Save big on a tiny income

19 ways -– and counting -- to save when you make next to nothing.
(from MSN.com)

By MP Dunleavey
Editor's note: Join columnist MP Dunleavey and a group of women as they seek to strip away the myths around money, liberate themselves from debt and find financial sanity. Follow the ongoing quest of the Women in Red every other Wednesday in Dunleavey's column on MSN Money.

When I wrote an article describing how some of the Women in Red could save more, I got an earful from frustrated readers, many of whom don't earn as much as the women in the group.

"Let's deal with the real world," wrote one woman, who declined to give her name. "If I had that kind of income I could save easily. Try (saving) on the incomes of most of us working, single moms, which is more like $2,500 a month! Cut our expenses? How???"

Carrie Bowers, 29, of Colorado, added: "How would the average service worker go about saving for retirement, a child's education (or even (her) own in hopes of moving up in the world) on less than $18,000 a year? Some financial advice for the public-transit set would be appreciated more than you know."

With her dunce cap on, this writer decided to unearth smart savings strategies anyone can use, no matter how much they earn -- from real-life tips contributed by women on our blog, to the abundance of savings stories right here on MSN Money.

As you might expect with such a wealth of ideas, there are many ways to fire up your inner-savings goddess. Try one, try 'em all.

Spare change = big bucks

Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do the laundry, says blogger LBL.

Save all your $5 bills in a coffee can. (My husband and I do this so we have extra fun money.) Or save all your $20 bills in shoe box ("I saved for a trip to Europe this way," says Bowers, who earns $1,800 a month working in a cafe.)

Cash in your spare change. Many banks and credit unions will sort your change without charging a fee. Or, do it yourself: "We invested in a $30 coin sorter, which has paid for itself three times over," writes a reader who calls herself darcie1590.

Salt away all those little rebates, refunds and reimbursement checks.

Take free money. Now some institutions, like Bank of America and even PayPal, are offering what you might call "spare change" savings plans. Bank of America will round up any purchase you make and deposit the extra change in a savings account for you. For a limited time, they'll even match your spare change up to $250. If you use the PayPal debit card, they'll refund 1% of your purchase immediately, wrote Kit on the blog. Other cards may offer similar deals; don't let free cash pass you by (but beware of hidden fees).

Don't even think about it

Even if you love to save, it can be hard to sock away that cash -- unless you let Mother Technology do it for you. Nearly everyone on the blog -- and in the WIR -- has an automatic transfer set up from their checking to their savings.

You can do this anywhere you bank, but a number of readers favor ING Direct.

At 3.4%, ING pays a lot more interest than you can get on most no-minimum savings accounts.

Because the account is online -- and there's no direct ATM access -- you can't touch your savings without thinking about it.

Savers can set up multiple sub-accounts at no extra charge -- for different purposes (vacation, new roof, Sally's sweet 16).

To test-drive ING's basic savings plan, I set up an account in 15 minutes to have $25 a week taken out of checking and put into a little account I nicknamed "Happy Money." I'm richer already!

Play little money games

Create bank errors in your favor. "If I spend $2.16 on a coffee, I deduct $3 (in my check register)," writes AJ. "It really adds up." Several readers share AJ's strategy, including a blogger named Natalie, who even rounds down her paycheck. A $425 check would become $400 in the check register -- and the $25 is saved.

Make a fair trade. One reader swapped her cleaning skills for day-care time for her child; Beth of the WIR recently helped a neighbor build a fence in exchange for some pocket money; in exchange for some editing, a friend is going to organize my messy apartment. The swaps are endless -- and the savings can be huge. "You can get together with friends and have a clothes or furniture/house item swap," adds Nancy.

Switch from paper to plastic. A surprising number of women are mega-advocates of relying on credit cards as a way of controlling spending. Some get cash back or miles; some just feel handling cash is too risky. "I don't carry cash, I don't use cash," writes Chris. "This has helped to curb impulse spending, which equates to effective saving." Caveat: These responsible souls pay the card balance in full each month, often depositing the cash for purchases in advance. Ahem!

Divide and conquer. Divide the total amount of your car insurance (or other irregular expense) by 12 and sock away that amount each month so you don't get caught short. Lea says she won't blow her holiday budget this year because she's used this system to save each month for gifts.

Never pay full price

Buy non-perishables in bulk (i.e., cereals, rice, pastas, dried fruit and canned goods); bulk prices are much lower.

Share the savings. Bowers says one friend will buy toiletries and such at a warehouse store and divvy the spoils up with friends.

Buy generic instead of brand-name products. "I've stopped eating Cheerios in favor of Toasty-O's -- my paycheck loves me for it, and my tastebuds don't know the difference," writes Chada.

Research before you buy. Most readers say bargains can be found for any item if you put a little time into finding discount Web sites, clearance centers, warehouse outlets and the like.

"Look at the Pottery Barn catalog, shop at Goodwill," writes Chada again. "You'd be amazed at what you can turn into a masterpiece with a little paint and stain."

Fly cheap. Renee recommends mobissimo.com and itasoftware.com -- both travel search engines that comb the Web to find the lowest of the lowest possible prices.

Build it, grow it, make it, cook it yourself
A big way to save on a small income is to embrace DIY as your financial salvation. In addition to sewing, making gifts and homemade cards, cooking at home, and baking everything from scratch, here are some other creative ways to save:

"We've made lamps, a window seat, a bar, our headboard, a corner sofa and various tables and shelves," writes Kelly. "It's saved us a fortune."

"There is little that can't be cleaned with (a mix of) vinegar and baking soda," writes ylm23. "We use the mix throughout the kitchen, bathroom, dining room -- and have scrubbed pots and pans with it."

"Don't forget gardening as a money-saving venture," writes a green-thumbed reader. "One year, I fed the four of us and a neighbor for almost four months from a 10-by-15-foot garden."

More savings than space
I wish I could go on, but I'm running out of room.

For those of you interested in reading more (and more and MORE!) ways to save, please visit the Women in Red message board, where this topic has inspired the most incredible gold rush of ideas.

Log on, share the wealth, feel the love -- and give us some of your ideas, if they haven't been covered already. And remember the most powerful money-saving secret of all: You won't save until . . . you start saving.