1,001 Money Saving Ideas and Tips

By Pinyo, on May 13, 2009

One of the quickest ways to improve your finances is to reduce your expenses and find more ways to save money. This article is a compilation of various money saving articles that have been published over the years. A few tips are also highlighted from each article. Make sure you follow these links to see the full list or find additional resources.

Lists of General Money Saving Tips and Ideas

75 Painless Money-Saving Tips – The Dough Roller and his readers combined force to come up with 75 great ways to save money. Some ideas include:

• Combine your cable, internet and telephone service to take advantage of bundled services discount
• Refinance your mortgage
• Send away for and follow up on rebates
• Get a rewards card

15 Ways to Pay Less & Get More – Mrs. Micah offers a small but good list of money saving ideas. Her list includes:

• Shop at your local Farmers’ Markets
• Shop on the Internet
• Pay bills by direct debits to avoid late fees and finance charges
• Transfer your credit card balance

95+ Money Saving Tips – From the readers! – Gather Little By Little shares his money saving tips from his readers. The list includes:

• Surround yourself with like-minded people; specifically, frugal people
• Keep in mind that EVERYTHING is negotiable — ask for a discount
• Buy food in bulk and on sale, and separate packages into meal-size portions
• Buy less by subscribing to as many free samples and magazines as you can

25 Ways to Save Money – Cash Money Life shares a list of 25 things that Patrick and his wife do to save money. The list includes:

• Use ceiling fans, floor fans, and space heaters to help circulate the air
• Make saving automatic
• Keep minimum funds in checking account to avoid overdraft fee and late payment fee
• Use the library instead of buying your own books and DVDs

30 Money Saving Tips – My Dollar Plan and users share money saving tips, which include:

• Bring your lunch to work
• Challenge yourself to save every day
• Wait before purchasing
• Make savings a bill

75 Money Saving Tips For Surviving A Recession – Frugal Dad shares 75 tips to help you survive the recession. His list includes:

• When in the store, look high and low for deals, literally
• Have a no-spend weekend
• Carpool a few times a week
• Raise insurance deductibles

50 Frugal Things You Aren’t Doing – The Wisdom Journal share 50 frugal ideas that can help you save a bunch of money. His list includes:

• Paying off your credit card in full each and every month
• Budgeting your money
• Building a healthy emergency fund
• Opening an online savings account

100 Money Saving Tips – Bargaineering offers a few ideas on how to save some extra cash. The list includes:

• Water is cheaper than soda, beer, juice, coffee, tea, etc.
• Shop around for auto insurance
• Drop services you don’t really need
• Install a programmable thermostat

50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year – Squawkfox offers ways to help you save on average a $1,000 a year. Sounds good right? Her tips include:

• Lose the Extra Car
• Avoid Whole Life Insurance
• Rent Less Apartment
• Avoid the high cost of owning a pet

How to Save Money – 25 Ways I Save Money – Million Dollar Journey shares 25 ways he saves money. His tips include:

• Don’t smoke, do drugs, or drink (too much)
• Buy with quality in mind in the expectation that it will last a long time
• Try to separate “needs” and “wants” when buying consumer items
• Avoid banking fees and use a discount brokerage to minimize trading expenses

97 New Ways to Save Money (from DR Readers) – The Dough Roller offers another set of tips centered around frugal living and saving money. Some tips include:

• Pay your mortgage payments bi-weekly
• Check the lint trap and clean it weekly
• Buy a water filter and take your own water to the gym/sports etc.
• Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without, can you borrow? can you rent? then consider buying

Smart Money-Saving Tips You Need Now – US News Your Money offers tips that include areas such as food, transportation, energy, budgeting, and entertainment. Specific tips include:

• Cooking for yourself
• Eliminating your landline
• Replacing your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents
• Cataloging every expense you incur in an average week

