Who doesn't need helpful ways to save money that will grow their savings?
I mean I know I do!
But the reality is that not everyone saves money, and saving money doesn't have to be painful.
Seriously, saving your money doesn't have to be as hard as you might think.
The good news is that by using these 20 helpful ways to save money, you will be on the right track this year to save money and make money.
You will see how many ways are there to save money. How much you will keep during the year and how much fun it can be to save money!
Remember that is not only about money but about the right mindset when it comes to saving money and taking your finances under control. These money-saving tips when followed will help you save money.
20 Helpful Ways To Save Money
Create a budget
When it comes to your finances nothing will get fixed if you don't have a budget in place. Learning where your money is going is a crucial part of learning how to get control of your money. A budget is a spending plan and will help you along your debt freedom road.
You can find budgeting resources below:
- The Best Personal Budgeting Templates
- How To Recover From Debt On A Low Income
- Is The Cash Envelope System For You?
Start a yearly financial challenge
Start an annual financial challenge to save money. These challenges are fun and very helpful. We did the 52 Week Saving Challenge in 2014, and it was a fun way to help cash for our Christmas.
There are many money challenges out there, and I have to admit that I truly enjoy adding some spark to my finances and adding some money challenges into the mix. Finding the best monthly money challenges to try this year can be a bit intimidating, especially if you if you are a beginner.
For ideas, you will be able to find many money challenges out there. Some are simple, and some are, well, challenging. Monthly money challenges are challenges that will help you save money or make money.
You can learn more about monthly financial challenges below:
Use coupons
Coupons save you money when used wisely and the savings from using coupons can be significant, up to 50% a transaction. That being said, coupons have evolved to the point where anyone now can save money.
Hey, you can still print your coupons from newspapers and online too, but you can use your smartphone too!
You see, technology continues to improve and the ability to use coupons and save money are easier too! I used coupons because I didn't have money and I needed to pay my debt, and I had time to coupon. Til this day I still use coupons and I still love to save money.
Even as I start to earn more money, I wouldn't give coupons up; however, the way I use coupons has changed and I'm here to tell you why I coupon this way now.
Even today I continue to use coupons and I still love to save money. Even as my income grew from years ago, I wouldn't give coupons up; however, the way I use coupons has changed all thanks to technology.
Coupons have evolved from Sunday papers to online coupons, to phone apps. My life has changed from what it was a few years ago as well. We are a one vehicle family and I'm busier than before. For these many reasons, the way I coupon has changed to accommodate my new life. If you are like me, busy and seeing a change on how you coupon.
Find resources to help you save with coupons below:
Rebates apps:
Read more about coupons:
Set aside any extra money
Making extra cash on the side is not as hard as you might think. In fact, I started this blog to make some money on the side when I became a stay at home mom. There are tons of ways you can make extra money on the side and then use that extra cash and add it to your savings.
Why settle for your regular income when you can make some extra cash and you might even find your future career!
Once again technology has helped us in this department and you can make money while watching videos, shopping, and even playing games! If you have a smartphone then you might be able to make some extra cash while on break from your job.
- Below you will find a list of online survey companies:
- Opinion Outpost
- National Consumer Panel USA
- Inbox Dollars
- MindsPay
- Toluna – Get Rewarded for Surveys & Polls
- PineCone – Male
- PineCone – Hispanic
- Opinion Surveys
- Opinions Network Surveys
You can also check the resources below for ideas to help you make extra money:
Buy items on sale
Every week stores have weekly sales. Take advantage of the items that are on sale each week to save some money. Don't forget to use the store reward cards and your coupons to save even more money.
