Bad Ways To Save Money

Finding new ways to save money on almost anything you buy is almost like getting a raise. Maybe it's even better. When you save twenty dollars on a coat you get to keep the whole twenty dollars. When you make twenty dollars more on your paycheck, you lose five dollars or more of it to taxes.

Finding ways to save money can go too far, though. In a recent newsletter on how to save money, one contributor suggested getting free flowers for weddings by picking up the leftover flowers at a cemetery. She didn't say how you can tell which are "leftovers."

I thought I was cheap! The following are gleaned from real suggestions on ways to save money sent in to "frugality" websites and newsletters. Some cheapskates don't seem to notice that an extra hour at work might put them further ahead than many hours of penny-pinching.

Ways To Save Money - Don't Try These At Home

A mother confessed that she makes her kids stuff their pockets with the free ketchup, salt and other condiment packets every time they were in a fast food restaurant. Oh, if only that were all, but no. She has the kids squeeze the contents of the packets into regular jars of ketchup and mustard too. She says she hasn't bought these condiments in years. Pride is found in strange places.

One creative penny pincher found a way to save money on car washes. He washes his entire car using the squeegee at the gas station. Hmm... I wonder if he takes the toilet paper rolls home from their rest rooms too.

Would you like a free umbrella? One man suggests getting one at the lost and found department of any large public library. You just tell them you lost a black umbrella. They will almost certainly have several, from which you can pick the best one and claim it as your own. What if they have no black umbrellas? I guess we'll have to wait for this guy to publish a "lost umbrella color frequency chart," in order to know which color to try for the next day.

Several contributors to these newsletters know how to save on their long distance phone bills. The most common suggestion is to call people long-distance when you know they won't be home, and leave a message for them. Then they pay for it when they return your call. I suppose if your timing is off, and they answer when you call, you can quickly hang up on them and try again later.

I don't recommend any of these as ways to even the most frugal person. Apart from the ethical issues with some of them, they can be lumped in along with washing and re-using plastic wrap - a time wasting frugality. On the other hand, they are fun to read, and I suppose we could view such measures as cheap entertainment as well. Perhaps you can turn off the lights to save money on electricity and tell the kids it's a game of hide-and-seek, or train your dog to beg from the neighbors so you don't have to feed him.

I wonder how many people actually pay for magazines and newsletters that tell us ways to save money? Do these magazines advise that readers go to the library to read them, or stand reading them in the aisle at the bookstore for a hour? Those are some sure ways to save money.

Steve Gillman has studied unusual ways to make money for thirty years. To learn more, visit his website, Unusual Ways To Make Money: http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.com

Funny Ways To Save Money
There was a list of funny ways to save money on a "frugal living" website. They weren't necessarily meant to be funny, but were gleaned from real suggestions sent in. Some cheapskates don't seem to notice that an extra hour at work might put them fur...

Save Money at Home - A Practical Guide
With economic times becoming more difficult and wages not stretching as far people are needing to become more inventive to make their dollars go further.For many years I have had to exist as a single parent on a very low wage. This was at the same ...

Ways To Save Money - Live Frugal
We as consumers struggle daily with the need to Save Money Live Frugal and how to go about doing it. If you learn to spend wisely you can become a "smart shopper" and watch your savings grow. It only takes a little discipline and forethought to get ...

How To Save Money On Anything
When you want to save money on something, your first thought might be to look for a better price. That is one way to spend less and still get what you want. Let's take a good look at that before we move on to the second way.Save Money With A Better P...

How to Save Money - How I EASILY Save $1,000 Per Year and How You Can Too!
Most people are interested in learning how to save money. It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little you earn, everybody seems to be interested in finding out how to save money.Well, here is a little something that allows me to save around $1,0...

4 Ways For Students to Save Money
Students - Learn How to Save MoneyEverybody in this world loves money and you probably want as much of it as possible. The thing that most college students struggle with is how to save money correctly. There are so many easy ways to save money in t...

How I Make and Save Money
If you want to reduce or eliminate your credit card debt, then you need to develop a plan on how to make and save money. Making money is often times the most difficult of all things. We are limited by so many resources: our imagination, our time, our...

How To Really Lower Your Auto Insurance Cost
These days with the rising cost of driving due to inflated gasoline costs many people are looking for ways to save money on their out of pocket auto insurance cost. One of the easiest ways to get a good low cost automobile insurance policy is to ask...

Great Ways To Save Money
Everybody wants to save money, but the way you do it versus the way someone else does it may be very different. There are lots of ways to go about saving a little extra money every month and we are here to give you a few ideas.Try to figure out what...

Five Easy Ways to Save Money - Build These Habits
Americans are at negative savings rates. What does this even mean? Quite simply, Americans spend more money each year than they save. This brings up some very important questions: Do you even know how to save money? Do you even know how to incorporat...