A Coupon for my Thoughts.

I haven't read this yet but I'm going to see if our library has it. {via}

There are money saving tips all over the web that are repeated over and over but I've recently implemented a few for BIG savings. Of course, it all depends on your lifestyle, so these options may not be right for you, but they work for us.

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First up, revisit your cell phone plan. Do you need all of those minutes and lines? We were able to change our plan to one with less minutes which resulted in $70/mo. in savings. It took all of about 10 minutes to do. Amazing! Why did we not do that sooner?

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Next, trade your t.v. service for netflix & hulu plus. We have direct tv and apparently signed a contract but you can suspend programming for up to 6 months. You won't have to pay during that time but it doesn't count toward your contract time either. It's really hard to get out of a direct tv contract but if they change terms of your agreement at any time you can call and let them know you don't agree with the new terms and want to cancel. However, if you pay before disagreeing with the terms, you've inadvertently agreed to them. A payment = agreeing. So, we've suspended our t.v. and signed up for netflix through our xbox. If you love your t.v. shows, sign up for hulu plus as well. That will save you around $60/mo.

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When you're grocery shopping, buy in bulk and shop the perimeter of the store. Try to avoid prepackaged goods as you're not only contributing to landfills with all of that packaging but you're also spending extra money. The bulk section is your best friend. Go visit the deli, buy a big chunk of cheese and store it in a glass jar in your fridge. Buy your meat straight from the butcher. It might take a little extra time or planning but it is so much healthier and less expensive than processed foods. Also, this can help to avoid impulse purchases. 

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This one is hard at first but skip eating out. Seriously. I went through our bank statement once and was astonished at how much money we spent eating out. Insane. If you aren't using any personal finance programs, I'd recommend mint.com. It'll show you exactly how much you're spending on things like gas, clothes, food, coffee, and any other category you'd like to make. 

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My great aunt writes a great letter. She writes to family, friends, and the odd company. I've taken up where she's left off. Before we moved I purchased a can of Green Giant peas, when I opened them, the inside of the can was rusted and the peas were rotted. It was disgusting. I called the 1-800 number on the can, very politely complained, gave the nice lady my information and a month or so later received an envelope full of coupons for money off any Green Giant product. But Jordan, that isn't writing you say? That's true, but this experience then led me to write an email when I bought a case of Ball Canning Jars and some of them were chipped. Today I received a $2 off coupon in the mail from Ball.

I'm not saying exploit this, or complain about things that didn't really happen, but if you have the time, send a quick email when a product you purchased isn't up to par. Be polite, tell them how great their products normally are. At first I kind of felt bad about complaining but then I realized, hey, I paid for this and I can't use it which is not okay and the company ought to be aware of their quality control issues.

Over the past week I've sent a handful of emails to the manufacturers of some of my favorite products, not to complain but to tell them how much I love their product. I think it's just as important to let someone know when they're doing a good job (maybe even more important) as it is to let them know what could be improved upon. I don't know if this will result in any coupons or savings but I'll be sure to update you if it does.