Buy Like Buffett

Following a few simple energy conservation tips can save you money on your home heating and cooling bills. Unplug electrical items (computers, cell phone chargers, and DVD players) when not in use. These items drain electricity and increase energy costs. Remember to turn off your air conditioner whenever you leave the house. There is no reason for the air conditioner to be blasting cold air when no one is there to enjoy it. During the winter turn the thermostat down. A 5 degree drop in temperature represents a 15% savings. Make the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs are better for the environment and cut down on energy costs.

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Increasing the deductible on your insurance will decrease your monthly insurance bill. Car insurance and home insurance policies normally place your deductible as low as $250. While a low deductible means that you pay less out of pocket for accidents, it also means higher monthly payments. Insure.com estimates that raising your deductible to $500 will save you 12% and to $1,000 will save you 24% A good rule of thumb is to keep your deductible at $1,000. If you have a well funded emergency savings account, you should be able to cover any small accidents under $1,000. Besides when your insurance company pays a claim, your monthly rates are likely to increase as well. Do you really want to pay higher premiums for a $300 incident?

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Now that you have a cell phone with unlimited services, you can get rid of your old landline service. It is possible today to survive without home telephone service. Landlines used to be necessary for alarm services. Not anymore. Most modern alarm systems offer wireless monitoring making a landline unnecessary. What if your cell phone service at home is spotty? If you get poor reception at home, consider a dual mode Wi-Fi cellular phone. Dual phones have the ability to make calls over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. This should give you strong signal use from home. If getting rid of your landline service is not an option, than you can scale your service back. You can get a basic plan for $19.99 a month.

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Here is a list of the highest interest rates on a savings account for the month of March.

These large retailers are offering some of the best after Christmas deals.

Home Depot

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26 to Dec. 31

The building store is offering several promotional rebates, including $300 off two or more select General Electric appliances, and up to 30 percent off select Dirt Devil products.

For more information, visit homedepot.com

Macy’s

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26 to mid-January

The largest department-store chain in the country will offer shoppers clearance prices on fall items such as diamond earrings, bedding and appliances. Discounts will reach 75 percent off.

Wal-Mart

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26, until supplies last

Despite the fact that it’s doing better than others — December sales are expected to increase by 3 percent in North America — this big-box still needs to rid itself of much 2008 inventory. Shoppers will see reductions of up to 80 percent off certain jewelry, appliances and toys, as well as Christmas decorations.

For more information, visit walmart.com.

Target

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26, until supplies last

Women’s clothing designer Thakoon Panichgul’s GO International collection for Target hits stores Dec. 28, which means you’ll find previous GO designer Jonathan Saunder’s collection reduced by up to 90 percent. Other discounts include markdowns on appliances, Nintendo DS games ($25 each) and 50 percent off certain toys.

For more information, visit target.com.

Sears

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26 to Jan. 3

Along with home appliances, shoppers will see discounts on fine jewelry — up to 70 percent off — and certain models of treadmills, which will be discounted by up to 40 percent off. On New Year’s Day, further discounts will occur.

For more information, visit sears.com.

Circuit City

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26, until supplies last

This bankrupt electronics store bought too much inventory for fall 2008 and now needs to liquidate that overabundance. However, for after-holiday shoppers, the company’s downfall means can’t-be-beat discounts starting Dec. 26 at still-open stores as well as online, including yet-to-be announced markdowns on already-discounted laptops, flat-screen TVs and digital cameras.

For more information, visit circuitcity.com.

Saks Fifth Avenue

Nationwide and Online
Dec. 26 to mid-January

This struggling high-end department store–November 2008 same-store sales were down 5% from November 2007–will offer shoppers jaw-dropping discounts on designer shoes and clothes, with up to 90% off Marc Jacobs pumps and 60% off up-and-coming designer Brian Reyes’ cocktail dresses.

For more information, visit www.saks.com.

This was taken from an article at Forbes. The complete article can be found here.

Photo by The Consumerist

Each week I will offer a savings tip to help you save some extra cash. This week’s tip: Use the extra money that you are saving on gas and place those savings in a high yield savings account. Gas prices have dropped sharply from their highs of this past summer. The average price for gas in my state has dropped from over $4.00 a gallon to $1.89. Just 6 months ago I was paying $75 to fill my gas tank up. Today $35 will give me a full tank of gas. I am taking the difference between what I used to pay for gas and what I am paying now and using it to build up my savings account. This tip can be used by anyone with a car. Pretend as if fuel prices are still $4.00 per gallon and deposit the extra money in your savings. This is a quick way to save some cash. So far I have been able to save $160 a month. Try it out. It works!