10 MINUTE TIPS THAT CAN SAVE YOU $$$

Here are a few tips that can take 10 minutes or less but will save you some money each month:

1. Air pressure in your car tires can make a difference of 10% or more in your gas mileage. Buy a tire gauge; you can purchase one at the dollar store or for a couple bucks elsewhere. Let's assume that you have 2 cars and you put $20 of gasoline a week in each car or $40 a week (I know that many of you probably spend MUCH more than this, but it's just an example). That $40 a week is $160 a month in gasoline. If you saved 10%, that would be $16 a month. It's almost like getting your gas for free for one of your cars for a week! Think of it as like getting a free fill up every month. Just look at your tires to see how filled they should be. Check your tires every couple of weeks which shouldn't take more than 10 minutes a month.

2. Turn your thermostat down 2-3 degrees this winter in your home and you could save $50-$100 over the winter. Just put on an extra shirt or throw an extra log on the fire. With energy prices as high as they are, it can save a great deal this winter.

3. Buy a discount coupon book. Coupon books can range in price from $10-$50, but they can save you a GREAT deal of money. For example, our local one costs $25 and there are 100's of restaurants that offer 2 for 1 prices. So instead of paying $20, for my wife and me to go out, I would only pay $10. That really can add up. Even if my wife and I only go out once a month and save $10 each time, that is $120 savings a year. This is a great return for only spending $25. Plus, the book has coupons on entertainment, car services, and more. We easily save $300-$500 a year because of our local book. That is $30-$40 saved each and every month by just using the book. A good resource for a discount book is www.entertainment.com They offer books in about 160 cities in the U.S. If you don't find one in your area, do a Google search for your city's name and the word 'discount' or 'coupon book'. Purchasing a coupon book is a GREAT way to save money and it doesn't take more than a few minutes to buy one!

4. Telephone and Internet. You can save BIG $$$$ by cutting your telephone, internet, and cell phone bills. Look into bundle packages that your local companies may have. If you sign up for their internet, phone, and cell phone package you get discounts, etc. Also if you are paying more than 5 cents a minute on your Long Distance, you are paying TOO MUCH. Check out a site like www.LD.com You can get rates as low as 2.7cpm on your long distance. They also have packages for local calls, cell phone deals, cable vs a dish, etc...

By joining a company like Sunrocket a company like www.sunrocket.com which offers local and long distance services for $17 a month. With a company like sunrocket.com, you can cut that to $17 a month. That is a great savings (about $1000 a year)! And it won't take you more than a few minutes to make a phone call and set everything up.

5. GYM MEMBERSHIP A few years ago, my wife belonged to a local gym that had a weight room, indoor swimming pool, and aerobics classes. She paid $19.99 a month for the membership and had to sign a two-year contract. Over the two years, she spent a total of nearly $500 for the gym membership. The unfortunate thing was that she only used the gym on average about once or twice a month, and it was usually for the aerobics classes (by the way, my wife gave me permission to use her as an example!).

One easy way to save some money is to quit your gym membership IF you are not using it. Don't ever give up exercising, but find some other creative ways to get exercise. My wife now walks at our local park or at the mall when the weather is less than desirable. She has also found a Christian aerobics class (with Christian music) and pays $1 for every class that she attends. You might not have the luxury of having a Christian aerobics class in your area, but the point is you should not continue paying for a gym membership that you are not using (if you can get out of the contract).

6. Internet Access Do you need internet access, but you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it (let's face it, internet fees these days can be astronomical)? Two services that we found to be significantly cheaper than others are Netpenny and Walmart. You can compare both of these services at www.netpenny.com and www.walmart.com.

Also consider using a web email account such as yahoo or hotmail as your main email account. Doing this gives you the ability in the future to change your internet provider more easily since you aren't using their email addresses. AOL now lets you keep your email address even if you cancel their service! But slowly wean yourself off your current provider's email and have more freedom to change services.

7. INK RE-FILLS with a home-based business, my computer printer is constantly getting a work out. With so many things to print, it is amazing how much ink that I use. If you have been to any major store lately, you know that print cartridges are very, very expensive. For my printer, a black ink cartridge costs around $30 and this will last me only a couple months.

I have been fortunate to learn about ink refill kits on Ebay. With these kits, you can refill your own ink cartridges and keep using the same ink cartridge. This has saved us hundreds of dollars a year, and the refill kits are much more reasonably priced than buying a brand new ink cartridge. Refilling them is easy once you get the hang of it. I have refilled probably 30-40 cartridges over the last few years. We currently have 2 printers and have had other printers in the past, but at $30 a cartridge, that is close to $1,000 saved in a few years! Look for the refill kits from Ebay or your local store (Ebay is cheaper).

8. Shop4zero this is a Great website. Do you shop at stores like Target, JcPenny's, Circuit City, Best Buy, do you buy books or music online?

If so why not shop at those same stores but get cash back on your purchase! You would still go to those websites but by using shop4zero you will get cash back! It is a FREE sign up just go to www.shopandprizes.com for more info. I am saving money each month with them.

9. Insurance can be a big expense and if you shop around a little bit you can save hundreds a year. Whether its your Life, Health, or Car Insurance take 15-20 minutes on each policy you have and shop at a place like www.insurance.com and maybe you can save $100+ or more. I know when I moved from North Carolina to Michigan my health insurance rates dropped over $170 a month and I ended up with more coverage!

THE NEXT NEWSLETTER, LORD WILLING, WILL ARRIVE NEXT WEEK!