You’d be surprised at how much extra money you can keep in your account just by doing an audit of all your monthly expenses and making a few simple adjustments. Here are 10 tips to help you start saving more today in all areas of your life.

1. Ditch the paid checking.

Look for a bank that offers free checking with no minimum balance. You could save as much as $100 a year in fees if you’re currently paying for your checking account.

2. Don’t leave for the grocery store without coupons and a shopping list.

Avoid impulse shopping. Sticking to a list of must-haves and going in armed with coupons for the items on your list could cut your grocery bill in half. Check weekly newspaper ads, and sign up for alerts on Internet coupon sites to get notified of upcoming deals. Pay close attention to the price-per-ounce (or other unit) when comparison shopping: A similarly priced item may actually be much more expensive than you think because it’s smaller and you’re getting less for your money.

3. Resist the convenience of the convenience store.

It’s easy to pick up a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, or that roll of paper towels you need when you stop to fill up at the gas station, but you’re paying for the convenience of that one-stop shopping: These stores often charge some of the highest prices for food and groceries. Avoid paying 50-percent markups. Find time to make your shopping runs, and get your groceries at the grocery store.

4. Audit your electricity use.

Ask your electric or gas company to check out your utility usage, or do it yourself. Depending on when your usage is heaviest, signing up for an off-hour rate program or a load management program could help you save hundreds of dollars a year on your electric bills.

5. Pore over your phone bills.

Take a fine-tooth comb to your cell and home phone bills to see if you’re paying for minutes and services you don’t need. Make adjustments so you can take advantage of plans that give you the best rate for times when you tend to use the most minutes. Consider getting rid of your landline altogether: Most cell phone providers offer monthly packages with lots of minutes and free roaming and long distance for less than what you’re paying to maintain both a cell phone and a landline.

6. Keep your car in shape.

A regular engine tune-up and something as simple as making sure your tires are properly inflated can help you save around $100 a year on gas.

7. Insist on fixed bids for repair services.

Only hire people and companies for home repairs who offer fixed-price bids for work. Home repair servicers often draw complaints, many times for trying to charge more than they initially quoted once they’re midway through the repairs.

8. Cut back on car insurance coverage.

To save money on your monthly premiums, unless you’re on the road a lot, consider raising the deductible on your collision and comprehensive coverage to at least $500 or, if you have an older car, getting rid of collision completely.

9. Get new homeowner’s and renter’s insurance quotes.

Call around or get quotes online from sites like Esurance and 2Insure4Less.com. You could find a lower rate with a new provider or use competitors’ lower quotes to negotiate a better rate with your current insurer. Check your state insurance department to make sure you aren’t paying more for insurance than typical rates in your area.

10. Shop around for the best prices on your prescriptions.

You may end up having to get different medications at different locations, but the savings can be huge. Consider trying mail-order pharmacies, and, if possible, always opt for generic versions of your prescriptions.

For even more money-saving ideas, check out the Federal Citizen Information Center’s 66 Ways to Save Money.

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1. Review your credit
   Pull your free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at annualcreditreport.com for free once a year. Check your credit reports for any inaccuracies, discrepancies, or expired records and report any errors to the individual credit bureau whose information you want to dispute. Looking at your credit report every year will help you detect any signs of identity theft and help you see what actions you’ve taken that could be dinging your credit score and limiting your access to credit.
2. File your financial records
   Gather all your bank statements, insurance and legal documents, and personal records and organize them in a file system that works for you. If you already have an organization system worked out, clean out the files you no longer need and take those documents to the shredder. Make copies of your most important documents and store them in a fire-resistant safe in your home or in a safety-deposit box at your bank.
3. Monitor your spending
   Find out where you can weed out excessive spending. If you do online banking check to see if your bank breaks down your monthly expenses by category so you can figure out just how much you’re spending on that daily cup of coffee, those weekly movie rentals, and your monthly restaurant bills. Or try the old-fashioned method: carry around a pocket-sized notebook and record every purchase you make for a month. Once you know what you’re spending your money on, you’ll know where you can cut back.
4. Protect your assets
   Work with a legal professional to draft a will. Whether your account balance is two digits or six digits, that money is yours to do with as you please so make sure your assets are taken care of in a manner you’re comfortable with.
5. Take stock of your debt
   Calculate the total debt you owe between your credit cards, student loans, car loans, etc. Check with your lenders to see if they can lower any of your interest rates. Or see if you can advantage of today’s historically low interest rates by refinancing your home and auto loan. If your debt has ballooned out of control and your lenders can’t help, you may be able to reduce your balances through a debt settlement program.

