Managing Your $$$$, Post Holidays

Dieting, as well as reading a blog about managing your money after the holidays, renders more reasons to hibernate in January!! It’s a whole lot more fun to celebrate and spend than it is to exercise and save! Woohoo! All right, let’s get the pity party over, shall we? Having and saving money is important for the whole family!
So, let’s peruse a wonderful article I found on the web from Good Housekeeping. They offer a HUGE list of “125 Ways to Manage Your Money.” I’ll list my top picks, as well as add some of my own:

1. Stop buying water…it’s free at almost any faucet.

2. Unplug sockets that you are not really using. It still drains energy and costs money.

3. Watch the paper and pay attention to fliers for sales and giveaways and go to those places and stock up.

4. Buy holiday gifts throughout the year when you see things that are inexpensive. The best time to shop for the holidays is actually after the holidays.

5. Fill regular prescriptions at Internet stores. Check www.nabp.net for legitimate businesses (National Association of Boards of Pharmacies).

6. Check out local dental schools and cosmetology schools to see about inexpensive dental services or haircuts.

7. Turn your unused items into cash! Examples might be: Plato’s closet for teen clothes; GameStop for video games; Play It Again Sports for used sporting goods; Online at ebay.com, craigslist.com or backpage.com.

8. Check to see if your car needs an oil change at 3000, or 5000 or 7500 miles! Not all cars today need oil changes at 3,000 miles. On the other hand, maintain your car and get preventative work done so that it will last longer, e.g. tune-ups, washes, checking the fluids, etc.

9. Coupons, coupons, coupons. I keep a ziplock bag in the car for restaurants and another for groceries!

10. Another idea to save that’s been around for forever… bartering for goods and services. Your cherry pie might be just what someone else needs…unless of course they’re dieting after the holidays!