Found Money

When you were a kid, do you remember how excited you would be when you found a coin o­n the ground? Well, guess what? There are plenty of areas in your life where you can “find” money. Here are a few:

Whenever you have change, put it in a jar. You will never miss it in your wallet and after a while, you will be surprised how much money you have. My husband and I were happily surprised to find that we had more than $100 in our change jar!

Review your car insurance policy. If you have had your insurance with the same company for awhile, you may be missing out o­n discounts or competitive rate drops. Your rate may go down when certain events occur, such as birthdays, buying a home, having a teenager move out, etc., and if you just keep your current policy, your company will keep charging you the old (higher) rate. Take this opportunity to shop it around. We recently found that another company was selling the same coverage we had with our old company for roughly half the price.

Look at your gym membership. Most people who sign up for a gym membership stop going within the first three months. If you don't use it, stop paying for it every month. Paying the gym and not going will do nothing to trim your waistline – o­nly your wallet.

Use coupons. If you run across a coupon in the paper or mail, or a discount book, use it as long as you were going to make that purchase anyway. If you wouldn't otherwise have made a purchase, then the coupon is costing you money; if you would have bought the item anyway, the coupon is saving you money. And don't be embarrassed to pull out a coupon when paying. The person taking your money won't think you are cheap, just smart.

Do a thorough spring cleaning and organizing. You will find all sorts of things that you didn't even remember you had: clothes, picture frames, toys, and more. This will save you from buying more things.

If you have young children, rotate their toys. Put a portion of the toys away in a closet or basement where your children can't get to them. Then after six months, take some of those toys out and substitute them for toys that your kids are tired of playing with. Your child will be delighted by all of his or her “new” toys.