Shop for deals, not stuff: Linda Stern

- Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern@aol.com -

By Linda Stern

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - I'm getting a "free" $275 shopping spree at Costco this month.

Here's how: I use the American Express Costco True Earnings credit card all year long. It gives me a rebate of 3 percent on gasoline, 3 percent on restaurants, 2 percent on airline tickets and other travel, and 1 percent on everything else, including those big stock-up tires-to-toilet paper trips to the warehouse chain itself.

Once a year, in February, the rebates get tallied and sent to me in the form of a Costco gift check. When I receive it, I'll go stock up on all the usual groceries and household items I'll use over the next few months. It's one way I make my money go further -- something everyone feels the need to do now, as the economy continues to tank.

Happily, there are now more tools than ever to help consumers spend less on their lifestyle, and the new frugality has a whole Web-based cottage industry of its own.

Below I'll list some of the better ways to cut your family budget, but if you'd rather immerse yourself in 1001 ideas -- from bathroom remodeling to budget cake decorating -- go to frugality.alltop.com and spend a few hours clicking from one to the other. (At least you won't be spending money while you're busy reading.)

Here are some smart ways to save money now:

-- Crunch all of your communications costs. Prepare ahead of time for when your cell phone contract expires, by getting quotes from all competitors. You can save money here if you really have to by using pre-loaded phones, skype.com for long-distance calls, and phones that are a generation or two removed from the latest and greatest. Check recommendations at billshrink.com to see which carrier would cost you the least in your neighborhood.

-- Re-shop all of your insurance. The cost of term life insurance has actually dropped in recent years, so if you're sitting on old policies, look around to replace them with newer, better ones. Shop at insure.com and accuquote.com.

Check your auto insurance against rates at insweb.com, geico.com and progressive.com. If you want to keep the policy you have, call your insurer to see whether you qualify for any discounts (such as those for getting good grades or having a safe driving history) that you don't know about. Whenever possible, increase your deductibles. It will bring your monthly premiums down. The purpose of insurance is not to cover your first dollar of expenses, it is to protect you from the catastrophe you can't afford.

-- Embrace coupons, but not too emphatically. You really can save money on groceries by doing things like combining manufacturers' coupons with sales and shopping at stores that offer double and triple coupon promotions. Look at websites like retailmenot.com and hotcouponworld.com for the latest coupons, and at thegrocerygame.com to put it together with your own local store sales. Go to the websites of your local groceries to check the weekly sales before you head out to do your shopping. But don't go overboard. If couponing starts to cost you hours that could be used more productively in other ways, or causes you to start buying more and more expensive processed foods, step away from the scissors.

-- Make the most of credit card deals. The Amex card I use is one of many. If you're paying interest on card balances now, use indexcreditcards.com to find a good new card that will let you transfer the balance and save money. One at the top of its list now is the State Farm Good Neighbor Credit Card, which has no balance transfer fee for the first 90 days and a 0 percent rate for 9 billing cycles. If you're not already shopping with a good cash-rebate card, look for one of those too.

-- Put some effort into comparison shopping your big ticket items. Car shoppers save money by getting online quotes before they go to the showroom, and so do folks who shop online before they go to stores. Try dodtracker.com, pricegrabber.com and beatmyprice.com as starting points for most consumer goods.

Register any airlines tickets you buy at yapta.com; it will notify you if prices drop enough for you to request an adjustment on your fare.

-- Save on gas. Even though oil prices have dropped, it still helps to save every bit you can when you fill your tank. Two websites to check for the cheapest prices in your neighborhood are gasbuddy.com, and gasprices.mapquest.com/ (without the www.) Or you could just go back to Costco, which has low pump prices at the warehouses which offer gas. But remember not to spend an additional $300 on miscellany just because you're there filling up your tank.

That would defeat the whole money-saving point.

(editing by Gunna Dickson)