As we all know everyone is trying to save money, especially because of the economic climate. Many people (including myself and my family) are using programs and taking courses to help them make money, but it’s a lot easier to save money than you might think. Many of you clever people are probably already doing this and have created your own way of saving money, but I know that some people are unaware of how small things can make a big difference.

Here I have created a list of 10 Easy ways to save money:

1. Spend time shopping:

I know I sound like a mad shopaholic. But honestly, if you spend time looking for the best price you can, you can really save a lot of money. Many people try to get the shopping over and done with as soon as possible, but if you spend a little longer just looking for the cheaper products you could find yourself with a lot more change in your pocket! Tip: Buy own branded products not the big names, as they rip you off a lot!

2. Turn off all electrical equipment when not using it:

This may seem like an obvious one, but many people don’t do it. Simply switching off a light when leaving a room (if there is no-one left in the room, you don’t want to leave them in the dark!) could save a lot of energy and money! Or even turning your computer off instead of leaving it on standby. It doesn’t take much to do these small things to save a bit of energy and money!

3. Use concentrate products:

Concentrate products usually are a lot cheaper than the normal ones, but they still do the same job! So why are they cheaper you ask, well my friends, when you’re sitting comfortably I shall begin… (Sorry I just couldn’t resist!) No honestly, they’re cheaper because they use less packaging and if they’re smaller then they use less Lorries to transport them. Simples!

4. Turn off the charger when the battery on your laptop is fully charged:

Many people might think they do this, but in actual fact they’re only doing half the job. You see, switching off the mains to the charger for your laptop, or indeed any electrical equipment, is doing two things.

A. (The obvious one) It is saving energy and money!

B. (The not so obvious one) It is keeping your battery healthy. As weird as it sounds, if you continue to put energy in to a battery that is already full, it can ruin it. This is where we come to the first line in this section where I said that people are only doing half the job. Many people are just pulling out the charger from either the mains or the laptop, but all that does is keeps your battery healthy because the electricity is still running, even if you unplug it from the mains. So there we have it, always turn it off at the mains, not unplug it!

5. Use rechargeable batteries:

Here you are going to read a short Q and A I took from www.pcursor.com.au when I was searching if it really was cheaper to use rechargeable batteries.

Q. Since rechargeable batteries cost so much less in the long run, why bother using non-rechargeable ones at all?
Peter Lee, Singapore,

A. Rechargeable batteries ARE the right choice in many high-drain applications such as digital cameras, kids toys, flashguns and so on. However, they aren’t nearly as useful in low-current or intermittent use applications such as remote controls or emergency torches.

Because NiMH and NiCd and even Li-ion batteries self-discharge at a fairly high rate, they tend to go flat too soon. If you use good-quality alkaline batteries in these devices, you’ll get up to years of life, where a rechargeable may be flat by the time you need it.
Paul Zucker
I thought that was rather useful, wouldn’t you agree?

6. Use energy saving bulbs:

 They may look expensive when you go to buy them, but in the long run they will work out much cheaper.
Here are some facts about energy saving bulbs, thanks to www.thisismoney.co.uk and www.lightbulbs-direct.com:

·     By buying an energy efficient light bulb rather than the normal ones, you can cut energy wastage by over three quarters.

·     That’s a saving of up to £9 a year for a typical 100W bulb, or £100 over the bulb’s lifetime. Energy efficient bulbs last up to 12 times longer than normal ones. 
Energy saving bulbs typically uses around 80% less electricity than normal bulbs.

·     To help give you an idea of how much you could save, visit http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/article/energy-saving/ and use their Energy saving bulb calculator.

7. Only use credit cards if you need to:

 Yes credit cards are a convenient way to pay for the more expensive things but it’s a lot better to use cash, or even a debit card! Let me explain, if you use credit cards you could be using money you don’t have and if you use them regularly, then you probably are!  Because the credit card system is basically a bill after each month, it’s harder to keep track of how much money you have, this can often lead to debt. So basically if you want to buy something use cash, if you want to buy something big use a debit card, if you want to buy something really big think extremely carefully about whether you should use your credit card.

8. Ask yourself: do I really need this?

Imagine the scenario. Its lunchtime and you’ve got an hour to do what you like. You find yourself in a shop and there’s a sale on. You pick up a beautifully arranged set of scented candles. And it’s half price. Now, stop! Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Exactly. Now, put it down and walk away.

9. Use your library:

The local library is heaven for the money saver. You’ll never need to buy another cookbook, guidebook or lifestyle manual again and if you can bear to wait a few weeks in the queue for the latest blockbuster, you never need to buy books again. CDs and videos are great value too.

10. Do you need all those TV channels?

Britain is switching to digital-only television and time is running out for you to choose your new digital TV provider. The choice is already confusing and with telephone, broadband and TV services now launched it’s got even more complicated. Packages range from 100 channels+, including every sports and movie channel costing around £50 a month, down to Freeview, which is free. Choose wisely.

I hope these ways of saving money will help you as they helped me and my family. But before you leave, I have a question for you, Dun dun dun!

What do you do to save money? If you could post comments answering this question, I’m sure you could help a great deal of people!

Thanks for reading, hope to see your replies soon!

The Lizzard

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