Save money, save time, and save the environment by paying your bills electronically

Comcast internet
AT&T telephone
DirecTV
Gas and Electricity
Water
Garbage
Credit card
Car insurance
Cell phone x 2

I save 39 cents in stamps x 10 bills every month because I pay all my bills via online banking.

OK, it's only $3.9 a month in savings, but I don't have to drive to the post office, buy stamps, and I never forget to drop the bills in the mail any more. And I save trees and free up time to do other stuff, like watch TV.

I use Citibank for my online banking, but almost every major bank has some sort of online banking available. Many of the payments are done electronically, so you can pay the day before a bill is due, in some cases. But check on that part.

Save money by saving gas. Easy things you can do.

Gas is about $4.70 a gallon where I live. Yeeouch!

My tank holds about 13 gallons and when I fill up when empty, it costs me $61.

Every time I fill up I calculate my fuel economy, by looking at my trip counter and dividing that by the number of gallons I put in to the tank. Yesterday I filled my tank with 11.5 gallons and my trip counter read 305 miles, so I got 26.5 miles per gallon (305/11.5 = 26.5). Then I make certain I zero the trip counter again, so that I can keep track of my fuel economy until the next time I fill up.

If you see your fuel economy suddenly drop, check your tires to see if they're inflated properly. This is probably the #1 reason for an average of 3-4% lower fuel economy. One month of driving with 4% lower fuel economy would mean I frittered away $12 worth of gas. I didn't care too much when prices at the pump were $2.5, but at $4.7 I do.

The next time your car goes in for service, ask them to check your air filter. A dirty air filter makes the engine less efficient, would you believe by up to 10%! A month of 10% less efficiency would mean $31 for me.

Oh, and if you like peeling out at stop signs and driving 85mph, this message is not for you.

Get your next vacation to Hawaii free

Find out which airline you take most frequently. Make sure you sign-up for their loyalty program which will typically give you 1 point for every mile flown.

Now be sure you try and take the same airline every single time you travel to focus your miles collecting effort!

I only wish I had done this during the time I was in college. I would take two 15 hour roundtrips a year back home to see my folks, but I would take one of a few airlines, so I never bothered to sign-up for their mileage programs. That's about 70,000 miles or a free international ticket to Europe from the U.S., with 20,000 miles to spare.

It's worth-it folks.

I recently used my accumulated miles for a week at the Ko Olina Marriott in Hawaii -- FREE. You can't beat that satisfaction.

The airline loyalty program I try to stick to is United's Mileage Plus, since they serve most of the destinations I travel to.

Sometimes I can't avoid it and fly American Airlines, but I still make certain I'm in their program because AAdvantage offers magazine subscriptions in exchange for miles. Win, win.

Here are links to some of the major airline loyalty programs:

United Mileage Plus
American Airlines AAdvantage
Delta SkyMiles
US Airways DividendMiles
Southwest Airlines RapidRewards
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

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Do you drink a Starbucks coffee every day? You can save almost $500 in the first year by doing this

This is an easy one, but the habit is hard to break. I used to get a large (or 'Venti') Americano every day. Sometimes I would get 2.

Until I did the math... drinking just one of them every day costs me $2.5 x 365 = $913 for the year!

So I decided to cut back. It wasn't easy because there's something about getting an espresso made for you, but I did it anyway. I have the occasional lapse and pay for my coffee, but it's become sporadic and more of a treat than a habit.

The big question for me was whether to get an espresso machine or a single cup maker. I decided to go with the single cup coffee maker, the Cuisinart Cup-O-Matic. Coffee doesn't just sit in a glass container all day, but it's made fresh from grounds, eliminating that burnt taste. So far I like it.

My machine cost me $199, and assuming I'm a fiend and go through 2 bags of coffee a month at $10 each, that comes to $199 + ($10 x 2 x 12) = $439.

In the first year I will have saved $474!

How's that for money saving mojo.

Get rid of that PSP or PS2 or digital camera you NEVER use

Well, don't throw it away, but instead auction it off on eBay and get back some of what you originally paid.

I bought a Sony PSP in Tokyo in December 2004, and I've used it about, oh, 10 times since then. So it's been gathering dust in a drawer, but still in perfect condition. I also have a handful of games for it.

To clear up space, and a little clutter, and make a little money at the same time, I put it up for auction on eBay.

I received about $20 for the 3 games, but hey, I would've probably thrown them away next year. And I'm hoping my PSP sells for $100 or so. That, I could probably still use for a few years, but chances are I won't.

Even if you don't have a box for these old, useful gadgets lying around the house, make sure they work, take good photos, describe them honestly and accurately, and put them up for auction on eBay. Most of you have already done this, but if you haven't, you can sign up for eBay here.

I look around and I see a digital movie camera I never use, an old Blackberry, and an iPod mini... time to get working.

Don't forget to charge a realistic shipping fee. At the very least, you sell the item for peanuts, but you don't lose out on shipping!

A choice cut of fish for cheap

At Whole Foods' seafood section, you'll often see Fresh Atlantic Salmon at $13/lb, Fresh Tuna at $9/lb, Trout at $6/lb, Halibut at $14/lb. Delicious, but expensive.

If you're lucky, your local Whole Foods will also have the head and collar of Salmon or Halibut displayed on ice, and whatever else they've filleted for the day. The best part? Those sell for $0.99/lb.

Everyone in Japan knows that the collar is THE best part of the fish. It's fattier (which is a good thing and a great source of omega-3 fatty acids) and melts in your mouth.

I ask for the whole thing and cut the head off myself. You can also get them to do it, but they'll probably weigh the head and collar together before lopping it off.

The beauty is that despite the massive head size, I haven't paid more than $2.50 for a salmon head and both collars. If you go to the Japanese grocery store, you'll see Salmon kama (the word for collar) selling for $7.

That's not a huge saving, but it's satisfying to know you can get a choice cut of fish, and eat really well for so cheap. Heck, I can afford to feed my dog that, and I do.

By the way, grilling it in the oven works best. It's a fatty cut, so it's almost impossible to overcook. It remains very moist and tender. 10 minutes at 350 degrees should do it.

How's that for Money Saving Mojo! Saving of about $4.50!