Want to get money into an interest-bearing account to take advantage of compounding interest, but don’t have any extra to get started?  Here are 8 tips for starting your savings by reducing your expenses in easy ways that anyone can do – starting immediately:

1)  Run your highest electricity-consuming appliances at night, instead of during the day and save around 40% on your electric bill.  The dishwasher, electric dryer, washing machine, etc – save money by using them later in the evenings when the rates are lower.  If you’re typically spending $200 a month on your electric bill, a 40% reduction will drop that bill to $120.  Put the extra $80 aside for your savings.

2) Raise your car insurance deductibles.  If you’ve got them set at $250, raise them to $500.  If they’re already at $500, raise them to $1,000.  The result will be a lower monthly insurance premium.  Take the difference in premium rates and set aside for your savings.  (You can drop the deductibles again after you get your money into your savings of choice – a Certificate of Deposit, Money Market, online savings, etc).

3) Reduce your prescription payments.  If you have a few prescriptions you pay for each month, you may be able to reduce the amount you pay by asking for 3 months at a time instead of one; using a mail-order service instead of the local pharmacy; or by going to Wal-mart for their $4 prescription plans.  Take the amount you would have paid on your regular priced prescriptions and set aside for your savings for a few months.

4) Skip one vacation a year.  If you go on vacation at least once per year, consider skipping just one vacation and putting the money you WOULD have spent on it into your savings fund.  You can still take time off from work and spend it around home if you have to use your vacation time (or lose it), but there is no rule that says you have to go on a costly vacation just because you take time off from work.  If the idea of skipping a vacation completely is too much to bear, just opt for a shorter, less expensive vacation over one that would cost more and save the difference.

5) Learn to buy and cook in bulk.  Most products are cheaper when you buy them in bulk (and while on sale!)  Learning to buy and cook in bulk can save you a lot of money on your monthly food bill.  Set the savings aside for a month or two.  You can always go back to your normal eating habits after you get enough money to fund your savings – or you may discover you enjoy this method of eating!

Tags: find money to save, increase savings, start saving

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am and is filed under tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

• 5 Credit Cards That Will Save You Money On Holiday Purchases This article comes from DR at The Dough Roller, a blog about money management. With the holiday buying frenzy in full progress, there is no better time than the present for some money saving strategies. One of them is simple,...
• Saving Money with Your Credit Cards pt 2 Continued from part 1... Another type of credit card that you can use to save money is one that offers frequent flyer miles or air fare rewards. Airfare is expensive, and if you fly relatively frequently then you are probably...
• Deciding When To Refinance Your Mortgage I was recently propositioned by my original lender. He offered me a new 30-year fixed mortgage at 5.25%, which is a full 1% lower than my current 6.25%. This would save me roughly $200 on my monthly payment. Sounds great...
• 40th Money Hacks Carnival Welcome to the 40th Money Hacks Carnival and my first ever hosting of a blogging carnival. It's a privilege to host this event and have the option of cherry picking the best articles. Choosing just 5 top picks was not...
• Save Money Without Doing Anything. Seriously. This actually is about something you can buy that will save you money the first day you start using it and you never have to worry about it again. It could possibly cut your electric bill by quite a bit...