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Although you probably can’t offer a job to every out-of-work person you know, what you can do is offer your skills, your resources, and your moral support to help your unemployed loved ones cope with the stress of being out of a job and help them get back in the working game.

1. Help them sign up for unemployment benefits.
   One of the most useful things you can do for friends who have recently lost their job is help them start collecting an unemployment check. If you can guide them through the process of applying for unemployment benefits, especially if you’ve been through the experience before yourself, you may be able to help them feel a little less overwhelmed by everything they’re facing.
2. Create a job-hunt tool kit.
   Give them a nice folder or notebook cover that they can take into interviews, along with a pocket notebook that they can use for brainstorming job ideas, jotting down interview answers, or keeping networking and contact information. For something a little more personal, include a gift card for a coffee shop or bookstore, or a subway or bus pass to get them to their interviews.
3. Offer a social networking tutorial.
   Help them set up a networking profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Naymz. Teach them how to create their own blog or website so that they can put up their portfolio, showcase their skills, and start promoting themselves online.
4. Donate your workspace.
   Your work or home office has all the tools your out-of-work friends and family need to search for a job — free Internet access, a computer, a printer, a fax machine, maybe even a scanner or copier, and a quiet, private space at your personal desk where they can focus on their job hunt.
5. Give them a break from the job search.
   Let them know that it’s impossible and, frankly, ineffective to spend the entire day looking for a job. Offer to treat them to lunch or coffee to get them out of the house. If they’re uncomfortable accepting a free meal, you can at least advise them to take time each day to do something they wouldn’t be able to do if they were at work — go for a walk outside, see a movie, or just take a nap.

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Credit unions have largely avoided the troubles of the commercial banking industry by sticking to the basics; they take in members’ deposits and lend back to them at reasonable rates, charging an average of 4.41 percent for a home-equity line of credit compared to the 4.77-percent rate charged by banks (“Safe Havens: Credit Unions Earn Some Interest,” The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2009). And credit unions have produced, on average, 2.29-percent returns on one-year certificates of deposit, unlike the 1.74-percent returns banks currently pay their customers.

Not only have credit unions’ safe banking practices proved fruitful for their books — they held $575 billion in loans in 2008, up from $539 billion in 2007 — their financial security and customer service appeals have contributed to a significant jump in membership. In 2008, credit union membership rose to almost 90 million, up from 85 million in 2004.

“Community First [Credit Union] not only had the best rate,” said Stephen Birkelbach about his Florida credit union. “I was so impressed with the customer service and the up-front attitude I moved everything over to them.” Not only did Birkelbach switch over his personal and business accounts to Community First, he also used the credit union to refinance his mortgage at 4.25 percent in January and to finance his truck.

Of course credit unions haven’t been completely immune to the effects of the economy; 15 credit unions were liquidated last year and two credit unions closed their doors this year. And credit unions’ delinquency rates have doubled from 0.68 percent in 2006 to an estimated 1.45 percent this year due in large part to high foreclosure rates. But the average delinquency rate for banks, currently at 2.93 percent, is still more than a full percentage point higher than the delinquency numbers credit unions have seen.

Comparatively, credit unions are “solid,” says Karen Dorway, president and director of research for BauerFinancial, a firm that analyzes banks and credit unions.

What to Know Before You Switch

Credit unions’ services and operations aren’t much different from those at commercial banks:

• Membership requirements: You will most likely need to have either your neighborhood, school, workplace, or church in common with a credit union to become a member. Search www.findacreditunion.com to find one near you.
• Service features: Most large credit unions offer the same range of services as banks, including checking and savings accounts and consumer loans. Some credit unions only require a $25 deposit to open up a savings account.
• Deposit insurance: All federal credit unions, as well as most state credit unions, are regulated by The National Credit Union Administration, and credit unions are federally-insured through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund and have the same insurance limits as banks.

You can compare your local credit unions and banks at Bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp and at Bauerfinancial.com/btc_ratings.asp, where you can review a credit union’s financial health based on its capital ratio, loan delinquency, and liquidity numbers.

