The Biggest Ways to Save Moneyby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 10 Apr 2009 08:57 AM Have you heard of the term, "Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?" Sometime we concentrate so much on saving pennies that we neglect where we can get the biggest savings. Here are some tips about how to make the biggest impact when saving money. While the pennies can add up, why not first concentrate on the dollars? Shelter, transportation and food are usually the biggest expenses in the average household, followed by entertainment. Combining Bills If you have home and car insurance, combine them with one provider to save hundreds of dollars a year. Likewise bundling other services such as cable, phone and Internet may also saving you a lot in the year, provided that you want and need all of those services. Downsizing There are so many areas where downsizing can save big bucks. Moving to a smaller home means less mortgage (or rent), less in utilities, even less in possessions, since you have less space. You can also downsize your various services such as cable or phone or Internet (and see above), downsize your food, downsize your car, etc. Living simply can save thousands of dollars a year. Do it Yourself Make a big impact by doing away with monthly services, cooking at home instead of eating out, doing home repair work yourself (recent example at our home: fixing a fence cost $175 in supplies versus a fee of $480 if we hired someone to fix it), etc can really pay off with hundred to thousands of dollars in savings. Refinancing Your Home If you are able to refinance during low interest rates, you could really make out with tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings over the life of your loan, depending on the cost of your house. Many people complain that they don't have time to go through the trouble of refinancing, although they take time each week to cut coupons and compare sales. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: How to Get Your Finances in Control Simple Attempts at Money Stewardship Money Saving Steps to Take When You Are Laid Off Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments Community Tags frugal living, lowering insurance costs, save money Discuss this article
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