To wipe out debt, education is your best resource. Our Rescue Tips help you identify ways to save towards this goal. Browse below to learn more.

• Lower Your Food Bills
• Saving When Eating Out
• Reducing Home Expenses
• Air Fare Savings
• Car Maintenance and Repair
• Gasoline Consumption
• Automobile Insurance
• Life Insurance Policies
• Buying a Used Car
• Leasing a Car
• Buying a New Car
• Purchasing Major Appliances
• Home Repairs

Lower Your Food Bills

1. Shop for sales and watch the circulars. Many times you can save hundreds of dollars a year by buying meat in bulk and re-packaging it against spoilage when you get home.

2. Another way to save is to shop super or warehouse stores like Walmart and Sams Club when buying much of the staples. These stores can save you up to 40% off of grocery store prices.

3. Don’t allow your pride to get in the way, cut those coupons out. There are even websites on the Internet that publish manufacturers’ coupons. Coupons can save a family of four more than $200 a month off of their grocery and necessity bills.

To find Internet coupon offers visit the manufacturers’ website. For additional coupon savings you can print directly from any of the following websites: www.coolsavings.com, www.couponmom.com (seen on Good Morning America), www.couponcabin.com.

Saving When Eating Out

1. When dining with your partner order one meal and an appetizer. This could save you more than $10 a night out.

2. Lunch and breakfast specials are generally cheaper than dinners. Try eating lunch or breakfast for dinner. In some restaurants you could save more than $5 a plate.

3. Many restaurants run early bird specials. Call your favorite eatery to find out what specials they have. These specials could range from 20% off to buy one get one free.

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Reducing Home Expenses

1. Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system. Some consumers have been able to see combined savings of $500 a year off of their electricity and heating bills.

2. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. This could save you more than $50 a year.

3. Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle. Savings could be as high as $75 a year.

4. Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use to save more than $25 a year.

5. Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power). This extra step in the morning could save you more than $30 a year.

6. Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F. This savings could be as high as $100 per year.

7. Take short showers instead of baths to reduce both your water and electricity bill.

8. Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes to see a combined savings of $50 a year off of your water and electricity bill.

9. Reduce your premium cable subscription to basic cable. You could save more than $20 per month.

Air Fare Savings

1. Look at booking your flight 14 days or more in advance. While booking find out which days and times are the least expensive, and do not forget to find out about current specials. By taking this approach to airfare you could save as much as $50 to $150 off your flight.

2. Research the low-cost carriers in comparison to the major carriers. Remember to review departure and destination points. Sometimes leaving from or arriving in certain airports can cost you more than $200 in unnecessary fees and fare rates.

3. Use multiple Internet travel and airline websites to shop for the best prices available. Many advertisers will have specials that could save you as much as $100.

Car Maintenance and Repair

1. Millions of consumer dollars each year are lost on sub-par car maintenance and repair. When needing work done on your car verify the mechanic has the following:

a. Experienced and certified to do work on your specific car make and model
b. Comes with personal references
c. Provides a written quote before any work is started
d. Shop quotes with at least three mechanics that meet the above criteria

Educated consumers have cut their car maintenance and repair bills in half by taking the simple steps above.

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Gasoline Consumption

1. Keeping your engine tuned and tires inflated to the proper pressure can save you more than $100 per year.

Automobile Insurance

1. Shop multiple national auto insurance providers to get multiple quotes. Let each of them know that you are getting quotes from several companies to find out who will win your business. You could save more than $200 a year by doing this.

2. If you own your car without a loan from the bank you may look at dropping comprehensive and/or any other coverage required by a lender. This could save you more than $500 a year.

3. Finally, raising your deductibles on your current coverage can also save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Life Insurance Policies

1. Save on your monthly payment amount by buying a whole or universal life policy that has a maturity of 15 years or more.

2. Buy term life insurance if you are not interested in buying a policy for investment or savings purposes.

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Buying a Used Car

1. Once you have found the car you are interested in do the following:

a. Compare the price stated in the bluebook against the seller’s asking price
b. Have a mechanic evaluate the car.

2. An individual selling a car is more likely to sell at lower price than a car dealership.

Leasing a Car

1. Know that the only reason that the payment is lower on a car lease is because you do not actually own the car.

2. Your lease payment is comprised of multiple variables. Thoroughly do your shopping before making a commitment. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, this one simple action of asking for a lower price works to save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars off of the asking price.

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Buying a New Car

1. To save thousands of dollars over the life of your new car compare several makes and models against low depreciation, purchase price, financing cost, maintenance, and gasoline consumption.

2. Once you have selected the make and model that you are interested provide several dealerships to quote you prices. Make sure they are aware that they are competing against other dealers for your business. This one action can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars off of your purchase of a new car.

Purchasing Major Appliances

1. Review the yellow energy guide label for the lowest energy consumption and savings.

2. Once you have selected your appliances shop at least three retailers for the best price. In some cases you might be able to find exceptional savings if a retailer has a scratch and dent section of the store or by buying a floor model. You could see as high as 50% off of the retail price by buying scratch and dent.Back to Top

Home Repairs

1. You can save thousands of dollars by shopping for a home warranty policy. What this allows you to do is spend a portion of what the true repair cost would have been. Many times all you pay is a $50 service fee no matter the expense of the repair.Back to Top