Penny Seeds

Kill your land line phone (You’re paying for a cellphone anyway!) $40+/a month

Don’t need or want this service! My cell plan provides more than enough minutes (and they’re anytime! No crappy long distance service for me!), and half the calls on your land line will be telemarketers anyway.

Cut your cell minutes/texts (If you’re not using them - don’t pay for them!) $15+/a month

I cut my minutes down to the minimum plan ATT will offer for my phone (I wish they’d make a smaller plan!), and I still have full rollover minutes. If you have a spouse or children share minutes with them instead of adding more. Plus lots of carriers allow you to call anybody in your network for free anyway!

Mow your own lawn $20+/a month

If your lawn is a monster this will be much more for you. The cost of purchasing a mower will quickly be offset. My lawn is small so I purchased a reel mower recently! So, I don’t even pay for gas or electric to power it - plus you can cancel your gym membership cause it’s pretty good exercise.

Ditch rarely watched cable channels $20+/a month

How often do you use all those movie channels? How often is there even something on there you want to see! If you find yourself having to dust off the starz section before you can use it you should probably cancel it. Rent yourself a movie from Redbox instead!

Ditch cable altogether! $50+/a month

I did this last time I moved. Comcast wanted to charge me about $50 a month plus a hefty installation fee just for the privilege of paying for their service. No, thanks! I don’t watch TV much anyway.

Cancel magazine subscriptions $20+/a year

Every little bit helps! If you subscribe to magazines that you read once, and then toss.. don’t bother! What a waste of green for something that’s soon going to be used for bird cage liner.

Cancel your gym membership $30+/ a month

Alright, so you convinced yourself you’d exercise more if you got a gym membership. Have you? Instead of paying the big bucks for gym usage invest in something much cheaper like roller blades, or even go jogging or walking for free! Personally, I like biking or skateboarding, but the later is not for everybody. (Or mow your lawn! See above.)

Kill Satelite radio $12.95/ a month

Send it to heaven. Use your normal free radio, and save a lot of cash. It’s not something I want anyway - I’d much rather listen to the music I already have.

Buy Generic $?+/ a month

Most of the products you see on the shelves that are generic are really made by the same name brand companies. If you look at the packaging it will even tell you ‘manufactured by Betty Crocker, or Kraft, or ‘insert popular brand here’. You can potentially save a lot of money buying the store brand product that is often just as good as it’s big name counterpart. If you remember the peanut butter recall you’d notice they pulled both Peter Pan, and great value peanut butter. It’s because Peter Pan makes both brands - but sells under two names for Walmart stores inc.

Shop aroung for internet service $20+/a month

Internet service is not created equal. I currently pay about $60 a month for Comcrap cable.. ouch! I plan on moving soon to an area that has Verizon who offers their DSL service for mondo cheaper. Comcast may advertise their blazing speeds that makes lots of people think that it must be better since they’re paying more money. Not necessarily true - the average user won’t even use all of that. Plus, your hardware has to be up to par too - just because they offer you a certain degree of connection doesn’t mean you can get it with your equipment.

Raise your insurance deductable $?/a month

If you’re a horrible driver this may not be a good deal for you. Personally I have never been in an accident or even gotten a ticket before. Since the chances of having an accident are slim for me I raised my deductibles to save money. If you’re driving a car that has little value you can even choose to cut out replacement value for your vehicle. What this means is that in the event of an accident the insurance company won’t replace your car, but they will pay if you hurt somebody or they hurt you in an accident. If your vehicle is a piece of junk that’s not worth the month to month insurance you’re paying on it this may be an option for you. If you just bought a new car you can’t afford to replace I wouldn’t recommend cutting out replacement entirely! You can also raise deductables on your home.

Get wind mitigation $60+/a month

I’m sure there are similar programs in other states, but in Florida you can get a huge break on your home owner’s insurance by getting a wind mitigation inspection. The inspector comes to your property, and tells you what needs to be done to get a wind mitigation certification. Basically, this gives the insurance company a much better position in liability. They will check for things like roof soundness, hurricane shutters ect., and your insurer will give you a big cash break for their peace of mind.

Pack a lunch $20+/ a month

Having a sandwich from home could save you a lot of money in the long run. If you aren’t fond of ham and cheese try leftovers instead! Buy some divided tupperware containers. When you’re finished with dinner divy up the remainder and grab it before work tomorrow. You could even freeze them and keep them for later if you don’t feel like cooking that day. Depending on how often you eat out or by junk this could be a lot. I need to improve here unfortunately! I always forget my lunch, and end up buying expensive garbage at work when I could be having something much better, and cheaper brought from home.

Car pool $20+/ a month

Depending on your vehicle size, and length of time it takes to get to work you could be spending mega bucks on this. If you live close to a co-worker ride together - you’re both going to the same place. You could also bike or walk for free, but I live a ways from my job so it’s out of the question for me.

Don’t overpay taxes $?+/a month

Something I still need to do. While it’s nice to get a fat check from Uncle Sam every year.. I don’t like that he’s holding my money hostage for 12 months with no interest for me! That’s money you could be saving, or if you’re having a hard time right now you could be using it to keep yourself out of debt! Still, many people pay out big bucks to tax places to get an ‘advance refund’ of money that’s theirs already, and they could have it  by filling out one piece of paper. Fill it out, and turn it into your employer! Bam! Instant money. You can use the IRS’ witholding calculator to figure out your allownaces.

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