$65 by finding cheaper auto insurance. Annual surveys of CR readers have shown that many have stayed with the same auto insurer for 15 years. Depending on people's profiles and where they live, you might be able to save hundreds a month by shopping around. For example, a married couple without violations or accidents but with a driving-age son in Los Angeles can save $380 per month on standard coverd by switching to a lower-cost auto insurer.

How to do it: Start at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Web site, click on NAIC States and jurisdictions to find your state's insurance department. Most provide comparative premium quotes based on standard customer profiles.

$110 by optimizing your life insurance. Life insurance premiums have dropped dramaticaly since the 1990s. It will probably pay for you to replace a policy bought years ago with a comparable new one. A $500,000 20-year guaranteed level term from Prudential, for example, would have cost a 50-year-old about $2,125 a year in 1998. Today, the same guy, now 60, could pay Prudential $1,385 a year for the same coverage over the next ten years, saving $60 a month.

How to do it: Get premium quotes at www.accuquote.com and www.lifeinsure.com. Don’t cancel your existing policy until you have a new one already in place.

How to do it: Plan menus around sales of fresh poultry, fish, meat, dairy, and produce, and make use of leftovers. Avoid costly prepared meals. Eat more low-priced high-nutrition foods like beans and potatoes. Try less expensive store brands, and sign up for store discount cards.

$25 by forcing yourself to stop paying bank fees. Banks collected some $39 billion in account fees and penalties last year. That works out to an average of $28 per month per household. But with some planning, you can pay zero.

How to do it: Bank at large institutions with lots of ATMs in convenient locations. Shop for free checking and strictly adhere to provisions for a minimum balance, direct deposit, or other conditions to avoid monthly fees.

$35 by calling up phone savings. When CR’s experts examined real phone bills they uncovered savings from $15 a month for budget callers to $55 per month for heavy users.

How to do it: Peruse your last few month’s phone bills to assess how many minutes you typically use on landline and wireless calls. Comparison shop among cellular service providers, the local phone company, and your cable TV company. Don’t buy more than you need, such as an unlimited cellular plan if you rarely go over 900 minutes per month.

$65 by paying off your credit card. On average, consumers who carry a balance owe $2,200, on which they pay 15.2 percent in annual interest charges. Eliminate that and save $28 per month. Some 15 percent of consumers carry balances of $10,000 or more; they can save $125 per month by paying off their debt.

How to do it: Stop charging, then pay more than the minimum required each month until it’s paid off. Dig up cash for this from your U.S. Treasury stimulus check, garage sales, or extra work part-time.

Even if you adopt just a couple of those ideas, you could save a bundle so what are you waiting for? Snap to it.