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smart spending

331 ways to cut costs!

As our founding father Ben Franklin's famous quote so aptly proves, spending less than one earns is an age-old goal.

Even though there's nothing new about the desire to hang on to more of our money, it seems like there are always new and exciting ways to spend it.

Who today can imagine a life without air conditioning or credit cards or television, let alone DVDs, ipods or mocha frappuccino® grandes? There's always something out there tempting us to pull out our credit card or set up an "easy payment" schedule. Most of us are expert consumers, but how many of us are pros at pinching pennies?

Here at Bankrate.com, our goal is to help you, the consumer, to save more of your hard-earned money and to spend it wisely. Over the years, our experts have identified hundreds of ways to cut costs on all sorts of financial experiences -- from buying a home to shopping for groceries or finding the best cell phone plan for your budget.

Here's a roundup of the best of the money-saving tips covering all sorts of everyday expenses such as electricity and gas, as well as some of the irregular expenses such as travel insurance and financing a mortgage.

Happy savings!

Click on the links below to start saving in each category

Tips compiled by Dani M. Arthur.

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