Painless ways to cut expenses and save for retirement

how-cutdownmoney-main_full1Building a steady saving and investment system is critical for retirement income planning. I won’t lie. It can be tough for late savers to get motivated. That’s why I thought I’d give you more tips so that you can see how painless cutting back can be. Choose any or all of the retirement fund boosters below you’ll be pleased with how simple it is to stretch your cash, cut expenses, and build your retirement savings.

Nip the cable. Netflix offers a great 4.99 deal for movies. But your public library has them for free. Another free alternative is to view movies and T.V. programs from liketelevision.com.

Read your news and entertainment online. Magazine and newspaper subscriptions, along with the cost of buying at the stand cost on average $24 dollars a month. Eliminate this expense without loosing value by reading your news and entertainment online. You’ll also avoid commercials which create more spending urges.

Rent out your garage. This is an income stream rather than a way to save money. What the heck. Take the funds and contribute them to your savings. Put a sign in your yard, post it in area grocers, dry cleaners, at community colleges. And of course Craigslist.

Rent out a room. Aside from your garage, that is. Got a spare bedroom (if your college kid comes home twice a year, you’ve got a spare room). What about a sewing room. Dining area with a door. Rent it and start earning and save big.

Increase your auto insurance deductible and purchase an anti-theft device. Doing so lowers your premium. Also, if the value of your car is less than 2K, you’ll save even more money if you drop collision and comprehensive coverage.

Buy gas on Monday or Tuesday. Service stations tend to raise prices near the weekend to take capitalize on weekend traffic.

Need a new computer? Scanner or digital camera? Skip Best Buy and other big-name retailers and save as much as 80% buy purchasing factory refurbished electronics. You’ll get brand names you trust, rigorously tested products—many with full factory warranty. Explore big savings at

• Dell Outlet

• RefurbDepot.com

• Epson Clearance Center

• PC Computer Deals at Deal News

Popularity: 26% [?]

More on this topic (What's this?)
Big Retirement Planning Bugaboo (Random Roger's Big Picture, 1/11/10)
IRAs and Roth IRAs: What You Need to Know Before You Make This Retirement Account Switch (Investment U, 1/11/10)
The Coming Confiscation of 401(k)'s (Expected Returns, 1/11/10)
Read more on Retirement at Wikinvest

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 7:37 am and is filed under Investing Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Painless ways to cut expenses and save for retirement”

  1. Krunal Shimpi Says:

    December 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    I like your article.

    Similar topic but altogether different tips are there on my blog ( http://kruns.blogspot.com ).

    If you are interested and have time, then you can visit
    http://kruns.blogspot.com/2008/11/smart-ways-to-save-money_16.html

    Regards,
    Krunal Shimpi

  2. Recession Proof Your Job - 4 Ways To Avoid The Pink Slip : Moolanomy Says:

    December 25th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    [...] (see Don’t push the panic button (yet)). It also means cutting expenses (for some ideas see Painless ways to cut expenses and save for retirement and Financially Strapped? Ways to put more money in your [...]

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