AARP Rewards Online Community Smart Saver Contest

 I look for thinks to do that have senior savings or senior days. I buy things at a discount store and when they are on sale.

I compare prices online, with the 2 grocery stores that I shop at. Then when we go shopping, I hit both stores and purchase the items with the best price at each store. I have wrapped my hot water heater in a heat saving blanket. I use Good RX for my prescriptions and check the prices at local pharmacies. I choose the store with the best price. My best savings is using Walmart+ for 10 cents a gallon. I also use Murphy's app that has a spin game where you can save up to $1 per gallon when you reach a certain amount of points.  Living on a meager income becomes difficult at times. 

Sometimes it is the simplist of things that can add up.  Start small - take the change in coins that you get when shopping and drop them into the bottom of your bag or purse - and at the end of the day, put the coins into a piggy bank or jar that does not get touched until it is full. Then deposit the coins into your bank account.   When you have breakfast, pay yourself as if you had gone to a cafe - put $5 or so inot an envelope or jar and stash it away until you are ready to take it to the bank to deposit.

Use the retail price at the grocery store to accurately compare prices. But also check the ingredients - sometimes something is cheaper because it has less of what you are trying to buy!

I save all my change and then turn it in to buy something on sale that I really want.

If I really want to go shopping for clothes, I go to a thrift store that has extra discounts on certain days.   I can find a nice blazer, pants, and a shirt for less than the cost of even one item on sale at a department store, with little to no wear on the material.  Take home and wash, and you don't know the difference.  There is no reason to shop new for clothing when there is an abundance of gently used items available, you are saving money, and you helping the environment by keeping clothing out of landfills. 

So many great tips and strategies have been shared! I’d add cutting the cord on all cable and paid streaming services, and using indoor (super easy) or an old fashioned antenna in an attic or outdoors,  as well as using a smart TV and downloading FREE streaming services. Just see if you really miss anything on which you cut the cord. I did it years ago saving well over $100 per month back then! I thought I would miss cable and a particular streaming service and would go back, but I got used to commercials like in the old days and now I like having them…great time to do something quick like grab a coffee, etc. I get my local stations and there’s a ton of entertaining free stuff to steam. I don’t mind waiting for the latest and greatest series/movies to come out for free down the road, so this works great for me!

Make a point of buying the things you use on a regular basis when you see sales &/or coupons.  Don't wait until you need them and then are forced to pay whatever the price is.

For all the years that my husband and I worked, we put $10.00 from each paycheck into our savings account.  Do you know how much money you can save in 40 years?  It is a lot, and you never miss that $10.00 each week.  We put the money into Retirement Annuities when we were old enough and even got a tax deduction for it.  Between the interest and the deductions, we have enough money for a nice retirement.

Use your AARP membership for discounts and purchase gift cards to places you frequently shop through the AARP website at a discount.