7 Free or Inexpensive Items That Can Save You Money
With gas prices and the cost of living on the rise, many individuals and families alike are looking for creative ways to save money. Car pooling and purchasing generic brands are great ways to reduce monthly expenditures; however, there are a few items that you can either obtain for free or cheaply purchase which can help keep money in your pocket. Items that can save you money include:
A Slow Cooker
A slow cooker may not seem like a conventional money saver, but for a family a slow cooker can greatly reduce the cost spent during meal time. Cheaper pieces of meat can be cooked in the slow cooker under tender, and these kitchen gadgets use less electricity than an oven or stove top. Slow cookers are also relatively inexpensive. A brand new slow cooker can be purchase for $39 or less and can easily be found at a local thrift store for only a couple of dollars.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
When your regular incandescent bulbs burn out, don’t replace them with the same type of bulb. Replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Nearly every financial advisor will recommend these types of light bulbs as they require less energy and can dramatically reduce your electricity bill.
A Library Card
Your local library is a great way to have access to the latest books, DVDs, and CDs without having to spend a dime. They also offer free Wi-Fi, events, and programs which can easily entertain you and the entire family. Many libraries also offer free computer and language courses so that you may learn new skills.
A Newspaper Subscription
“A subscription to the local newspaper is relatively inexpensive and comes loaded with everyday savings,” says Charles Bulger from Currencies.com. Not only do newspapers generally come with money-saving coupons, but they also provide information to free programs, classes, and events.
A Low-Flow Showerhead
Although a quick shower is the best way to conserve water, it can still rack up a high water bill if the shower head is inefficient. To get the most out of the water used in your shower, install a low-flow showerhead. These showerheads still provide great water pressure while conserving water and energy and quickly pay back the investment you made with the savings they create.
A Clothesline
When spring and summer time bring their sunny days and warm weather, there is no need to run your dryer. A clothes dryer can use a large amount of energy and can quickly raise your electricity bill especially if you do laundry often. To reduce your carbon footprint while saving money, simply hang a clothesline and dry your clothes the natural way.
Reusable Water Supplies
Not only are water bottles filling up our landfills, but they are also draining our wallets. Americans spend far too much on plastic water bottles each year. To eliminate this expense without compromising the health of your water, consider purchasing aluminum water bottles and a filtered water pitcher. Replacing traditional water bottles with a filtered water pitcher and an aluminum water bottle can easily save you a couple of hundred dollars in one year.
Use one of these ideas or use them all, you’re bound to save a little bit of money.
Alison Laurents is a freelance writer and contributor to numerous personal finance websites including Currencies.com.
Good tips! By using a clothsline you may also reduce you air-conditioning bill… it’s surprising how much heat those dryers can actually put off, especially if your doing a couple of loads of laundry in a small one-bedroom apartment…
Here is another item: a sponge! In the time it takes to load and unload the dishwasher, you can wash and put away the dishes and save a bundle on the energy costs required to run a dishwasher.
Good tips, and I like the low-flow showerhead mention. Those can actually save quite a bit of money over the course of the year, from what I’ve read. It’s a hidden gem for saving some bucks.
Squirrelers–you are absolutely right! Minor water waste can cost you big in the long run. In fact, a small leak or drip could cost you over $50 a month (http://blog.mangomoney.com/money/managing-your-bling-saving-water)! Check out other money-saving tips and management advice at mangomoney.com/blog
I like the CFL, but I can’t wait until the LED bulbs come down in price.
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I love my library card, hang drying clothes, and my nalgene. I don’t think anything really replicates the scent of line drying.
Thumbs up for library card! Not free, but one thing I don’t mind paying taxes on!
I wondered why my house is blowing out CFL bulbs as often or more often than standard bulbs. I happened into a conversation with an electrician who told me that the old wiring in my house likely messes with the computer chip in the CFLs and causes them to fail. So until I get my whole house rewired, which is a few years down the road, CFLs are not going to be any help to me at all.
Hi there.I’ve been using my Library card for years.Not just for getting books,but CDs, DVDs,&Videos.You can read the local paper there too,& they usually have a good assortment of Free local papers to take for free to keep,with adds,community news & events,sales & coupons in them as well.Also I asked one Library who didn’t have a coupon Swap box if I could start one,& they said Yes! You never know unless you ask.I use coupons for things I buy,& once in a while I’ll try a new product or a different brand if there’s a coupon w/significant savings;but only after comparing to other brands.I save rainwater,to water garden instead of wasting water.Drying on the clothes line-freshest smell & sunshine keeps whites white.I use led bulbs in my table lamps.I save gallon jugs & fill up at water station for 30cents each.Plus I have a PUR water filter on my kitchen faucet-(filters are expensive,but worth it),for when I run out of the other,& for ice cubes,& boiling water for potatoes,soups etc.I prefer the jug kind, Crystal Clear Spring Water -for the taste though.I recycle everything & reuse things a lot.Unfortunatly-RI does not have cash machines for recycling cans & bottles that are returnable,but they Do recycle at curbside W/ trash,in separate bins & are strict about it.If you don’t have even 2 Empty bins out for each Apt. per/add. they won’t collect your trash!Lots of good tips on this site.Love to read DollarStretcher.com & 20SomethingFinancial.com too.Good advice & tips at those Websites.Give Them a try.
Another benefit of the newspaper – over the years it has provided me with lots of money-saving INFORMATION – about such things as special low-cost urban, low-income car insurance – Also keeps you up with freebie events & you can use the newspaper TV guide to help you pick your evening’s viewing. There are also recipes & style tips – & if you read the movie reviews you will have an idea of what to see – if only on cable – later….
P.S.l Check out my frugal tips @
http://www.myfrugallife.com/blog_pamphyila.html
Pam’s Pennypinching with Style
I have a slow cooker we haven’t even used yet, and my sister-in-law was telling us about all the delicious things we can make with it, so I can’t wait to try it out! I’m going to be looking into a low flow shower head, my iPad is better than a news subscription (provides an extra dose of entertainment for free), and my reusable water and Brita water filter have saved us tons of money too
Great post! I like the idea of A Library Card, which is a very good idea that I never though about! I definitely will give a try.
A newspaper subscription is the one method that I always use. It is good way to save my money anyway.
Slow cooker may not be suitable for me because I am the rush man and don’t have patience with slow cooker!
[...] Yes, I Am Cheap lists 7 free or inexpensive items that can save you money. [...]
[...] at Yes I’m Cheap shares 7 inexpensive things that can save you money. I love these lists because I always look at them to see how many I’m already doing. [...]
Slow cookers, clotheslines and re-usable water supplies, we’re all over that. Library cards unfortunately don’t work too well for me. I like to keep several books going in various places, so I’ve found that I’m chronically late with book returns. That’s not exactly fair to other library patrons.
The library one has got to be my favourite. I love the audio books – they’re so darn expensive to buy otherwise!
Another one, which is a bit obscure, but has actually saved me a lot is a smartphone app that works as an expense tracker/budget tracker. It cost me $2.99 but has saved me a lot of money. First, it helps me keep track of exactly what I’m spending on what, so I can see where I’m wasting money. Secondly, I use it to keep track of receipts I can claim, either with the tax department or work. I used to lose a lot of those before and miss making a lot of claims. In the first month I’ve used it, I think I’ve saved about $45.
It’s called Tax Receipt Log. Seriously you’ve got to check it out.
Great post! I like the idea of A Library Card, which is a very good idea that I never thought! I will definitely give a try. A newspaper subscription is the one method that I always use. It is good way to save my money anyway.