Ways to cut down on expenses and cash outflow

I'm thinking about gathering all of the $$ savers I can find and categorizing them. I went to lowermybills.com yesterday and they have info on different providers, but not so much... "what I can do"

Most of the places I found last night were articles written for publications or news sites and said things like,

Kiplinger's site...

(I'll take things off MY list if they're on one of the lists I find. The indented "s are my additions to the article )

Save Money on Utilities
Here are 15 quick, cheap and easy ways to cut your electricity, heat and water use while also cutting your expenses by hundreds of dollars.
February 21, 2008

Keeping your home comfortable year round can put the squeeze on your budget. Consumers spend 6% to 12% of their income on utilities, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
We have 15 quick, cheap and easy ways to cut your electricity, heat and water use while also cutting your expenses by hundreds of dollars.

We've laid out our list in text format below, or you can check them out in our slide show. Plus, you can share your favorite ways to save in our reader comment box at the end of this article.

TAKE A FLIER ON FLUORESCENTS Compact fluorescent bulbs represent one of the brightest ideas for cooling your electric bill. (Not every CFL produces a warm, candlelight glow. To achieve that effect, look for one with a Kelvin temperature of 2,600 to 3,000.)Don't let the price of CFLs -- as much as $7 each -- turn you off. The lights not only last ten times longer than incandescents but also save up to $60 in electricity per light over their lifetime.

VANQUISH THE VAMPIRES Appliances that include a clock or operate by a remote, as well as chargers, are sucking electricity even when you're not using them. Of the total energy used to run home electronics, 40% is consumed when the appliances are turned off. The obvious way to pull the plug on so-called energy vampires is to do just that -- pull the plug.Or buy a device to do it for you, such as a Smart Power Strip ($31 to $44, at www.smarthomeusa.com), which will stop drawing electricity when the gadgets are off, and pay for itself within a few months.

"unplugging pcs and tv and such at night, I found this article and LOVE some of
the items such as the kill a watt and the Smart Power Strip. http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2006/12/19/25-gadgets-that-actually-save-money/
http://www.smarthomeusa.com/ShopByManufacturer/Bits-Ltd./Item/LCG3/
and http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Shop/Smart-Energy/Item/P4460/
are my favorite. You can get BOTH on Amazon for a great price"

INSULATE YOUR WATER HEATER Is your coffee mug more insulated than your water heater? The newest electric water heaters have plenty of insulation. But if you have one built before 2004, wrap it in an insulating jacket such as a Thermwell blanket ($20; Amazon.com). You'll save 10% -- about $30 -- annually on your water-heating bill.

"Surprised I didn't see this on Kiplinger... but CHECK your ATTIC! The standards
now say 10 inches of insulation is recommended. Most houses that are a few years
old have only a few inches. Other places to insulate and save your money are,
the access door TO the attic, AND the garage door - especially if you have a
room above the garage."

SERVICE THE FURNACE "And central a/c unit!" Have your furnace tuned every two years, and you'll save about 10% on your heating bills.

"Even MORE inportant is regularly cleaning your air filters! One sign that it needs done, is if the cold air return is dirty! Also, don't forget to clean the outside housing of the central air conditioning unit."

TURN DOWN THE HEAT For every degree you lower your home's temperature during the heating season, subtract 5% from your bill, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.An Energy Star programmable thermostat ($70 at www.livingincomfort.com) saves more than twice its price within a year and will adjust the temperature automatically for you when you're away or asleep.

"Or turn UP the temperature for the air conditioner. The warmer you keep your
house, the less the a/c runs. Open the windows at night and let the cool air in.
It also lets some of the musties out."

SET THE WASHER TO COLD Use cold water to wash your clothes and save 50% of the energy you would otherwise use for hot water.Set your dryer on the moisture sensor, not the timer, and cut energy use by 15%.

"Using air dry for dishwasher, hanging clothes on the line, or in the house in the winter, for added humidity"

STOP DRAFTS As your father would say, don't heat or cool the great outdoors. Put weatherstrip around the frames of your front and back doors and save about $30 per year in energy costs.

"I read that a small leak around a window or door is like a BIG leak of a whole in the wall, Just think, a 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of a 3 foot wide door is 9 square inches of open space. If you noticed you had a 3 inch x 3 inch hole in one of your exterior walls ... would you just leave it? "

"Hang big quilts on the wall as a decoration. They ALSO serve as insulation on the wall. Once you get the best windows, you'll notice cold coming in through the actual WALL! There is also something called a "window quilt" which helps hold cold or heat in or keep it out. A sheet of foam from an art store will serve the same purpose. Cut it out to fit your window and put it in the window to block out heat during the day, or to block out cold in the evening.

