I saved myself $200 with two phone calls in the past two days. Both took only 10 minutes and I made one while walking my dog. They were very little effort, but with a nice payoff.

Yesterday I made a call to my insurance company to let them know our 18 year-old daughter has just left for college without the car. She is still a covered driver, but since she’s not a daily driver our premium was reduced by $160 until our upcoming renewal.

Today I made a phone call to a rental car company to dispute a gas charge of $45. After hearing my explanation, they agreed to refund the charge.

I could have easily skipped making these calls, but I’m glad I didn’t. Sometimes saving money is as easy as picking up the phone. Think about your finances for a moment, and ask yourself – do you have any calls to make? Here are a few other tips to save money now or each month:

• Check to see if you’ve received any wrongful overdraft charges or fees from your bank – many make mistakes all the time. Dispute these charges and get back what they owe you.
• Call and find out how to avoid monthly fees from your bank.
• If you’re paying a lot in credit card interest, remember that you have the right to call and negotiate new interest rates, or transfer your balance to an entirely different card. Look for one that has an introductory 0% APR.
• Cancel unused club memberships and subscriptions for that gym you never use and that magazine you don’t read.
• Take a look at your cell-phone bill and see if there are any services you don’t use and can stop paying for.

There are lots of little shortcuts and loopholes to saving money – just take a look at what you’re paying for and you’ll surely find something. A little extra cash is worth a few minutes on the phone! I hope you enjoyed these money saving tips and can put them to good use.

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