In 28 days, a new year ushers in and we get to start anew. A lot of people will start writing their New Year’s Resolution. By the way, I don’t really believe in those resolutions. What I believe in are goals. Since a yearly set of goals might seem impossible, I will only come up with quarterly goals. But that’s not what this post is all about.
As the new year comes in, we need to start thinking about money saving tips for 2013. The following isn’t only about savings. But it is about maximizing your money for all its worth.
Savings and Investment
1. Save at least $50 (PhP 2,000) per month.
2. Start investing in mutual funds. You can spend only $120 (PhP5,000) per month and you’d be richer at least 8 years from now.
3. If you are more aggressive, start investing in the stock market. Go to Citiseconline.com to open a new account. You only to shell out P10,000 (USD 250) initially.
4. Get rid of your credit card debt! It doesn’t matter if you have 10,000 or 100,000 in credit card debt. If you start now, you can get rid of those debt in time.
5. Don’t “invest” in life insurance. The purpose of life insurance is to give you peace of mind. In case something happens to you, your loved ones won’t be left hanging in uncertainty. It is never an investment instrument.
6. Save money first before spending your money. When you receive your salary, separate the money for savings before spending anything else. This will help you develop the right habits in handling your money.
7. Establish an auto-debit arrangement from your payroll account to your savings account. This automatic system will deduct your savings right away, leaving you only with the funds for your living expenses.
8. Don’t get a loan or debt unless you’re in a life-or-death situation. Buying a new LED TV does not count. You won’t DIE if you didn’t get that TV!
9. Read a good book on savings and investment. You could always start with Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover or Stanley and Danko’s The Millionaire Next Door.
10. Read blogs on savings and investment. Start with this one. 
11. Live below your means. Don’t spend all your income. Set aside money for savings and for emergencies.
On Extra Income
12. Learn a new skill. It could be a hobby at first. But make sure to improve your skills until you become like an expert.
13. Start a freelance career. If you have develop your skills such as writing, designing, video editing, do offer your services. Start telling your friends about it and then offer it to potential clients.
14. Don’t join a Multi-level marketing company. You may dispute me on this. But a multi-level marketing company tends to favor the early people who sign up; and then fleece the money off of the late sign ups. Besides, if you’re not willing to network and recruit people very aggressively, just don’t!
15. Sell some items online. You can start with books, or trinkets, or some gadgets. The important thing here is to look for something that people love and sell it online. You can sign up easily with Ebay, Sulit or AyosDito to start doing this.
16. Start a business. I know this is not an easy thing to do. But if you have some capital, a good business idea, then by all means, go for it!
17. Venture into franchising. If you don’t have an original idea, why don’t you try franchising? There are many companies out there who will give you the best ideas for franchising.
Food and Beverage
18. Minimize dining out. You can spend at least P700 (USD18) every time you eat out. If you do that ten times a month, that will be equivalent to P7,000 (USD 200)!
19. Instead, learn to cook good, healthy meals! You can save money, you also learn something!
20. Avoid coffee shops! Their coffee is expensive. Why don’t you buy your own coffee maker and support the local coffee growers, instead?
21. Ditch the softdrinks. You will be doing a great service to your own body. You become healthier. You even save money!
22. Save money on groceries. Remove some items, like alcohol and chips, on your list.
23. Avoid buying in bulk. Sachets and smaller packs are cheaper compared to big items.
24. Plant your own vegetables. If you’re living away from the city, why don’t you plant your own veggies? You get access to fresh vegetables and you save money, too!
25. Bring your own lunch to work. This is an extension of minimizing your dine outs. Some people may sneer at you. Just shrug your shoulders and eat your heartily prepared lunch.
26. Invite friends for potluck instead of eating out. It’s cheaper, right? Nuff said.
27. Don’t buy at the convenience stores! They’re way more expensive than the ones at the grocery.
28. Compare prices before buying stuff. Try going to different groceries or supermarkets. Compare the prices and then choose to shop more at the cheaper option.
29. Create a list before going out to shop at the grocery or supermarket. It will help you stay on budget and avoid any impulse buying.
30. Buy vegetables and meat at the Wet Market or Farmer’s Market. You get fresher and better veggies and meat, plus it’s less expensive at the market.
