AARP Rewards Online Community Smart Saver Contest

My first and best money saving strategy is to first consider the life cycle cost, not the up front cost, because the operating cost, (maintenance, service, fuel in the case of fuel appliances, repair costs, replacement costs, and so on) always vastly exceed the upfront cost. 

My second money saving strategy is to not spend in the first place.  Don’t be deceived by special offers like a percent off, especially if you’re using a high interest credit card for the purchase that you won’t immediately pay off in full.  and getting “points”, “rewards”, “gift cards”, and such don’t really mean much, as they’re not really saving you anything, if you have to use them to “buy” more stuff from them.

Download the Flipp App.  

You plug in your zip code and have access to ALL of the sales flyers from ALL stores in your vicinity.

Many other options ... Plug in a item and it searches all options including online stores. 

Many  don't get Sunday papers but this is better... Updated current, coupons, specials and very simple to use!   And it's free! 

Money is scarce at Christmas time? I have a 'cash back' from Wells Fargo. Gets 2% back each month (for me it is about $50 a month) Instead of getting the cash in my checking account, I have it deposited in my savings account. At Christmas I have that extra cash.  

My wife and I have been in the financial planning and control business for 30 plus years and we don’t agree on everything, but making our money stretch and work for us is where we totally agree.  We learned early in our marriage of 34-years to adopt “simplicity” over “complexity” to ensure lasting habits. 

Basically, we breakdown our spending into 3 easy to calculate buckets.

1. (60%) Needs – rent, food, bills
2. (30%) Goals – savings, investing, debt reduction
3. (10%) Fun – just splurge on the “feel-goods”

This simple system works, it’s flexible, and will fit just about any of life’s changes that occur seemingly far too often.

We also “label” potential purchases practically before our emotional “wants” waste our time and money.  We ask: “How many times will we use this?” 

• If a new clothing item costs $90 and you will wear it 30 times before discarding, that’s $90÷30 = $3 per wear. Conversely if the item costs $30 and you will wear it 5 times before discarding, $30÷5 = $6. 
  • The savvy smart shopper will pay more up front and save over time.

                              ENJOY THE MOMENTS, TREASURE EACH DAY!

For large ticket items like home & auto insurance, I always ask to check if there are any discounts available when I get renewal notices.  Sometimes there are things I never thought about (like memberships to AARP, etc.) that might be available, but I never knew until I asked. Also, I've noticed some agents spend more time than others when investigating discounts, so it may be dependent on the agent taking your call. 

Once I've paid off a car, I keep making the payments, but to myself, and continue to drive the car for many years beyond the loan period. When it's time for a new car, I have enough or nearly enough to pay cash for it. Saves loads! This is how I got out of the car money pit. When I started out in my career, I usually traded in my car which would be enough to pay off the loan on it. That left me where I started, with no down payment at all. I realized I had to keep driving cars long enough to pay them off, plus long enough to save up a down payment.

Sign up for loyalty programs, especially grocery stores and whatever you use frequently, and they will send you coupons. Use coupons as much as possible. And watch for weekly and weekend specials.

I usually combine trips. I communicate with family to see what is needed at a store. I exercise at the gym a few times a week. Then shop near the gym and deliver whatever is needed if perishable right away.  

We rarely use ziplocks. Instead, we put leftovers in glass jars. That way, we're not poisoning ourselves with plastic, plus saving the environment from the pollution generated in the manufacture of plastic bags.

AI has revolutionized the landscape to assist in cost savings for any and all expense categories. AI is not the end all, but used appropriately it provides an excellent source of key information. 

Second, always have an accurate up to date home budget for every line item expense. Check daily, compare budget to actual spend and correct spending that is not budgeted, unless it is an essential item. It it is essential, does it repeat, how to modify the budget to show the expense if reoccurring. Measure what you treasure, the bible in retail business budgeting.

Below is an AI detailed action plan to my above statement, after a few follow up questions I posed.

🧩 How This System Works (Operator-Level View)

📊 1.

Dashboard (Command Center)

• Tracks:
• Budget vs Actual
• Variance by category
• Formula-driven:
• Variance = Actual – Budget
• Focus:
• Identify where behavior deviates

👉 This is your weekly review screen

🧾 2.

Transactions (Raw Data Layer)

• Log:
• Date
• Description
• Category
• Amount

💡 Best practice:

• Import or bulk paste from bank weekly (don’t manually enter daily)
• Keep categories consistent → this feeds accuracy upstream

💰 3.

Budget (Control Layer)

• Defines:
• Monthly targets per category
• This is your baseline model, not a guess

👉 Update only when:

• A recurring expense emerges
• A strategic change is made

🔁 Your Repeatable Operating Rhythm

🗓 Weekly (15–20 min)

• Update transactions
• Review Dashboard:
• Any category over budget?
• Any anomalies?
• Adjust next week’s behavior

📅 Monthly (30–45 min)

• Reconcile totals
• Identify:
• New recurring expenses
• Categories consistently over/under
• Adjust budget baseline

📈 Quarterly (60–90 min)

• Optimize high-impact categories:
• Insurance quotes
• Subscriptions audit
• Utilities / service renegotiation

⚙️ What’s Missing (Intentionally)

Right now, this is lean by design. If you want to level it up, I can add:

• Auto-rollup from Transactions → Dashboard (fully dynamic)
• Category dropdowns (data validation)
• Spending trend charts
• AI-assisted categorization logic
• Cash flow forecasting
• Net worth tracking

🧠 Final Note

This system works because it balances:

• Automation (data capture)
• Discipline (weekly review)
• Adaptability (monthly reset)

Not because it tracks everything obsessively.