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Spurred on by an unemployment rate that could reach an unprecedented 8 percent this year, consumer spending fell six straight months ending in December, dropping to a low 3.5-percent annual pace last year. The Christian Science Monitor reports that consumers haven’t pulled out of the local economy to this extent since the recession of 1974 (“In Tough Times, U.S. Consumers Forging New Behaviors,” Feb. 2, 2009).

At the same time, consumer savings levels — which jumped to a six-year high in the final quarter of 2008 — are expected to take a sharp upward turn this year, the Commerce Department reports, now that a leveling off of home values and a drying up of credit markets have prevented consumers from being able to borrow like they used to.

While Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics, doesn’t expect personal savings levels to reach 8-to-10 percent of disposable income as was the case before the 1990s, he points to the 3.6-percent savings rate seen in December as an indicator of a more realistic picture.

“We’re going to see a new consumer emerge from this rubble,” Mayland said.

Boosting Consumer Spending Will Require Major Changes

Economists predict an upturn in consumer spending this year, but almost half of all Americans surveyed this month in a Diageo/Hotline Poll still say that they don’t expect the economy to get back on track for at least another two to four years.

And while the proposed stimulus package facing Congress is intended to encourage consumer spending, experts say consumers won’t start spending again until investor and consumer confidence is jumpstarted by a few key shifts in market trends:

• A cut in taxes that, under the stimulus package, would be reflected in employees’ pay stubs
• A freeing up of credit allowing for more consumers to refinance their mortgages
• A stemming of home price declines and home foreclosures
• An increase in incentive programs offered by businesses that entice consumers to spend

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But card holders have seen little effort by credit card companies to encourage consumer spending, until now. Certain credit card companies are beefing up their rewords programs to attract new customers, The Wall Street Journal reports (“Spend a Little, Save a Little,” Jan. 16, 2009).

3 Credit Card Rewards Programs With Flexible Options

While most credit card rewards programs usually only offer 1 percent cash back on your purchases, says Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, a credit card comparison site, two of the following programs offer 2 percent cash back rewards:

Wells Fargo Home Rebate Card

The Offer: 1% cash back whenever you use your card. Wells Fargo will apply your rewards earnings toward your mortgage loan principal in $25 increments. Rewards apply to most Wells Fargo mortgages.
The Fine Print: No cap on awards.
The Interest Rate: 10.65% to 21.65% after low introductory APR.

Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card

The Offer: 2% cash back whenever you use your card. Fidelity will deposit reward earnings in $50 increments to your Fidelity IRA account, which you can redeem for merchandise and travel rewards.
The Fine Print: No monthly service fees, no annual fee, and no cap on reward points that can be earned or redeemed.
The Interest Rate: 16.99% after low introductory APR.

Schwab Bank Investment First Visa Signature Card

The Offer: 2% cash back whenever you use your card. Schwab will automatically deposit your reward earnings each month into your Schwab One brokerage account. If you choose not to invest your rewards earnings, you can withdraw them as cash funds.
The Fine Print: No monthly service fee, no cap on awards, no annual fee, and no minimum balance requirement.
The Interest Rate: 14.99% after low introductory APR.

These reward programs are unique, says Arnold, “That’s a big carrot they’re dangling. It’s unusual to see two cards with such aggressive rebates.”

Do Your Research Before Buying In

Before jumping into a credit card rewards program, you should remember three key things:

1. Credit card companies can scale back rewards offers at any time.
2. Investment options and associated fees that go along with a rewards program will have to make sense with your spending profile. If you rarely charge purchases, preferring to pay in cash instead, a rewards card may not make sense for you.
3. Once enrolled, you should pay off your balance every month to avoid paying the high interest rates that can be associated with these types of rewards programs.

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To help your own kids learn how to handle money responsibly and to help them avoid the financial pitfalls you’ve made, you may want to start laying a foundation early on:

1. Begin with an allowance.
   Give your kids a weekly allowance in return for doing household chores so they get a firsthand idea of the value of money: having it, spending it, and saving it.

   Let them know that whatever allowance money they earn is theirs to spend as they please, but be sure to emphasize the fact that just because there’s money in their “piggy bank,” it doesn’t mean they have to spend it. Managing a small amount of money as a child may go a long way in establishing healthy financial habits as an adult.

