"It is only a dollar" - Saving money $1 at a time 2012

Countless times I have heard these words from people all around me during my lifetime - "Why not? It is only 1 dollar." (Or Peso, Pound, Euro...)

The goal of this Hub is to teach you how to $ save $ money $, one dollar at a time. Yes, one dollar at a time. Let's begin this training session now.

Your time is "worth the money" you will save.

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• Stop buying coffees at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. I recommend making coffee at home to bring with you to work, running errands, or before you leave for an enjoyable morning event. However, if you cannot make coffee at home at a given time -- or need a caffeine burst around 3pm when you are dozing off at your desk or workstation at work -- please use a coffee travel mug and buy a coffee refill.

Note: Coffee refills are MUCH cheaper than buying a "regular" cup, and do not forget to ask about a punch card by which you can get a FREE coffee via a Buy 5 Get 1 Free, or Buy 5 Get 1 Free Card. Practice frugality, and you will have $3.00 - 4.00 per day on coffee, and 50 cents/day on refills.

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• Eliminate Bank of America by December 2011 - Are they crazy? Bank of American is going to start charging customers $5.00 for use of their Debit Card. $5 / day translates to $16.67 per day - just to gain access to YOUR money. You can save $16.67 / day by switching to Credit Union, smaller local bank, an on-line bank where they still offer FREE CHECKING.

Money you are wasting: $5.00/month = $60.00 per year.

$60.00 per year * 10 years = $600.00 of your hard-earned money *poof* GONE!

To do: Please research your options and DO NOT pay a bank a $5 monthly charge just to use your own hard-earned money!

Update 11/9/2011 - Bank of America has relented on charging a $5.00 fee - but if you have already switched to a Credit Union or Local Bank, do not go back to BoA. Great job!

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• Make their own snacks for school (instead of buying pre-packaged snacks) - i.e. buy larger boxes of crackers & peanut butter to make peanut butter crackers instead of buying the more expensive, individually wrapped ones. Buy generic sandwich bags - $1.50 for 150 bags!

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• Group their rides and activities together - Save gas as much as you can. Figure out your routine, what you normally buy, and time your trips. Only you know your spending habits, favorite grocery stores, pharmacies you shop at, etc. Also, do not shop sporadically - plan to save!

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I have not bought a weekly newspaper in years. To save $1.00/day, read a newspaper online

Here are some suggested websites for great newspapers (and other news outlets):

• USA Today Newspaper
• New York Times Newspaper
• The Huffington Post (see image above - great Internet Newspaper!)
• MSNBC News
• CNN
• Yourlocalnewspaper (.com) {Insert here}

$1.00/day in savings = $365 per year!

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C'mon, do you really need to bring Fido to the groomers?

• At roughly $30.00/week, you can save $120.00/month by giving your dog a bath. Dog shampoos are relatively inexpensive at 800-Pet-Meds or PetCareRX.com versus a brick-and-mortar store like PetCo.

(PetCo shampoo is twice as high.)

Suggestion to save more money: Go to PetCareRX.com and sign-up for their emails and each day, you will receive a FREE offer for a "DEAL OF THE DAY" where you will get a FREE dog toy or healthy dog biscuits for FREE! Google "PetCareRX.com online coupon codes" or look for $5.00 or $10.00 coupons in your Sunday Newspaper for more savings.

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If you start by taking baby steps (small steps) and save $1.00 / day, that will translate into $365.00 per year.

Then look at the big picture...

By saving $1.00 day -->

• $1.00 * 365 days = $365.00
• $365.00 * 10 years = $3,650.00

By saving $2.00 day -->

• $2.00 * 365 days = $730.00
• $365.00 * 10 years = $7,300.00

That is a lot of money you can save, starting with saving $1.00 (or $2.00 if you can) per day!

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I welcome your comments on saving money, $1 (or pound) at a time.

© Copyright 2011 - MarloByDesign.

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