Start making deals with your telephone and cable company.  The two utilities are becoming extremely competitive with each other and with their competitors to get your business.  When you see a new customer offer for a lower price than your monthly charges, get on the phone and call your provider and ask for the same deal.  If they are offering a low price to a new customer for the first 3 months… you should be able to arrange the same price for yourself.  Remind them that you are a loyal customer and deserve the same offer that they are giving to brand new customers.  Don’t take no for an answer.  Ask for a supervisor if necessary, and be prepared to transfer or change your service if they won’t give you the offer.   Is it worth the hassle?  Yes.  If you are paying $60 or more for cable, and the offer is $30 for the first three months,  you’ll save almost $100.  Many providers have one or two specials a year.  Call them each time.  If you take advantage of these specials from your telephone and cable companies, you could save a lot more.  This same tactic will work with almost any company that you do business with.  Pay attention to new customer offers by banks, utilities, spas, house cleaning services, lawn care companies, even dog walkers.  Almost any company that offers a service for a set monthly fee will offer specials.  Make sure you get them!

Did you know that daily coffee runs to places like “Fourbucks” can cost you about $100 per month. Add it up. If more than one person in your family stops for coffee, that amount is much more. Be sure to include the scone or muffin you add to the bill every once in a while, and if you get in your car to make a special trip to the coffee shop, add your gas as well. You may be spending much more! You can easily make all your own favorite drinks and your daily beverage expense will drop to about $1 or less each day. You can find recipes and instructions here: http://www.kitchenlink.com/copycat.html or Google copy cat recipes, and do your own searches. You’ll find that it takes you less time to make your own at home, than the time you spend waiting in line at the coffee shop. Even if you invest in a good quality coffee maker or cappuccino machine, you will save about $800. the first year, and $1200 or more each year after that. That’s just for one. If you and your spouse both make and take your own beverages from home, you’ll save enough each year for a nice family vacation to a theme park, or a romantic cruise for the two of you.

Have a spa party with the girls, or a spa night with your spouse.  Give each other manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.  Many times, a spa or beauty consultant can be hired for a reasonable fee to help with instructions, products, and assistance.  If you are hosting the party, invite an even number of guests.  Have each guest bring an appetizer and their share of the consultant’s fee.  Make sure you have beverages and supplies and equipment available for all procedures.  If you’ve ever gone to a spa or just paid to have any services, you know how much it can cost.  You and your friends may be amateurs, but you’ll have a fantastic time and save a bundle. 

Petroleum jelly is a fantastic money saver for every family.  You can use it for so many things, and it is almost always a bargain.  Did you know it works like shoe polish?  It doesn’t dye or color your shoes, but cleans and treats the leather to make it shiny and supple.  Petroleum jelly is also still one of the best treatments for dry and irritated skin. You can use it on your eye lids instead of eye shadow for a glowing look, it substitutes for lip gloss, makes a great hair dressing instead of a pomade type product and is still the best for removing makeup.    

Bring your own wine.  Restaurants have a hefty markup on wines, and if you customarily order one or two bottles of wine with dinner at a restaurant (especially if you are with friends) consider bringing your own bottle of wine.  Call ahead and ask about their corking fee.  It can run from a couple dollars to about $30 per bottle of wine.  Obviously this won’t save you very much if you have an inexpensive bottle of wine, but if you plan on drinking a bottle of wine that normally costs $20 to $30 at the store, you will pay about $60 or more for the same bottle at the restaurant.  Bringing your own and paying a corking fee could still save you a lot.