If you prefer buying items in bulk then check out the posts below:
Use a shopping list
Always shop with a shopping list. Write down what you need and stick to your list this will help you avoid buying unwanted items. There are many benefits to using a grocery list and below are some:
- Saves you money
- Saves you time
- It is a great tool to use when meal planning
Write a menu plan for the week
If you haven't thought about writing a weekly menu plan then I suggest you check these reasons why you need to start creating and using a menu plan:
- Saves you money
- Saves you time
- Reduces food waste
- Good for your health
You can learn more about menu planning below:
Quit eating out
This was one of our weakness years ago, eating out. It was when we did our budget and saw how much money we were spending that we simply stop eating out during our debt journey.
If you are going to go out and enjoy a meal here are apps you can use to save money while eating out.
Just joined Dine Rewards and you can too! Earn $5 when you use this link!
Pack your own lunch
This is simple, bring your food from home and save the money of buying it at work. Calculate how much you spend buying lunch and snacks at work, and you will see how much you are spending. This could save you more money than you think by simply packing your own lunch to work. You could take leftovers to work!
Make your own coffee
Adding the cost of that coffee, you buy every morning on your way to work will surprise you. Why not make your own coffee at home and take it to work instead? You will save a lot of money this year by doing this.
Quit smoking
You don't need to wait until the New Year to quit smoking start now this is not only good for you financially but for your health too!
Buy Energy Star rated appliances
Energy Saving appliances not only help you reduce your electric bill, but it also helps the environment.
Have a yard sale
Yard sales are the best way to earn extra cash for things you no longer need or want. Now to have a successful yard sale you have to make sure you follow these tips below:
- Make sure your items are priced
- Make sure your items are clean
- Don't price items too high
- Advertise
To learn more about yard sale mistakes to avoid check the link below.
Insulate your home during the winter
Take the time to insulate your home this winter properly. This will help you reduce your heating cost.
Schedule Maintenance For Your Heating System
During the fall is the time to schedule maintenance services for your boiler and other heating services. You want to make sure your equipment is running properly and safe now rather than during a nasty winter storm.
Get Ready For The Winter Season
Make the time and take advantage of the not so cold weather to get your home ready for winter. Look for leaks around the windows and doors. Cover your windows with plastic to avoid cold drafts.
Change Your Filters
Just like spring, it is time to change your filter on most HVAC systems. This will prevent clogs due to dirty filters. If you don't do this, it can cost you a lot of money on your utilities. It can even burn out your system if left unchecked for too long!
Turn Down The Temperature Of Your Water Heater
By turning down the temperature of your water heater to a warm setting of 120F, you will use less energy and save money.
Don't Use Holiday Decorations That Require Electricity
We love to decorate here, and honestly, I think Christmas we went nuts with lights. Halloween we went even crazier decorating years ago, but as the years passed and we grew conscious of our finances, so did the type and amount of decorations we used. We still decorate, more for Christmas than Halloween, but we are more conscious of our electric bill, and we use LED to help keep the cost down.
You can grab this free Fall Cleaning Checklist that will help you save money when you click the picture below.
Make homemade meals
Home meals don't have to be difficult at all. I am thankful for slow cookers, bread makers and such. 🙂 You can find hot deals at Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.
Turn off and unplug your appliances
If you are not using it, then unplug it. This helps bring the cost of your electric bill down, and it works. We do this at home, and you can see a difference in your statement. If you have children make it a game and assign them to be “Power cops” to check every day on things that should be unplugged. 🙂
Use Swagbucks to earn free gift cards
Start using Swagbucks now and start accumulating points so you could score big on free gift cards later in the year!
Get rid of cable
You don’t need all those channels. Find other alternatives to watching TV like Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and such. I can guarantee you that there will be tons of Christmas movies there.
You can learn how to reduce your cable bill today with these tips.
- Ask For Discount
- Stick To The Basic
- Digital Antenna
MOHU ANTENNA
As much as we speak about cutting our spending and how to save money on this blog, you will know that I have a solution to help you save money. One way to cut back on spending is by cutting cable or satellite. You all know cable is expensive, and if you are struggling financially, I will tell you that you can watch television with the help of a Mohu antenna.
