The basics of daily living cost a lot more these days. These tactics can shore up your budget.

MTN Staff • July 12, 2022 • Advertising Disclosure

It costs twice as much these days to fill up your gas tank. The grocery bill rises every week. Kids need new shoes? Break out another couple hundred bucks.

Your budget is bleeding, thanks to inflation. How to stanch that financial hemorrhage? Hint: You can’t do it with thrift alone.

Sure, being frugal helps. But you can’t coupon your way to solvency, and brown-bag lunches or bringing your own coffee can get you only so far in an era of inflation.

Instead, look for the bigger-ticket savings. Here are several common ways that people overspend without knowing.

Savvy consumers embrace online shopping for convenience and, in an era of $5 gas, for the savings. Truly savvy consumers know the simplest way to save: Capital One Shopping.

This free browser tool saved consumers more than $160 million in 2021. It works by searching more than 30,000 retailers for the best prices, which includes factoring in membership pricing and any shipping costs. If there’s an online coupon or promo code, Capital One Shopping applies it automatically.

Bonus: Every time you shop this way, you earn credits that can be redeemed for gift cards at dozens of major retailers.

All you have to do is install the Capital One Shopping tool. Yes, it really is that simple. Just set it and forget it.

What are you waiting for? Add Capital One Shopping to your browser. It’s free.

Debt happens. No matter how careful you are about spending, a wild card like illness or unemployment can wreck your finances. Scary-high credit card rates make it much harder to pay what you owe.

One way out of debt is to clear it all at once with a personal loan, at a lower interest rate. After that, you have just one monthly payment that costs much less overall. But how to find a lender who won’t sneak in a bunch of fees or other unsavory conditions? Simple: You let the money experts at LendingTree do it for you.

LendingTree works only with trusted financial companies, so you don’t have to worry about being scammed by a bogus online “lender.” And they do it for free.

Take a few minutes to answer some questions on the kind of loan you’ll need, and within seconds, LendingTree will find your best competing loan offers.

Stop paying sky-high interest rates. Choose your best loan offers now.

You can’t do without car insurance. What you can do without? Overpaying for that coverage.

Unfortunately, you’re probably paying too much for it already. Does looking for the best rate seem like too much work? Let The Zebra, an insurance comparison site, take the wheel.

The Zebra will find the absolute best rates from more than 200 insurance providers – and without asking you for a shred of personally identifying info. Other sites want your email or phone number before they’ll help, which can lead to being spammed by eager agents who want your business.

It takes just a couple of minutes for The Zebra to run the numbers. After that, you’ll get a list of the best bets – which means you get to decide who to contact. And the new deal will save you up to $440 a year. Every year.

Do the math: Five years from now, you’ll have saved up to $2,200 on the auto insurance you need.

Are you paying too much for coverage? Enter your ZIP code here to find out.

The average age of the U.S. vehicles is now 12.1 years. Better to have a paid-for jalopy than an expensive monthly car payment, right? But like us, cars start to fall apart as they age – and the most expensive issues usually happen after the manufacturer warranty expires.

But don’t worry: Endurance has your back.

The company offers “vehicle service contracts” (similar to auto warranties) for cars up to 20 years old. Choose from among six different plans in order to get the coverages you need (and to skip the ones you don’t).

All six plans feature 24/7 roadside assistance (via phone or mobile app), plus a rental car benefit if your car needs to stay in the shop. When you join, you’ll also get a free year’s worth of the Elite Benefits program, which includes a collision discount, complete tire coverage, key fob replacement, and a $1,000 benefit if your car is deemed a total loss.

Choose your repair facility from a network of more than 350,000 ASE-certified shops across the country. Endurance pays for repairs upfront, so all you need to cover is the deductible.

ConsumerAffairs.com calls Endurance Warranty “a solid choice” for all drivers. The site also notes that Endurance is “particularly appealing to those with older cars” – which is just about everybody these days.

Stop worrying about expensive auto repairs. Get your fast, free quote today.

Some banks and credit unions pay as little as 0.01% interest on savings accounts. That’s just sad.

Move your money to Current, though, and you’ll earn 4.00%, the highest savings interest rate in the country. That’s 400 times as much interest. You can earn that rate on up to $2,000 worth of deposits for their free account, and up to $6,000 on a premium account.

Current’s banking services are provided by an FDIC member bank, so your account is fully insured.

Current’s basic account is free, there’s no minimum balance and no hidden fees. You’ll also get no-fee withdrawals at more than 40,000 ATMs across the country with its rewards debit card.

Ready to turbocharge your savings? Sign up in less than two minutes.

Having homeowners insurance is essential – but it also isn’t enough. Your house is full of systems and appliances that can (and will!) break down, and that isn’t covered by homeowners insurance. Finding a reputable repair company on short notice can be challenging, and the costs can be terrifying – especially if two or three things break down in the same year.

Don’t struggle to pay for repairs. Protect yourself against them, with help from Select Home Warranty. The company offers three levels of coverage for your appliances and heating/cooling, plumbing and electrical systems.

When something goes wrong due to normal wear and tear, you just call Select Home Warranty, day or night. The company has a wide network of reputable repair folks who will fix what’s wrong.

And if they can’t fix it? Select Home Warranty will replace it. All that you pay is a service fee.

You don’t need a home inspection to qualify for a warranty, and there’s no limit to the number of claims you can file. Right now, Select Home Warranty is offering $150 off plans, two months for free and free roof leak coverage.

Don’t let expensive home repairs drain your bank account. Get a free quote in 30 seconds.

If there were just one easy thing you could do, every day, to save more money, to create more wealth, you’d do it, right?

Well, here it is: Take just five minutes every day and check out the totally free Money Talks Newsletter. More than a million Americans have, and they’ve reported saving an average of $991.20 each by checking our news and advice.

Get the best tips and advice to make, save, and grow your money daily. Sign up for our free newsletter today.

Disclosure: The information you read here is always objective. However, we sometimes receive compensation when you click links within our stories.

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