Money Saving Tips for the Average Joe

At some point in just about every person's adult life, they will find themselves a little short on that thing that makes the world go round. Yes, I am talking about the root of all evil, money. With the average American living paycheck to paycheck these days most of us could use a little help stretching that all mighty dollar. One of the biggest long-term money saving tips is also the hardest to implement, for any non-essential items pay in cash. Some expenses are impossible to plan for, such as an emergency car repair, or a refrigerator that suddenly gives up the ghost.

Try to avoid credit cards as if they were plague-ridden rats. Credit card companies often charge more and higher fees, and higher interest rates to those who can least afford it. How often do you think Warren Buffet is offered a card with a $269.00 account setup fee, $139.00 annual fee, and a whopping 24.9% interest rate? Probably not very often, but if you are like me you will average 2 or more of these bargains a month.

With a balance of $1,000.00 on one of these cards you could make the minimum payment each month and end up further in debt at the end of the year than at the beginning. By paying for everything in cash you are forcing yourself to save for the big-ticket items. Putting a little money aside every week until you have enough in the bank to pay for that new television may sound inconvenient, but it may help you decide that the picture on your current set isn't that bad after all.

Another tip you should consider is buying store brands or generics. Gone are the days of the plain white box with black lettering filled with a much cheaper but substandard product. Many of today's store brands and generics are being ran on the same production lines, with the same parts or ingredients, as their more well known shelf mates.