Three Great Ways to Save Money

Yahoo lists 12 ways to save money. Here are three of their ideas that I especially like, followed by my comments:

1. Roll your own. I hyperventilate every time I see someone throw coins into one of those coin-sorting machines at the supermarket. A fee of 8.9 cents per dollar counted? You've got to be kidding! Roll your own while you're watching reruns of "House," or let your kids do it and pay them the 8.9 cents! If you're lazy, go to Wal-Mart and buy a cheap coin-sorting machine. Then take the rolls to your bank.

I feel the same way. I especially love the idea of having the kids do it (though I might pay them 5% so we both come out better.) ;-)

Anyone out there pay the 8.9% rate? Why? Is your thinking that your time is worth more than the cost? An 8.9% hit is a HUGE one (imagine how you'd feel if your investments went down 8.9%) so I'd be really interested in hearing the rationale on why anyone thinks it's a good idea.

5. Buy milk at your gas station? You might be surprised who as the lowest prices in town for certain items. In one New York suburb, the local Hess gas station has the lowest prices we've seen on eggs and milk. The nearby Target beats the supermarket next store on cereal prices by as much as 72 percent per ounce. The store brand was an especially good deal. The dollar store about a mile away (now a $1.25 store) has great deals on some items, like gold audio cables, which are a fraction of the price charged by the Radio Shack across the street. So figure out which stores have the best deals prices near you and try to map out your shopping so you can hit them all in one trip and avoid wasting gas.

For us it's the drug stores. Walgreen's or Rite Aid always has a sale on milk and they are both near our house, on the way to/from work, and near the local highway, so we're always going by them. It's easy to stop there and pick up a cheap (relatively) gallon of milk.

10. Check for online coupons. Before buying anything, especially online, do a Web search for an online coupon. For example, when I recently wanted to buy Roboform, a computer password manager and Web form filler, I typed "Roboform coupon" into a Google search and instantly found a 20 percent off coupon. That cut $6 off the $29.99 price tag. Coupon Web sites include couponchief.com, couponcabin.com, retailmenot.com, and ultimatecoupons.com.

I NEVER do this but I need to start. It's easy money for a small amount of time invested.

Comments

[Angie]

I always do a quick search for online coupons, it takes just a few seconds and you can save quite a bit.

And speaking of saving money, yesterday I learned that if I UNBUNDLED my bundled phone service, I could save money. And to think all this time I thought I was saving money by getting the bundled service - not so! I even dropped a service I didn't need, so that I could save even more money.

[Lauren]

I use the coin-sorting machine at the grocery store, but ours has a deal where the fee is waived if we exchange our coins for Amazon credit rather than for straight-out cash. We always get the Amazon credit (therefore no fees) and it's beneficial to us since we buy a lot of stuff from Amazon.

[Mark B.]

I agree with Lauren, I always use the CoinStar machines, but I turn it into an Amazon gift card and therefore the fee is waived.

We use our change as sort of a "fun money" account. We use the Amazon gift card to buy something that we have been wanting.

[CBaker]

We keep an automatic coin sorter on our landing strip by the front door. When we come home each day, we just empty our loose change into it and it sorts the coins into rolls for us. All we have to do is change out the rolls as they get full and deposit them. I think we got it for about $20 on Amazon.

[YeaYuh]

We have a bank in my area that will exchange coins for free even without having a checking account at the bank.

I am not sure if it is all the BB&T banks but if you live in the south it is worth checking out.

[Amy]

I never use those coin sorting machines that charge money. I used to roll my own, but more and more banks -- especially credit unions! -- now have free machines for their account holders that are as quick or quicker than the for-profit ones in grocery stores.

Plus, if you're already right there in the bank, you have a great incentive to immediately deposit the counted change in a special savings account -- Christmas, vacation, whatever.

