Saving money is always on my mind and one of the hardest to maintain throughout the year. As simple as it may sound, saving money is one of the most challenging when it comes to keeping up with our personal finances. To help you start saving this year, here are 40 ways to save money that work!
We talked about saving money, a lot, on this blog; and if saving money was so easy, we wouldn’t be in such financial messes in this country. We are more focused on spending money than saving money it seems at the moment; and if any of these 40 ways to save money inspire you and helps you to save, then our job here is done.
The truth is that we have about covered every way to save money here, and it seems that as the year passes, new ideas to help you save money just keep coming. Just this year, we started using Digit to help grow our savings, and we simply love it.
Why is saving money important?
Money not saved will cost you more money.
Like stated above, if you don’t have the funds to pay for an emergency, it could cost you more money. Not having money to fix your car, you decided to charge it to your credit card. Credit cards will charge you an outrageous amount of interest if is not paid in full that month.
If you don’t use your credit card and use a cash advance place, you will pay fees and interests as well. If you decided not to pay one of your bills and use that money to pay for your car service bill, you would pay a late fee for not paying your bill one time. There is even a service reinstated fee for having your service shut off due to no payment.
Do you see the effects of not saving money? Credit cards, cash loan services, and not paying your bills are not ways to pay for emergencies. The money that you have saved is what you need to pay for your emergencies. No extra cost at all, and no stress!
Check out these posts:
- 5 Sneaky Ways To Save Money On Your Electric Bill
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- 6 Frugal Camping Essentials You Never Thought Of
Peace of Mind
Knowing that you have money saved will reduce your stress level. No more worrying about how you are going to afford for that unwanted emergency (like that noise in your car's engine that is quickly getting worse). As you save money, your stress level will go down because you know you have the money to cover it.
Control
When you save money, you have more control of your life. I didn’t enjoy my job, and I wanted to stay at home with my kids. We had enough money saved that when I had to quit my job, we knew we would be OK because we had the funds to helps us get to the next chapter of our lives.
You can control your money and not let money control you. Fast forward to today and I work from home, and every time we continue to save, we tell our money where to go; not the other way around.
Now that you know why saving money is important, I hope you get inspired by these 40 ways to save money that will work!
40 Ways to Save Money That Works!
Live by the adage: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without
This alone says it all! If you have something use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without! In today’s world, we seem to forget and want more, spent more and acted like everything is a need.
Budget – track every single dime you spend
Tracking everything you spend and your income is what needs to be done. Seriously, do you sit and track every penny spent?
Believe it or not, many people don’t take the time to track their finances at all! If wanting to save money is what you want.
Buy used
Buying second-hand and used is by far a great way to save money. A great example is to buy second-hand baby clothes because honestly, babies grow fast and buying new clothes for a newborn is a waste of money sometimes.
Don’t buy it on sale if you don’t need it
The assumption that if an item is on sale, you must buy it doesn’t mean you are saving money. The question you need to ask yourself is if you NEED this item. Remember spending money means you are not saving money.
Scrape containers for the last bit
Scrapping the last of your toothpaste or the last of your shampoo doesn’t make you a bad person at all. It makes you a smart, savvy person, my friend. Nothing wrong with getting that last of toothpaste or gel from that container, you paid for it!
Pay all bills on time
Many people don’t realize that paying your bills late mean you are paying more. When you don’t pay your bills on time, you are paying late fees and sometimes disconnection charges and connection charges.
Avoid impulse buying
To avoid impulse buying let me give you some tips. Use a shopping list, don’t go out shopping if you don’t need anything. Have an urge to spend money? Wait it out at least 3 days!
Coupon, shop around for the best deals
There is nothing wrong with taking the time to find the best deal on an item. Take the time to shop around and see if there are coupons available to maximize the sale.
Maintain your things
The reason behind maintaining your things is so they can last longer and save you money. Keeping your home maintenance is a great example. Keeping yearly gutters and AC unit is a great way to save money.
Avoid buying coffee
The average price of a tall coffee in Starbucks is about $3.00! Sorry, my friends but you don’t NEED Starbuck coffee to survive. Many of us have done a great without it.
As trendy and as good at it coffee may sound, buying coffee from your grocery store and making it at home will save you money
Pack lunch
Just like purchasing coffee the same can be said about buying your lunch every day. Seriously think about packing lunch because the truth is that you will be saving money. TONS of money.
Utilize leftovers
Leftovers are a great way to save money! Let’s be real food waste equals money waste.
Cook at home
Just like avoiding buying lunch at work, cooking your meals at home will save you money. Create simple meals with affordable ingredients to keep your cost even lower.
Freeze meals
If you made a meal and know you have enough to freeze for later, do it! Freezing meals not only save you money but it saves you time in the kitchen.
