Whether times are tough or prosperous for you, it's good to know how to keep more of your own money in your pocket. If you've ever sat down to think of ways to make or save more money, then this article is for you. After all, one of the best ways to make an extra $500 a month is to simply not spend it. Well, that's easy enough, right? However, the tricky part is doing so while maintaining your standard of living.

Here is a list of 25 ways to save money right now:

1. Hang your clothes to dry. If you have allergies or live in a cold climate, hang them indoors.

2. Bundle your technology services like internet, cable and home phone

3. Switch to a national to a regional service provider for cellular service

4. Drive a car that's paid for or has a very low payment

5. Bundle your insurance policies such as renter's, car and disability

6. Get a water filter for your faucet or get a pitcher/filter combo instead of buying bottled water7.

8. Shop at a grocery store with less frills and thrills so you're only paying for the food, not the daycare center, dry cleaner or video rental services. Shopping at Aldi can save you about 50% off of your grocery bill

9. Clip coupons

10. Stack coupons with sales for double savings

11. Stack coupons, sales and loyal shopper rewards (i.e. CVS Extra Bucks) for triple savings

12. Buy a lot of 10 coupons for the same product online at sites like ebay.com. Then when the item goes on sale, buy several so you never have to pay full price for staple food and household items again.

13. Celebrate special occasions with quality time or service-related activities instead of expensive jewelry or restaurants. You'll remember those rewarding and special times even more than another pair of earrings.

14. Make your kids' birthday cakes each year and decorate them yourself.

Cancel your newspaper subscription (unless you clip coupons) and read it online instead.

15. Do you really need the super duper cable package?

16. Wash your car at home.

17. If it's yellow let it mellow (don't flush the toilet for #1).

18. Stop overpaying your taxes and getting large refunds. Why give the government an interest-free loan when you're hurting for extra cash?

19. Shop in the offseason. Buy lawn furniture in the early fall. Buy winter clothes in spring.

20. Stop buying the same clothing items over and over again. Yes, people do this. Hang all your similar clothing items together so you know what you have and/or need before you shop.

21. Stop buying so many trendy clothing items. Invest in staple items like quality jeans and plain t-shirts. Then dress them up with great shoes and accessories you can wear again and again.

22. Wash your sneakers if they're dirty and they'll look like new. Don't simply buy new ones if you don't have to.

23. Ask your mechanic, dentist, hair stylist/barber and other service providers for a discount in exchange for you referring others to them.

24. Learn to rehab second-hand items like furniture. Why buy new dining chairs when you could simply recover the cushions using a few yards of fabric and a staple gun? Need new bar stools? Stop at the Goodwill furniture store, find a set of real wood stools and refinish them for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

25. Spend cash. You'll think long and hard before you let go of it.

Hopefully this list of ways to save money will get your brain to consider alternative ways to get things done. Remember, you can live well for less if you take some time to think it over.