Welcome to the fourth part of 25 ways I save money.

16. Use coupons.

I believe in using coupons but only for the things that you REALLY use all the time. I get a lot of coupons but I usually throw them out because they are brands of things that I do not use or else they are items I would not event think of using in any case. There are however items that I get coupons for that I use all the time. I love Biore nose strips and I get coupons for them all the time so those coupons are useful to me. I just got some coupons for Viactin multivitamins…but since I use Centrum those coupons are going in the trash.

17. Buy generic.

There are some instances where I will only use the brand name item e.g. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter (because it makes my skin feel GREAT) but I have learned to use the generic brands of most items. Great Value evaporated milk tastes just as good as Carnation milk and contains the same vitamins so I go with the cheaper version. I save few cents on every can of milk and still get the same nutrition.

18. Keep extra money in high yield savings instead of checking.

I am tired of telling you folks to email me to get an invite to the ING savings account so you can get the bonus $25.00 for signing up. ING rocks! I keep all my money except for the rent money in my high yield savings accounts online to gain some interest and make my banking easier to track. I pay my bills online and this has freed up so much time for me that I cannot imagine how I used to do it before.

Get a $25 bonus by opening a new ING account with $250.

19. Use the library.

I love to read and get free books from the library. I may have to wait a little bit longer when a new book comes out but it is better to wait a couple of weeks than to just pay money for the book when I may not like it. If I really do love a book then I will buy it AFTER I read it for free from the library. Reading also keeps me occupied and cuts down the time I would spend watching television or surfing the internet, which saves on electricity.

20. Wash dishes by hand.

I wash my dishes by hand all the time and only use the dishwasher to store the dishes so they can air dry. I do not see the point of running the dishwasher especially since I do not like my dishes to accumulate. I don’t know how much I save but I am sure it is a good amount because I am not using all the water it takes to run the machine and I am also not using any electricity to get my dishes clean.

Read part 1, part 2, part 3.