In this tough economy, most hotels and airlines have cut prices to offer incentives to bring in customers.  But car rental companies have done just the opposite…they’ve raised prices.  Average rates have gone up double what they were last year.

Here are a few ways to beat the high prices.  These may be unconventional but they will save the money.

Here’s a simple, painless way to save a bit of money. When you write a check for a payment, make sure you write the real amount on the check, Then, in your checkbook register, round the figure up. For example, if you write the check for $8.69, enter it in your checkbook as $9.00. This will “add” 31 cents that you won’t see.

When you deposit money into your account, round the figure down. If you’re depositing $34, then enter it as $30. This add $4.00 that you won’t see.

Of course, the extra amounts will actually be in your bank, but because you didn’t write it down, you don’t spend it. You will never, see or feel the lack of these small amounts but over time, it adds up to big savings.

We’ve all done it…fess up!  We’ve bought that utterly useless gadget or trinket. Next year’s garage sale fodder, I like to call it.  Last summer when Geri, myself and a couple other close friends spread out all our useless stuff on my driveway for our now annual garage sale, it’s easier to see how much money we’ve wasted on things we really either didn’t need or didn’t use.

Garage sales will net you usually 25% of the original cost of the item. Imagine how much cash you’d have right now if you hadn’t purchased it in the first place? In these economic times, we all need to learn a hard lesson about impulse buying. And think of all the extra money you’d have over your lifetime? I’d be a wealthy woman.

Are you using the old shoebox method for storing your medical receipts? Do you have to rummage through a pile of receipts, tally them up and hope you didn’t miss anything at the end of the year to prepare for taxes? It can be tedious and time consuming. If you have a dispute with your insurance company, do you know where to find all your records and proof of payment?

Take a few minutes now to organize your medical receipts and records. It is well worth the investment of time. Be sure to read my blog on Organize Your New Year—Taxes.

Christmas is over and we have ushered in a new year.  January is the time to get down to business and get ourselves organized.  With very little effort you can have everything running like clockwork. Are you still using the proverbial shoebox to organize your taxes?  There is a better way!  It is easy to maintain and at the end of the year most of your work is complete.  Remember that your accountant charges by the hour, so the more work you do for them, the more money you will save.  If you do your own taxes, you will have saved yourself time.