LOWER YOUR WATER TEMPERATURE Set your water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If your heater does not have a temperature gauge, dial down until the water feels hot, not scalding.(Before going too low, make sure your dishwasher has a booster heater, which gets the temperature back to 140 degrees, necessary for proper cleaning.)

USE TIMERS ON LIGHTS Install occupancy sensors or timers on lights in areas you use only occasionally and for exterior lights, which tend to get left on during the day.The devices start at $25 per switch at www.homecontrols.com. Anyone with basic wiring skills can install them.

GO LOW-FLOW With a few twists of the wrist, you can save 25% to 60% of the water it takes and 50% of the energy necessary to shower and shampoo you and your family. Install a low-flow shower head, which restricts the water output to no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. The shower heads generally run $10 to $20 a pop (some utility companies give them away) and screw into existing fittings.Older shower heads send as many as 5.5 gallons per minute down the drain. The new fixtures go as low as 1.5 gpm, saving 7,300 gallons and $30 to $100 a year over their 2.5-gpm counterparts.

"Cheaper than getting a new toilet? Put a brick, sealed jar or jug of water in your toilet tank. Doing so displaces water in the tank and causes you to use less. Of course, too little water when you flush can cause problems, so you’ll have to experiment with this one. But be careful… Displacing so much water that you have to flush twice is generally more wasteful than flushing a larger volume once'

"There are ones that take LITTLE pressure and turn it into LOTS of pressure
too!! So low-flow doesn't have to mean "drip" flow. Oh... that is the NEXT tip."

RETROFIT YOUR FAUCETS Consider faucet aerators -- doohickeys that screw into your faucet threading and cut the water flow from 3 to 4 gallons per minute to as little as a half-gallon. As their name suggests, aerators blend water and air, reducing the flow without sacrificing pressure. At 50 cents to $3 apiece, the devices are some of the cheapest green gadgets available.Aerators come in a range of flow rates. A faucet that flows at 1 gpm gets is fine for the bathroom faucet. But for a little more oomph in the kitchen, use an aerator with a flow rate of at least 2 gpm.

PLUG THE LEAKS A leaky faucet wastes as much as 2,700 gallons in a year -- if it doesn't drive you crazy first. So fix it already.Test the toilet for leaks, too. Put a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl, your tank is leaking, and you're wasting up to 200 gallons of water a day.

FILL 'ER UP Run full loads of clothes and dishes. Most of the energy used by dishwashers is to heat a set amount of water, so running smaller loads wastes both energy and water.Air dry dishes for added energy savings.

TAKE CARE WITH YARD CARE Water your outdoor plants in the early morning, before the sun can burn off moisture. And take care not to over-water. Before starting your sprinkler, step on the grass. If the blades spring back, hold off on watering for a day or two. The average lawn needs only one hour of watering a week.Also, raise your mower blades to the 3-inch setting. Shaggy grass holds moisture longer, requiring less watering.

BE A DRIP For gardens, consider installing a drip irrigation system, which maintains moisture in the soil. Drip irrigation can reduce water loss by 50% to 60% when compared with hand-watering or sprinkler systems.A drip system consists of a tube or hose with holes or emitters along it. It uses a timer to deliver water to plants. By maintaining the moisture level of the soil, less water is lost to the sun and the wind.

RE-SHOP YOUR CAR INSURANCE Using a comparison site like http://www.insweb.com/ can help you determine if you've got the best deal. Rates vary widely from insurer to insurer. Your savings could equal hundreds of dollars.Shopping around is especially important for young adults because their rates could drop as they approach age 25 or older, build a credit rating, start a career and get married. Insurers reward customers who are responsible.

"Package insurance policies together (car/house/etc.)"

That's all from Kiplinger... Lots of great tips!

Fans

• Look into an attic fan, or a whole house fan.

