Currently, the saving rate of the average American is near zero, and not only does this impact all of us on a personal basis, it could spell trouble for future economic recovery.
Financial institutions throughout the country are coming together to celebrate “America Saves Week” and promote better savings behavior. This year’s theme is “Set a goal, make a plan, save automatically.” Great advice. You’re going to get a lot of useful savings tips this week, so I thought I’d highlight some of the more, say, unusual ways to save a dime. (And trust me—I’m not endorsing any of them.)
- Cable channel TLC has received a lot of attention for its show Extreme Couponing. But last December, they premiered a new show called Extreme Cheapskates. Before today, I had only seen about five minutes of the show, which featured a gentleman preparing a goat head for dinner. I haven’t tuned in since. In this clip, another “frugal” gentleman goes dumpster diving for his wife’s anniversary present. Honestly, his wife is a saint.
- Today, the average price of a wedding is well north of $25,000, and many couples are looking for ways to save a little cash. How about a little subtle product placement? Maybe some ads in your wedding program? Mint.com looks at the trend of sponsored weddings.
- We used to have a couple of cats in addition to our beagle, and the cat hair over everything drove me insane. Now, I’ve come to see the folly of my ways. Rather than foolishly buying a new sweater, I could have knitted one using the pet hair lying around the house. (Ok—I couldn’t even type that without cringing. Ew.)
Seriously, though, some of the other Wells Fargo blogs have some great information and tips posted—take some time to check them out. And if you have your own unique ways of saving, let us know in the comments section below.
February 27, 2012 8:30 AM | Reply
When I have a coupon for a fast food restaurant where its says "Buy one get one free," or "Free with any purchase," I'll find some stranger waiting to order and ask them to use the coupon, but give me the free item. Usually they're kind enough to do it as they realise that they're not spending extra.
February 27, 2012 2:40 PM | Reply
Very smart, although sometimes it must be a struggle to find someone who is ordering the same thing you are. Most of the “buy one get one free” coupons in our house go unused because we can’t all agree to eat the same thing. (Unless it’s chicken nuggets. Then it’s unanimous. Surprisingly, we don’t get many BOGO coupons for that…)