In addition to the eleven tips Coupon Mom has already given to start your new “creative money management” ways AND help you save more $1.5 million… she suggests the following to help your savings continue to grow: GAS: The prices continue to soar: With the rising prices of gasoline, it pays to keep your car well-tuned, with enough air in the tires to maximize gas mileage. Of course, combining errands and walking when you can will reduce driving expenses, as will car-pooling with friends and telecommuting if you can. However, most of us are dependent on our cars and need to find creative ways to save money on the gasoline we need to buy. Because gasoline prices are determined by local competition, it is not unusual for gas prices to vary by as much as 20% in the same city. With some research, you may find that you can reduce your gas expense simply by filling up at a different point in your commute. Check out the websites www.gasbuddy.com and www.gaspricewatch.com to see if you could be filling up conveniently in a less expensive area. Earn interest, don’t pay it. Learn how to get the magic of compound interest working for you. The best way to get a million dollars is to save small amounts of money over a long period of time. Conversely, the easiest way to get over-extended financially is to spend small amounts of money, beyond what you earn, over a long period of time. It is much better to be on the saving side of compound interest! The average household has $8,000 in credit card debt, which can cost as much as $1,680 in interest costs per year. If you had no credit card debt, and you were able to save and invest that $1,680 per year from the age of 25 to 65 (40 years), you would have end up with over $342,000! Learn how to spend less than you make. When you spend slightly less than you make over the course of your life, and you stay on the good side of compound interest, you have a very good chance at being a millionaire someday. Sit down and determine what a reasonable spending plan is for your situation, and learn to stay within those limits. A great tool to use to design a reasonable budget can be found on the website of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Atlanta (www.cccsatl.org). And, in order to spend less than you make you may need to. . . Pay down your mortgage. This follows the idea that earning interest is better than paying it. Although some would argue that with today’s low mortgage rates you can afford a high mortgage, a conservative approach would still suggest that reducing your interest expenses is one of the best ways to grow your savings nest egg. For example, if you had a 30-year, 5% fixed mortgage of $200,000, you would pay $186,500 in interest over the life of the loan. However, if you paid one extra payment a year ($1,047), you would pay the loan off four and a half years earlier and save about $33,000 in interest. If you added just $200 a month to your payment, in addition to the one extra payment per year, you would pay the mortgage off 11 years earlier and save $76,000 in interest. Finally, if you continued to “pay” the mortgage payment and extra payments into a savings account once your mortgage was paid off, after 11 years you would have $241,617 saved at the end of your 30 year mortgage period, in addition to owning your house in full! Save on clothing. You can save money on new clothes by shopping your stores’ sales and using coupons when they are available. Because you will have the best selection of bargains at the beginning of a sale, you should subscribe to the email newsletters or in-store mailing lists. Many retailers have special clearance or outlet sections on their websites which can be a convenient source of bargains. Finally, always check a coupon code website for an online coupon code if you are shopping for clothing online (like www.couponmom.com). Save on restaurants. Look for coupons for your favorite restaurants, or give new restaurants a try when you see good promotions. You can find restaurant coupons, like buy one entrée; get one free, in local coupon circulars and the Sunday newspaper coupon circular. You can also find them in coupon mailers like Valpak and Money Mailer (corresponding websites: www.valpak.com and www.hotcoupons.com). If you eat out at least a few times a year, the Entertainment book is an excellent source of restaurant coupons. Finally, check out the discounted gift certificates you can print at www.restaurant.com. They typically sell a $25 gift certificate for $10, but if you have an online coupon code, they sell for $5. Save on entertainment and children’s activities. The Entertainment book is the best source for generous coupons for children’s entertainment and activities. Typical coupons include buy one admission; get one free at local zoos, museums, attractions, playhouses, bowling alleys, miniature golf courses, arcades and far more. You can buy books from schools as fundraisers and also online from www.Entertainment.com. Books come out in the fall, and last for about 14 months. By summertime, the price of the book can drop to as low as $4.99 (from an original price of $25 to $35). Save on travel and vacations. The key to saving money on travel is to plan ahead, shop for the lowest prices and take advantage of discounts available with advance planning. There are many ways to use Internet resources to make planning and finding discounts easy. For example, if you are looking for the lowest airline, hotel, or car rental prices in an area, you can use www.sidestep.com to search all of the travel search engines in one place which saves time. You should also visit the Visitor’s Bureau website of the city you plan to visit, and look for free resources like a Travel Kit which they will mail to you at no cost, free printable coupons for local attractions and restaurants. If flights to your destination are too pricey when you initially check, sign up for a search engine’s Fare Alert, which lets you name desired cities and prices you are willing to pay. To save on restaurants when you travel, you can get free, printable coupons online, before you leave, at www.valpak.com and www.hotcoupons.com. Save during the holidays too! Compare the prices available for gifts you need to buy on shopping sites, both for online shopping and at traditional stores. Look for coupon codes and free shipping offers for online shopping, and compare prices at traditional stores on shopping sites like www.shoplocal.com and www.cairo.com. Check newspapers for coupons at traditional stores before you go shopping. And DEFINITELY consider giving: Restaurant gift certificates, at a discount! Most people like to eat out, and you can buy discounted gift certificates at restaurant.com and discounted restaurant gift cards at entertainment.com. The recipient won’t even know you got a discount! Gift cards to your recipient’s favorite store. They will use it after December 26th, when post-holiday sales start. They could get 40-50% more than if you bought the merchandise before the post-holiday sales. Subscriptions to your recipients’ favorite magazines and pay a fraction of the cover price by using discount magazine sites like www.bestdealsmagazines.com. An annual subscription to many popular magazines costs only $4.69 per year. Save on baby costs: Make your own baby food, use coupons for diapers and formula, buy baby clothes and toys used, and trade clothes and toys with friends. Save on newspaper subscriptions: When it is time to renew your annual subscription, call the circulation sales office and request the new subscriber rate. Use the library: Take advantage of free entertainment--check out books, audiobooks, and videotapes. Do-it-yourself: Look in the newspaper for free "how to" workshops at local hardware stores and garden centers. Save on expensive professional services and repairs by learning how to "do-it-yourself."