Spending Less and Gaining More

My sister is consistently buying department brand makeup and dropping ridiculous loads of unnecessary cash. I brought her attention to the fact that she could be buying her $50 facial concealer off of eBay for $10 plus 2 dollar shipping and handling. Lets say she buys that $50 concealer facial concealer every month. If my sister is making this $50 monthly purchase she is spending around $600 a year on facial makeup alone. Yikes! Lets bring the reduced cost to $12 with this glorious invention called eBay. She is now spending $144 a year on her makeup. It’s still extravagant, but it’s a lot better! I have successfully saved my sister $456 a year with a small step. In this article I hope to shed some light on tiny little saving tips that could add up to big amounts in your bank account.

eBay

Instead of going out and purchasing that $3000 laptop, see if you can find it on eBay first. There is an option to select only new and unopened items when you are searching for your products. If you are looking for a warranty on your product, skip this option and go to the store. I have saved HUGE amounts eying something in the store and running home to check the price on eBay.

COUPON SHOPPING

I know this is redundant to say, but coupons save a lot of money if you know how to use them. Every time I go shopping; I make absolute sure to Google coupons for that specific store in case there are any quick print outs. A lot of stores are providing printable discount cards on their websites. For example, if you decide to go to Macy’s, be sure to do a quick Google search for “Macy’s coupon” before you head out the door!

FREEBIE SITES

I love free samples. Who doesn’t love free stuff? A lot of sites are aimed at taking your e-mail and contact information for spam, but I have found a few good ones that provide true daily deals. I like and .

SKIP THE FAST FOOD

I know it hurts. Letting go of those daily iced coffees broke my heart as well. Two small caramel macchiatos from Starbucks were coming out to $8 daily. That is $56 dollars a week which comes out to around $240 a month. Is it really worth it? How much do YOU spend on fast food? Do the calculations for weekly spending and it may shock you.

BE THRIFTY

Let go of your pride and check out some consignment shops or flea markets for your shopping sprees. I have found some seriously nice stuff for very low low amounts. Unless you have very materialistic friends, I doubt anyone is going to be secretly judging or questioning the authenticity of your purse.

SELL UNUSED JUNK OR HAVE A YARD SALE

As the saying goes, one mans trash is another mans treasure. If you have any unused electronics laying around that you don’t see yourself using, sell them. I have taken old parts out of unused or broken computers and sold them for decent amounts. Someone also bought a junky old exercise bike off of me for $60. is a great place to get rid of unwanted stuff.

START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

My friend got the clever idea to buy old broken Xbox 360s off of eBay and repair them for money. He has made a livable income off of this idea. If you have marketable skills, use them! In closing, there are lots of great ways to make money. It’s all about using logical thinking and making wise decisions. In this economy, one cannot afford to pass up good opportunities and savings. I hope I have helped implant some useful ideas.