Conserving and looking after the outgo of money is equivalent to saving of money.
Following are 12 ways to save money from being taken away from one's pocket.
Sale Receipts After buying things especially bulk things like groceries, one should carefully check the receipts and see if there is no extra item included and the prices are right.
I have saved a lot of money by doing this as many times the same item was entered twice, or the quantity was wrong or the prices were not right.
Sometimes a product is on sale and instead of entering promotional price, original price was entered.
One should always take a few minutes to double check the bill and to ensure that everything is accurate.
I am sure that many times you will find errors.
Utility Bills Same thing applies to utility bills like gas, electricity, water etc.
There may not be many errors over there, but one should pay attention to meter reading numbers.
If the numbers are just estimates over a long period of time, these may be working against you.
One should understand various items on these bills and how one is being charged.
One can eliminate some unnecessary costs.
One can also undertake conserving measures as well to reduce these bills.
Credit Card Credits There are cards which give money back up to 1 percent, some give points, and some air miles.
It is better to compare and see which one pays back maximum and when.
For example I have one visa credit card which gives money back starting from 0.
25 percent up to 1 percent.
But for this I will have to wait for a period of 1 year for getting paid.
No wonder I use this very sparingly.
Another master card gives me a credit of 1 percent which I use against groceries as soon as I reach a credit of 20,000 points (equivalent to $20).
Two of my others are used for collecting air miles and points.
I use different cards for different purposes and try to maximize the benefits.
It may be a bit tedious in the beginning, but as soon as one is clear about which credit card to use where, it is fairly easy.
One word of advice.
Never carry over any balance on any cards.
If you don't have enough money coming, don't spend.
All of us have heard "cut your coat according to your cloth".
Gas For Car Always search for cheaper places and times.
No name gas stations are generally cheaper.
I found that around mid night or from 10 pm till early mornings, gas prices are less at many places.
My most favorable days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays.
Some gas stations also provide air miles.
Special Promotions If one follows a trend, one can see that there are special promotions round the year.
One should wait and take full advantage of the same.
For example we find that tea (bags) is on sale at least twice a year in a particular store for about 50% of the regular price.
We generally purchase full quota for up to a year.
We also buy rice for full year when there is a sale and there is one every year.
We save at least about 25% of the regular price on this item.
Look for grand openings also which provide concessions.
Just last week at a grand opening of a restaurant we had a very nice buffet dinner for $5 per head.