Want to save $1,000 fast? The good news is, you can do it without giving up anything you love. I mean anything.

That’s because your biggest come from spending less on what you buy most.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?

I’m lazy.  I think frugality is smart, but I don’t have time to squeeze every last penny out of my money.

Investing 30 minutes to save $1,000 makes sense to me – spending 30 minutes to save $10 doesn’t.  That’s me!

Here’s how I saved $1,000 a year, and you can too…

Step One: Slash Your Auto Insurance Bill
(Savings: $400/year on average)

Just because you like your auto insurance agent doesn’t mean you should keep them and pay $300-$600 more a year, don’t you agree?

That’s cold, hard cash!  Money you worked hard for…  Too hard to throw it away.

Ben Franklin said “small leaks sink great ships.”  Over-paying $50/mo adds up to $600/yr…  $600 you could put toward an emergency fund, pay off debt, buy a plasma TV or go on a cruise.

How do you know if you’re getting the best car insurance rate?

I recommend using Quote Wizard because you can get quotes from multiple agents in your hometown by filling out one short form.

You may save more or less, but you won’t know unless you give it a chance.  Most people save 40% on average.  I can’t think of a better way to save money with five minutes’ effort.

Step Two: Save on Gas Without Driving Less
(Savings: $240/year)

Keeping your tires well-inflated and accelerating gradually improves your fuel economy.  But here’s how I save $240 a year without changing my driving habits…

Six months ago I signed up for a free trial of Complete Savings.  I bought something on Buy.com and on the order confirmation page, I saw an offer for $10 cash back when I joined.

I was going to pass, but I like money, so I thought what the hell.

I noted in my Google calendar to “Cancel Complete Savings” 25-days later, along with their cancellation number (which is 1-800-826-1885 BTW).

Getting $10 cash back was quick and painless.  I forwarded a receipt email for an online purchase and that was that.

I thought it’d take weeks or months to get my rebate, but I was surprised when a check came a week later.

So I dug deeper into Complete Savings…

I discovered they offer a lot of great benefits – if you use them.  i.e. BOGO dining coupons, free roadside assistance, theme park discounts, lost baggage protection, hotel over-booking protection, etc. But I didn’t care about those.

The real value is their 20% gift card discounts.

Every month, you can order up to four $25 gift cards for $20 each – with free shipping.  And they’re good gift cards for places like Target, Lowe’s, Best Buy, iTunes, Kohls and hundreds others.

Which brings me to how I save $240/yr on gas…

You can also get gift cards for Arco, BP, Chevron/Texaco, Exxon/Mobil, Marathan, Shell, Speedway and Sunoco.

There’s a Shell station three blocks from me, so I buy four of those babies a month!

The $20/mo savings adds up to $240/yr – that’s not pocket change!

I also enjoy going to the movies more.  That’s because you can get up to 6 movie tickets per month for $5/each.  They’re also premium tickets, so you can use them to watch new releases, too!

Complete Savings costs $12/mo, but since you get $10 cash back every month on any purchase, you really only pay $2/mo.

You can signup at their official site or by buying something from Buy.com and looking for the $10 cash back offer on the order confirmation page.  Either way, you get a free 30-day trial.

Step Three: Save on Groceries – Up to 50%!
(Savings: $600+/year)

The best way to save money on groceries is combining weekly sales with coupons.  I’ve saved as much as 90% on grocery bills using this strategy.  No bull!

But clipping coupons is boring and tedious…  Not to mention it’s a hassle keeping track of them.

Instead, I use the Coupon Mom system from Stephanie Nelson.  Every week, I pull the coupon circulars out of my Sunday newspaper and write the date on the front of them with a big, black Sharpie.  Then, I toss them in a drawer, out of sight.

When I prepare my shopping lists, I visit Coupon Mom (it’s free) and pull-up the grocery deals for my favorite store (King Soopers.)

The list shows which items are on sale – and which circulars to find coupons for those items!

You can save more when you print online coupons. But I save over $50/mo just using the Coupon Mom lists and clipping only the coupons I need.

It takes about 20 minutes each month to save $50… and… since I don’t make $150/hour, it’s time well-invested, don’t you agree?

Here’s the other cool part…  I get more coupons for items I buy anyway at checkout since I started using coupons more!

How to Keep More of What You Save

Saving over $1,000 is a start.  Holding onto it is better!

In our economy, you can’t afford to not have an emergency fund with at least $1k (although saving enough for 3-6/months of living expenses is ideal.)

That’s why I recommend opening a fee-free high interest savings account and setting up automatic savings transfers for every pay-day.

If you want to save $1,000 in a year and you get paid every two weeks, setup an automatic transfer for $38.47 every other week.

Here’s how much you need to put away every other week to reach your yearly savings goals:

$1,000 – $38.47

$2,500 – $96.16

$5,000 – $192.31

$10,000 – $384.62

It’s easy when you break it down and put your savings on auto-pilot.  It’s hard when you have to think about it.

Now, what are you waiting for?!…  Put these three money-saving methods to use keep more of what you save by setting up automatic transfers.

To Free Money!

Jake

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