1. Buy bargain tires marked blems. Though perfectly useful, they have minor cosmetic blemishes in the sidewalls.

2. Lengthen the life of windshield wipers by rubbing the edges of the blades with a knife or the striking part of a matchbook cover. This exposes softer material underneath and improves the wiping ability of the blades.

3. Preserve a car’s finish by washing it with cold or lukewarm water, never hot water.

4. Run the air conditioner at least 10 minutes every week to maintain coolant pressure and avoid costly air conditioner breakdowns.

5. Clean corrosion off the battery terminals. Use a wire brush or steel wool to scrape the battery posts and cable clamps. Make a solution of baking soda and water to clean the top surface; don’t let the solution seep under cell caps.

6. Prevent wind resistance, which cuts performance up to 5 miles per gallon, by keeping the windows closed while driving.

7. Drive the recommended speed limit for maximum fuel efficiency. Be aware that every 5 miles over so m.p.h. cuts fuel performance by two miles per gallon.

If you have a car, then you will be spending money on it as long as it runs. Why not make a few small changes and spend less? There are dozens of other things you can and should do to reduce vehicle expenses. These 7 are an easy way to get started on your way to saving some bucks.

But if you have to move and you are on a budget, there are a few things you can do to save a few bucks.

1. It’s always cheaper if you do it yourself. Hiring a moving company to pack up your things, load a truck, drive it for you, and then unpack all those boxes can cost thousands of dollars. You can save a big chunk of change if you do as much as you can yourself. There are times when it makes sense to hire someone to do all or part of the above steps, but most circumstances don’t warrant hiring someone else to do everything.

2. Don’t pay for moving boxes or packing materials. You can get these free from www.craigslist.com or if you go dumpster diving. You can also use some of your own household items to protect your breakables, like using hand towels in between plates, or wrapping glasses in pillowcases.

3. Shop around. If you must get some help for your move, then call around and do some comparison shopping. Prices vary widely. Search for on-line coupon codes, see who will beat competitors prices, and ask for any applicable discounts. We just rented a U-Haul trailer (they are the only company that has trailers for rent one-way across the country) and when I first reserved the trailer a month before our move, it came the $521, plus tax and insurance. I checked back 2 days before we were to pick it up, and the price had dropped to $440. Of course I called and was given the cheaper price. This happened another time and we saved over $100 that time. The Post Office offers coupons either on-line or in their change of address packet.

4. Avoid paying for storage long term. Many people pay good money to store things that could easily be replaced for the same or less money. Long before you move, start giving away things you do not use or have a few garage sales. Moving is certainly a pain, but it’s also a good time to clean out your closets and get rid of clutter. If there are some items you will need to store, figure out if that’s cost effective; it may be cheaper to sell those items and replace them later after figuring in storage costs.

Looking to save money? Maybe make some money? The government gives away billions of dollars a year, and if you know how where to find it, some of it can be yours! Free money is out there for anyone who takes the time to find it: money for women entrepreneurs, college students, and even free money for your retirement down the road!

When it comes to saving money during a move, preparation and knowledge are key. And if you have some strong friends with trucks, that helps too!

Or so they say. BUT, there are times when you CAN get free things. As a matter of fact, there are some things you should NEVER pay for.

I am not talking about bootlegging movies or music, or stealing satellite TV. (Never break the law, ever. What would your momma say if she knew you were using bittorrent?) I am just talking about things in life that you can get for free, or almost free, with a little effort and initiative.

Here’s a list in no particular order of things you can get for free (or almost). These won’t apply to all of ya, and may vary by your location.

1. Packing supplies. Yep. All you eBayer’s out there, for the most part, could be getting your packing supplies for free. One way is to ask; ask at businesses that get inventory in boxes the sizes you need. Or, just by-pass the asking part and go dumpster diving. Boxes of all sizes, packing paper, packing peanuts, and envelopes are all readily available for FREE in businesses’ “recycle only” dumpsters. We haven’t paid for shipping supplies (except tape) in years thanks to this idea. We’ve also found other sorts of neat stuff in dumpsters, like dozens of greeting cards with envelopes, magazines, books, computers and computer parts, a car stereo, a dehumidifier, fish tanks, picture frames, and more. I have even heard of people who claim that safe food can be found in dumpsters, like pizza behind a pizza restaurant or groceries from a grocery store. (But we’re not dirty hippies so we don’t eat food outta dumpsters.)

