Saving Money: How to save BIG instead of giving up life’s little pleasures

Posted by Elisabeth Leamy, Tue Sep 29 2015, 03:03AM

How would you like to save thousands of dollars in 2010? "SAVE BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands" is the title of a my new book, which I rushed to write in an effort to give people money-saving, life-changing information in this tricky economy. To see whether my strategies can work for ordinary folks, "Good Morning America" challenged me to do a savings makeover for a family. The way to SAVE BIG is to target your top five costs, namely: houses, cars, credit, groceries and health care. I managed to compile $1,176,916 worth of savings examples for the book and I used several of them to help the Crest family of Baltimore SAVE BIG. I arrived at the Crest's house on New Year's Day, bearing a gift -- the gift of savings. "Are you ready to save big in 2010?" I asked when they opened the door.

Posted by Elisabeth Leamy, Tue Sep 29 2015, 02:51AM

It's possible to save tens of thousands of dollars by using a few savvy --but simple—strategies. When we offered savings makeovers based on the strategies in my book SAVE BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands, hundreds of "GMA" viewers wrote in. For my first "GMA" Savings Makeover, I found $46,993 in savings for the family. My second makeover netted $188,852 in savings! After that big one, I vowed that next I would make over a family with significant debt to show that even for people in that tough situation there are smart moves you can make to get out from under the bills and SAVE BIG.

Posted by Elisabeth Leamy, Tue Sep 29 2015, 02:37AM

If you saw my latest "GMA Savings Makeover," you know that I saved the Gunn family of Oswego, N.Y., more than $58,000 by using six simple strategies. Their monthly savings will be $847 -- really meaningful money for them. This was my fourth Savings Makeover, based on the strategies in my book, SAVE BIG. Frankly, I started doing them because people were skeptical and I wanted to prove that the techniques in my book really do work and aren't hard at all. The Gunns approached me because their 2010 New Year's resolution was to pay their bills on time and start saving. Our story aired on Dec. 22, so we just made the cut off!

Posted by Elisabeth Leamy, Tue May 26 2015, 05:05AM

Save BIG by Making Easy, Painless Tweaks to Your Family Finances Good Morning America “Savings Makeover” Finds $188,852 in Savings for a Family Savings Areas Targeted: