Save Big by Elisabeth Leamy

Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands

Who doesn’t like to save money? Not anyone I know that’s for sure.

Elisabeth Leamy is one of the experts in the field of saving BIG money. Maybe you’ve seen her on TV, she is a Consumer Correspondent for Good Morning America. She doesn’t go for the small savings that most people suggest like cutting out lattes or canceling magazine subscriptions. She goes for the savings of thousands of dollars – anything less than that didn’t make the cut in this book.

The BIG savings in this book target on our top five costs: houses, cars, credit, groceries and healthcare. Leamy says, “The key is to identify the areas where you spend the most money, because that’s where you can save the most money.”

Here are some examples of how to Save BIG with Leamy’s tips:

HOUSE:
• Fight junk closing costs when you buy a home and save $2,530.
• Refinance into a shorter mortgage. Save $103,536.
• Appeal your property taxes and save $1,265 a year.

CAR:
• Buy a “dark horse” car instead of the most popular make and model and save $ 6,814.
• Pay cash for your car and save $2,608.
• Exercise a “secret warranty” where the dealer fixes flaws for free and save $1,400.

CREDIT:
• Ferociously guard your credit score and save $2,916 a year on your mortgage.
• Undergo rapid rescoring before finalizing a mortgage and save $72,000 over the life of the loan.
• Negotiate for a lower credit card interest rate and save $1,272.

GROCERIES:
• Price match using simple online tools and save $4,628 a year on groceries.
• Stockpile and save $5,772 a year on groceries.
• Master creative couponing (Click don’t clip!) and save $7,956 a year.

HEALTHCARE:
• Raise your health insurance deductible and save $2,700 a year.
• Take the over-the-counter version of a drug instead of the identical prescription version and save $1,763 a year.
• Hire a medical billing advocate to fight hospital billing errors and save $6,858.

Save BIG is a tremendous source of savings for you, the consumer. I learned many things from reading this book on how to save BIG rather than save small. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to save thousands or possibly millions in a lifetime by just some simple adjustments to what you do.


* Thank you to Wiley for providing me with a copy to review.