[Ryan K from Going Carless]

You are looking for coupon codes? This is the site for you!

http://www.retailmenot.com/

[cmadler]

Several banks in my area have coin-sorting machines that are free for customers to use. I keep $100 in an account (low-balance accounts are often closed for inactivity after 6 months; usually with $100 you can go several years), and then every time I deposit a bunch of coin, I immediately transfer it to my "fun money" ING account.

[Billy]

Please don't only look at financial cost when purchasing items like milk. If we all did that then factory farming, animal mistreatment, hormones, and antibiotics in our foods would continue to become worse and worse problems.

I urge you all to think about it and save money wherever you can, but think about putting in a little bit more thought and money into items like meats, cheeses, eggs, and milk, and to choose mostly high-quality items from local, humanely raised animals.

[Josh]

I always look up coupons before I buy anything on the internet. The best one so far is when I got my wife a free blackberry from ATT just using the codes from www.retailmenot.com.

[Kevin]

RE: #1 - when I read "Roll your own" I thought you were suggesting home-made cigarettes. Thankfully you didn't go down that path.

My brother in law actually gave me a $25 Coinstar receipt for Circuit City as a Christmas gift last year. It was kinda unusual, but worked for both of us - he got rid of change and took care of a gift at the same time.

I agree with Billy about the milk/food issue - I'll pay a little more and get something healthy for my family. I haven't seen any gas stations selling organic milk yet.

[pink panther]

"Check for online coupons." Especially get to know the ways of stores (like Harbor Freight) that will e-mail you coupons and specials. Wait until you get the right e-mails and the right offers.

Also, never place an online order until you troll for coupon codes like free shipping. I've saved a bundle this month on that. Some retailers slash to the bone (like newegg.com) and don't offer these, but many others do.

Not a coupon, but -- I've noticed a lot of stuff is cheaper online than in stores, too, even for the same store. Books-A-Million is usually much cheaper online for the same book. Good to know, especially at back-to-school time. (B-A-M usually also has a monthly $5 off any $25 purchase code you can find online.)

[tom]

Regarding #10... check for online coupons.

I always do this. Sites like

http://www.retailmenot.com

have updated coupon codes and links that are awesome. I save at least 10% off my order or free shipping everytime I order online.

[Todd]

Another easy idea for change. I collect it until the container is full, then pour into a gallon ziplock bag, drop in a deposit ticket, and give it to the teller at the bank.

They take it to the main branch, run it through the coin counter, make the deposit, and mail me the receipt.

Saves a ton of time over rolling!

BTW, this same bank has a small refrigerator with sodas and hot coffee available during business hours for clients

[Jake]

"Anyone out there pay the 8.9% rate? Why? Is your thinking that your time is worth more than the cost? An 8.9% hit is a HUGE one (imagine how you'd feel if your investments went down 8.9%) so I'd be really interested in hearing the rationale on why anyone thinks it's a good idea."

Because you're not throwing your retirement account into the coinstar machine. I've used it twice in my life, for about $100 total, so I've paid them about $10. I'd gladly pay $10 to avoid visiting the bank to collect those coin roller papers, sorting and rolling them myself, and going back to the bank to deposit them.

I'm with Jake on that one. If I was processing thousands of dollars in coins, I'd think otherwise. But at maybe 20 bucks a year, I think it is more than worth it. Not to mention, i do what most others do. I get an Amazon card and they waive the fee.

[AnnieB]

We are big book buyers, and almost always buy our books on Amazon BUT NOT from Amazon, instead from "new and used". It is amazing how many remaindered books are sold by discounters at a penny plus shipping.
That's a brand new hardcover book for 1/2 the paperback price. Of course, the library still beats any book purchase!

[Kathryn]

Another site to try is CouponCowgirl.com.

The site features hundreds of stores and coupons, a coupon calculator to figure out what coupons will save you the most money, and a blog with additional saving tips.

[Slinky]

I've never done anything but take my change to the bank and hand it over to the teller. I didn't realize some banks don't let you do that!