that is $2160 a year? You can go on a decent Disney family vacation for that. Now I know some of us argue that we cannot live without our cell phones and I certainly would not argue that it is a convenience.
If you absolutely have to have one, then try the pre-paid route. I switched my number and put $20 on the phone and it is good for .10 cents a minute. That is right over 200 minutes of talk time. The funny thing is I have stretched it out to almost 2 months without having to put more money on it. I like my cell phone budget at $10 month!
3. Reduce Information Overload
We get bombarded with a lot of information on a daily basis. With cable and internet alone there is too much for the normal human brain to digest in a day’s time. I used to love cable and was in awe of the huge amount of channels that were available.
Now, this is not a post declaring that you should bash your sinful TV set or throw it into the lake, but if you reduce your availability to all of those channels you will find more time in your life. I called Comcast in my local area about a year ago and asked them what is the lowest package you have.
What most people do not realize is that they are required by law to tell you the lowest price. Most of the cable companies do not even advertise the lowest price. Be sure to ask them: “Is that the absolute lowest price that you offer.” I got a 33 channel package for $16 month. My wife and I are reality TV junkies and those mostly come on local channels anyway.
Another money saving tip is just watch TV with the internet and forget cable. You can now access 99% of all programming online for free. As an example, I am a huge ESPN fan, but I did not get it in my 33 channel package (surprised, right?). Well, then I discovered ESPN360 online. The site will stream several live sporting events and you can pick and choose to watch games that are not even being broadcast in your area.
Also, sites like hulu.com and fancast.com have over 99% of the cable programming online for free. What I love is the commercials are shorter too! Here is what is staggering to think about:
If you implement these 3 simple money saving ideas today, here are your savings over a year:
- Grocery Savings: $2400
- Cell Phone Savings: $768
- Cable Savings: $1800
Total Savings: $4,968
This is what we have personally saved by implementing these three money saving ideas (your mileage may vary). So, be bold stop spending just because you can and keep more of your hard earned money.
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Great article…now I want to know more about how to change your routine without changing your habits…When that one gets published, please make sure it gets to my email inbox
I will have to try out the cell phone and cable outlets, but my wife already does couponing. The hardest part is that for most of the coupons, it is junk food and canned items. We are trying to eat better (using more fresh produce and meats) and it is difficult to find coupons that go that route…any suggestions?
We get around the newspaper/coupon dilemma by buying the the Sunday edition every other week. Subscribing would be a waste of money as we wouldn’t read it. The only purpose is for the coupons, and it pays for itself many times over in our grocery budget.
Does your prepaid cell phone plan include unlimited texting? We keep our minutes low, and do more texting than anything else.
How is the service and customer support with the prepaid? It’s hard to give up Verizon in those categories, they’re nothing short of outstanding.
@Sal thanks for the comments. I actually discuss the difference between routines and habits in my free ebook I am giving away on my blog at the moment: The Simple Life Habits Formula
Habits are good but routines are bad. I know it might seem like splitting hairs but routines feel too much like a “rut” to me. There is no adventure or excitement of life. One way you can ditch a routine but keep a habit is by simply changing the scenery. Do your habit somewhere else. There is more then that but that is an example.
As far as fresh produce and meats, go to local fruit & vegetable markets they have great deals. Keep your eye out for Buy One Get One Free when it comes to the meat and use a freezer. We get great deals that way.
@Kevin@OutOfYourRut You might be surprised if you do a little research when it comes to cell phones. I am with Boost Mobile, which I discovered after some research they are owned by Sprint (who I was with) so service in my area has been just as good.
@Jonathan – Downloaded eBook: Check; Subscribed to RSS: Check; Reading through website: Check!
Thanks for the info. We try to use our local farmers market as much as possible (supports the local economy as well and gives back to the people who are close to us). We have a huge deep freezer that we are trying to keep stocked at all times which cuts down on the cost of keeping it cool too
I can’t wait to read over the Simple Life Habits Forumla over the Thanksgiving break. I’ll let you know what I thought. 
Wow, your cell phone plan sounds awesome! Do you mind sharing which carrier you went with?
@Mrs. Money Love the name by the way! I use Boost Mobile. I was able to port my number over easily and have used them for the past year. Many people think these services are not reliable and only for people with bad credit.
I on the other hand like to see how far I can make my $10 or $20 go. There is an eventual limit (I think 3 months) before they make you add more money.
My wife and I are onto the local Sunday paper thing. She gets big results at the grocery store. She has been trained well and is committed to it. Good post!
I actually get excited about buying a Sunday paper becuase I love looking for sales.
I think most people could probably cut out at least once cell phone service and use a prepaid phone instead. You will pay more per call, but less overall.
Hey Jonathan – thanks for the plug for newspapers!
For those who don’t know me, I’m a frugal blogging newspaper reporter in Michigan.
I not only have my own newspaper coming to the house – I also subscribe via home delivery to one of my competitors.
Why?
If you take the time to go past the front page headlines and the coupon books to read through the local news sections of your newspaper, you will find money-saving information there as well.
The items that I am personally responsible for placing in my newspaper’s print edition include public service announcements about freebie days at the regional park districts, free family events such as the community trick-or-treat parties and the upcoming Christmas concerts, food giveaways and free dinners for the needy, and personal finance literacy class schedules.
Yes, that’s pretty useful information for a money-saving family.
Here is the trick: Not all of these notices go in the Sunday edition. The daily edition is what you need. One reason is that we schedule certain lists on certain days to help with traffic flow. But I’m often getting those PSAs on such a short notice that I’m scrambling to get them in the next day’s edition.
