Inspired by: Frugal For Life’s 25 Ways I Save Money. Dawn’s original article was posted in September of 2006. Patrick at Cash Money Life passed along the link to the article. It seems to be gaining a life of it’s own as a viral question. So, I’m all for running with the other lemmings;

Below is a list of 25 things my family does to save money and stretch our resources.

1. Make it automatic – Before I see my paycheck, ALL the bills get paid and the remainder gets deposited to various accounts. (Wholeheartedly stolen from Partrick at Cash Money Life, because it’s my #1 money saver too.)
2. Pay Bills On Time – Along with #1, I pay everything that might have a penalty on time to avoid that penalty.
3. Shop for Only Consumables at Wal-Mart – While not a big fan of Wal-mart, it’s still a good place to get disposable/consumable stuff. Don’t get stuff you intend to keep long-term though. 
4. Pay Insurance By-the-Year – By paying yearly, you save around 5-10% sometimes. Not bad.
5. Shop Around for Insurance – Along the lines with #4, I do a little shopping each year a month or so before the insurance is due to be renewed.
6. Buy Quality – When you buy big-ticket items, shop around and be willing to pay a little more. The idea isn’t to get the cheapest, but the best quality & most durable. Buying a $5 hammer every 6 months is more expensive than buying a $20 hammer every 4 years.
7. Ask for Discounts – EVERYWHERE. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and aside from the media portraying bartering as ‘bad’, asking for price discounts works.
8. Buy Off the Internet, With Care – Being able to shop multiple places from the comfort of your home saves you time, money, and hassle. Just make sure you buy your stuff from reputable places.
9. Free Shipping – With #8, self-explanatory.
10. Perform Car Maintenance – Not necessarily saying that I do the maintenance, but getting the regular oil change, and rotating/filling the air/checking the tires adds up to better mileage and a car that lasts longer.
11. Shop on a Full Stomach – Tried and true, eat before going grocery shopping. The food companies put the pretty pictures on the boxes to make you hungry. It works too!
12. Call Credit Cards and Ask for Reduced Rates – Every 6 months or so, I call the credit card companies and ask for them to reduce the interest rates on my cards. It’s so successful I have no rates over 8%. Worst they can say is no.
13. Use Reward Points Wisely – I killed two birds with one stone by using my Amex points to get a year membership to Blockbuster Online. The family rents movies, the boys get free games and I save $$$ from entertainment costs.
14. Get Free Books to Read – I go to the library a lot, and download regularly from Wowio (cool site, no affiliation). Maybe not the most up-to-date assortment, but nothing to sneeze at either.
15. Change All Lightbulbs to Fluorescent – More upfront $ than normal bulbs, but saves energy over the long run.
16. Turn Up/Down Thermostat – Summer, 72 degrees Fahrenheit, Winter, 65 degrees. Sweaters and fans make up the difference.
17. Subscribe to Deals Feeds – Buy.com, Woot.com, Microcenter.com and MANY others regularly send out sale e-mails. I keep an eye out for tech goodies I need but don’t necessarily want to buy unless on sale.
18. Buy Subscriptions via eBay – Sometimes magazines run HUGE sales on magazine subscriptions. I got 4 years of Wired for $12, and 2 years of Maxim for $4, to name a couple.
19. Use MyPoints.com – I receive e-mails from MyPoints.com with advertisements. At 5 points/e-mail, they build up over the year. Usually around Christmas, I lump them together for a nice gift-card. (no affiliation w/ Mypoints.com)
20. Pre-Pay the Mortgage – It’s only $50-100 extra a month, but it saves THOUSANDS in interest. Here’s where a little really goes a long way.
21. Buy Pet Medication On-Line – It’s amazing the discount between Brick-and-Mortar pet supplies and on-line pet supplies. Talk about a markup.
22. Go to the $1 Movies – For movies you’re not quite sure you want to see, wait until they hit the discount movie theatres before going. Save $7-9/per movie on questionable releases.
23. Shop at the $1 Store – Even cheaper than Wal-Mart, shop for TRULY disposable items at the $1 store (or your local equivalent). Disposable items that don’t hang around long. (Band-aids, Flower pots, other household-but-out-of-sight items).
24. Buy in Bulk, Wisely – Are you really going to use that 120 oz. can of tomato paste before it becomes red spackle?? Probably not, but there’s lots of other products that last forever that you can buy in huge amounts (Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, etc). If you do go into the perishables, make sure you have a freezer that can accommodate the stuff.

and

  25. Read Other 25 Ways to Save Lists – Adds up to HUNDREDS of ways to save.

If you write a financial blog, or just want to share your 25 ways to save, then GET TO IT! Nothing like the present.

Great article Dawn!