Hond Financial

Economic downturns aren’t ever much fun, but as Adam Smith noted over two centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Although none of us can say for sure when this latest slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of stretching your cash in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:

1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do part of our shopping online now, not as many of us seem to have learned to coupon-hunt on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com list thousands of current offers at retailers across the Net.

2. Use price-comparison websites like Shopping.com, Pricegrabber.com, Google Product Search, and mySimon.com to find the best deals online.

3. When you’re at a brick-and-mortar store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” and then the name of the product you’re considering. Google will reply with a text quoting its online prices. To compare prices at local stores, use ShopLocal.com.

4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s Club and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a large family.

5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing hoopla and not the products, anyway.

6. Withdraw your money from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.

7. Buy locally-sourced food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce and meats. Prices there are usually lower because the food doesn’t have to be transported far.

8. Shop at dollar stores. You shouldn’t have a hard time finding them since they’ve been popping up all over the place in the recent past.

9. Purchase discount prescription drugs at online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying less than half as much for the generic pills available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name pills at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

10. If your vehicle is seven or more years old and/or worth less than $2,500, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance.  Your deductible may be closing in on the value of your vehicle anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk yard and you to the dealership.

11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to text message, so save yourself from unexpectedly high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messages.

12. Use online classifieds to find used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are great resources for finding everything you need, from vintage furniture to baby gear. By buying from local sellers, you can save on shipping costs as well.

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