180 Money Saving Tips to Turn Your Financial Life Around 180 Degrees – The Frugal Law Student shares 180 money saving tips that can turn your financial life around 180 degrees. The list includes:

• Buy a used car
• Buy clothes at a thrift store
• Save money on movies by going to the matinée
• Use baking soda for toothpaste

Little Steps: 100 Great Tips For Saving Money For Those Just Getting Started – The Simple Dollar offers 100 money saving tips ranging that includes ideas like:

• Turn off the television
• Make a shopping list before you go shopping – and stick to it
• Instead of throwing out some damaged clothing, repair it instead
• Exercise more

10 Unconventional Money-Saving Tips – Get Rich Slowly offers 10 saving tips that are geared more toward how you should think as opposed to specific tips. Some tips includes:

• Pursue short-term saving goals
• Don’t pay yourself first. Instead, pay yourself last
• Translate dollars spent into the hours you worked to earn those dollars
• Include income tax when determining how much it costs to buy things

16 Depression Era Money Saving Tips – Shrinkage Is Good takes us back in time to provide Depression-proof money saving tips. The list includes:

• Only buy what you truly need
• Pay yourself first
• Avoid debt like the Plague
• Discard catalogs and enticing advertisements

More general money saving tips:

• The Big List: 1,019 Different Ways To Save Money – My Two Dollars assembled a mega list of money saving lists from a wide variety of sources.
• 106 Money-Saving Tips for a Frugal Lifestyle – Zen Habits offers a list of money saving ideas list totaling 106 tips.

Money Saving Tips For Your Car

Money Saving Gas Tips – Drive Smarter Challenge offers specific saving tips for your car. Tips include:

• Drive sensibly
• Choose the right vehicle
• Consider other transportation options
• Inflate your tires

34 Ways To Save Money On Your Car Costs – from here!

• Don’t spend money on paint protection, special coverages, and extended warranties
• Consider dropping collision and comprehensive coverage on older cars
• Plan your route and combine your errands to save fuel and time
• Keep your distance and anticipate changes in traffic patterns

More gas saving ideas:

• Gas and fuel money saving tips at GasBuddy.com
• GasSavers.org is a community of fuel economy enthusiasts

Money Saving Tips For Your Home

General Money Saving Tips for Your Home

DIY Projects To Save Money At Home – Remodeling This Life shares some money saving tips from your home, which include:

• Build a clothesline
• Insulate hot water pipes
• Clean refrigerator coils
• Make a Rain Barrel

20 Inexpensive Ways to Lower Your Utility Bills – The Dough Roller helps his readers lower their utility bills by offering 20 tips. Some of his tips include:

• Get an energy-use consultation
• Consider a heated mattress pad
• Use power strips and stop the power sucking vampire
• Turn down your water heater

20 Ways to Save Time and Money in the Kitchen – Patrick at Cash Money Life works his money saving magic in the kitchen. His tips include:

• Plan your menu
• Buy produce in season
• Cook larger meals and eat leftovers
• Clean your kitchen with homemade cleaners

How To Lower Your Telephone and Cell Phone Bills

7 Ways To Save Money On Your Phone Bill – Some of Being Frugal tips include:

• Cut out caller ID
• Drop the long distance
• Use an internet phone service
• Cut the phone line protection

15 Ways to Save Money On Your Cell Phone Bill – Another set of great tips from Cash Money Life. His tips include:

• Mind your minutes
• Consider using a prepaid cell phone
• Take advantage of employee discounts
• Double check your invoice!

