Ideas on how to save $1,000 a year

I get a lot of people who ask me how can they save money - they look into their lives and just can't figure out how to squeeze out a little extra cash. After looking into their lives, I usually can find a couple thousand dollars of waste that they don't even realize. Some of these sound really dumb - but they work. Just take a look and see if they relate to you:

• Starbucks - stop going over to Starbucks every morning and drinking that liquid crack - drink the office coffee, it is free. The average cup of Starbucks is $3 and change. At 200 work days a year X $3.50 = $700 + gas for driving over there.
• Soda - cut down on your soda drinking and drink more water. Reuse that water bottle! Water is cheaper, and it is healthier for you. At $1.25 a day X 2 a da X 200 work days a year = $500.
• You know that old gym pass you have hanging around and go once a year? Cancel it.
• Get rid of your home phone! Everyone has a cell phone, and your home phone is a waste. Technology today has basically eliminated the need for a land line. At $40 a month, that is a $480 savings a year.
• COUPONS! You aren't cheap if you use coupons - you are smart if you use coupons! Use coupons when you shop online too. Try this website for coupons on everything on the net: http://www.retailmenot.com/
• Get a credit card that gives you cash back or rewards. I have a Costco American Express and every February they send me a check for $300-$400 depending on usage throughout the year.
• This will be a weird one, but I could save my mother money by putting her on my cell phone plan - that's right - it costs $10 extra a month for her to be added. She could keep her number and use my minutes. That would save her $45 a month. The net savings is $45 - $10 = $35 X 12 months = $420.
• Use these family plans on your cell phone. Everyone in our family uses Verizon - calls made to any Verizon phone are free and don't count towards your minutes. The savings there are minimal, but add up.
• Don't buy premium gas. You don't need to! Cars these days are designed to run on regular gasoline - no need for the premium crap. You will save 30 cents a gallon! That could be a huge savings over the course of a year.
• Send email Christmas cards! Yes, you will still have the 10 or so cards you have to send out to the old people - but you will save a few bucks in postage.
• Sell your junk on eBay or Craigslist. Yes, your junk. Some peoples junk is another person's.....junk. There are so many valuables lying around your house that you could sell on eBay.

Of course for other reasons besides saving money you should still: stop smoking, car pool, ride your bike more, recycle, and exercise more. There are monetary savings in those activities as well, but I don't want to preach to anyone.

To summarize, if you want to save money, you should look at all the little aspects in your life and analyze them. There is savings under every stone in your life!