Lawn Care: We always hired a high school student, the school counsellor knows which kids need to work and need income.

Sports equipment is often available on Kijji [local e-bay offshoot] or Craig’sList. Team sport organizers usually have leads as well.

Popular Concert tickets require splurges. You just need to treat yourself once in a while and enjoy every moment from actually getting a ticket, anticipating the concert, the concert itself and the after glow.

Also, try eBay for discounts. Many people sell makeup and fragrance on eBay for good prices, although you do take a chance.

The Kelly Blue Book website will provide you with the trade in, private party or suggested retail value of the vehicle you are about to purchase or sell. My husband and I always look at this website before purchasing any vehicles. It has kept us from paying too much and has helped us negotiate on price. We just recently purchased an used truck for cash from a private party and saved $1000 by looking up the “private party” value before negotiating the price. It also helped us by telling the seller that the price we were offering was right in line with the Kelly Blue Book value. He had advertised for more on craigslist, but came down when he saw the KBB value in print.
One other thing I always try to do if financing a vehicle purchase is make sure that the term of the auto loan (3, 4, 5 years)is not longer than the depreciation of the vehicle. In other words I always want to owe less on the vehicle than it’s worth (as I pay it off)so that if I need to sell it or trade it in I’m not upside down in my purchase. This works best if you choose the shortest loan term possible when financing – 3 or 4 years rather than 5 or 6 years of payments. Our rule for ourselves is if we have to finance the auto for more than 4 years to make the payment affordable, then we can’t afford it and need to go with something less expensive. Hope this helps!

Call dealerships or take your car by one to get an ideas as to what they will pay for it. Go online to bluebook.com and get an idea. Look on some of the car sales sites to see what cars like your are listed for.

Cosmetics: I wish there was some way to save money here, especially with a teenager! I have found that if you apply foundation, just a drop of it, to the back of your hand and then apply with a brush, it seems to make it stretch further than using cosmetic pads.

Concert tickets: Check your local library, performing arts center (especially during the summer for their concert series), and local colleges/universities for their orchestral performances – we went to an opera graduation and it was great!

Automobiles: Any advice on this is always appreciated! Again, we are currently checking Craigslist for a good, used car for our daughter for college; look for a older person who is trying to sell a vehicle, miles are usually low and upkeep is usually excellent; Also, much better to buy used instead of new; both of our vehicles are 10-years-old and last year, we only spent $1200 on repairs for both of them. That is less than a car payment would be for two new cars, so for us, it is worth it to repair instead of pay $400 a month for a warranty!

Lawn Care Services: Find a local teenager to mow, trim and weedeat. Be specific about what needs to be done and what you are willing to pay for a job done properly. Ask around for a dependable high school student and you can get really quality basics done by a good kid!

But seriously? Cosmetics last forever and a blusher and eye shadow can last years and don’t beleive the hype that they have a use by date.

Also: a tube of bronze or rose coloured lipstick can be used for lips, as eye shadow and blusher. I discovered this travelling. Then you line your eyes with a cheap liner from a drug store, apply vaseline to eyelashes with an old mascara blush and tinted moisturiser and you are perfectly made up.

For live music, depending on where you live, I would check out the activities section of the newspaper for free or cheap live concerts to visit.

Lawn care–get a goat. Just joking. If you truly don’t want to do it yourself, you just keep looking. For us when we needed it done, it wasn’t even so much the cost but just finding anyone willing to do it other than the ocassional teenager who would then mow down the little trees we had planted!

Another area to shop and save on cosmetics is the three major drugstores. Combine the items on sale with in-store coupons, manufacturer’s coupons, a gift card from a past offer and the stores’ discount cards can rack up the savings. This is called stacking.

Granted, I would love to pick up some skin care products, but I can’t afford it at the moment, no matter the discounts. It’s simply not an option. So, I will just save until I can do so.