The blogger notes the price difference in the blogger’s 33 (basically identical) items compares a fair variety of products.  Although many aren’t in my shopping repitoire, the lineup does provide a nice cross section to stereotype the stores.  Sam’s Club won out at the checkout $399.47 to $406.41 making it 1.8% cheaper in the products selected.

Unfortunately, the blogger only selected 33 items.  Had she added another 42 randomly selected products, this could have been a lot more scientific.  Still, we do have something to go on and the trend is Sam’s Club is cheaper.  On the topic, Sam’s Club also beats CostCo in membership price $40 to $50.

Knick-nack items such as these Ice Breaker tins are horrible buys.  If you must have them, buy in bulk at a signficant mark down.  If they are not available in bulk, buy something else.  This product is nothing more than a waste of money.  If you want to have mints, there are many competitors in the fresh breath industry.  Find a much cheaper one than $1.89 Ice Breaker mints.

The broad issue here is not breath mints.  It is your spending habits and how you throw your money away for no reason.  Ask yourself, why am I buying what I buy?  Could I buy this more efficiently?  If I can, why am I not doing so?

In this instance, someone was initiating in an action they had probably done 15 to 25 times in the past year and thought nothing about what was actually happening (throwing away money).  Instead of individually buying a product every time you think you need it, buy a reserve to keep in your house.  This will reduce travel, intervals at which you spend money, and the amount of money you spend at the intervals.

As a rule of thumb, you should never buy anything at the checkout lanes.  If you do think you need a particular item, take the laziness exam and see if you’re willing to go back and get it from the regular shelves.  Although this is still very likely to be a bad purchase, at least your efforts prove it has some utility to you and by taking the extra time, you’ll probably save 10 to 30% on the product itself.  In the case of magazines, if you buy 3 issues a year, just sign up for a subscription.

$1.89 is a lot of money.  Every $1.89 you consume is a $1.89 you don’t have.  Over the course of a year, your aggregate spending of $1.89 items fuels billion dollar industries.  The companies are flourishing on your wastefulness.

This can be done by making sure you have the right amount of oil, engine coolant, tire pressure, and so on.  You’ll also save gas and this also reduces wear and tear on your car.

By implementing proper maitenance all year long, you will ultimately save money by adding to the life span of your car and avoiding any major repairs.

This is a win-win scenario and conserves your money and your ability to make money.

1. Generally becoming in better shape means losing weight and if you lose weight, you’re going to eat less.  Food is a huge area of spending so this is a big time savings.  (Chart your current food expenditures and see how much they cost.)
2. Being in shape means you are less prone to injury and health problems.  This immediately saves you on pricey doctor bills and if you report your new status to your insurance, your premiums will go down on health insurance.  If your insurance company won’t work with you, think about switching.
3. Your physical well being is not completely isolated from other aspects of your life.  It seeps into different areas including your financial state of being.  Becoming physically healthy can give you the boost you need to start making your money matters healthy.
4. When you enter a healthy state, you will have more energy and less sluggishness.  This can increase your productivity and allow you to get more work done.  Increased productivity will make you more money.

These are just 4 ways to save money by being healthy.  Obviously, there are other means of saving money through phyiscal health, but by viewing this list, you can see just how connected your health is to your pocketbook.

There are some costs associated with becoming a more healthy person, but don’t let marketers fool you into making more expense than there should be.  Walking, running, pushups, sit-ups, and many other great forms of exercise are completely free and do not require a gym membership or “as seen on tv” contraptions.  Also, being a more responsible eater in terms of quantity costs you nothing.  Replacing beer, soda, or other flavored beverages with water nets you money.

Eating intrisically healthier meals may cost slightly more than unhealthy meals, but this cost is far exceeded by the benefits mentioned above.  Chart your progress and your budget and you will be amazed at the numbers.

Grocery store plastic bags can allow you to to easily transport your lunch to school or work.  They can also be efficiently used as mini trash or recycling bags.  Yes, they are smaller but this makes them great for hanging on door knobs and then tying their not when the bag is filled.

Supplementing grocery store bags in lieu of brown paper bags for lunch or trash bags at home nets you real money.  For every 48 bags you consume, tally $12 in your pocket.  Spread over a year, this can easily save you $150.

My childhood best friend and someone who I still remain in contact with recently got into a wreck.  He is ok overall, but his car is totaled and he reported to me that his back was hurt.  He received $8,000 as payment for the car.  I’m not sure what litigation or a settlement will provide as far as injury compensation, but the pertinent information is he received $8,000 for his car.

