Thirteen Surefire Ways to Save Money in a Weak Economy

Economic downturns are never especially fun, but as Adam Smith observed over two centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although none of us can say for sure when this latest slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of sparing your wallet in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving ideas tailored to our 21st-century lives:

1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do part of our shopping online now, not as many of us seem to have learned to coupon-hunt on the Web. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com list thousands of current offers at merchants all over the Web.

2. Use price-comparison sites like Pricegrabber.com, Shopping.com, Google Product Search, and mySimon.com to find the best deals online.

3. When you’re out at a brick-and-mortar store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” followed by the name of the product you’re considering. Google will reply with a message quoting its online prices. To compare prices at local stores, visit ShopLocal.com.

4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s Club and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a large family.

5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing ballyhoo and not the products themselves, anyway.

6. Withdraw your money from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.

7. Buy locally-raised food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce. Prices are usually lower there because the food doesn’t have to be transported very far.

8. Shop at dollar stores. You shouldn’t have a difficult time finding them nearby since they’ve been turning up all over the place in the recent past.

9. Purchase discount prescription drugs at online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying under half as much for the generic medications stocked by these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medicines at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

10. If your car is seven years old or older and/or worth less than $2,500, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance.  Your deductible may be nearing the worth of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk dealer and you to the dealership.

11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to text message, so save yourself from unexpectedly high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messages.

12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are excellent resources for finding everything you need, from pre-owned furniture to baby gear. By buying from locals, you can save on shipping costs as well.

13. Go to matinees. Matinee showings are usually more reasonably-priced than peak-time showings.

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