Issue Date: June 21, 2009

In this article: Send us your best money-saving tips Where to get the best deal What's on sale?

SUMMER SAVINGS

Endless summer savings

Don't let a lack of funds mean a lack of fun. To help your summer sizzle, we've found ways to be smart, smarter, smartest about the things you purchase every day.

By Constance Kurz

SAVE ON TRAVEL
SMART: Be a loyalist. Sign up for hotel chains' no-cost loyalty programs, and get regular news of special promotions, like "stay three, get the fourth free." The Kimpton Hotels, for instance, routinely offer dramatically reduced rates for the first few weeks a new property is opened. Plus, loyalty programs offer members perks, such as automatic upgrades, and freebies, like breakfast, coupons for on-site meals or spa services, Wi-Fi, parking, rooms on concierge floors with free continental breakfast and evening wine and cheese, and more.
SMARTER: Have family in Denver or a college-age son in Chicago? Track the cost of flights on your favorite routes by checking sites like FareCompare.com's FareCatcher, which will send e-mail alerts every time there is a price change. Or register with Travelocity.com's FareWatcher Plus, and keep an eye on price drops on up to 10 destinations at one time.
SMARTEST: If you're not fixated on a particular hotel or air travel route (including layovers), give Hotwire.com and Priceline.com a whirl for airline tickets, hotels and rental cars. You specify your arrival and departure dates, the type of rental car or grade of room you'd like, state a bid (in the case of Priceline) and hit the "send" button. The catch? You won't know the name of your hotel or your exact travel itinerary until you've paid up, but the savings can be substantial -- as much as 60% off hotel rooms.

SUMMER DRIVING
SMART: Park your car in a shaded spot: A hot car allows gas to evaporate. And fuel up in the cooler early-morning hours or in the evening. Heat causes gasoline to expand, meaning you are actually getting less in your tank when you fill up at midday.
SMARTER: See whether an electronic toll payer like E-ZPass, FasTrak or SunPass will work for you. You'll waste less gas and time sitting in toll lanes, and a number of programs offer discounts to pass holders of as much as 25 cents to 50 cents per toll. Don't want to commit long-term? Some toll authorities, such as Florida's SunPass, have prepaid passes sold at grocery stores and drugstores.
SMARTEST: Clean out the junk in your car's trunk and interior. Remove heavy winter emergency kits (sandbags, shovel, blanket, etc.) for safe storage elsewhere until the cold weather returns. Why tidy up? The extra weight is a drag on efficient gas mileage -- about a 2% reduction per 100 pounds of weight. Ditto loading up the rooftop luggage rack and adding bike racks, so remove these between road trips. And sorry, Coco and Max: Dogs and their drivers might love leaving the car windows down as they travel on the highway, but that creates a strong drag that is even worse on the car's fuel efficiency. Roll up the windows and hit the AC when driving at high speeds. Drive a pickup? Look for a snug cover for the truck's bed to cut down on drag, too.

THINGS TO DO
SMART: Join the club. Get a movie club card, and settle back to enjoy "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and all those other summer blockbusters. At AMC Theatres, for instance, the AMC MovieWatcher membership earns you two points for every movie ticket you buy: 10 points get you a free small popcorn and 30 points a free movie ticket. At Regal Cinemas, every dollar earns you a point on the Regal Crown Club card. For 50 points, you get a small popcorn and for 150 a free movie ticket.
SMARTER: Search for great seats at summer concerts (John Legend), Broadway plays (Billy Elliot), major theater productions and sporting events all over the country at SeatKarma.com. It allows you to search more than 200 ticket brokers at once and pull up seating charts to find the best seat at the best price.
SMARTEST: Looking for company -- but not willing to shell out for eHarmony or Match.com dating sites? Hum a few bars of that marvelous Marvelettes' classic "Too Many Fish in the Sea," and head over to troll the waters at PlentyofFish.com. The free dating site claims more than 10 million members and takes credit for 800,000 "relationships" per year. So get out and swim with the school this summer.

BEAT KID BOREDOM
SMART: Keep 'em busy with a craft project: Check out Crayola.com's colorful (naturally) site and all the freebies. School-age kids can find craft ideas galore, and parents can download hundreds of coloring sheets and puzzles and games for little ones to color and decorate.
SMARTER: Fight back against fast-food runs and pizza deliveries that can quickly add up during long summer days at home. Make mini-pizzas with flatbreads, bagels or English muffins, tomato sauce and toppings. Or make your own Mexican food: Fill and roll tortillas into burritos. Freeze the pizzas and burritos on a cookie sheet, then store in freezer bags. These treats can go straight from the freezer to the microwave for a fast lunch. Let kids make batches of snacks that are easy to grab before soccer practice or PSP gaming marathons. Stir up trail mix using nuts, dried fruit, cereal, mini-pretzels or M&M's, and pack into individual snack bags. Or have them divide hummus or peanut butter among snack cups with lids. Add a small bag of veggies or crackers to dip.
SMARTEST: Take them out to the ballgame. Special promotions and cheap tickets abound this summer. Check out Major League Baseball's (mlb.com) Fan Value Corner for your favorite team as well as the fan-to-fan ticket site StubHub.com. And before you worry that the real zinger is that easy $80 blown on sodas, chili dogs, nachos, peanuts and Cracker Jack, here's a secret: All but one MLB ballpark (the Houston Astros') allows you to bring your own bottled water, and at least 21 ballparks are OK with some food and drink items, usually in soft-sided coolers, reports USA TODAY. Check your team's website for its BYOF policy.