2. Moving Boxes. These are also freely available in dumpsters or on craigslist. It almost seems stupid to think of paying $4 per box at one of the moving places. OK – it is stupid. Never pay for boxes.

3. Baby stuff. Parents spend WAY too much on baby stuff. And while there are a lot of things you do need to get (like from a store) when a little one comes along, lots of things can be acquired for free. Again, craigslist has a “free” section and you’d be surprised at how often baby paraphernalia is given away after couples decide they aren’t going to add another number to the world’s population. I personally have gotten years supplies of boy clothes, two baby swings, carseats, blankets, sheets, bottles, and even diapers through craigslist. All in good condition, and some even in NEW condition. Babies don’t put wear and tear on stuff like swings – so I’d rather get a free one than to pay $70 for a new one that will get 6 months of use. I have also given away baby stuff, including baby formula, diaper bags, and toys. Also, most hospitals have generic but usable diaper bags they give to newborns. And some community centers give away car seats and baby slings, depending on where you live.

4. Doula services. If you have ever had a baby (or watched as you wife was in labor), you know how extra support throughout the entire pregnancy would be a godsend. And that’s what a doula does. But their services can be quite expensive. Unless they aren’t certified/licensed yet; then they provide their services for free or on a donation basis as they need the experience to become fully certified. Do some on-line searching and find a doula-in-training. I had a wonderful doula-in-training who helped me treat an agonizing and mysterious condition naturally that even my doctor hadn’t been able to help with.

5. Real estate commission. I am a very strong believer in doing it FSBO. Television commercials for realtor services make selling a home appear scary and overwhelming and hard. But it’s not. Why give away 6% (which might equal $12,000 or $40,000 or who knows how much money) of your own equity to an agent when you can do it all yourself? It does take work- mostly in the form of prepping your house (which you would have to do anyway) and in the form of research so you can price your home correctly and know what to do legally. It does take time. But 6% is a lot of money when you’re talking about the price of a freaking HOUSE. And today there are many options if you want to sell your home yourself: FSBO websites with all the tips, home value websites, real estate books and classes, etc. However, I also understand that there might be situations in which you can’t avoid using a realtor, such as when you have already moved (maybe out of state), or if your time is worth more than what you will end up paying an agent.

6. Legal forms. Many forms, such as real estate forms, are freely available on-line. Do some on-line searching and you’ll probably find the forms you need.

7. Groceries. (No I already told you we don’t eat from a dumpsters!) We lived in Texas for a bit during what is sometimes called the grocery-store wars. Pricing was very competitive and stores ran loss-leaders like crazy. One store in particular (Tom Thumb) had a triple coupon day once a week; they would triple coupons up to $0.75. That adds up to $2.25 off what ever product, and that also meant most of those products ended up being free, or a few pennies, when the same products were on sale. I always felt elated going there and coming out with bags and bags of groceries that were free or a few pennies! It was entirely possible (with a bit of planning and strategic buying) to get over a hundred dollars of groceries for just a few bucks after all the coupons were tripled and deducted. Where we currently live the stores don’t triple coupons – but maybe where you live they do. If so, think of this as a grocery store hack.

8. Shipping and handling. When you are going to buy something from an on-line store, it pays to do some searching for codes that give you free s&h or a percentage off. For example, I recently bought a slipcover on sale for $49.00 (originally $119.00) from www.lnt.com. Before checking out, I googled “code, linens and things” and found a few sites listing coupon codes that I could use for saving money. LNT.com already had free shipping on clearance items, and I saved an additional 20% using a coupon code I found on-line. I was really happy to have a quality product for the price of a cheap imitation. I do this for EVERYTHING I buy online. I register a lot of domain names as well, and before buying a domain I always look for offers, discount codes, promo codes, etc. and I always find something.

9. Clothes. If you don’t mind wearing used clothing there is always eBay. For adults and especially kids, are given away all the time on craigslist and freecycle. Many times the clothes are name brand. This isn’t my personal choice but it’s an option.

10. Household/furniture. You’re a college student? You’re a young couple just starting out? Well before you break the bank by furnishing your house or apartment with all new stuff – hold on to your cash and take a look around. People move all the time, or redecorate, or kick out their lying, cheating significant other and all their belongings. So you can find all sorts of household items and furniture on craiglist, freecycle, or next to the street in rich neighborhoods. Some of that stuff is awesome.

I think 10 is a nice round number to stop at for a list. But here’s an interesting note for business owners. It has been our experience that having a business license gets you lots of freebies. We got free memberships to a warehouse club store (Costco), free office supplies from Staples, dozens of free batteries, and free pens (of course), among other things.

