Clark Howard's 5 Ways To Save $5,000

I always go veggie 7 days a week. I brown bag it 5 days a week. I don't carpool or telecommute. I have Netflix and I don't drink coffee much less Starbucks. But I don't see myself $5,000 richer.

ATLANTA -- Clark Howard’s five ways to save $5,000 in household expenses.

1. Go veggie. If you can do three meatless days a week (without substituting pricey fish), you could save $25 a week, which equals $100 a month, which equals $1,200 a year! Beans: Ya gotta love ‘em.

2. Brown bag it. If you eat lunch out five times a week and spend about $5 a clip, you’re looking at about $1,300 a year in sandwiches, soups, and other fast foods. But bringing your lunch doesn’t have to suck. If you stock up on readymade items like soups, burritos, and frozen meals, you can save up to $2 to $3 a day. The only thing you need to do is remember to bring it with you!

3. Carpool or telecommute at least one day a week. With an average commute distance of 39.4 miles in metro Atlanta, individuals that commute alone spend approximately $21 per day, $469 per month for their transportation to and from the office. Parking the car one day per week could save $1050 in expenses.

4. Watch at Home. With the average price of a movie ticket at almost $10 per person (and even more in some areas), a night out at the movies is no longer a cheap date. Add two kids to the mix and it’s bordering on “special occasion” status. Why invest your hard-earned money in what could be a Hollywood flop? Instead, consider a service like Netflix for less than $10 a month. If you hate the movie, you’ve only spent a dollar or two (the more you use it, the more cost-effective it is!) and you can ship it right back to where it came from.

5. Trade Starbucks for more bucks. Instead of spending upwards of $3 per day on coffee brew it at home for less than $1 per day and watch the pennies add up - $750 a year!


www.wsbtv.com/news/17669951/detail.html

Anyone who can is already doing those things.

Next step is really painful stuff, like giving up internet cable...

It is painful, but you live. Now, giving up my car, that's gonna hurt.

on edit: Heh I finally got a no number post, saving electrons, too!

on today's list...I've been doing all of those things for a LONG TIME! Commuting is irrelevant because I don't work outside the home.

1. I got a freezer full of meat which I use. I buy when it's on sale.
2. I work out of my house
3. Hard to telecommute in a hands on job. Not everyone works in an office.
4. Been over a year since I last went to a theater.
5. Never been to a Starbucks and never will.

Any money ostensibly saved will just go to someone else with the increased prices on everything, including beans.