I got an email the other day from Rich over at CareOne letting me know of a recent article they posted called “101 Ways to Save One Dollar a Week”. Now I don’t have any personal experience with CareOne so I can’t comment either way on their services, but I thought One Dollarthe article and topic was a worthwhile one for those of us looking to save a few dollars (and who isn’t).

As I’ve said before, though, while some of these little cutbacks may ultimately save you some money, how many of us actually DO something with those savings? By DO something I mean put them away in savings to earn interest (and those huge figures financial experts like to throw around when discussing what we “could” earn if we skipped a latte or two) and/or use the savings to pay off debt. Some of these are so small that they fall under the radar and most likely out of reach of a “true” savings. Yet if you’re very diligent they will add up and if you put a system in place to catch the savings and do something productive with them, you’ll be glad you did.

I invite you to read the whole article on their website but wanted to point out a few of the tips I liked the most as well as a few that left me saying, “yeah, right!”.

First the ones I really liked:

Shade your windows: Close shades, blinds or drapes during the day to keep light and heat from coming in through the windows. Direct sunlight will heat your home and cause the AC to work harder. Alternately, uncovering windows to let sun in could be helpful for heating in the winter.

Adjust your thermostat: Turn your thermostat up a couple of degrees in the summer and down a few in the winter. Every degree saves approximately 3 percent in energy costs. If your home is empty during the day, consider buying a programmable thermostat to avoid heating and cooling your home when no one’s there. Set the thermostat to turn the air or heat on about 30 minutes before you get home.

Get regular tune-ups: Keep all of the moving parts in your car running smoothly to get better gas mileage and prolong the life of your vehicle.

Keep air in your tires: Underinflated or flat tires will reduce gas mileage.

Use cruise control: If you’re not going to be hitting any stop signs or traffic lights, set your cruise control to conserve gas.

Don’t stray from your list: If you didn’t write it on your list, you don’t need it.

Don’t shop on an empty stomach: Everything looks good when you’re hungry. Eat before you shop so you’re less tempted to pick up anything and everything that looks good.

Bring leftovers home: Restaurant portions are huge, generally twice the size of a recommended serving. Ask for a doggy bag and bring the leftovers home.

Distinguish between needs and wants: Before you start buying toys and specialty items, decide what you need more: the product or the money.

Shop online: The Internet offers many items used or at a discount. Try to find sites that offer free shipping.

Pay off the balance: As soon as you get your statement, pay off the balance. Minimum payments don’t cover much more than the interest charge.

Say no to the free shirt: Just about everywhere you go, there’s somebody trying to get you to sign up for their credit card. A free shirt, free hat, or a ten percent discount may be appealing, but these little freebies can hurt you in the long run. Even if you never use the card, the application alone can bring down your credit rating.

Some that raised a question in mind either because of personal experience or something I read include:
Turn off the AC: Roll down your windows and let the air cool your car.

(Note: I read that it is pretty much an even wash with AC versus windows when you factor in efficiency due to wind resistance. I think I heard it on Car Talk cartalk.com.)

Shop around for gas: Before you pull over and start filling up, shop around for the cheapest place to get gas.

(Great idea assuming you don’t drive around extra searching for cheaper gas. Then you’re essentially wasting dollars and dollars of gas, not to mention your time, to save a few cents.)

Shop around: Don’t limit yourself to one grocery store. One store may have great dairy prices but overpriced produce. Another could have good meat sales, but your favorite cereal is too expensive. Pick and choose what you’ll buy from each store. However, if you bring sales flyers from the competition, many stores will match the price.

(Same idea as the gas. Don’t waste your precious time, energy, and gas driving around hither and yon to save $.10 a pound on apples.)

Drink water: Save a few dollars on your bill by drinking water instead of soda or alcohol.

(I agree with this for your typical lunch or quick bite to eat. But, if you’re headed out to dine and love wine like I do — life is too short for this sort of frugality. Just keep your head when choosing a price range for your bottle).

How about you? How do you save a few dollars? And, when you do save a few bucks, do you actually DO something with it or just let it be part of normal cash flows?