So this is a pretty good situation as he now has liquidity at a point where cash is king.  What does he do next?  Upon his grandfather’s advice, he is now looking to buy a $12,000 automobile! I’m not sure which kind.  The reasoning behind this move is he needs a solid car and he’ll get his money out of it in the long run.

I advised him not to buy it.  I pleaded with him to ignore his grandfather.  Instead of listening, he blocked out my words and forged ahead with his plans.  He will now incur a $4,000 debt if he follows through with his plan.

There are so many reasons why this is a horrible purchase.

First, car values are plummeting and will continue to do so. The last thing you should do now is buy a car. Dealerships will be holding fire sales within 8 months.

Secondly, he should have purchased a sturdy used car for $1,500 or less to get by on.  There are many people who would love to liquidate their auto right now including banks with foreclosed assets.

Third, byy making the purchase he has now put himself in debt while we head into a second great depression.  The other thing you absolutely should not do right now is make a huge purchase.  What will he do if he loses his job?

Fourth, the value of his money would have increased if he had only kept it.

I’m not sure how much he makes, but I would guess it comes to somewhere around $28,000 a year.  He works for the city.

Please do not let your past conditioning guide your decisions today like my friend has done.  As I have previously stressed, save your money and greatly limit your expenditures.

Examples:

• movies
• coffee
• video games
• event tickets
• candy
• clothes
• restaurant meals

These are luxury items and right now money is much more valuable than any of them.  I urge you to save as much money as possible for the coming months and hardships many are about to endure.  I also strongly recommend you reconsider many other purchases you currently make, especially reoccurring charges.

Gym memberships, cable bills, newspaper delivery, and Internet service are charges you may want to forego depending on your level of reliance on them.  For example, if you make money from the Internet obviously you would have to weigh the cost/benefit of removing it.

If you are not willing to eliminate the aforementioned discretionary spending yet, it is in your best interest to at least reduce your consumption by 50%.  This should be a minimum number.

After you have deleted the unnecessary expenditures, focus your limited purchase power on items that will serve you well in a bare minimum living scenario.  Water and toilet paper are a good place to start.  Read 10,000 Vinyasas for an extensive survival list.

Also, be aware of other monies that may be owed to you. Some people are simply unaware that they have checks waiting for them. Recently, the IRS reported as much as $92 million in refund checks went unclaimed.

Additionally, if you have found that you have overpaid on a balance, do not wait to find out if a check comes back to you in the mail. There is a good chance it won’t. Call the entity you have a positive balance with and request your money back.

In order to accrue money, you must be an excellent receiver of it. The first place to look is to ensure that you are actually receiving all the money that is entitled to you.

Companies want you to see late fees as a part of life.  In fact, late fees are built in to the forcasting of revenue.  Don’t be one of the people that feeds them this extra money.  Don’t be casual with late fees. You obviously know why late fees are harmful to you, but do you know how bad they hurt your pocket book?

Let’s say you rent a DVD for $3.99.  You have five days to watch it and end up forgetting to return it until day 6.  This extra day adds $1.99 to your charge.  In effect you paid $6.98 to watch 1 DVD.  Ask yourself, would I have paid $6.98 to watch the same DVD when I rented it?

Stated another way, you just added another 48.87% to your initial purchase cost.  This is an unbearable increase to any purchase and a highly inefficient use of your money.

Stop thinking in terms of, “Oh it’s just a $1.99″ or “It’s just another 99 cents.”  Start thinking in terms of percentages and you will become much more efficient.

In terms of late fees, eliminate them completely.  You can not afford to pay for any unnecessary charges.  Late fees come with many purchases and in a variety of ways – credit card payments, video rentals, sign-up late fees.  To stop paying late fees, make sure you keep yourself out of situations that will put you any where close to the deadlines.

Here are my tips on avoiding late fees:

1. Keep a detailed to-do list that you review every morning with dates assigned to tasks.  Follow this list religiously.

2. Put items such as video rentals near the door so you take them on your way out.

3. Avoid purchasing, returning, or paying anything at the last minute.  If you wait until the last minute, you have put yourself in a position dangerously close to being late and having to pay associated fees.

4. If you are unsure of a deadline, call and ask when exactly it is.  Don’t put off learning this information until later when and/if you get around to looking for your papers.

5. Stay aware of items that come with late fees and HOW MUCH those late fees actually cost you.  Huge fines are a great motivator to pay early and on time.

If you do incur a late penalty, it never hurts to plead your case as a valued customer and attempting to reverse your fines.  Emphasize how much business you provide to that particular company and any referrals you have sent their way.  If you have met a road block with an entry level employee or receptionist, ask to speak with a manager.  Sometimes persistence pays off with late fees and you can take red money off the books.