Below is a list of cost saving options that can save your household a lot of money.

Children’s Consignment Shop
When my child was younger she would outgrow her clothes so fast, some had only been worn once or twice and others had never been used. I would gather all those gently worn or never used clothes and old toys and sell them to a Children’s Consignment Shop.  Every season children need a brand new wardrobe, so every season I got a nice return on my clothing investment. Of course, as children get older the wear and tear on clothes makes consignment shops less of an option.

Old Gadgets
Older children and adults alike both love gadgets and what could be better than having the newest gadgets? My daughter loved her flip phone until phones with full keyboards hit the market, she loved her Playstation II until the Wii came out. I loved my iPod until I got an iTouch. I had a friend who had a garage full of old gadgets that he didn’t use anymore. They weren’t old and outdated, they just weren’t the latest and greatest. I asked him why didn’t he sell them, instead of letting them collect dust? He ended up selling almost all of them, made several hundred dollars and of course bought more gadgets. There are many websites that making getting cash for your old devices very easy. www.Gazelle.com tells you exactly how much they will buy certain devices for, they mail you a postage paid box and then mail you a check for the agreed upon amount. www.Ebay.com lets you auction off your items to the highest bidder. www.Craigslist.com lets you list the item locally and sell without the hassle of shipping or auction fees.

Sunday Paper Coupons
I’ve never been much of a coupon clipper but one weekend I went through two weeks worth of my mother’s Sunday newspaper coupons. I generally do one big shopping trip the first weekend of the month, then I usually just stop in for minor things such as bread, milk and eggs. I ended up saving a little over $40 using only two weeks worth of coupons. It was like getting a free tank of gas. I now save myself $40 plus (or a free tank of gas) every month using Sunday newspaper coupons.

Mobile Applications
If you are one of the many with a mobile phone that allows for application downloads there are many “apps” that will save you money. There are applications such as www.Yowza.com, www.Coupons.com, www.MobiQpons.com and many more that help you save money in various ways. Some apps allow you to mail coupons to your home computer to print and take in the store. Other apps simply display a coupon code that you show to the cashier for an instant discount.

Mail-in Rebates
Retailers offer mail-in rebates on products ranging from the low cost to big ticket items. It’s been said that less than 50% of people send in the mail-in rebates. Retailers can lure customers to purchase a product with the promise of a rebate at a later date, but many don’t take the time to claim their money. This is clearly a win-win situation for the retailer. A simple investment of one box of envelopes and a book of stamps can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run. My main excuse for not mailing rebates in the past was “I did not want to go to the post office.”

Home Phone Service
Nowadays it seems like everyone has a cell phone.  There are even cell phones that are designed for the very young and for the very old. Every mobile provider offers a family plan and the need for a home phone has diminished. Some keep their home phone for nostalgic purposes and for others there is a true need for home phone services. For those who truly don’t need a home phone, you could easily save yourself $40-$60 a month by simply disconnecting the service and using your mobile phone. For those who have a true need for home phone services, there are low cost VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) options:

Skype is an Internet-based phone service, owned by Ebay that allows users to make calls, voice calls and video calls at very affordable rates. They offer many free services with plans ranging from $2.95/month to $12.95/month.

Magic Jack is a USB device that allows you to plug in a conventional landline. Calls are placed through your computer and high-speed internet connection. The cost is $39.95 for the device and includes one year of free local and long distance. Each additional year of service is $19.95.

Utilizing the items listed above can easily save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year.

Home is where the FUN is! Now more than ever families are spending more time together in their own living rooms.   At-home entertainment means the snacks are paid for, you can choose what entertainment you’d like and you’re in the comfort of your own home.  There are no parking fees, no long drives and no $5.99 small popcorn.  Yes, it is THAT expensive!  Besides, there is nothing like quality time together and it’s even better when it’s spent at home, for free.

Gas up on Tuesdays. I’ve been watching gas prices go up and down for the past year.  I have discovered that the least expensive day to purchase gas is on Tuesday. Sometimes it lingers over to Wednesday.  By Thursday it starts going up again.  There was a stint where it was cheaper on the weekends, but that also happened when retailers were losing money during the holiday season.  The Tuesday trend is back on, so fill up in the middle of the week for more savings.

Mind your own business. No, I’m not being sarcastic!  It’s a saying that finance educator Robert Kiyosaki uses in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Having a steady paycheck is great, but these days it’s not enough.  More and more households are turning to home-based businesses to increase their income.  If you have a talent that’s marketable, this would be a good way to increase your funds without decreasing your pockets.

Finance 101. The best way to KEEP your money is to have a better understanding of how money works.  I’m not a big advocate of “saving” for the reason that money was made to be spent, not hoarded.  However, I’m also not big on spending frivolously.  When you spend, spend smart.  The best way to do that is to go back to the basics. Read as many finance books as you can get your hands on.  Get a better understanding of the  “Mighty Dollar.”  The more you understand how money works, the more you can accumulate and the more you can make it work for you.

Plastic is NOT your friend! While credit cards were once a godsend, they are now evil rectangular-shaped demons that suck the life and funds right out of us.  Congress passed the Credit Card Reform Act in February of 2009.  What most people don’t know or even recognize is that the credit card companies had nine months to become compliant with the new law.  In that time they have raised rates, decreased credit lines, closed thousands of accounts and even altered their fees.   It would be wise of you to check with your credit card company to see if the agreement you signed when you got the card is still the same.  If anything has changed that goes against what you signed up for, have the credit card company change it back to the original terms.  If they refuse, cancel the card yourself.  Also, never solely depend on credit. It’s the fastest route to bankruptcy court!  I  follow the motto that if I don’t have it in cash then I don’t need it.  This goes for those “emergency credit cards” too.  Can those new $1800 Louboutins really be an emergency?!

Watching your budget can be a tedious task.  However, if you do it right on a consistent basis you can save yourself the time, stress and hassle of overspending and under-budgeting.  This crisis won’t last forever.  For the time being it’s wiser to make it as easy on yourself as possible.  Besides, there is nothing “fly” about puffy eyes from crying and receding hairlines from stressing.  You’ve worked hard for your money.  Now make it work hard for you!