Money Saving Tips

[Butterfly]

10 easy ways to stash away thousands

Money guru Jean Chatzky knows her latest book, "Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day," centers on a gimmick.

The thing is, gimmicks work -- at least when it comes to our often-irrational relationship with money.

Chatzky promises financial freedom for anyone who can scrounge up an extra tenner each day -- what you might spend on lunch, a car wash, a movie ticket. Someone who might feel hopeless at the prospect of paying off $8,000 in credit card debt can embrace this one-day-at-a-time approach, which makes debt repayment seem not only possible, but almost easy.

"It's a hook, kind of like 'no carbs' is a hook," says Chatzky, financial editor for NBC's Today Show. "This is a problem we need to get our hands around. . . . (We need) some sort of mental game we can play with ourselves that will help us solve the problem."

If we were entirely logical, of course, we wouldn't need hooks or gimmicks or any of the little self-delusions that in reality can be so helpful in giving ourselves a financial cushion.

Since we're not Mr. Spock, though, savings tricks can prove mighty helpful. Here are some of the things MSN Money readers say they do to get themselves to put aside a little extra:

Tips

[Butterfly]

12 cool money tricks

We've collected some great 'money hacks,' clever ways to solve everyday problems or make life a little simpler. These tricks can save you anywhere from a few cents to a few hundred dollars.

Money Tips

[Butterfly]

10 things you shouldn't buy new

Few people really enjoy wasting their hard-earned money, but many of us do it every day by buying new. We could do our pocketbooks, and the environment, a big favor by opting to be the second owner of some of the stuff we buy.

Tips

[Bingo]

Our volunteer coordinator has been a victim of debit card info theft. 

Her husband checked their account by phone over the weekend and when investigating further, found a $576 charge at Wally World in a small Louisiana town.  And a $273 charge at a motel in Florida.  They were watching the sleet and rain at home last weekend.  Wally World and a lot of motels have cameras so they are hoping to find the person that way. I guess her husband had tried to buy something that was about $40 and was denied.

When we took my mother to Walmart weekend before last, when she gave the cashier a check, it was processed and returned to her on the spot with a computer generated slip of paper to sign.

She didn't understand why they didn't take the check.  I told her they had taken out the money, they don't want to handle hard copies of checks. She was confused, but the same electronic info is available when paying by check as with a debit or credit card.  We need to get body part ID since thieves are getting so good at stealing our few $$$.

[Guardian Angel]

What you buy matters: Does it say: Made in the USA
Here is an anonymous lady's letter:
 
"Hi friends,

This may seem like a funny email but I was so surprised by what I discovered I had to share it with you. When I think of the job situation in this country I can't help but think this helps in some small way.

I don't know how many households there are in the US but if these were the only things we bought think of the impact....

This past weekend I was at Kroger.  I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled "Everyday Value" I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA . So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland OH ! So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep you guessed it - Bounce was more money and made in Canada , the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time ! Besides you might save a little green in the process.