More Miscellaneous Money Saving Tips

Learn to Cook. I mean really cook great food. This may require a modest initial investment in some kitchen appliances, cookbooks, spices, and such, but it will save you a bundle in the long run if you have been eating out just because you're so sick of making macaroni and cheese. More importantly, learning to cook really fine meals is guaranteed to significantly improve your quality of life, and probably your health, too. It does take some time to prepare a good meal, but you can always make extra portions and eat the leftovers for several days. Yummy!

Periodically comparison shop for insurance. My health insurance premium went up 139% in the last 3 years! At the time I signed up for that policy, it was the best deal around. Fortunately, I'm still healthy as a horse, so I checked around and found a much better deal with another company that will save me hundreds of dollars per year without sacrificing quality of coverage. If you have serious pre-existing conditions or recent health problems, you might possibly be stuck with your current insurer, but you can and should occasionally compare deals on car insurance, rent insurance, etc. to make sure you are still getting the best deal available.

Take care of yourself! Do I even need to tell you that smoking, drinking, using drugs and lack of exercise are costly? I don't know anyone who can really afford to develop health problems these days, but we musicians especially need to improve our odds by staying fit. As with cooking, getting in shape will also yield quality of life benefits and probably improved musical performance.

Sometimes procrastination pays. In most cases, putting things off only causes bigger problems and costs you additional money, but not always. For example, the longer you can postpone doing laundry, getting the car washed, or getting a haircut, the longer it will be before you need to have it done again, right? Of course, taking this advice to the extreme would lead to bad hygiene! But the same principle also applies to getting a new car or a new guitar, so it's something to consider.

Ask for a better deal. Many Americans tend to accept whatever price they are quoted without question, when in fact most product and service fees are subject to some price negotiation. If your credit card company suddenly jacks up your interest rate, call and ask them to lower it. The worst thing that can happen is that they will say no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.