To A Frugal New You

It’s the new year! And we all know what that means. Resolutions left and right. While most resolve to be healthier versions of themselves, a lot of people also make promises to themselves to become frugality personified, or at the very least be a little more prudent, budget-wise. And for the group of people who made said resolution, here are several ways to save  money this 2010:

• Get rid of the bad habits. You would be hitting two birds in one stone doing them. Your money and your health will be saved. Maybe even a valued relationship along the way. You know what I’m talking about. Smoking, drinking, eating too much. Those take a huge dent on your budget.
• Cut back on car expenses. Car pool as much as possible, walk to your destination when you can, use the right grade fuel, and wash your car yourself. Sell your car if you can use public transportation all the time. Or, shop around for the best car insurance if you can’t help but own one.
• Cook home. Eating out or taking out is incredibly expensive, so home cooking (learn it if you don’t know how to) is called for. Everyday, if you can afford the time. This is healthier, as well.
• Pay in cash. Credit cards entice you to spend more than you can afford, so it’s always best to pay in cash whenever possible. Paying in cash has more perks and discounts than the rewards (points) offered by credit card companies, if you take time to compute.
• Grab those coupons. Clip coupons the traditional way (out of newspapers) or go digital like many people now: get them out of Facebook or Twitter (which I’m sure you frequent anyway) or join a free mobile coupon service to be updated on the hottest coupons available for use.

There are a LOT more tips to save money (most of which are published elsewhere on the Internet already), but we don’t want them coming in hundreds at one sitting, so we’ll stop here. After all, resolutions can be quite hard to keep so it’s best to focus on just a couple at a time.