Free TV, brought to you by the Mohu antenna, which offers unlimited access to free, over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV (including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.) for a budget-friendly, one-time fee.
Find the right mobile plan for you
Do you need a smartphone? Compare service plans and see what plan works for you. You might be surprised how much money you will save. Check out this hot deal from Republic Wireless $15/month no contract!
Switch Insurance
Every two years switch insurance. Maybe this is the year you need to look at your house, car insurance and shop around. Any amount of money you save is worth it.
Conclusion
There are many ideas out there that will help you save money but I am pretty sure that these 20 helpful ways to save money will definitely help you grow your savings.
Now your turn: What other helpful ways to save money do you have for us? Share it with us!
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The New Year is always the best time to re-evaluate goals and strategize how to best prepare for the upcoming year and life!
Yes it is! I love this time of the year to be honest. Thank you CatK.
#18 has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made! We’re 2 years free of cable/satellite and don’t plan to go back! Great ideas!!!!
Thank Michelle!! Congratulations on getting rid of cable/satellite TV.
Great advices. I got rid of cable long time ago and I do not miss it:)
That’s great llona!!
This is a great list thanks I have been really wanted to get into couponing and I think that this is the year to look into it
My suggestion when using coupons, take it slow. 🙂
Great tips – we really want to save this year. We’ve been cable free for 3 years now and don’t miss it at all.
This is great Danielle!
good list…we changed insurance recently and saved quite a bit!
We did too!! Felt bad I had to switch and leave my old agent but …. 🙂
Those are really great tips. I will try some of them for sure!
Thank you Caroline!
This is a really great list. Thank you!
Thanks Melissa!
Great list! We have such a problem with eating out! We do it at least 3-4 times a week for lunch or dinners on my husbands days off. Definitely something to cut back on!
Tara, we were terrible. We used to eat out all the time!
Love your list! I really need to start using coupons when I go shopping and stop going out to eat and visiting Starbucks! Definitely need to do some cutting back this year!
Start small so you don’t feel so overwhelmed with cutting back is what I suggest. 🙂 Starbucks cold turkey? EEEeeek! 🙂
This is a great list! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m going to do some of these!
Thank you Lauren.
These are such great tips. I got rid of cable yesterday. Best feeling ever. Our family got us hulu gift cards instead. I plan on applying all these to our lives.
Kim, Hulu is a great investment and you won’t regret it!
Love the suggestions! I found when we write down all that we spend, we see where money goes and where we can stop the outflow. I also changed insurances recently, and my agent was so offended, he was actually kind of rude. I told him we were saving $1000 dollars a year, and he started lecturing me on loyalty, and I thought what about trying to keep customers happy. We had been with him for about 15 years, and he couldn’t match what I found with the new company, and he agreed that the new company I was switching to did good business. I like to be loyal, but $1000 is a lot of money.
When we first started doing our budget and saw where our money was going I cried! I did the same thing with my insurance company I was with them for close to 10 years and had to part ways to save me tons of money like you. I agree $1000 is a lot of money. Good for you!
These are such great tips! I really need to check out Swagbucks…just never have the time to do so!
Swagbucks is so great and easy to earn bucks! You have to give it a try.
As always, great ideas. Now that i’m going to be at home, I’m going to work hard on making homemade meals, not eating out, using coupons and unplugging our electronics. I’m excited that I’ll actually be able to think about this stuff now!
I was too when I became a stay at home mom. I enjoy it to be honest.
I make my own coffee, but we need to not eat out nearly as much as we do. Making a budget is so important. Love your blog!
Alana that was our biggest downfall, we ate out a lot. I didn’t know how bad until we started to write it down in our budget. Thank you. I enjoy your blog too!
These are some really great tips, did you mean to say In 2015 instead of On 2015?
Awesome List! I love the idea of couponing but I don’t really know the ins and outs of it.
I really like this list. I’m doing some already and will try the others also. Thanks!