• Food
• Don't shop when hungry; it's harder to resist temptation.
• Watch the cash register ring up items. Count your change. Check the receipt.
• Drink plenty of water and eat 3 light meals a day.
• Avoid eating out.
• Avoid meat - you can get protein through nuts and other food.
• Keep water and reducing candy bars like SLIM-FAST and POUNDS OFF in the car so you don't pull into a restaurant when hungry.
• Don't buy prepared food.
• Insurance(These are specific to Southern California where Al Lives...check around your area for similar deals)
• Calif. Dental Health Plan. 800 228 3384. $47/yr. for free x-rays and cleaning and l/3 -l/2 off on the rest.
• For homeowners and renters insurance, ask for discounts for burglar alarms and smoke detectors.
• Less expensive car insurance through 20th century, Mercury, Kemper, CNA Ins, or Wawane­sa.
• If You're Handy
• Cut your family's hair with a kit and thinning shears.
• Do home repairs with the help of books.
• Browse "as is" yards in thrift shops for furniture, appliances, parts, etc.
• Cars over 7 years old don't depreciate and insurance is lower. - Get parts from a junkyard.
• Where to shop
• Garage sales and swap meets. Sellers take lower offers toward the end of the day.
• Thrift stores - check periodically as the better items don't last.
• Outlets for "day-old" bread. Freeze it.
• Auc­tions through the post office, police depts, etc.
• Outlets for "seconds" and "imperfects" in quality clothing.
• Car
• Never buy a new car.
• Never buy a used one without checking its ratings in Consumer Reports Annual Buying Guide and having your mechanic drive it.
• Cars owned by the elderly usually have low milage.
• Don't buy a car that's been in a wreck or has rust. Thus avoid cars from snowy climates.
• Four door cars are generally cheaper; station wagons are handy.
• If you repaint, consider white as it doesn't fade and is cooler in summer
• Practice "preventative maintenance."
• Legal
• You can often avoid lawyers when you divorce, make a will, sell your house, or file for bankruptcy. If you need one: be clear on fees, be organized, don't call him much; and don't use him as a therapist.
• Use media­tion, arbitration, and small claims court.
• Health
• l0%-30% of doctors visits, medial tests, procedures and surgeries are unnecessary.
• When possible have all tests done in advance on an outpatient basis. Keep copies of the results.
• Treatment in a doctor's office is the least expensive. It's more in an outpatient center, and most in the outpatient dept. of a hospital.
• Some immigrant doctors charge less.
• Don't use inpatient services when outpatient ones are as good.
• Use a community hospital over a teaching hospital.
• Don't go into a hospital from Friday afternoon through Sunday, unless it's an emergency.
• Don't go to a specialist until you need one.
• Get 2nd opinions before surgery. Many insurance plans will pay for this.
• Carefully check your bill.
• Try free samples of prescribed drugs to test for side effects. Later shop around and buy generic drugs in bulk by mail order.
• Owning a house
• Vines on the southern and western walls cut the summer heat.
• Turbines on the roof let out summer heat. Cover them in winter.
• Insulating the attic (in southern Calif.) pays for itself in 3-4 years, insulating the walls does in l0 years.
• Turn down the temp. on the water heater. Insulating the tank saves $55/yr. Insulate the pipes.
• Carpet and padding cut down on heat lose.
• To the south of the house plant trees which lose their leaves in winter and shade the house in summer.
• If repainting, chose white - it doesn't fade. Buying an airless sprayer for jobs like this can pay for itself in the long run.
• Put in double windows with a high R-value when replacing.
• Buy a carpet machine for rugs, furniture, and car upholstery rather than renting one every year.
• Utilities
• Look for an insulated apt. or house.
• Heavy duty door closers on exterior doors keep the heat inside in winter and outside in summer, and they prevent slamming.
• Turn off the furnace pilot light over the summer.
• Turn off the stove's pilot light and lite the stove with a lighter (on the low setting to keep from getting singed).
• Hook up the washer only to cold water. This saves 90% of the cost of washing. Wash only full loads. Dry only full, consecutive loads. Keep filters clean.
• Low-flow shower heads claim to save families up to $250/yr.
• Turn down the water pressure for bathroom and kitchen faucets.
• Use an aerator in the kitchen faucet.
• Don't use a "frost free" refrigerator. Use one that is partially self-defrosting (you defrost the freezer but not the food compartment). The freezer should be on the bottom. Make sure it has a self-closing door. Don't put it close to a range, dishwasher, or sunlight. Don't let the ice get thicker than a pencil. Keep the freezing and food compartments full. This means there is less cold to air to spill out and less space for warm air to enter. Keep the food compart­ment at 35-45 degrees.
• Use an electronic thermostat which turns the heat down when you're sleep­ing. Close up to l/4th of the vents outside the bedrooms.
• An inside/outside thermometer shows when to open and shut windows and doors.
• Close shades and drapes to keep heat in in winter and the sun out in summer.
• A 220 volt air conditioner (if your house is wired for 220) is more effi­cient.
• Mount air conditioner in the shade and wind. Close off rooms not being used.
• A timer for long distance calls.
• A "restricted line" allows unlimited calls within a l2 mile radius for a flat rate (perfect for teens). Be sure it has additions which block collect calls and 3rd party calls.
• A fluorescent bulb in the bedroom ceiling saves $30/year and is cooler.
• Garden
• Build a compost pile for fertilizer and mulch.
• Plant things you can eat.
• Automatic sprinklers probably pay for themselves. Water only before dawn.
• A soil sample will show if you need to add elements to your soil. If you do, you will save water, chemicals, and time in the long run.
• Misc
• You're in trouble if over 25% of your take home pay goes to credit cards and personal loans (include car loan but not mortgage, rent, food and utilities).
• You're in trouble if three of the following are true:
• you get new loans to pay for old loans;
• you don't know how much you owe;
• you charge items because you have no cash; or
• you borrow to pay for food and utilities.
• Your rent or house payments shouldn't be more than l/4 of your gross income.
• Pay off credit cards lst; then get rid of them. Cut back on vacations, toll calls, and enter­tainment.
• Buy off season and in bulk.
• Don't buy anything on time.
• Don't gamble.
• No pets, except for security.
• Single lense and bifocal ready-made glasses at Sears, K-Mart, Save-on, Thrifty's, & CVS for $l0-$20.
• Save receipts; send in warranties.
• Don't be tempted by "specials" and sales unless you have planned for a long time to buy the item.
• Rent a room in your house (to earn $340/mo in Org. County, Cal. '92). Look for tenants over 40 who work full time. Rules: no alcohol, smoking, pets, or visitors.
• Rent your garage or yard for storage.
• Buy tv's, vcr's, stereos, answer machines, tele­phones, etc. as separate components.
• Use rechargeable batteries and a battery checker.
• Take your lunch to work to save $l000/yr (in '92).
• Have a certain % of each paycheck automatically put into a savings account.
• Put aside three to six months income for emergencies.
• Save your tax records at least five years.
• Look over CONSUMERS REPORT's Annual Buying Guides.
• Make saving a challenge, a game.

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