I know some readers are bound to turn their nose up and scoff at trying to get freebies. But there are other out there, like me, who love the challenge of getting things for free or really cheap. Maybe you didn’t hear: frugal is the new black. And if you have your own little ways of getting free stuff, the rest of us would love for you to share your secrets.

Un-Example number one: Sensible Sam. He just turned 16 and got a summer job at the local mall. His first paycheck goes towards some new shoes, a new Wii game, and pizza. But then he decides to put some money aside. Smart. Should he just put it in a savings account? Well, that’s what everyone else does. His goal is to save for a rainy day. He opens a savings and checking account and is on his way to being the typical American young adult, who has a few thousand bucks in the bank, then wracks up some serious debt with credit cards and student loans, and then spends years trying to pay it off. He gets a good job after college and works for the rest of his life, trying to save for retirement while living a middle-class life. At age 65 he has about $95K saved (the average amount saved for retirement according to a 2004 report by the Congressional Research Service, not including the 37% of households that have NO retirement savings.)

Example number two: Savvy Steve. Steve also just turned 16 and got his first job at Taco Bell. While he also squanders his first paycheck on material things not really needed, he then decides to start putting money aside as well. Not sure what to do and what his best option is, he does some on-line research. His goal is to make lots of money with little effort. Hence, the Roth IRA looks good to him. So, he contributes $2000 to his account the first year, and $2000 each year for the next three years, which brings the total investment to $8000. Not a lot of money, really. Then he gets caught up with college and his career and life in general and he just forgot about it. But at age 67, he is happily surprised to find that his initial $8k, with an average 10.7% annual return, has grown to $1,000,000!

Comparison example number three: Richie Rich and Regular Ray. As a graduation gift, both Richie Rich’s dad and Regular Ray’s dad decide to give them money that they CANNOT touch until retirement. Richie Rich’s family has a little more money, so he gets an initial $20K deposited into a savings account; then his dad commits to adding $20K every year until Richie retires. Regular Ray’s dad only has one $20K to deposit into a mutual fund that year. Richie Rich gloats a bit while Regular Ray feels like he just got the shortest stick. At the time, inflation is 3% and Richie Rich’s account makes enough to cover that, while Regular Ray’s account makes 10% over inflation. After 10 years, Regular Ray’s graduation gift turned into $51,875, while Richie Rich’s gift is now worth $200,000. Not very impressive, YET. But when they both retired at age 65 is when it gets interesting. Richie Rich accumulated $940,000, all directly from his father. Regular Ray ended up accumulating a whopping $1,763,950. Now Richie Rich and his dad feel like they got the shortest end of the stick! And they did.

While there may be some variations, depending on inflation and interest rates, compounding interest can really add up. So even if the initial investments are not so big, the returns can be. The trick is to invest early and to invest often.

I only wish I had known about this 15 years ago!

Go here or here for a compound interest calculator and see for yourself.

Three main reasons YOU won’t be in the Forbes top 100 or even the top 100,000:

1. You don’t know how. You are not money savvy. You don’t the many options for making money (besides a job) and increasing the money you already do have. Investments, stocks and bonds, and the like just aren’t your thing. You never seriously think about your finances and never plan. Sorry bud, but you are what you think about and what you do and this applies to finances as well.

2. You spend too much. Most people, if they sacrificed for a time and stopped spending as much as they make, could put enough money aside and start building a nice nest egg that will continually grow. Most people equate any type of monetary gain with some type of physical gain (aka buying more things). The news of a raise immediately sends them into consumer mode and visions of new designer clothes, a bigger house, an expensive vacation, or other purchases start dancing in their head. They earn money to spend and never use money to make money.

3. You don’t really want it. Yep, that’s why everyone wants to be rich but few actually are rich. All other reasons hinge on this one. You just don’t have the drive, the passion, the ambition. Being wealthy and having that lifestyle sure is appealing, but the amount of work it takes to get there is not and most people are not willing to work that hard. You may have great ideas, a great personality, a great education, but none of those things will make you rich. Wanting it enough will make you rich. That ambition will make you work harder and never give up until you get there. You will stay focused and nothing will permanently deter you from you goal- not personal set-backs, not catastrophic events, not even failing in a particular business venture- nothing. You have one thing on your mind and that’s what you will do in spite of everything else. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

There is no magic formula to becoming wealthy. There is no secret. But there is plenty of money out there to be had and you will get as much of it as you determine.