Get ready for the mother load of money saving tips! {Part two!}
In case you missed it, last week I started a two part series on Easy Ways To Save Money. I shared my best money-saving secrets on food, home maintenance and decor, personal care, and parenting. This week I’ll continue the mother load of money saving tips with a few new categories!
We are a one income family of four. The one income we have is not a big one, either. We have four people, two cats, three cars, a mortgage, and somehow we make it each month.
How is that possible? Two reasons.
- God has been so good to us by providing what we need
- Finding a LOT of little ways to save money
Today I’ll be sharing more easy ways to save money!
How To Save on Medical Expenses
Pay bills in full to get a discount. Medical bills can really make my stomach turn. If you are able to pay a medical bill in full, sometimes you can qualify for a 10-20% discount! One time we had a $550.00 medical bill. I offered to pay it in full and I got a 20% discount! Just asking that one question saved me over $100! Call the number on the bill and ask if they offer any discounts. It never hurts to ask!
Change your health insurance plan. Since my family is blessed with good health, we changed our insurance to a higher deductible plan so that our monthly premium would be lower. We always have to pay the monthly premium, so getting this cost down was more important than getting coverage we didn’t really need. (This tip is only for people in good health. Be aware that this will make your trips to the doctor, Emergency Room and hospital a little more expensive, so be prepared.)
Take care of medical problems over the phone. When you have a non-emergency medical issue, call your doctor’s office and try to take care of the problem over the phone instead of going in to the office. Often times I just want to ask the doctor or nurse a simple question that can be answered easily by a phone call. If you don’t go into the office, you won’t have to pay your co-pay or co-insurance. However, your medical condition may require you to go to the office for a visit, so if they advise you to come in, please follow their advice!
When given a prescription, ask for samples. If you don’t have prescription coverage, see if any local grocery stores offer free prescription drug programs. Schnucks offers a free generic antibiotic program that I have used several times and am very happy with.
How To Save Money on Cars and Car Maintenance
Consider doing your own oil changes. If you don’t know how you can ask a friend to teach you how to do it. An oil change at a shop or the car dealer will cost you at least $25 to $50 dollars each time. If you do the work yourself, you can save a good amount of money over the life of your car. If you don’t want to change the oil yourself, by all means please have it done at the recommended times. Changing the oil will help protect the most expensive part of your car!
Keep up on car maintenance. Doing regular maintenance on your car will end up saving money in the long run. If you take good care of your car, it will take good care of you! Bare minimum, make sure your oil gets changed, tires are rotated and changed when needed, and ensure fluids are checked and filled. To find out what kind of maintenance your car needs, consult your owner’s manual.
Don’t buy a new car–buy a good used car. A brand new car will lose it’s value as soon as you drive it off the lot. Your money will stretch further on a good used vehicle. If you like expensive options on a car, consider buying a model or two older and you’ll be more likely to afford those pricey options!
If possible, buy a car without a loan. Buy a car that fits your needs but doesn’t force you into a car payment (if possible) Not having a car payment on any of our three vehicles has allowed us to live off of one income. If you do get a loan, get a small one that is easy to pay each month.
Pay cars off early. If you do have a car loan, try to pay if off ahead of time (as long as there’s no penalty from your loaning institution). In the past we’ve paid off our cars early and that step saved us a lot of money in interest!
How To Save Money When Dining Out
Order water. Not ordering drinks is a great way to save & then you can enjoy your meal! Just one drink costs at least four dollars so if everyone orders water the bill can be reduced significantly.
Share big meals. Split your favorite meal with someone else. Most portion sizes are pretty huge so this is doable for most restaurants. Plus if you’re sharing the meal you’re saving some calories, too!
Take advantage of kids promotions. Many restaurants offer a kids-eat-free-night. This will help create more quality time with kids and save a little money!
Use coupons and promotions. We love to eat at a Thai restaurant because the food is awesome and they frequently offer a $20 gift card for $10. We rarely go to an expensive restaurant without a coupon.
Have an in-home date night. Instead of eating out, order take out from your favorite restaurant and bring it home! The hubby and I did this a lot when our kids were young and it was too hard and expensive to get babysitters. You can make your own drinks at home and you won’t have to tip!
Speaking of tips: as a former server I urge you to be cheap on your meal but NOT with your tip! Make sure that you tip your servers well! If you use a coupon for your meal, make sure you tip off of the original cost of the meal.
I hope these easy tips have inspired you to make a couple changes. What little changes will you make to save money?
This post linked to: Inspire Me Please, Saturday Sharefest, Skip The Housework Saturday, The Makers, Thrifty Thursday, DIY Sunday Showcase, and Link Party Palooza.