Ideas for Cost-Savings

Food

• Limit the number of times you eat out or buy take-out food. Cooking healthy food at home saves you significant amounts of money and allows you to make positive nutritional choices for your family's meals. Use coupons when shopping in a supermarket. Buy in bulk and stock up on sale items when possible. Don't shop when you feel hungry.

Health Care

• Examine the National Institute of Health's Clinical Trials website to ascertain possible medical care in exchange for participating in one of their clinic trials (see Resources). Compare costs between your health-insurance plan and a HMO, and sign up for the plan that gives you the health care you need at the lowest cost. Sign up to pay higher deductibles with your medical insurer to reduce the cost of you monthly premiums. Investigate your state's Farm Bureau benefits which, in some states, include reduced health-care costs for coverage.

Energy

• Don't heat or cool unoccupied rooms. Close off rarely used areas of the house during the hottest and coldest times of the year so you don't expend energy costs in those areas. Use halogen incandescent, LED or compact florescent light bulbs. Do a home audit to determine if your home loses heat or cooling through cracks or openings. You can order a home audit through a conservation consultant or a public utility or you can do your own assessment using the Department of Energy's Home Energy Assessments tool (see Resources). Undertake necessary repairs, including insulating areas where your home loses heat and cooling. Research energy efficient appliances before purchasing a new appliance (see Resources).

Other Home Savings

• Shop in second-hand stores, rummage sales, thrift shops and yard sales for clothing and other household items. Care for your clothes by laundering them less frequently, using cold water for colored loads and line-drying the clothes. Refrain from impulse buying. Always pay cash to reduce the extra charge and interest charges of credit cards. Better yet, get rid of your credit cards and use a debit card, which does not add interest charges to your purchase.