21 Money Tricks for Financial Freedom

This was first posted at dirty rotten scoundrels.

1. Save your loose change in a jar and cash it in at the bank when you have full bags of change. Dimes, nickels and cents soon add up and you won’t realise how much until you save them.

2. Use cash for purchases and leave your cards at home so you’re not tempted to spend on them.

3. Save little and often by transferring $10 or $20 a week into an Internet savings account. It’ll soon mount up.

4. Stick to making purchases in regular stores either in person or via the Internet rather than using credit accounts. It’s much easier to keep track of your spending. Don’t use catalogs in any way.

5. Have a bills account so you can transfer the money for monthly bills straight into there when you’re paid. You don’t have to worry about not having enough then.

6. Choose high interest savings accounts. Why not make the most of opportunities to get money for free.

7. Think of fun things to do at home. You won’t spend money at home but you will if you head out for the day.

8. Sign up to newsletters from websites that publicize free samples that companies are offering. You’d be surprised at how many samples are available and many are full sized so you don’t need to buy those products when out shopping.

9. Write a wish list. If you want anything, put it on the wish lit until you can afford it.

10. Go on a coupon hunt. Magazines will publish coupons on new products so you can save money. You can change your food shop accordingly and save money.

11. Experiment in the kitchen. You can make good dishes for a lot less money than you think. See just how cheap you can cook for.

12. Use a cash flow chart to see where you can save money. The needless expenses are a lot easier to see on paper than they are any other way.

13. Take care of the necessities before anything else. Make sure all of the bills are fully paid up before spending money on anything else. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t do this.

14. Sort out your stuff. You don’t need half of what’s in your home so sort out what you need and want you don’t and sell items that fall into the latter category. Ebay and Amazon are excellent sites to sell stuff on. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
15. Try bartering for goods. Independent stores and market stalls will often meet you half way so you can save money.

16. Use comparison sites to find the best deals on goods you absolutely need. There are many comparison sites out there and you can use them for free so you might as well make the most of them.

17. Choose savings accounts with no ATM card attached to them. If your account has a passbook or is an Internet account then the likelihood is that you won’t bother with the hassle of withdrawing money.

18. Write down every single penny you spend for a week to see how much you spend on extras hat you don’t need. The total and shopping list may shock you into considering your sending habits.

19. Walk wherever you can. You’ll be surprised at how much you spend on gas or other transportation for short journeys that you could easily walk to.

20. Recycle anything you can – foil, bottles, jars, clothes and so on. Many people will pass this off as being skanky but it’s just sensible… and frugal. The savings will mount up, and if you don’t believe me keep a diary of the things you reuse over the course of a few months. You’ll soon see what I mean.

21. Make sure the whole house is on board. This is a must because if one person sticks to a new saving regime and the rest of the members of the household don’t then it won’t work.