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Just when you think you've heard every suggestion about how to save money for a rainy day, TCW offers nine more options. But these aren't predictable bits of advice that urge you to clip coupons, stash pennies in a cookie jar, or exchange fast-food burgers for brown-bag lunches. These are painless practices that can yield savings for a snowy day—that time of year leading up to Christmas when so many good causes need extra support. Some of these strategies are long-term; they require a year to reap full benefits. Others have interesting elements of ministry to them. Pick the ones that fit your lifestyle, add them to your current money-saving efforts, and you may be surprised at the results.

Every couple of months, skip your weekly trip to the supermarket and make do with the odds and ends that have accumulated on your shelves and in your freezer. This works especially well if you're a shopper who can't pass by a display of "mystery" dented-and-damaged canned goods (often label-less) or a two-for-one sale. Face it: No matter how carefully you plan family menus, you rarely use every jar of spaghetti sauce, box of instant pudding, or package of frozen corn that you toss into your cart during those swings up and down the aisles. If you spend an average of $100 a week on groceries, your celebration of "shelf life" every two months translates into an annual savings of about $600. And that's a lot of tuna.

My neighbor Kelly, a beautician, trims and perms a friend's hair in exchange for piano lessons for her daughter. A retired couple in our neighborhood provide shuttle service to and from the airport for a local accountant who has out-of-town clients. A cross-generational friendship has blossomed, the accountant saves on overnight parking, and the couple—who live on a fixed income—have their annual tax returns prepared at no cost.

Some call it bartering; others call it swapping services. It's an old concept that allows us to trade what we have and what we can do for what we need but can't afford. Take stock of your interests and abilities (babysitting, after-school tutoring, sewing, typing, carpooling, baking), then find people willing to exchange their services for yours.

Electronic mail—e-mail, for short—isn't limited to the office anymore. If you have an out-of-town college student who checks in by phone once a week (average chat: $6), you could be dollars ahead by getting wired. Most colleges issue no-charge e-mail accounts to their students as routinely as they make room assignments and dole out gym-locker combinations. By adding a modem ($100 for a no-frills variety) to your home computer and signing on with a local carrier (as little as $10 a month), you and your student can trade unlimited messages. Words on a screen can never replace a human voice, of course, but short notes go a long way in updating you on the results of a tennis match, the score on a chemistry test, or the status of a campus romance. Savings: at least $100 per year; more if your family is scattered and you make and accept a lot of long-distance calls.

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November/December 1997, Vol. 19, No. 6, Page 82

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