Economic downturns are never especially fun, but as Adam Smith observed centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although none of us can say for sure when this latest slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of saving your money in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:
1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do some of our shopping online now, not as many of us seem to have gotten into the habit of coupon-hunting on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com offer thousands of current offers at retailers across the Web.
2. Use price-comparison websites like Shopping.com, Pricegrabber.com, mySimon.com, and Google Product Search to find the best deals online.
3. When you’re at a brick-and-mortar store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s text number) and enter the letter “f” followed by the name of the product you’re interested in. Google will reply with a text quoting the online prices. To compare prices at local stores, use ShopLocal.com.
4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s and buying things in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a large family.
5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing hoopla and not the product itself, anyway.
6. Withdraw your cash from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be found on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.
7. Buy locally-sourced food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce and meats. Prices are usually lower there because the food doesn’t have to be transported far.
8. Shop at dollar stores. You should have an easy time finding them since they’ve been turning up all over the place recently.
9. Purchase discount prescription drugs from online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying well under half as much for the generic pills available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medications at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
10. If your car is seven or more years old and/or worth $2,500 or less, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance. Your deductible may be closing in on the worth of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk yard and you to the dealership.
11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to send text messages, so save yourself from unexpected high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messaging.
12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are superb resources for finding everything you need, from used furniture to baby gear. By buying from locals, you can save on shipping costs too.
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