500+ Ways to Save Money

By Mike Yarlett

This is the money saving guide you've been waiting for.

500+ Ways to Save Money is for beginning and experienced savers alike.
Even with well-paying jobs, Mike Yarlett spent everything he made. Losing his job during the Great Recession was his financial wake-up call. Mike finally quit fooling around and began managing and investing his cash. Now in his mid-50s, he is debt free and building a retirement portfolio that will easily sustain him and his family in the coming years. This book will help you escape the financial blunders Mike made.
500+ Ways to Save Money is an easy to read money-saving guide. Every tip is short and easy to understand. The tips cover food, housing, clothing, recreation, health care, and much more! In this book you'll learn how to have a satisfying life free from the stress of bills and debts! 500+ Ways to Save Money will help you successfully save more money, so you won't have to live paycheck to paycheck.
Whether you only want a few or many tips, this book can help you increase your wealth.
                          You'll Wish You Could Have Read it Years Ago!                                          

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Yarlett
• Release date: Jan 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781519924100

Mike Yarlett

Mike Yarlett knows how to be frugal. He rediscovered the benefits of modest living and sensible spending. Mike made errors and experienced setbacks in this journey. He hopes that by reading this book you will not make the same mistakes. Mike lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Book preview

Introduction

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There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.

—Calvin Coolidge

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Most people want cash left over after paying necessities. There seem to be ever-rising bills to pay. But you can’t just pay part of the balances, right? Using the money saving tips in this book, you’ll save 30 to 100 percent!

These money saving tips came from experts on cars, appliances, babies and kids, electronics, money, shopping, and health.

Did you know:

Consignment stores and thrift shops may save you up to 90 percent off clothing every time.

Dryers cost you thousands (and what you can do about it).

New tires may last longer than advertised.

Some vegetables are ready for picking in weeks and need little more attention than adding water.

You could save 50 percent or more at the grocery store even if you don’t use coupons.

These are only a few of the large number of cash saving tips you’ll discover inside. Have fun and use this book. You’ll save from the first page!

CHAPTER ONE:

Housing

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There has been a housing boom, but it is not a bubble. It is more like a soufflé with the air slowly leaking out.

—Tapan Munroe

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Americans pay a lot of money for a place of their own. Housing choices are extensions of ourselves. It’s very fulfilling to raise our families, decorate, and wake up in our own secure, comfortable homes. Do it right, and we’ll have fully paid off homes in which we can enjoy our retirements. Do it wrong, and we end up disgruntled (and risk repossession).

Home ownership rates in the U.S. rose from 61 percent in 1960 to a high of 69 percent in 2004. Rates have been on the decline since the housing bubble burst in 2006. As of the fourth quarter of 2012, it stands at 65.4 percent (the lowest rate in since 1997). 

Before 1981, mortgage bankers recommended that families spend no more than 20 percent of their income on mortgage or rent. But according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the recommended ratio is now more than 30 percent (it’s at 34 percent right now). The same HUD study found that from 1991 to 2007, the number of households paying more than 50 percent of their monthly income for housing costs rose from 8.9 million to 18.5 million. That’s an increase of over 100 percent! This vicious cycle of spending much of our paychecks on housing can make for many sleepless nights. Especially if you’re part of the 50 percent of Americans who say they’re one or two paychecks away from being homeless.

Between 1970 and 2008, the price of a median home (adjusted for inflation) rose a whopping 80 percent! Richard H. Serlin, a professor at the University of Arizona, gives three reasons for this. The growing number of women entering the work force from 1970 on was the first reason. Unfortunately, as the standard of living for these working women and their families rose, so did housing prices (40 percent from 1970-79). The second reason was the loosening of credit regulations and standards, which enabled the charging of exorbitant mortgage interest rates. A bad case of Prestige Fever is the third reason. Many of us thought our homes and neighborhoods showed our level of prestige. We spared no expense and started an all out bidding war.

Prestige Fever resulted in the 1,000 square foot home of 1950 doubling by the year 2000. It took the bursting of the housing bubble to reduce the size of new homes. According to USA Today, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell from 2,629 to 2,343 (a reduction of 11 percent!) from the latter part of 2008 to 2012.

Now for the good news. The ideas in this chapter can save you up to 90 percent off your housing costs!

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Rent/Mortgage

Renting a home may be cheaper than buying. After all, a renter only pays a set amount to the property owner for the privilege of residing on the property. The property owner has to pay not only the mortgage, but also the insurance, property taxes, general maintenance, renovations, and repair damaged heating and cooling systems. Total savings: $1,184/year.

Don’t limit your rental-housing search to classified ads or recommendations. Select buildings you like and contact their building manager or owner to what’s available. Total savings: $900-$2,400/year.

Should you buy a newer or older home? Dollar for dollar, you get more space in an older home. Unfortunately, your maintenance, repair, and renovation costs might be higher. Unless you decide to build a new home yourself, the older might be the better deal. Total savings: $77,630.

Real estate agents may only give the seller a good deal. Don’t believe all the advertising that tries to convince you that real estate agents work hard to give the home buyer a great deal. By law, these agents must work to give the home seller the highest selling price attainable. Learn how real estate works before you start shopping. You’re playing for high stakes, so it’s no time for mistakes. Total savings: $13,136.

Move into a smaller house. Don’t buy or rent more house than you need. You’ll save money on mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, and maintenance costs. In addition, you’ll have less house to clean! Total savings: $66,540 -$95,374.

Consider refinancing your mortgage if you can get a rate that’s lower than your existing mortgage rate and plan to keep the new mortgage for at least several years. Calculate precisely how much your new mortgage (including points, fees and closing costs) will cost and whether, in the end, it will cost less than your current mortgage. Total savings: $27,000.

Check the Internet or your local newspaper for mortgage rate surveys. Then call several lenders for information about their rates (APRs), points, and fees. If you choose a mortgage broker, compare their offers with those of direct lenders. Total savings: $2,100.

Be aware that the interest rate on most adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) can vary a great deal over the lifetime of the loan. An increase of several percentage points might raise payments by hundreds of dollars a month. Ask the lender what the highest possible monthly payment might be. Total savings: $366/month.

You can often negotiate a lower sale price by employing a buyer broker who works for you. If the buyer broker or the broker’s firm lists properties, there may be a conflict of interest. So ask them if they’re showing a property that they’ve listed. Total savings: $53,434.

Move to a cheaper part of the United States. Total savings: $103,079.

If you decide to build a home, be your own planner/contractor and save thousands. Total savings: $66,540.

Shop for the shortest-term mortgage you can afford. Although your monthly payments may be higher, you can save tens of thousands of dollars in interest. For each $100,000 you borrow at a 7 percent annual percentage rate (APR), you’ll pay over $75,000 less in interest on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage than on a 30-year one. Total savings: $129,000.

Do repairs for free or reduced rent from your property owner. Most small-time property owners don’t have enough time to maintain their properties. They’re too busy and tired after working a full-time job, raising a family, and fulfilling social commitments. If you find a run-down rental home in a nice part of town, offer to fix up the house in exchange for free or cheap rent. Make sure the property owner pays for the building materials. Once you’re finished with that property, you could move out and do the same for other property owners. Better yet, take that saved-up rent money and buy your own properties that need fixing up. Total savings: $684/month.

Become an apartment manager or maintenance person. You could get free or reduced rent. Total savings: $8,208/year.

Move into low-income housing if you qualify. Most of these places charge you a third of your monthly income for rent. So the less you make, the less you pay! Total savings: $5,952/year.

Join a housing co-op to live with other families or individuals in