Saving Money on High-Cost Essentials

People are giving us advice on saving money everywhere we turn these days - but I know I can use it so I try to listen. Some recent tips on slashing costs on big ticket expenses caught my eye and some of them sound practical and doable:

• Raise your deductible on your household insurance to reduce your premium, and ask your insurer for a discount if you have multiple policies with them.
• Make sure your automobile insurance premium is lowered for every safety feature your car has (air bags or anti-theft devices, for example) - if in doubt, ask.
• Grocery shop more carefully, and to a menu, so you don’t waste food - experts estimate that we throw away a quarter of what we buy - that’s expensive!
• Delete premium channels from your cable TV package and cancel unnecessary (and often expensive) extra options on your cell phone.
• Buy children’s clothes from sales racks or second-hand, especially considering they’re going to grow out of it soon.
• Check all the different ways you can reduce your energy use so that your utility bills can fall - like sealing up leaks and lowering the temperature on your hot water system.
• Use coupons to get cheaper entertainment options (two meals for one, or cheaper movie tickets) and consider staying in with a DVD and a pizza just as good as going out to the cinema.