Some Saving Tips

As you have seen, in the past two years, many families are battling the wide spread economy recession. Millions are looking for ways to shave dollars and dimes from their daily expenses. You may be able to help too. Here are some tips.

1. Avoid long shower. A 15-minute daily shower costs about $300 a year. Cutting the time to 10 minutes will save about $100 annually. Use a low-flow shower head and also turn off the water when applying bath soap.

2. Sell your used books. At www.cash4books.net or www.sellbackyourbook.com, you type in the book's ISBN number to get an offer. After filling out a prepaid mailing label, box the books and send them off.

3. Get free stuff. Join the local bulletin board at www.freecycle.org or use website such as www.swaptree.com and post what you want to give away or something you're looking for. You also help to save the environment.

4. Free knowledge. There are many free online college courses, including those from well-known universities like Yale. MIT and Stanford. Visit http://www.educatlonportal.com/.

5. Buy giftcards for up to 30% off their face value at

www.plastlcjungle.com
http://www.giftcardrescue.com/

6. Promotional codes can get you discounts of up to 50 percent from online shopping sites. Try these websites to grab for yourself.

www.retailmenot.com
http://www.couponchief.com/
http://www.currentcodes.com/
http://www.freeshipping.org/

7. Avoid high ticket prices for plays, concerts, sports, exhibits and other events in major U.S. cities by getting a free membership at www.goldstar.com. Get free general admission to more than 100 museums, Zoos and science centers, botanical gardens on the first full weekend of each month if you have a Bank of America ATM, credit or check card. Get details at museums.bankofamerica.com.

8. Buy the huge popcorn at the movies for about $6. A small bag is about $4, so Instead of buying four small ones, buy one huge bag and split it.

9. Most mobile carriers charge a lot for directory assistance calls placed to 411. You can avoid it by calling 1-800-GOOG-411 or 1-800-FREE-411.

10. Keep the sticker and the receipt when you buy a new cloth. You may change your mind and want to return it after a few days. Only buy cloth that you are actually going to wear. Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright once said "Only wear pantyhose when absolutely necessary. it's one less thing to spend money on."

11. At least $33 billion "unclaimed property" sits in state treasuries and waiting to be returned to its rightful owners. This is from near 120 million accounts that are inactive or whose owners or their heirs cannot be located - including money from forgotten bank accounts, stocks, insurance policies as well as uncashed paychecks and dividends. By law, if financial institutions and companies can’t locate the owners, the money is turned over to the government of the state in which the account owner last resided. The best way is to use the following two websites and search every state where your parents and grandparents have lived, including those of deceased family members.

www.missingmoney.com
http://www.unclaimed.org/