31. Segregate your waste. This should be the barest minimum you can do to help our planet. We’ve got tons upon tons of collective waste!
32. Recycle bottles, boxes, and plastic bags. You’ll help the planet and you may even earn some extra cash.
33. Grow your own garden. Of course, you can only do this if you have a yard. If that doesn’t work, you can also grow your garden on pots. When they bear fruits, you can save some money!
34. Compost your biodegradable waste. If you have a garden, this will make your plants healthier. Just do some research on how you can do this even if you have limited space at home.
Utilities
35. Switch to LED bulbs. They are more expensive. But they pretty much pay off in terms of the savings on electricity you’ll have.
36. Turn off the TV. That will help you lose weight and trim your electric bill!
37. Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer. Laptops use electricity more economically since it is an integrated system. If you have a desktop, you’re powering the CPU, the monitor and other peripherals.
38. Cut your landline. Use your mobile phone instead. With the popularity of mobiles phones, landlines are becoming obsolete. If your landline rings only once every week, you should probably cut it.
39. Unplug all appliances you’re not using. They’re still consuming energy if they’re plugged in.
40. Turn off any unused lights. Are you really afraid of the dark? Train yourself to be brave and turn them off!
41. Cut your credit card. I just did this recently. I’ve felt a sense of freedom! I haven’t paid off my credit card yet, but at least I don’t have to use it again!
42. Always pay bills on time. In the first place, make your bills manageable so you don’t have to pass off paying them.
43. Turn off water when brushing your teeth. Reducing your water consumption can help you reduce your water bill.
44. Avoid any late fees or penalties. This applies to your credit card, bills, utilities and everything else that includes late fees.
45. Use the timer in your airconditioning unit. You don’t really need the AC unit to be blowing cold air till the morning right? Use it for 3 hours then let it turn itself off.
46. Don’t use your microwave oven. My wife and I have a microwave oven but we haven’t use it since it was given as a gift. Why? Because it might become a habit to microwave water for my coffee, and increase our electricity consumption to new levels!
47. Use pre-paid internet if you’re not really a heavy net user. Observe your online habits. Do you really need it at home? If you’re not a home-based freelancer, better get pre-paid internet instead of the usual monthly postpaid account.
48. Disconnect from all your social networks once every week. That’s good practice for your sanity, and for cultivating quality time with the people who matter in your life.
Studying, Books and Learning
49. Go for ebooks. They save space and money! And you can bring them with you anywhere you go!
50. Watch tutorial videos on YouTube. Instead of buying expensive books on cooking, design or spending on expensive courses, look for YouTube videos. They’re free!
51. Subscribe to blogs. You can read daily bits of knowledge and wisdom. Just learn how to filter through things you read though.
52. Use Wikipedia. For Academic research, Wikipedia is a good starting point. Just don’t make the mistake of using it for your footnotes and citation.
53. Consult Google Scholar. If you need scholarly journals, this is the starting place. You can get access to thousands of paper abstracts.
54. Go to the library. Instead of buying books, try going to the library. Read there. And browse the collection.
55. Look for free journal articles or issues. Your library probably has subscription to some of the journals you need. If you check online, you can also get the occasional free article.
56. Read the online edition of newspapers. Sure, there’s something good about tactile paper. But the print edition of newspapers don’t have the Ctrl+F (search) function, right?
57. Ditch your magazine subscriptions. Especially the ones that you aren’t reading!
58. Do your online research before buying or subscribing to anything. Thousands of reviews are being written daily. Whether on Amazon, Yelp, or any other website, those reviews can help you decide before buying anything.
59. Buy secondhand books if you really have to. Buy pre-loved books! They’re half the price and twice the love!
Romance
60. Go on “free” dates. It’s time to be creative and explore some “free” dates you can have with your partner.
61. Watch movies at home. Prepare the popcorn and the fruit juice. Turn off the lights and enjoy!
62. Have candlelight dinner dates at home. Transform your home into a magical place that your partner will truly love!
63. Take a walk in the park. Don’t forget to hold hands together!
64. Visit a museum. Explore your artistic side and look at artworks with your beloved.
Declutter
65. Simplify your life. It’s not that complicated. When you simplify, you get rid of stuff. You discard garbage and you lighten up your life.
