I happen to think several, if not most of these are really good ideas. The first doesn't strike me as particularly worth the effort, unless one starts off spending a lot to begin with.
I'm stupified that they didn't mention coupons under the buying groceries section. My grocery store lists 'savings' at the bottom of the cash register receipt. I had $28 once. Yes, admittedly it was a big shopping trip, but it was still worth the half hour I spent cutting & sorting the coupons. Even using that as an average per month, that's already $336/year.
While they mentioned credit cards and mortgage interest indirectly ... what wasn't mentioned is the stunning amount of money you can save by having a good credit score. Even doing something simple like paying off the credit cards every month will do wonders for this. OUr new landlord checked P's credit score and was stunned at how high it is. We bought him a (used) car after moving here, and bought it with a car loan. We could have paid cash. We chose the car loan for the explicit purpose of giving Peter a credit score (which he didn't have) Paying the car loan promptly on time every month obviously did wonders.
Curiously, they also didn't mention "just don't buy stuff". Do you really need that DVD? Or "don't buy expensive brands". Do you really need to buy Levi's rather than the store brand? [well, in my opinion, that is an obvious yes]. But, do you really need Nike Air Jordans? I really doubt it. Yes, there is a point where quality outweighs price. Next time I buy a refrigerator, I will be perfectly willing to not buy the cheapest. But shirts for growing grungy boys? Clearance at Target, baby!
As one interview-ee mentioned, I got our TV & DVD player 'free' from my credit card points. Out of curiosity, I check the list of 'stuff' I could get with the points I have now. What are they thinking? A signed baseball? Sure, lots might want it. But a copy of Introduction to Analytical Spectrometry? Personally, it might be interesting ... but, let's see - a chemistry book or a Canon Elf? mmmmmm, I'm pretty sure I've got enough books.
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I find it so amusing that economists worry about Americans not saving money and how this will affect the economy as a whole. Don't they realize that Americans are a spending people? From the moment we leave the womb, we are taught that money is to be spent, used to buy things, and the people who make those things really, really, really want us to buy their things so they will earn the money to go out and buy things and on and on. So, the whole idea of NOT buying anything is totally alien to the majority of people in this culture.
This is the reason I want to start a movement to gradually eliminate money from life. Money defines value. We need to find some other way to define value.
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