More ways to save money on your phone bills:

• How To Make Cheap Phone Calls and Lower Your Phone Bill at The Digerati Life
• Don’t purchase insurance, just keep your old phone at Rocket Finance

How To Lower Your Heating and Cooling Bills

10 Ways To Save Money On Heating Bills This Winter – My Two Dollars shares 10 tips to help you save money on heating bills. Here are his tips:

• Install your storm windows and doors
• Open the blinds and drapes during the day and close them at night
• Close heating ducts or rooms that don’t require much heat
• If you don’t use your fireplace to heat your home, think about sealing it shut for the winter

10 Inexpensive Ways to Slash Your Winter Heating Bills – Patrick at Cash Money Life shares more ways to lower your winter heating bills. His tips include:

• Change air filters
• Seal heating ducts
• Use humidifiers
• Install plastic window treatments

How To Lower Your Water Bills

6 Ways To Save Money On Your Water Bill – Lynnae at Being Frugal offers some water saving tips, which include:

• Take showers, not baths
• Turn off the water when brushing teeth
• Check for leaks
• Only run full loads when using dishwasher and laundry machine

More water saving tips:

• Use Low Flow Shower Head at Moolanomy
• How To Save Money And Gallons Of Water For Only $2.00 at My Two Dollars
• Seventy-Five Ways To Conserve Water at The Good Human
• Even More Ways To Save Water Inside Your House at The Good Human

More Money Saving Tips

Vacation

50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations – Money Ning shares 50 ways to save your money on the go. These tips include:

• Travel Light
• Avoid Breakfast from the Hotels
• Fill up that Rental Car
• Avoid Taxis and Welcome Public Transportation

5 Ways to Vacation Without Breaking the Bank – Patrick at Cash Money Life offers money saving ideas for a vacation. His list includes:

• Plan your vacation
• Search for deals
• Skip the tourist locations for shopping
• Budget

More ways to save money on your vacation:

• Name Your Price With Priceline: Get A Bargain Vacation at The Digerati Life

Miscellaneous Money Saving Ideas

• Outfit A Complete Home Gym For Less Than The Cost Of A Year At The Gym at Amateur Asset Allocator
• 9 Ways To Save On Baby Costs at Free From Broke
• How To Save Money Like A Madman at Prime Time Money
• Utilizing Technology to Slash Your Cable Bill at My Life ROI

Websites That Save You Money

• Save money, reduce debt at Billeater.com
• Free weekly email newsletter features a number of money saving ideas and tips from our readers around the world from The Dollar Stretcher
• Save money when you shop online at Ebates

eBooks and Books About Saving Money

• Spend Less Than You Earn Free eBook via Being Frugal
• Frugal Food & Fitness: Get fab without spending a fortune eBook via Squawkfox
• The 7-Day Turnaround eBook via Frugal Dad
• 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget Book via Wise Bread

Things Not To Do When You’re Trying To Save Money

Here some money saving tips that have gone too far…into the realm of stupidity.

Dumb money-saving tips – Wallet Pop shares 8 ideas that are not so good when it comes to saving money. Ideas that made the list include:

• Stop using toilet paper
• Buy and re-use old calendars,
• Make your own clothes

10 Retarded Money Saving Tips (People Are Actually Trying) – Cracked.com made a crack at money saving ideas that include:

• Sleep in the Airport,
• Separate the Two Ply
• Make Dog Hair Sweaters

Do you have more money saving tips and ideas to add to the list above? If so, please leave a comment below.

Leave Your Comment (54 Comments)

1. Ron Power says:

   April 24, 2012 at 2:42 pm

   If you have weeds on your lawn use vinegar, its fast, cheap but be careful how much you spray.

   Reply
2. John says:

   July 20, 2011 at 7:33 pm

   I wish more people would read this, they could save money and enjoy life a little more.

   Reply
3. Jereme says:

   March 21, 2011 at 4:02 pm

   For those who are serious about saving money and planning for retirement money saving tips need to be applied sooner rather than later.

   Reply
4. Franchesca says:

   February 27, 2011 at 5:05 pm

   Here’s another one: disect your cell phone bill — you’d be surprised at how many ‘gliches’ you find in your bill. I found so many that I decided a contract cell phone was no longer worth it. Instead, I switched to a prepaid (TracFone) plan where there were no hidden fees because there are no contracts!

   Reply