Inspiration to save and invest money feels good but it soon expires.  In order to fatten up your bank account with more money you have to execute and take action.  So what can you do?

Here are 5.5 tips that you can start right now:

1.  Review Your Largest Discretionary Expenses and Pick One to Reduce For a lot of people this expense is eating out or other forms of entertainment.  As a hypothetical let’s suppose a family spends $300 a month but has the goal of trimming that number down to $150. They could do it a couple ways but the one that would likely have the most staying power is to reduce the spending gradually, say over 6 months.

Month 1: $275

Month 2: $250

Month 3: $225

Month 4: $200

Month 5: $175

Month 6: $150

A $25 reduction in spending is something any of us could probably manage.  Doing this each month takes the pain out of smart budgeting at the same time freeing up more money to then pay down debt, building up emergency savings, or invest in a retirement account.

2.  Monetize Your Hobbies/Interests/Skills Everyone has unique talents but not everyone knows how use them to create more cash flow.  Do you have handyman skills?  A lot of people don’t or they simply do not have enough time to complete projects.  Tell people in your community what you can do for them and charge money for your time.

But if you don’t have a service to offer are you out of luck?  Heavens no!  I’ll never be known for by knitting abilities but many talented, crafty people have set up successful online stores at Etsy.com.  Maybe that’s a place for you.

3.  Negotiate with Your Service Providers TV and internet companies spend a ton of money to acquire new customers so use this to your advantage.  Call them up and explain that it’s a “tough economic environment” and ask for a better rate.  In some cases you may only receive a short term reduction in price.  Take it because anything is better than zero.  Remember that these companies work for you so if they say no, call back another time.  Most likely you’ll deal with a different service rep.  A little time invested could save you serious $$$.  Take the added cash and invest the money. 

4.  Improve Your Credit Score There is no magic potion to pulling this one off.  Credit scores range from 850 (excellent) to 350 (very poor) and most of us are somewhere in between.  But where you end up on that spectrum has major impact on the amount of money you save.

Lenders use credit scores as a way to determine how big of risk you are when they loan you their money.  The formula is simple:  If you are higher risk this means you likely have a low credit score and therefore will be charged a higher interest rate.  A lower risk individual will experience the opposite; a higher credit score and a much lower interest rate thus putting more money in your pocket.

So if you want that lower interest rate establish the financial habit of making your payments on time and keeping balances well below your credit limit.

5.  Take advantage of free rewards from credit cards and memberships  Reduced prescription costs, discounted hotel prices, free extended warranties on electronics – these are all money-saving benefits offered by credit card companies and/or membership programs like AAA.  Review the rewards offered to you often and see where you can take advantage. 

5.5  Win the Mental Game Whn You Invest Money Managing emotions are a major element to achieving financial success.  Just look at all the people who were selling off their stock market investments one year ago as the market reached the bottom.  They got caught in the heat of moment and due to their emotions, made a terrible financial mistake. 

Perhaps the good part of the economic environment we’ve all experienced is that it will make people more conscious about their spending, saving and investing their money.  Make today the day to add to your emergency savings, start an Individual Retirement Account, increase your 401k contribution or establish a family budget.  If you want to manage your budget online, then a tool like Mint.com might be a site to check out.

There are lots more ideas and tools out there to explore in order to save and invest money today.  Have any good ones to share that have worked well for you?

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For budget-conscious shoppers, the free ShopSavvy mobile device application is worth your attention.  Your phone’s camera is transformed into a barcode scanner that allows you to find the best prices both online and in your local area.

For example, let’s say you are at a store and find that perfect gift for someone.  You can pay full retail price at the store or with the ShopSavvy app you can scan the barcode to find out if another retailer has the same item at a better price.

Where the real power comes into play for consumers is for high price items.  Suppose you are now in the market for that big, high definition TV you’ve had your eye on.  The salesperson at the store you visit says their price is the best “deal” around  But is it really?

Watch the below video for a brief demonstration:

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