Prescriptions!!! See if there is a $4 generic!! And then use the coupons (Free giftcard if you get a new or transferred script)

• generic drugs for $4. Wal-Mart and its warehouse retailer, Sam's Club, started the ball rolling in 2006, offering 30-day supplies of some drugs for just $4. The program has expanded to more than 360 medications. Rival Target has a $4-drug program that includes 315 medications; Walgreens offers 90-day supplies of some 300 generics for $12.99. Costco jumped on the $4 bandwagon early on, but it dropped that approach and switched to a program of 100 pills for $10 because of lost revenue. One regional grocery chain, Giant Eagle, now offers 400 generic drugs for $4. Meijer, another regional chain, offers seven common antibiotics free. Missing in action? Big names CVS and Rite Aid. CVS WILL match if you ask them to, sometimes..
• If there isn't a generic, look into the mailorder feature of your prescription plan. Many times you get 3 months worth of meds for a 2 month copay.
• Another option is, if you have a low income and no prescription insurance... contact the manufacturer of the med directly and see if they have a special program for you.

FSA - Flexible Spending Account

• Take advantage of a flexible spending account (FSA) to cover health-related expenses that aren't paid for by insurance. Doing so not only adds more bang for your buck but also lowers your taxable income. By funneling money from your salary into an FSA, you'll lower your federal income and Social Security taxes; if your state levies income taxes, you'll lower those, too. Putting in, say, $3,000 to pay out-of-pocket medical costs could save you more than $1,100 (assuming the 25% federal bracket, a 5% state bracket and the 7.65% employee portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes). Deductibles and co-pays for prescriptions -- and even the cost of over-the-counter cold medicines, antacids and pain relievers -- are eligible.
  
  A little planning is required. You'll need to estimate your expenses for the coming year and direct your employer to withhold that amount. And although FSAs are a use-it-or-lose-it proposition for each plan year, many employers offer a grace period through mid March of the following year during which you can spend the money. Regardless of whether you underestimate your expenses and empty your FSA early, or overestimate your costs and leave a little in your account, the tax savings make flex accounts a good deal.
  
  If you DO have extra in your account, go ahead and get refills on scripts, or over the counter pain relievers/heartburn/cold medicines to use up the money. Or get your eyes checked, new eyeglasses, physicals, etc.
  
  Another thing to consider is, they take the FSA installments out of your paycheck in equal amounts throughout the year, but ALL of the funds are available for use on January 1. SO if you have a medical procedure that won't be covered by insurance, or that will have a high out of pocket for yourself, consider waiting til Jan 1st to have it done, after signing up for FSA for the amount you will need for the year.
  
  Also use FSA wisely for daycare, medical care, and retirement if you can.
  

Banking

• No-interest checking is so old fashioned. Instead, give your money more opportunity to shine with an interest-bearing online checking account through such reputable companies as ING Direct, Everbank, Charles Schwab, and E*Trade. They currently pay between 2.25% and 3.25%.Paying no or little interest/finance charges, getting high interest on savings. They often have incentives for opening an account as well
• Don't pay the BANK to get your money out. Find a grocery store that will let you write a check for cash with no fees, or plan ahead and go through the teller drive through at your branch. You can even use your debit card as a "credit" card for your purchases, getting rid of the need for much cash. Those $1 and $2 charges from the ATM add up!
  -Get money from an ATM that belongs to a surcharge-free network. Allpoint has about 200 participating institutions and 32,000 ATMs. Money Pass has 600 members and 8,000 ATMs.
• At $20 to $30 a pop, overdraft fees and bounced checks can put a damper on your savings efforts. So it literally pays to keep tabs on your spending.If you use a debit card for convenience over your checkbook, jot down all your debit transactions on your checkbook register to make sure you know how much money is in your bank account at all times.

New purchases or bill paying

• If there is no penalty, and no reward for paying in cash now, put the cash in a savings account and take the 4 payments same as cash option. YOU get the interest on your $$. Sometimes there is a discount for paying cash though...

Groceries: Don't buy prepackaged stuff.. watch for sales, coupons, loss leaders, by food within season, but other stuff OUT of season lol. handmedown clothes, or garage sales (Garage sale on a "need" list, not just whatever you see)

Pay your bills online... don't use stamps. I got a comment on this one... Be careful SOME banks charge for this convenience, negating any savings. AND as I've found from my credit union, sometimes they just ADD fees for this out of the blue!! If they do, ask them what way you could do it. Sometimes they will do a money order for free... and will mail it for you. OR you could transfer it to another account that you pay all of your bills from.

• Another option is to call the place and pay it over the phone on your credit card. I do this with all of my doctor bills, hospital bills, etc. They give me a confirmation number over the phone. Then I pay the credit card in full as it comes in.

Miscellaneous:

Foam backers for the outlet and light switch covers, these cost pennies, but stop a lot of drafts!

