Ways to Save Money

The economy being what it is, I've been doing some research recently on easy ways to save money without completely altering your lifestyle. Here are a few tips:

Save on your car insurance. Remember that Geico commercial about "15 minutes could save you 15 percent"? Well, that was actually good advice, but to get the best rate you shouldn't just call Geico. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by spending a few minutes comparing rates between car insurance companies. It's a competitive business and hey definitely want your business. Two of the better online sites to compare car insurance are Really Cheap Car Insurance and if you want to get even less expensive, Very Cheap Car Insurance. Both allow you to compare quotes from multiple companies with the click of the mouse.

To save money you really have to get handle on how you spend it. The single best online application I have found for this is Mint.com. Mint links in to your checking, savings, and credit card accounts to track where everything goes. You can easily see trends and create budgets. Mint an even send you an alert when you have exceeded a monthly budget item, or your bank account is getting low. Clearly a lot of time and thought was put into the creation of Mint because it combines ease of use with very powerful features.

Make your own lunch. Sounds simple, but it really does save you lots of money over the course of the year. I used to always go out and buy lunch and inevitably the bill could come to at least $10 when you throw in chips and soda. You can make lunch at home for less than $2 per meal. So over the course of a week you're saving $40. Over the course of a year you're saving more than $2,000!

If you turn down your thermostat by just one degree you could save 10% on your heating bills. Over the course of a cold winter that really adds up.

So there you have it - a few easy to implement ways to save money that won't take a huge change in lifestyle.