Driving tips

Try slowing down on the highway. Going over 55 raises the amount of gas your engine uses. Stopping and starting on the highway is annoying and hard to avoid, but when you are driving in traffic and have open stretches of road, accelerate and slow down more gradually. Fueleconomy.gov says you can save up to 33% on gas by driving more efficiently. This will save a considerable amount of wear and tear on your breaks and help conserve gas. If you leave earlier for your commute, you can compensate for the extra time speeding to or from work will take. There are no disadvantages to driving more efficiently. It saves you gas, wear and tear, and with more reaction time and going slower, it is safer as well.

When filling up, look for places that are not located near the highway to fill up. Gas stations near downtown and near popular districts can be 10 cents or more a gallon higher than gas stations that are outside of these areas. There are phone applications and websites available that track the gas prices in your area that are free to use so you can chart out where to fill up.

Around the house

You may not think changing your light bulbs to the energy star kind is something that leads to frugal living, but the change can save you anywhere from 10-30 % according to studies by energystar.gov. The lights turn on more slowly and do not use the outdated technology of filament lights. Over time, the savings can be quite considerable. Turning out lights when you are not in a room is another way to shave money from your electric bill. If you have multiple electrical appliances plugged in your living room or otherwise that do not require being plugged in constantly (like alarm clocks) consider getting power strips and turning off the strips when you are not using them. Electrical appliances constantly leach power when they are plugged in. Power strips cut power to the appliances and ensure that they are only drawing power when in use.

When you are away or at work, programmable thermostats allow you to set the air conditioning or heating to be higher or lower while you are away. 68-70 degrees in the wintertime and around 80 degrees in the summer can further shave dollars off utility bills.

Shopping

Switching to generic brands is another fantastic way to save money. In most cases, generic brands have the same ingredients and are a much more frugal option. Generic products are available for everything from soda and juices to ice cream and laundry detergent. When shopping, consider going during the week at nighttime. During off-peak shopping times, there are many sales at grocery stores that include meat and other items that are perishable. Consider getting meats that you normally would not buy, like roasts or cuts of meats that you do not normally buy. Instead of pricey chicken breasts, try leg quarters and buy chicken legs and more of the chicken. While chicken breasts are lower in fat, when cooked and prepared properly other parts of the chicken will still be healthy and actually have more flavor.

As you can see, with more of an investment in time towards frugal living, there are many finance tips that you can use to save a good amount of money, and not have to sacrifice quality of life. Many of the items you can save on with these steps are things you will not be using anyway. Though a small sacrifice in convenience, they are a bigger savings in finance.

Diane Johnson writes about a number of her interests including traveling, shopping, and pell grants.