To quote Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop,” now the longest running No. 1 rap song in Billboard’s history, “Savin’ my money and I’m hella happy that’s a bargain, b**ch.”
The deal hunter’s mindset applies to anywhere you can save a buck or fifty. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a com
fortable professional or a student who’s flat broke: you can make some small changes and save big. Macklemore is finally cashing in on his talent but according to Lewis, he’s still “a f-ing thrifter.” Lewis continued, “When we went on tour, I think he hit a thrift shop in at least 25 cities, which made the back of the tour bus literally into his closet.”
So we’ll credit the rapper with the first money hack on the list: Thrift shopping. You can get some decent furniture there, too. Now, here’s 12 more ways to save for you.
2. Go Incognito When Buying Plane Tickets
That’s incognito mode on Google Chrome or use “Private Browsing Mode” on Firefox. Websites track your browsing and searches and use that information to show you the more expensive tickets. Subvert that shadiness by using the cookie-free version of your browser.
3. Brew Your Own Coffee
Invest in a coffee maker instead of paying three bucks a cup ($750 a year) wherever you buy coffee every morning. You can even idiot-proof your home brew by using a Keurig machine (or something of the kind) that manages the water/grinds ratio. If you haven’t gotten the attractive barista’s number by now, it’s not going to happen.
4. Do Not Accept the ATM Fee
Your bank doesn’t need these donations so stop making them. You can do this by: 1) using only ATMs belonging t
o your own bank; 2) signing up for a credit union that doesn’t charge ATM fees; or 3) using a debit card at a place that offers cash back at no fee. If you didn’t know, when you withdraw cash at a “foreign ATM,” your own bank may be hitting you for an additional $2.00 or more charge in addition to the ATM fee.
5. Claim Your Rebate
Not the rebate you knowingly signed up for – the one you get because the company that made a product you purchased screwed up and was forced to pay a settlement for some kind of wrongdoing. There’s a website that tracks all of the class action settlements, so take a look and see if you you’re entitled to participate and claim a check ranging from $5 to more than a hundred (Ab Circle Pro).
6. Set Up Automatic Payments for Your Credit Card(s)
First, create an online account with the credit card issuer if you haven’t already. Find the payment section/tab and follow the rest of the steps to automatically pay the balance (or at least the minimum) before the due date each month. Now you’ll never miss a payment and get hit with a fee, or even have to remember to pay the bill. However, if you do get hit with a late fee of $25-plus…
7. Call and Ask Them to Waive It
Often they’ll do it as a courtesy the first time and possibly the second or third time if you ask nicely, and explain you were out of town or something when the bill became due. Also, if you succeed in getting a pass for the late payment, you may avoid an increased interest rate that results from making late payment (depending on your agreement). Preventing that rate jump may end up saving you a lot more than the actual late fee if you’re running a balance on the card. Speaking of running a balance…
8. Transfer the Balance
Regardless of the reason you’ve got some (or a ton) of credit card debt, you may be able to soften the blow by transferring a portion (or all) of the debt to a credit card with a 0% interest rate lasting for a year or more. Some credit card offers may impose a one-time 3 to 5% fee on the amount you’re transferring, or none at all if it’s a really good offer.
9. Mom, the Meatloaf!
Kind of like popping tags – if you browse your grocery store’s stock of meat in the evening or late at night, you can often find Manager’s Specials on a variety of items like chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb and ve
al. Meat only stays good for so long, so stores will offer it at steep discounts (half off or more) when it gets closer to the sell-by date. Take advantage and make it an impromptu burger night, or put the meat in the freezer to eat whenever you want to smash your face with beef.
10. Track Your Spending
There’s a great service called Mint (and others like it) that can help you figure out where all your money goes. Never done this before? You may be surprised (perhaps even disturbed) when you review the charts and see exactly how you’re spending your hard earned cheddar. Based on the information you’ll be able to identify some areas where you can or ought to cut certain expenditures.
11. Buy Used Apple
Refurbished Apple products, that is. Apple effectively and reliably remakes every product it sells, such as iPads and MacBooks. Right now you can find a variety of refurbished MacBook Pros for 15% off, or over $200 depending on the model.
12. I’ve Got a Fever…
And the only prescription is the store brand drug. Most pharmacies carry generic versions of brand name drugs, like Advil, which is made with Ibuprofen. Simply compare the boxes and ingredients to make sure you’re getting the same thing – probably for a couple or a few dollars less. Also, shop around for the right pharmacy because they charge different prices for the same stuff! You might even be able to save a trip and get your medicine delivered to your pad.
13. Continue to Go Generic
Buy generic for pretty much any product and save. For example, items like paper plates, marinara sauce, cereal and cleaning products, will almost always be a dollar or more less than the brand name. If you’re attached to a certain brand of soda, have at it, but for many other products buying the brand name amounts to merely paying for the pretty packaging. Time to move on and start saving.