66. Clean up your closet. Those old clothes you’re not using anymore? Bring them out and free up space for new ones.
67. Sell your old stuff. Furniture, books, clothes, bags, whatever. Just go make money off of them.
68. Donate to charity. Other people need other things. And if you happen to be discarding some of your things, consider giving to charity to help other people.
69. Don’t buy things on impulse. Give it a day. Or a week. Go back to the store, only when you have sufficiently calmed down before buying anything. That would probably lessen those times that you just want to shoot yourself in the head for buying something you don’t really need.
70. Speaking of need, determine what you really NEED and what you merely want. If you’re always buying on impulse, you might not always know the difference. But take a careful look at what you need.
Clothes and Grooming
71. Don’t buy signature clothes. You’ll be a walking advertisement with a thinner wallet.
72. Buy decent, but not too expensive clothes. It doesn’t take much, and it doesn’t cost much either to look good.
73. Dress to the occasion. But don’t break the bank. If you’re preparing for a wedding, a gala, or a formal dance, look for nice clothes. Rent if you must. Just don’t break the bank!
74. Look for great places to buy clothes. Divisoria, Greenhills, bazaars–all of these are great places to buy. Except that they are not really that expensive.
75. Buy things off season. Buy your next year’s summer clothes at the season-ender sale of malls. They may be on sale for 70% off the original price.
Transportation/Commute/Travel
76. Walk a lot. You save money, and you may even save your heart from a future heart attack.
77. Use public transportation. You can avoid the expensive parking fees and save up on fuel cost.
78. Maximize gas mileage. Learn how to improve your gas mileage. You help your pocket, and you also help the planet.
79. Don’t buy a brand new car. It loses value the moment you drive it out of the dealer. When you buy a well-maintained second-hand car, you’ll save money.
80. Learn a thing or two about fixing your car. It will help you understand your car better, and help you save money, too!
81. Wash your own car. If you do that, you’ll save at least P400 (USD 9) per month!
82. Group errands together whenever you go out of the house or the office. This will minimize your trips out of your home.
83. Sign up to receive airline promos. If you’re into air travel, sign up to receive promos and updates from budget airlines. You’ll get access to promo airfare earlier.
84. Keep your vehicle well maintained. You’ll save money on repairs and you can enjoy your car for the longer term.
85. Stay at hostels instead of starred hotels. Hostels or inns are much cheaper than starred hotels.
86. Book air travel well in advance. And don’t mind travelling very early in the morning or late at night. Small sacrifice compared to the money you save.
87. Go out-of-town in the off season. If this works for you, go to the popular tourist destinations in the off season. You avoid the long queues and you get to enjoy the scenery without the hubbub of people.
Health and Fitness
88. Avoid expensive, branded gyms. Most of the time, they’re out to make your wallet skinny. There are lots of neighborhood gyms that offer good equipment.
89. Jog in your neighborhood. It’s free. And you get to familiarize yourself with the places and the people around you.
90. Do bodyweight exercises. You can do this at home. Without any special gear. And no special wear.
91. Eat less. Exercise more. This is the basic recipe in losing weight. If you follow it, you won’t need countless hours at the gym.
92. Bring your own water bottle. Those little purchases of bottled water add up. Stop the outflow of that money and bring your own water bottle.
93. Buy your own water purifier. Instead of buying purified water, install your own water purifier at home. A Brita water purifier costs some, but in the long run, you get to save money.
94. Save money at the hospital. Bring your own towels, pillows, and linens. When my wife got admitted to the hospital, I was surprised that we were charged about P300 for a pillow! Next time, we’ll bring our own.
95. Ask your doctor to prescribe generic medicines. Same medicine. Same power. Only cheaper.
Gadgets
96. Don’t chase one gadget after another. What’s next after iPhone 5? iPhone 5s? iPhone 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? Do you really NEED the new versions? Probably not. Stop chasing after gadgets! It’s okay to be not cool.
97. Make your gadgets last longer. Take care of them. Charge them right. Don’t drop them. And use them until they are usable.
98. Get a prepaid mobile phone. Get rid of your postpaid plan. It might be more expensive than you think.
99. Maximize the promos of your mobile phone network provider. Mobile phone providers have lots of promos. Are you taking advantage of these? You better!
100. Learn new ways to save money. As the year moves from January to December, always look for ways to save money. Who knows, this might be the year you finally get a breakthrough!
