What if after expenses, your home business really only contributes a few hundred dollars to your income.
Could that still be worthwhile?
You tell me… here’s 19 ways – and counting — to save when you make next to nothing.
From MSN Money
Spare change = big bucks
1. Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do the laundry, says blogger LBL.
2. Save all your $5 bills in a coffee can. Or save all your $20 bills in shoe box.
3. Cash in your spare change. Many banks and credit unions will sort your change without charging a fee.
4. Salt away all those little rebates, refunds and reimbursement checks.
5. Take free money. Now some institutions, like Bank of America and even PayPal, are offering what you might call “spare changeâ€? savings plans. Bank of America will round up any purchase you make and deposit the extra change in a savings account for you. For a limited time, they’ll even match your spare change up to $250. If you use the PayPal debit card, they’ll refund 1% of your purchase immediately…Don’t let free cash pass you by (but beware of hidden fees).
6. Even if you love to save, it can be hard to sock away that cash — unless you let Mother Technology do it for you. Use Automatic Transfers to “force” savings…
7. Create bank errors in your favor. “If I spend $2.16 on a coffee, I deduct $3 (in my check register),” writes AJ. “It really adds up.”
8. Make a fair trade. One reader swapped her cleaning skills for day-care time for her child…
9. Switch from paper to plastic. A surprising number of women are mega-advocates of relying on credit cards as a way of controlling spending. Some get cash back or miles; some just feel handling cash is too risky. “I don’t carry cash, I don’t use cash,” writes Chris. “This has helped to curb impulse spending, which equates to effective saving.” ONLY DO THIS IF YOU PAY THE BALANCE MONTHLY
10. Divide the total amount of your car insurance (or other irregular expense) by 12 and sock away that amount each month so you don’t get caught short.
11. Buy non-perishables in bulk (i.e., cereals, rice, pastas, dried fruit and canned goods); bulk prices are much lower.
12. Share the savings. Bowers says one friend will buy toiletries and such at a warehouse store and divvy the spoils up with friends.
13. Buy generic instead of brand-name products.
(In my experience, this doesn’t work with every generic… but give it a try.)
14. Research before you buy. Most readers say bargains can be found for any item if you put a little time into finding discount Web sites, clearance centers, warehouse outlets and the like.
15. “Look at the Pottery Barn catalog, shop at Goodwill,” writes Chada again.
16. Fly cheap. Renee recommends mobissimo.com and itasoftware.com — both travel search engines that comb the Web to find the lowest of the lowest possible prices.
17. “We’ve made lamps, a window seat, a bar, our headboard, a corner sofa and various tables and shelves,” writes Kelly. “It’s saved us a fortune.”
18. “There is little that can’t be cleaned with (a mix of) vinegar and baking soda,â€? writes ylm23. “We use the mix throughout the kitchen, bathroom, dining room — and have scrubbed pots and pans with it.”
19. “Don’t forget gardening as a money-saving venture,” writes a green-thumbed reader. “One year, I fed the four of us and a neighbor for almost four months from a 10-by-15-foot garden.”
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