So I recently happened across this pretty neato BankRate.com article entitled Extreme savers share their secrets. I’m always interested in extreme savings strategies; some of the tips mentioned in the article are super-obvious Tightwad 101 material, but others are a bit more unique, and I learned a few new things. Here’s a brief rundown of most of the strategies suggested in the article, along with some commentary from yours truly:

Track your retail purchases and ask the merchant to refund any price difference if the item goes on sale after you buy it. Generally, I don’t buy stuff at retail, but get it used instead. However, not even the cheapest cheapskate can avoid buying retail sometimes, and for those occasions when you have no other choice, this sounds like a smart tip.

Use online swapping services for stuff like books and DVDs. The article suggests Paperbackswap.com, SwapaCD.com and SwapaDVD.com. I’ve never used any of these services myself, but I have a friend who raves about BookMooch.

Buy used stuff - or get it for free - online. The site suggests Freecycle.org and Craig’s List. Both are definitely good resources for cheap and free stuff. For instance, in my area, there’s no real reason to shop at IKEA because practically everything in their catalog eventually makes its way to Craig’s List at vastly discounted prices.

Purchase whole animals from local farms. At first glance, this seems like a totally nutty tip. What are you supposed to do, haul a cow home and slaughter it in your living room? The article goes on to explain that you can have a butcher sell you, let’s say, a quarter of an animal at a price much cheaper than what you’d pay for those same cuts of meat in the store. I’ve certainly never attempted this. I wonder if it’s really that much cheaper than buying the cuts of meat one by one when they go on sale at the grocery store?

Have someone else negotiate your automobile purchase for you. The idea is that another person is less emotionally invested in the purchase and thus less susceptible to manipulation by the dealer than you would be yourself. I’m not so sure about this one. Wouldn’t someone else also be less concerned about getting the final price as low as possible, since the money ultimately comes out of your pocket and not theirs? Also, the article specifically mentions this as a strategy for buying a new car. If you’re that concerned about cheapness, you should be buying a reliable used car, not a new one that will lose 20% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot.

Give to charity. Not a savings tip, but certainly a nice thing to do for other reasons.

Live in a cheap place. A smart thing to do, and clearly a piece of advice I haven’t taken to heart, since I live in an expensive urban area. The article makes the point that it can be a lot cheaper to live in the countryside than in a posh suburb - and that you don’t necessarily have to be all that much further from all the conveniences of the city. True enough.

Live close to town. This generally contradicts the previous tip, but it can indeed make sense sometimes to live in town. For one thing, you can walk or drive only a short distance to do your daily shopping, and with gas prices as high as they are now, that means something. Also, if you work in the city, you can save yourself from a long commute by living there as well, and time is money (when you work for yourself, you become painfully aware of this).

Use Skype. A really good idea. I have a friend who lives overseas and has forwarded his American cell phone number to Skype - just one more use for this very useful service.

Never use cash when you can use a credit card. The article suggests this as a travel tip, so I think they’re talking specifically about credit cards that give you frequent flier miles. I’ve found that cash back is usually a better deal. I recently wrote about why using cards like this is a good idea. Some people say you should cut up your credit cards, but I disagree for this exact reason. Credit cards can yield some very valuable benefits when used intelligently and responsibly.

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