Like I said – my paycheck comes from a newspaper so feel free to take my opinion for what it is.
But I’m also paying to get same-day home delivery for the newspaper from another city. That way, I can see those headlines and notices in a timely manner.
— Paula
@Ken – My wife is excited as well. It is like a new found purpose for her. Especially with the economy being so tight she gets fulfilled in the fact that it is an area where she can directly contribute and improve the bottom line. (she is a stay-at-home mom).
@Craig Ford – I agree Craig, it is just so hard to cut back down on the cell phone because we see it as a “need” instead of a “want.” I understand the challenge because as an Executive Recruiter I rationalized that I had to have all the latest features and needed to check my email every ten seconds while away from my desk and then my perspective changed. We hired a new experienced Recruiter and he was “very successful in the business.”
Yet, all he had was the bare minimum for a cell phone and that is when I realized how much I had bought in into rationalizing the situation so that I could play with “cool gadgets.” I also realized that it was an expensive hobby at $120 month for just my cell phone. Sometimes, it takes for you to get backed into a corner (a.k.a Recession) for these things to come to light when you have to really evaluate what is essential.
@Monroe on a Budget – Excellent tips, thanks for contributing. My eyes have really been opened to the value of the local paper over the last year. I mistakenly thought “I don’t have the time” and now I make it my daily treasure hunt.
Not only that, but since I operate several niche blogs it is a great resource for ideas for blogging. Even if you just get ideas for catchy headlines or new trends to do further research. I have found that within 10-15 minutes and I can find what I am looking for in the daily paper. Thanks!
So, what about TV for the kids? Is watching TV via the internet “simple enough that a caveman could do it?” I’m the only tech-savvy person in the house; I don’t want to be the go-to person so someone can watch TV.
Also, what about keeping in touch with each other? We have three cell phones (one for me, one for my wife, and one for my 9 year old because he’s the oldest and is responsible enough to call us only when absolutely necessary), and we end up calling each other throughout the day, not to chat but to notify each other of what’s going on with errands, tasks, etc. We don’t text each other or anyone else, and we have basic phones. If we didn’t call each other, we would waste a lot of time driving to and from home only to find out that we should have picked up something from the store, left earlier to pick up the kids, etc.
@John S. – My kids were an initial concern for me when we first cut back our channel availability. We ended up taking a weekly trip to the Library and let them pick a few DVD’s they might like. It has worked out great. First, I hate the TV commercials that come on that are not appropriate for young children. Second, we picked up a few books from the library and now my kids and I are really enjoying reading to each other as well. Watching online is simple and the beautiful thing is that it is TV viewing “on your terms.” When you have the time. You really should try it.
As far as cell phones, I understand where you are coming from definitely. Not to sound too old fashioned, but people did figure those things out before the cell phone era (of course, they did not know what they are missing). If you are aware of the time you are on the cell phone, then pre-paid is a great way to go. If you have a land line phone, then try not use use the cell phone when at home.
My cell phone really is a necessity for my line of work, but I’ve somewhat compensated by not having cable or satellite at all. More than I would ever want to watch is available on the internet.
Great insights Jonathan. I was just talking with my wife yesterday about getting into coupon shopping, we’ve heard people who are saving hundreds of dollars on groceries. The three topics you mentioned are where we’re looking to cut in the next year or so, as we are spending way too much money on luxuries that aren’t really needed. We realized that we don’t want to spend over $2500 on cable, internet, phone and cell phones in a year. It’s amazing how people spend that much and more for years and years.
Thanks again for the tips!
@Evan – You are right. There is so much available online when it comes to TV watching. I also love that it is on my terms. I decide what time I want to watch something or I super-stack it by watching my favorite programs while working out. Since I need the internet for my line of work, it makes sense to get my TV viewing from there as well.
@Aaron – Your welcome. The “couponing” is a great adventure. My wife had wanted to do it for a while, but she just got over-whelmed. We started to see the benefit of it when we both jumped in and helped one another. Now, she has such a handle on it she can do it without me. The key is sticking to it for a few weeks as your coupon library builds up. When you start coming home with things for free it gets addicting.
Some of the more popular places to start are :
The Grocery Game
Coupon Mom
Southern Savers Blog
If Publix is in your area:
I Heart Publix Blog
I have these in my google reader and it save us a lot of time with having to research all of the deals on our own. There are two keys:
1. Stockpiling on foods that are on sale (there is a cycle).
2. Combining store coupons with manufacturing coupons (and Buy One. Get One Free Deals)
Once your system is in place, you will walk out with $180 worth of groceries and spend $30-60. It is addicting.
Thanks Jonathan, those are some great resources. Saving money is addicting, and this is something I wouldn’t mind be addicted to! We’ll have to start getting our coupon library going!
Out of curiosity, where do you shop the most for groceries? Is there a specific place that works with coupons the best?
@Aaron – It really depends on where you live. If you have a Publix nearby they are great. They actually honor any other stores coupons as well. So, if you combine it right you can get really good deals. Walmart accepts other store coupons but doesn’t really have coupons of their own. If you have a Super Target in your area, they also take coupons from other stores.
Since there are some questions about coupons …
I have an 8 week coupon checklist that I wrote for my local readers, but can be adapted to any community. Reason: I don’t rely on coupon databases like many other sites do. The databases don’t work in my area, so I came up with a system that uses both coupon and non-coupon tricks.
http://www.blogsmonroe.com/budget/grocery-shopping-on-a-budget-tips-and-tricks/grocery-shopping-on-a-budget-the-8-week-plan/