Saving Money Tips on Big Items

Why would I talk about saving money tips on big items on investing website? In order to invest well, you have to have extra money to invest. Many people end up spending more than they earn and don't end up with anything left to invest with. Or, even worse, they take on debt to invest. Or, in the worse possible scenario that more than a few people are doing, they take out credit card debt to "invest" in speculative stocks. The second and third categories of people will likely end up losing more than they make (there will be some lucky ones). Here are some saving money tips on big items to keep you out of all three categories of people.

First and foremost, you can save HUGE with your housing decision. Renting may be best for you if you plan on moving within about two years or you just don't have the time and effort left over at the end of the day to keep up a house (even a new house has far more maintenance costs than a rental). One of the biggest keys is to make sure you shop around. I like zillow.com for buying a house and hotpads.com for renting because I can pan and zoom the maps to areas where want to live.

When buying or renting, don't be afraid to ask for a better deal. I once saved $200 a month on my rent simply by asking. Also, there is a property across the street from where I live has been on sale for well over a year and I bet if someone asks them if they were willing to take a much lower offer, they would seriously consider it.

Another big place I believe most people overspend on is their car. Again, it's very important to shop around, but it is also important in this case to check out reviews. I bought a car last year and when I set out to buy, I was wanting to buy a 2 to 4-year-old used civic or corolla. However, when doing the research on where I can get my best bang for my buck, I discover that Hyundai had made significant improvements in the last 10 years and were now about as reliable as a Civic or Corolla and much, much cheaper. On top of that was the fact that many dealerships really want to get rid of their new cars so they were giving law urge cash back offers. As a result, I bought a brand-new Hyundai for the same price that I could've bought a three-year-old Civic with 50,000 miles on it with a better warranty.

Dealerships also try to make you not realize how much a car really costs by quoting monthly payments. Don't be fooled by this. Always look at the bottom line of how much you will actually pay for the car. If you can buy the car with cash. Or, even better, by it with rewards credit card and pay off immediately.

Also, don't trade your old car in. You can almost always get a lot more money selling it yourself with a little extra effort.

Many people can also save big on medical expenses. First of all, if you're prepared to pay large medical expenses, such as for surgeries, upfront then simply asking for a 25% or so discount will usually save you a ton of money. Again, simply asking for a better deal can yield big results and costs you nothing.

Another way to save on medical expenses is to take advantage of flexible spending accounts if your company provides them. With flexible spending, basically, you can pay for medical expenses and childcare over the course of a year tax-free. I save thousands of dollars a year alone with these accounts.

The central themes of the saving money tips on big items are asking for a better deal and doing thorough research. A few hours of time and a little bit courage can save you thousands of dollars. With those extra thousands of dollars you can invest a lot more money or get out from under credit card debt to allow for intelligent investing.

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