Top 10 Money-Saving Strategies for Boomers and Beyond in 2009

If you're over age 50, a wide world of discounts on almost everything you buy is available to you. The editors at 50PlusDeals.com track them all down and let you explore them by category or by your exact age to find the bargains you want most. 

Looking through these hundreds of deals makes it clear that there are all sorts of great ways to cut your monthly budget significantly as you kick off the new year with a resolution to save more and spend less. All it takes is a little know-how. Here are the ten top strategies to try.

See the full list here: http://www.50plusdeals.com/money_saving_strategies.php

Seek Out Grocery Store Discounts

It's not widely known, but many large grocery store chains, including Publix, Ralph's Kroger, Price Chopper, and Piggly Wiggly, offer senior shopping days during which people 55 and over (or in some cases 60 or over) can save an additional 5 to 15 percent on their purchases. It may be just once a month or, if you're lucky, once a week (usually on Tuesday or Wednesday). The important thing is to ask at your local store.

 

Read All Your Bills…Carefully

Take your next batch of bills and statements and commit to taking a long, hard look at them. As you go line by line, you may discover that your insurance company, your bank, your cable company, your gym, or your utility provider is billing you for things you don't remember asking for or don't need. Clean up $50 worth of the mess, and it will add up to $600 per year. You can automate the research process somewhat by exploring the tools at LowerMyBills.com.

 

Bank Better

The Boomer Generation has $2 trillion in spending power, and banks are competing for your business. Several major banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, and SunTrust, have special accounts that offer such benefits as free checking, better interest rates, or free safe deposit boxes for 60+ or 65+ customers. It's also worth investigating the American Express Senior Gold Card, which makes it easy to get extra cards for other family members of any age.

 

Reconsider Your Phone Service

Idea number one: dump your land line and go all cellular. Why pay for two phones when one will do the trick? If, however, you're not comfortable with taking that kind of leap, consider switching to an Internet-based phone like the one your cable company is constantly pitching to you. You keep your current phone number and use the same phones. The only difference is that your calls go through the Internet, and the cost savings can be significant. Idea number two: save even more by adopting a dirt-cheap computer-based online calling system such as Skype. It's easy to set up, and it's a great way to make free video calls to the grandkids.

 

Buy Your Vacation Home in June

Though it's impossible to predict a nationwide bottom to the housing market, it's clear that sellers—and renters—of vacation homes will become increasingly motivated if they haven't unloaded their properties by Memorial Day. Pick the town you're interested, and start monitoring price drops on your favorite listings.

 

Never Pay Retail for Prescriptions

You've probably already done the research to find the cheapest sources for your prescription medicine, but remember that most large national pharmacy chains, including CVS, Rite Aid, Eckerd’s and Longs Drug Stores, have a variety of savings clubs that offer prescription discounts as well as discounts on other things in the store. Check at your favorite drug stores to see what their best current offers are.

 

Grab a Senior Travel Discount…Unless You Can Do Better

Even in these troubled times for the travel industry, most airlines still offer some kind of senior discount. While you should definitely seek them out—and sometimes that's not easy—it's important to remember that they are absolutely not guaranteed to be the lowest available price. That's why it's still essential to take that extra step and do some online research to make sure that you have in fact found the best deal. Another hint: Amtrak offers 15 percent off for anyone 62 or over.

 

Don't Buy…and Never Lease…a New Car

Experts at Consumer Reports and elsewhere have always said that the most sensible way to drive is to buy a car—with cash if you can—and then drive it until it dies. At the same time, commit to top-quality maintenance to keep your car running well as it ages.  (JiffyLube offers a 10 percent discount to people 55 and over.)

 

Digitize Your Reading

Almost every newspaper and magazine you read offers most or all of content online for free, often with additional or updated information. Are there any subscriptions you'd be willing to cancel to move your reading online? At the same time, downloadable audio books are always cheaper than their print counterparts, and Amazon's successful Kindle gadget has kicked off a new age of eBooks, with 200,000 downloadable books available, typically at less than half their bookstore price.

 

Track Down Every Local Deal

Your city or town is full of 50+ discounts. You just don't know about them because you haven't asked. Spend a month taking the initiative to politely inquire at every place you usually spend money: the grocery store, the car wash, the oil change place, the dry cleaner, the restaurant, the movie theater. You're bound to make a few discoveries, and if your favorite shops don't offer a discount, remind them how much goodwill and loyalty they'll generate if they institute one.

 

To find out where to go to get the deals mentioned above and many more, visit 50PlusDeals.com (http://www.50plusdeals.com).