2. Have them get a part-time job.
   Suggest that your kids get a part-time job once they’re of working age. A part-time job can be a real character builder and it can help teach your children the value of money and all that comes with earning it, including paying federal and state taxes.
3. Teach them about the benefit of savings.
   Advise your kids to start setting aside a significant portion of their allowance or what they earn from their job as savings. Point out that the more they save, the quicker and easier it will be for them to get that new iPod, Xbox game, or car they’ve been wanting.

   Take them to the bank to set up an interest-bearing savings account when they’re ready. Encourage them to make regular deposits and be sure to explain how their savings can grow significantly over time as their bank pays them monthly interest.

4. Ask them to contribute.
   Require that your kids start pitching in toward their own personal expenses once they get a part-time job. Ask them to pay for all or a portion of their cell-phone bill or of driving costs on the family vehicle they use, which can include gas, insurance, or the car payment.

   This extra financial responsibility will help them learn how to budget since they’ll have to set money aside for these individual expenses, a skill that will come in handy when they’re in college and on their own.

5. Tell them the truth about credit cards.
   Teach your kids about credit cards before they’re bombarded by all kinds of credit offers at college. Stress that credit cards should only be used in emergencies and encourage them to use a debit card tied to their checking account to cover monthly expenses.

Warn them about the dangers of racking up monthly charges on their credit card, including interest and other fees that may take them years to pay off if they’re making only minimum payments.

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We’ve gotten so comfortable with our spendthrift ways, charging whatever we want onto our credit cards no matter the cost, that our sudden inability to buy on the fly has hit at the core of our personal identity, spawning feelings of depression and a barrage of irrational behaviors.

“We don’t buy products, we buy feelings. We’re buying the anticipation of the feeling that we think that product or service is going to give us,” Vaccaro said. “People start seeing their economic situation change, and it stimulates a sort of survival panic.”

Because our identities have been tied to our material possessions for so long, some mental health experts are anticipating that we may begin rebelling against these forced lifestyle changes by shopping more or even resorting to theft or violence.

But, Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, says stealing and aggression aren’t acceptable or healthy responses, and that this is the perfect opportunity for us to reform our old ways and establish new patterns for defining self happiness.

3 Strategies to Help You Ditch Your Spend-Happy Ways

Although the downturn may be painful, Vaccaro says, it represents a chance for us to become “a more discerning consumer” and move away from “irrational” and “careless” consumerism.

Here are three strategies to help you relearn how to buy only what is necessary:

1. Stop and think about every purchase. Step away from an item for a few minutes or even leave the store to avoid making an impulse buy. Taking the time to breathe may help you realize that despite today’s bargain basement prices on flat-screen TVs, or on a new car, these “status symbols” may not be necessities.
2. Take advantage of stores’ on-hold policies. If you don’t think you can stand the anxiety of walking away from an item for fear that it will be snatched up, put the item on hold as long as the store will allow. You may forget about the item altogether, which means you didn’t really need it, but if you decide to buy it, the store will have it waiting for you.
3. Keep the price tags on and keep a shopping journal. Write down all your purchases and their costs. When buying items that aren’t necessities, note how you felt when you bought the item. Check your entry a week later and see if you still feel the same excitement for that item now that you own it. If your feelings have changed and the item has lost its luster, you can return it with the price tag intact.

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Online retailers in particular, hoping to lure spending-weary consumers who might be enticed to buy only if the price is right, are offering steep discounts with coupons and secret codes.

Consumers just have to be willing to “punch in a secret code or visit a rebate site for a ‘referral’ before loading up their virtual cart,” writes Claire Cain Miller for The New York Times (“In Lean Times, Online Coupons Are Catching On,” Nov. 26, 2008).

Before you spend another dime, check out these websites to see if you can score a discount for your grocery store or favorite retailer:

1. RetailMeNot.com. Find coupons for more than 20,000 stores from grocery stores to clothing retailers, and see how other consumers rate the reliability of the coupons.
2. FatWallet.com. Sign up to get cash back when you make purchases from any one of FatWallet’s affiliate “Cash Back” stores.
3. CouponMom.com. Find discounts that could help you cut your grocery bill in half.
4. CouponCode.com. Print out coupons and find free shipping deals for everything from school supplies, to shoes, to electronics.
5. CouponCabin. Browse the site’s “deals expiring soon” category to get last-minute savings for online merchants, or sign up for weekly e-mails on new coupon deals.

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