Today's tip comes from my sister, Catherine. She recommends paying your bills online (saving the cost of a stamp) but still receiving your statements in the mail. By getting your statements on paper, you can also save the envelope they send you for other mailings! I think she also said, "Booya!" to emphasize her frugality. Be careful, though - some companies charge a fee for paying your bill online or over the phone!
Other ways to save postage (other than not sending any mail!):
1. Send a postcard. Postage for postcards are about half the price of an envelope. Twenty cents here and there adds up if you're sending birthday cards and holiday cards to family and friends all year long!
2. Mail it from work. Obviously you shouldn't take advantage of your workplace to mail thousands of flyers, but even strictly-run offices probably won't mind an occasional letter to Grandma slipped into the outgoing mail.
3. Media mail. Every so often I'll send a box of books to my nieces. Mailing these first-class would cost me more than the books did! Media rates are drastically lower, and though they warn of longer delivery time (up to three weeks!), I've found they usually arrive just as fast as first class mail.
Other ways to save postage (other than not sending any mail!):
1. Send a postcard. Postage for postcards are about half the price of an envelope. Twenty cents here and there adds up if you're sending birthday cards and holiday cards to family and friends all year long!
2. Mail it from work. Obviously you shouldn't take advantage of your workplace to mail thousands of flyers, but even strictly-run offices probably won't mind an occasional letter to Grandma slipped into the outgoing mail.
3. Media mail. Every so often I'll send a box of books to my nieces. Mailing these first-class would cost me more than the books did! Media rates are drastically lower, and though they warn of longer delivery time (up to three weeks!), I've found they usually arrive just as fast as first class mail.
2 comments:
To add to that, I don't know if Media rate is the same as book rate, but that is definitely a low cost alternative. They do reserve the right to open the box to make sure it is books. They are somewhat protective of that manner of sending packages.
Mom - They updated the term "book rate" to "media mail" some years ago to include all types of media, not just books. I believe it includes CDs, DVDs, and magazines as well, so they updated the name to reflect that.
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