April 8, 2008

Feathering your nest egg: Tips on saving money

It was just a few weeks ago that members of the Almaden Community were discussing whether or not the country is in a recession. Recently, some commentators have brought up the “D” word or depression.

With consumer confidence dropping to a five year low, there are easy things to that will save money. Bay Area Consumers' CHECKBOOK and www.checkbook.org have assembled a list of 20 useful tips that can immediately add to your bottom line.

Consumers' CHECKBOOK rates firms and professionals that people use everyday, helping find the best quality services at fair prices. Its research has uncovered countless ways for consumers to save money and still get the value they deserve. Here are a few of the tips.

At the grocery store:

- Look at your travel patterns and try to visit a less expensive store when you are in the neighborhood even if that store is not convenient for shopping every week;

- Consider membership warehouse stores for things you can buy and store inquantity;

- Substitute store brands for national brands;

- Use a shopping list to speed shopping and help avoid buying items you won't need or use;

- Don't pay for small conveniences. Slice your own cheese or make your own sauce.
When you need to fill prescriptions:

- Use generic substitutes. In a price comparison of five brand-name/generic drugs, the average savings with the generic was more than 50 percent;

- If your needs are small, ask your doctor for free samples. Doctors frequently get samples from manufacturers' sales representatives;

- If your doctor approves, buy in quantity and consider buying by mail order. The per-pill cost for 90 pills is usually less than that for 30 pills. But remember that medications deteriorate over time;

- Some doctors dispense drugs directly to patients at a fee. But be aware that this injects a conflict of interest into your relationship with your doctor, since prescribing more medicine makes the doctor more money.

With car insurance:

- Consider switching insurance companies. Many consumers will save $500,some will save more than $2,500, even if now insured with some of the largest companies;

- Consider a policy with high deductibles. The savings are large, and you .may not want to collect from the company on losses of less than $500 or so- for fear the company will refuse to renew your policy or will raise your rates;

- Consider dropping collision coverage when your car's value drops to a level that you could lose totally without serious disruption to your life.

With credit cards:

- Avoid penalty fees, which can be more than $35 per violation;

- Avoid penalty interest rates. Your rates could jump 25 percent or more on any balance you carry if you even once or twice make a late payment or go over your credit limit;

If you will sometimes carry a balance, get two no-fee, low-interest cards-one card for purchases and a second to carry your balance. Be sure the one that will carry your balance doesn't have any balance transfer fees. Transfer your balance each month to the second card. This way you get the full benefit of grace days on purchases.
With homeowners’ insurance:

- A high deductible will cut your premiums substantially and reduce the likelihood of filing small claims that may result in future premium hikes or a policy non-renewal;

- Maintain a good credit record. Many insurers use credit scores to set homeowners’ insurance rates;

- Consider buying homeowners and auto policies from the same company. Many companies give dual-policy discounts.

On telephone service:

- Consider using your cell phone for all long-distance calls-especially if you have a cell service plan that gives you unlimited off-peak minutes and you will be doing

- If you don't use a cell phone often-fewer than 200 minutes each month-a low-cost reseller or pre-paid plan will save you considerably compared to the big networks.

A key point for all purchases: You save by shopping more than one company or service for the best possible deal and by getting competitive bids where possible.