1. Turn off gadgets and appliances that are not in use from the mains. Those little pennies add up.
2. Depending on your service provider and where you are, do your laundry at off-peak periods (between 6pm in the evenings and 8am in the mornings on weekdays and all weekends) because the tariffs are different. It is much cheaper during off-peak and weekends.
3. Change all your light bulbs to energy savers and only switch on light bulbs that will be used. The savings here can be huge!
4. Have you got a car? Do a carpool to school or to your lectures. Get your friends together and let them contribute to pay for gas.
5. Get a bike and bike around campus. That is healthier than waiting for the bus.
6. Don’t call a cab to and fro class rooms! WALK! You will be doing your heart a world of good.
7. Use the school library and not spend money on books you will never read twice. The money can go a long way.
8. Before buying anything, always ask yourself how often you intend to use or consume the product. Never buy something you will only use a few times. Rent them instead.
9. Do you have a habit of eating out virtually all the time? You are killing your financial future. Those little pennies and $1 or $2 can make a difference if properly invested. Go to college with packed lunch box. Make yourself a packed lunch rather than spend a few dollars here and there during your lunch break every day. It is cheaper to do so. $5 spent on home-made sandwiches can last you more than a week, but spending $2 a day ($10 in total for the 5-day working week) on snack means you are already out of pocket by $5. So packed lunches save a whole lot more. Never mind what your colleagues may say, see who has the last laugh.
10. It is not degrading to buy products with generic names; they are cheaper while still doing the same work.
11. Do you love designer labels? Shop out of season! Shop for your winter clothing during summer and summer clothing during winter. You will be amazed at the amount of savings you will be making.
12. If you have and use your credit cards, always pay off your balance at the end of every billing monthly cycle. With this, you can get to use the money free of charge without having to pay any interest on it. In a way, that is free money.
13. And don’t be tempted to have a string of credit cards. If you can truly avoid having one, please avoid it. If you can’t, then look for cards with very low interest rates, shop around to find the best rates possible. If you find one, change. If you find a better deal, change again!
14. Change your bank if your current bank charges interest at a higher rate. Shop around for lower interest rates. Make this an annual ritual, if possible every six months.
15. Never pay extra charges for services you can get for free down the road, don’t be lazy, walk the extra mile. When you want to withdraw money from the ATM and it will charge you extra for the withdrawal, take the pain to look for another one, few minutes away that is free. Never pay extra for withdrawing your own money! You’ve paid enough taxes and interests already!
16. Shop around online and in stores before purchasing anything, exercise your limbs! Move from shop to shop to get the best bargains. Don’t have a mindset of buying all your weekly shopping or periodic shopping from the same store. You will be amazed at how much money you are throwing away staying loyal to your regular grocery store or service provider. In business there are no permanent friends, only interests are permanent!
17. Always search for coupons online before making your online purchases, any amount off is better than full price. Even if the coupon says free shipping! Will say it again, any amount off is better than FULL PRICE!
18. Don’t be an impulse buyer, go out to shop deliberately and only with a shopping list. Never shop without a shopping list, it can save your life! Make sure you don’t buy anything outside of your list, it saves you buying a lot of junk that you are programmed to believe you need, which you can actually do without.
19. Are you big on making calls? You can save a lot on calls by not using your phones, except when extremely necessary. Send e-mails instead, it is 100% cheaper! If you must, search online for free apps that connect mobile-to-mobile calls for free.
20. As a student, don’t make a habit of shopping at expensive stores just because you want people to associate you with a certain class. You can’t afford to waste money you haven’t got.
21. Always ask for a bargain any time you are out spending your hard-earned money. It won’t hurt trying; the least they can say is ‘sorry buddy, that’s the lowest price we can do.’
22. Have you got a car? Don’t waste money washing your car at a car wash, get out your bucket and water hose to wash your car. It can be fun while also saving some money.
23. It is cheaper to cook your meals than going out for a meal. It is not a crime to give yourself a treat once in a while, but don’t make a habit of it. It saves you fuel and money.
24. If you must dine out, look around for coupons for free meals or heavily discounted prices. That goes a long way!
25. Do you have premium services on your mobile phones or landlines? Stop them! Cancel all the phone add-on services you never use and you don’t need. You can do without them, at the same time saving some money
26. Don’t take out extra insurance on your gadgets; most of them come with warranties. Most gadgets come with between 12 months and 24 months warranties and any insurance taken out within this period is a waste of money. If you must take out any at all, make sure the warranty period has run out.
27. Do you work part time during term times? When you get a pay raise, don’t increase your appetite for luxury items. Save your pay rise, you wouldn’t miss it one bit. You were doing well before the raise; chances are that you will still do well without spending it.
28. If you live in private accommodation, when doing the washing, only run a full washing machine, and always in the evening or weekends to save cost.
29. Get the hand gloves out and do your dishes manually, rather than using a dish washer. Exercise your arms.
30. If you must use a dishwasher, only wash when the dish washer is full. If you feel you can’t wait, then do manual washing each time until you have a full dishwasher!
31. Is it getting colder in the lounge or in your room? Don’t turn up the thermostat, put on your jacket or a sweater. That saves money too.
32. Are you a member of any health club? That can cost you a fortune annually. Join the local gym instead. It is cheaper and closer.
33. Regularly do a yard sale or a car boot sale to rid your home of junks tying down your money.
34. It’s cheaper to buy in bulk than step into the grocery shop five times a week. If you can afford it, make your purchases in bulk, when you break it down, you will be saving much more than you can imagine, from fuel, to time, energy, effort and money. They all add up.
35. Always look thoroughly through your grocery and shopping receipts, there could be errors in them. Make this a point of call every time to painstakingly go through your receipts after every purchase, you never know, the shop attendant might actually be somewhere else, miles away while attending to you!
36. Stop the regular visits to the cinema, rent a DVD instead. The ‘latest’ movies become outdated in a few months after release. I am sure you can afford to wait; the world is not going to come to an end if you don’t see the movie.
37. Don’t be caught in the web of always wanting to see the latest movies on first day or first week of release. It is a marketing gimmick programmed into your mind already. In a month, the fuzz will die down. Wait for the DVD release, it’s cheaper.
38. Don’t buy anything because it is the latest in town. Wait another month, your will be paying much lower than full price. That is being penny wiser.
39. Cancel all subscriptions on things you never get to use. Weekly and monthly magazines are major culprits here. You truly never get to read them all. That’s money being set on fire!
40. Look for every opportunity to save money and once saved, truly put the money away to be saved in a piggy bank or savings account. Don’t spend it on something else because you would not have saved the savings made from all those efforts.
41. Invest your savings wisely. Once you have been able to gather some of the savings made during this process, it is time to invest the money. Commit your investments to the care of professionals. You wouldn’t go looking for a plumber when the services of a goldsmith are needed. You will save a lot in the long run.