Cash in Shopping Mistakes & 6 Other Simple Steps to Save $1,000

Bankrate.com has a great list of "7 steps to an extra $1,000." The list contains some of the standard suggestions (use the library, cut the grocery bill), but there are a few that really caught my eye. My favorite: "#2 Return unopened, unused items."

"If you're looking for extra money, your closets or drawers are a good place to start," says John Mruz, president of Juggling Duck Organizers in Morristown, N.J. source: 7 steps to an extra $1,000

From light bulbs in the wrong size to a shirt (new with tags) that never got worn, our closets and drawers are often stuffed with shopping mistakes. We can save money by returning unused items that we don't want, don't need or should not have purchased in the first place.

In my home, we just returned a $10 calligraphy pen to Office Depot. The writing tool was originally purchased because we had planned to address party invitations with calligraphy. But the pen was the wrong format for my beginner-level skill. I needed a calligraphy marker rather than an elaborate calligraphy fountain pen, which would have been harder to use and more expensive.

That pen-in-package sat around our house for weeks. Eventually, we returned it to Office Depot and exchanged our mistake for a box of Thank You cards, which we really needed. In the past, I may have just eaten the loss and thrown the calligraphy pen into the back of a desk drawer. More space-hogging clutter for my brain!

Our homes are often filled with shopping mistakes that we are either too busy, too lazy or too embarrassed to take back. As a result many of us have trinkets, clothing and other items (new with tags) stored around our homes.

Some of these items find a second life in thrift stores and in hand-me-down piles, where I have spotted new merchandise with tags thrown in with used items. Giving away our shopping mistakes is one solution. We can also hit the return button at the customer service desk at our favorite stores. Or we can shop less. That last strategy ranks high on my to-do list.

Here's the full list of 7 steps to an extra $1,000 from Bankrate.com:

1. Look for discounted dinner entrees
2. Return unopened, unused items
3. Look for extra grocery savings
4. Check out materials from the library
5. Bundle cable, phone and Internet services
6. Negotiate with monthly service providers
7. Stash money for easier savings next year

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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in June of 2008 by DPL Press.