Eight Sure-Fire Ways to Sock Away $100

Let the economic pundits argue whether or not we're in a recession. Either way, consumers are cutting back on spending.

Along with this comes a desire to save money as well. But how? If you have a few hours to spare you can find ways to put $100 or more back into your pocket.

The money may not show up instantly, but the time and effort to create the savings is minimal. By year's end you will have saved a nice chunk of change. In some cases, your savings will keep piling up well after that.

Here are eight actions to add $100 or more to your savings:
1. Wash With Cold Water

Many people don't realize that the major cost of running a washing machine is the electricity it takes to heat the water. This accounts for 85% to 90% of the energy used.

Set your washing machine to run a cold wash/cold rinse cycle instead of a hot wash/cold rinse. This should have little impact on how clean your clothes get since washing machines and detergents have advanced enough that only the dirtiest and greasiest clothes now need a hot wash to get clean.

While a hot wash/cold rinse setting will cost about $100 to $150 a year if you do a load of laundry a day, the same number of loads with a cold wash/cold rinse setting will cost about $10 a year.

That's $100 in savings, and can be much more if you have children and do frequent wash loads. Best of all, it takes a split second to turn the knob on your washing machine to receive this savings.