CHEAP EATS
SMART: Be honest about what you are willing and not willing to do to get fed. For instance, ready-to-eat foods such as Greek chicken and veggie pasta salad from the deli or prepared foods counter can be an easy and tempting dinner fix. So weigh their convenience vs. cost vs. your time constraints, and see what matters most. That spinach-stuffed salmon may be a relative bargain if it: 1) keeps you from heading to a restaurant for an even pricier dinner; 2) helps you with portion control (a bonus for dieters); 3) avoids leftovers that are likely to get tossed (wasted food is money in the trash).
SMARTER: Commit to being a DIY-er: The savings can really add up. Grated cheese in bags, washed and pre-sliced fruits and vegetables, precooked pouches of rice, and noodle dinner mixes are all timesavers -- and no-brainers -- for sure. But they can cost double, triple or even more what whole, unprocessed foods do. Compare 16 ounces of whole carrots for 99 cents with a 10-ounce bag of shredded carrots for $1.69: That's more than double the price per serving.
SMARTEST: Set yourself up to succeed in making tasty, convenient, cheaper meals. First, invest in a few kitchen tools that can streamline your active time in the kitchen. A food processor with a grating or slicing disc can make short work of a cabbage or block of cheddar. A slow cooker can turn cheaper cuts -- like lamb or pork shoulder -- into delicious meals. Second, set aside some time each week to do large-batch cooking of favorite dishes. Then, freeze them in meal-sized containers so all you have to do is hit the "thaw" button on busy nights. Put "freezer meals" in your search engine to find dozens of recipes.

ENERGY USAGE
SMART: Cut back on air conditioner use and keep air moving by placing oscillating or fixed fans where you need them most: in the kitchen, in your work area (computers give off heat) or favorite reading/TV viewing spots, and near your bed. Energy-efficient ceiling fans are even better for keeping a whole room comfy.
SMARTER: Reset your water heater to 110 or 115 degrees. Because the air in the house is warmer in the summer, your morning shower will be less steamy and more refreshing. While you're at it, replace your shower head with a new, low-flow 2-gallon-per-minute (or less) model, and realize savings on your water bill.
SMARTEST: Hot weather means more wardrobe changes -- and more laundry. So unplug the dryer (the biggest energy drain after the fridge and washer), and hang clothes on an outdoor clothesline or a drying rack. Shake out wet clothes and slip shirts and buttoned jackets onto hangers to minimize wrinkles. Turn dark clothes inside out to prevent the bleaching effects of sunlight, or hang indoors. Clothes a little stiff? Cut back on the detergent, avoid fabric softeners and add 1/2 cup or more of white vinegar to the rinse water to soften garments and rid them of soap traces. Line-dried clothes smell divine, and your electric or gas bill will take a nose dive.

BEACH READS
SMART: Pick up "pre-read" books through local library, community and church fundraisers, and check yard sales, too. Go on free book swap websites such as FrugalReader.com and PaperBackSwap.com to find other readers who are eager to trade hardbacks, paperbacks and audiobooks with you.
SMARTER: Spin this book club idea: Invite six to eight friends to bring a couple of favorite titles they've loved and are willing to share. Ask each guest to attach a notecard with his or her name and a short "selling pitch" to each book. Display everyone's picks along with a checkout clipboard, if books are to be returned to their owners. Let people browse while they socialize.
SMARTEST: Who needs expensive satellite radio? Break up a long drive with a (normally very pricey) audiobook from Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, the down-home chain often located along interstates. Purchase a title at one location (CDs run $9.99 to $48), save your receipt and return it to any one of 588 stores in 41 states. Cracker Barrel will refund your money, deducting $3.49 for each week you've had it.

Go to top

Send us your best money-saving tips

Who doesn't want to find new ways to spend smarter? Have you found:

A great way to stretch your budget for necessities -- and some luxuries?

A terrific website, blog or other resource that's loaded with practical ideas that you and other readers can act on?

A strategy for managing holiday spending, birthdays and special celebrations, and other seasonal events?

Go to usaweekend.com to register your money-saving tips, and we'll follow up later this summer by printing USA WEEKEND readers' best ideas. Or send a postcard to Money Tips, USA WEEKEND, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22107.

Go to top

Where to get the best deal

You'll almost always pay less at a store that specializes in an item or moves a high volume of it, says Rick Doble, author of "Cheaper" (Ballantine Books, $14) , with Tom Philbin. Check for the best matchups below.

Printer paper and back-to-school supplies: An office supply store, not a discount department store or grocery store
Automotive oil: An auto supply store, not a grocery store or discount department store
Over-the-counter drugs: A drugstore, not a supermarket or discount department store
Cosmetics and personal careproducts: A drugstore, not a grocery store or discount department store
Cereal and milk: A grocery store, not a drugstore or discount department store
Light bulbs and laundry and home cleaning supplies: A discount department store, not a grocery store

Go to top