Pointing out the obvious: Eating at home or brown bagging would save even more!
Instead of keeping your savings in a jar, where it's going to be pilfered for newspaper money and lunch money, consider having a portion of each paycheck directly deposited into a separate vacation savings account. Set up that savings account at a bank that's not too convenient for you -- and don't get an ATM card for that account. That means your vacations savings are safely stored in the bank, but you can't get at them without making a special effort; thus, you won't spend them on impulse.
I don't know anything about that, but do you know about www.epinions.com? You write reviews of products you've used, and you get paid for it -- not much, of course, but it also isn't difficult. The beauty of this is that you keep getting paid for your old reviews; they don't disappear over time. It's also a good place to look for advice on lots of things.
This is a great savings technique -- as long as, as you point out, you pay it off in full every month! You're going to buy groceries, gas, etc. every month anyway, so get back just a little bit of that money. We don't use the Disney Visa card, but we use a different reward card.
These are all great tips. I usually take my kids to the library every two weeks, and I read all the magazines that I want while they poke around making their slooooow choices. You can also check out books on tape (upload them to your ipod and listen to them in the car -- we always get something for the family for car trips, and I always get a grown-up book on tape for myself since I cannot read in the car). You can also check out videos -- many of the same ones that're at Blockbuster. Something I'll add: If, like me, you have trouble remembering to return your library books on time, check out www.libraryelf.com -- it'll send you an email reminding you to return your book; thus, you'll avoid fines.
More hints:
Both DH and I are pretty bad about popping .50 into the soda machine at work, which doesn't make sense considering 12-packs go on sale all the time for $2.50. Same thing for snacks. We also try to keep small cans of Beanie-weenies, tuna, crackers, applesauce and fruit coctail in our desks; they don't make for a great lunch, but they're better than the vending machine -- he doesn't always have time to go out, and I cannot leave the building at lunchtime.
What are your health insurance and automobile insurance deductibles? If they're only $100 like most people's, consider raising them. Yes, there is risk here, so consider your own circumstances. By raising our automobile deductible to $1000 (might have to pay money), we slashed our premiums (definitely have to pay money) in half; I've been driving about 25 years and have never filed a claim. Same thing with health insurance; we dropped to what is essentially "major medical" only and cut our health insurance premiums by 90%. We're paying for TWO kids' BRACES with that savings. Yes, we pay for our doctor visits out-of-pocket (we've only had four doctor visits and two 'scripts in the past two years), but with the savings, we can afford to do so -- and we're covered in case of something catestrophic. Note that these are calculated risks; we have money in the bank and can afford to pay if something bad happens.
There are two ways to save money: Make more money (epinions, soda cans) or spend less (brown bagging, driving fewer miles). To really save money, you need to do BOTH.
)
Oh my...I just posted something similar. I'm sorry. I never read the rest of the posts until after I posted. Isn't it great though?!
Also if you sign up for the Web search thing on the first page, if my name appears on the screen like "Friend of Richie Truxillo" then the link to download the plugin should work. If you are directed somewhere else, the plugin will not install without having an ID on the end of the URL. Sounds like growing pains from expanding. Was working great for the past couple months though so I am sure they will be back on their feet running starting Monday.