Turning off circuit breakers (except for fridge) when you go on vacation, so the house isn't using electricity without you.

Calling for better deals on services such as tv or internet (I just saved $20 a month by asking them to check for current promotions that I was eligible for.. I used to do this each month with MCI back in the day)

Contact utility companies and see if they have things like different prices for power or water used in different parts of the day. Budget Billing

If you're going on vacation, look into getting an "Entertainment" book for that area. These books are usually fundraisers for schools and pay for themselves in usually a day.

Phones

• Get a good cell phone plan for all of your long distance. Looking for a CHEAP one? Look at prepaid options. Target has a plan for 10 cents a minute. Virgin Mobile is another cheaper pay as you go plan.
• OR get a prepaid card from somehwere such as Sam's Club. They had the lowest cents per minute for years. Just be careful and see it there is a minimum connect free, or other hidden charges. Unfortunately, pay phones are getting harder to come by, to unless you're at someone's house, it's hard to find phones outside of your home to use these cards at.
• Another option, go with something like Vonage. Telephone through the internet, but you actually talk through a normal phone, NOT through a speaker and headset.
• Yet another option is http://www.skype.com/ A free service to talk to other "skypers" online. You can call landlines for a small fee. This is popular among the international set.
• Watch the package plans.. SOMETIMES they're a savings, sometimes they're not. Like with the cable company, or satellite, or AT&T..

Grow a garden.

Credit cards, use them wisely, or play them wisely. Consider consequences.

• You can save as much as a thousand dollars or more each year in lower credit card interest charges by paying off your entire bill each month.
• If you are unable to pay off a large balance, pay as much as you can and switch to a credit card with a low annual percentage rate (APR). For a modest fee, Cardweb.com (800-344-7714) will send you a list of low-rate cards. You can obtain a list of low-rate cards by accessing "http://cardweb.com/" on the Internet.
• You can reduce credit card fees, which may add up to more than $100 a year, by getting rid of all but one or two cards, and by avoiding late payment and over-the-credit limit fees.
• Once you pay it off, DO NOT CHARGE ON IT AGAIN, unless you can pay it off entirely in ONE month.. IF you can handle the restraint, then get a credit card from a place such as BP (yes, the gas station) or GM, where you get rewards based on your purchase amounts, but no annual fee, and if you pay your balance, then no finance charges. Then consider your rewards as well... If you only buy GM cars then the GM card might be a good idea. BP has been written up time and time again for it's generous rewards program, and you can get your reward back as a CHECK to deposit in your bank account to spend as you wish.

NEVER pay full price.. Craig's list or big trash day, or freecycle.

Mortgages

• Get PMI out of the equation if you can. Go for shorter loan length and save LOTS in interest. Carefully consider adjustable rates.. sometimes they make sense, but NEVER just to lower the payments so you can afford them.

Travel

• Airline Fares
  You may lower the price of a round trip air fare by as much as two-thirds by making certain your trip includes a Saturday evening stay over, and by purchasing the ticket in advance.
  
  To make certain you have a cheap fare, even if you use a travel agent, contact all the airlines that fly where you want to go and ask what the lowest fare to your destination is.
  Be flexible, if possible. Consider using lowfare carriers or alternative airports and keep an eye out for fare wars.
  
• Gas prices
  -Getting gas in the middle of the week before weekend hikes.. And when the temperature is lower, so I suppose in the early morning, or later evening since the vapors expand in your tank.
  -Drive 55, even if the speed limit is higher. The $ you save, may be worth the few minutes you save by driving faster
  - Well inflated tires - this tidbit, I'm told, will add the MOST to your gas mileage.
  - Accelerate slowly. Coast to a stop.
  - Get the cheap gas, but from the better stations... like Shell..
  -Shop around for gas. Gas prices can vary as much as 20% within only a few blocks, according to GasBuddy.com, a price-monitoring site. So hop online to find the best deal in your neighborhood or along your commute route. Don't go out of your way to get the gas and then buy a can of pop though. This will negate your savings.
  
• Entertainment
  -Netflix A nice supplement or even replacement for the month's entertainment
  -Redbox! At $1 for a night, this price can NOT be beat. There are even coupon codes to make the movie free.
  - Oh Redbox can be beat... by the LIBRARY!! Many have dvd's that you can check out for free. Or even books that you can read... or cd's to listen to..
  -Read blogs of money saving people http://www.moneysavingmom.com/2008/03/increasing-your-income-without-getting.html or websites like http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/Saving_Money.htm