Buy in bulk
Sometimes buying in bulk saves you more money. One thing to remember is that the entire point of buying bulk is to buy items with the lowest price-per-unit as possible.
Buy generic
Generic brands are not always bad or “cheaper” knockoffs. If you take the time to read the ingredient and who manufactures them, you will be surprised.
Create a shopping list
A shopping list is a great tool to have to help you stick to what you need to buy and not overspend at all.
It also avoids missing key items you need that you might have to go the store to buy again. Before heading to the store, create a list of the things you need and only purchase those items on your list.
Don’t go grocery shopping hungry
Going to the store when hungry has to be the worst thing I do. Ever enter a grocery store and smell those delicious bakery items and your stomach screams I WANT THAT!
The truth is that going shopping will cause you to overspend more. You are not thinking with your head but with your stomach so before you go out eat something.
Replace soda with water
The cost of soda is up, and it is also not good for you! Now when we say water, we don’t always mean bottled water as sometimes bottled water can cost as much as soda!
Water is free and if you don’t trust your tap water invest in a filter. We have bottle waters with filters, and it saves us money.
DIY soap, laundry detergent, and dishwashing soap
Want to save even more money, DIY your home cleaners and soap. Seem like vinegar is the best thing around when it comes to a home cleaner.
Check out these DIY home cleaner recipes and find the best homemade cleaner for the job.
Cut cable
Yes, you can live without cable many people do it and you can too! There are many alternatives out there.
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Cut music subscriptions
Try Pandora or any other free music service that lets you listen to music for free!
Cancel gym memberships
Try-at-home workouts because you can exercise without spending money.
Get magazines at your local library instead of buying them
You can get magazines for free now a day, and you don’t have to spend money on subscriptions. Learn how to score free magazines when you read this link.
Rent movies from the library instead of buying them
If you didn’t know the library has movies you can rent for free! You can also ask your friends and family to borrow movies.
Find free or money-making hobbies
My money-making hobby is now my source of income! I started blogging as a hobby never thinking it was going to pay me well!
Carpool
Nothing wrong with carpooling my friends!
Never buy toys new
Buying brand new toys is seriously a waste of money we parents and many people fall for. Toys are fantastic, but you remember as a child how we treated our toys and what happens to them after a while.
Kids love toys, and I agree with that, but kids don’t care if they are new or used. Spend the money purchasing used toys. Kids are not going to care!
Plan gift-giving ahead of time
Planning ahead will save you money and the reason why is because you won’t be rushing. You will be having time to prepare and budget right.
Turn holed jeans into shorts
Be creative! The good thing about jeans is that even jeans with holes are stylish! But if you have to they need to, then turn your jeans into shorts!
Resell unused clothing
Reselling your unused baby clothes and kids’ clothes and even gently used clothes is the way to go. Take the money you make and either save or invest in buying used clothes.
Learn how to sew buttons
Learn how to sew buttons is just more to that, it's about learning to be able to fix things to save a buck.
Buy clothing used
Again, buying used clothes will save you money, tons of money!
Shop clearance racks
Nothing wrong with buying clearance and creating a habit to visit clearance racks will benefit you and your wallet.
Find discount chains
Discount chains are stores that sell products below the market price. To take it a step further you can find a liquidator store and score big on products you need around the home.
Shop out of season
Buying items out of season will guarantee you best prices if they are on sale or clearance prices. During spring it is the best time to buy winter clothes. February is the best time to buy coats on clearance.
Avoid fads and trends
Fads are trends mean paying more. Seriously, just skip them at all cost.
Keep your wardrobe flexible for a mix-and-match
Limit your wardrobe and make it manageable for mix-and-match you will also save time and money in laundry.
Avoid spending temptations
One thing I do is avoid deal sites, reading ads and anything that tempts me to spend money. Avoid anything that triggers you to spend money.
Enjoy living in financial security!
There is nothing better than living in financial security knowing that your debt is low and you don’t have to worry about paying credit card, loans and wondering where your money is going.
40 Ways to Save Money List
- Live by the adage: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without
- Budget – track every single dime you spend
- Buy used
- Don’t buy it on sale if you don’t need it
- Scrape containers for the last bit
- Pay all bills on time.
- Avoid impulse buying; wait 3 days before buying anything
- Coupon, shop around for the best deals
- Maintain your things
- Avoid buying coffee
- Pack lunch
- Utilize leftovers
- Cook at home
- Freeze meals
- Buy in bulk
- Buy generic
- Create a shopping list; stick to it
- Don’t go grocery shopping hungry
- Replace soda with water
- DIY soap, laundry detergent, and dishwashing soap
- Cut cable
- Cut music subscriptions; try Pandora, Amazon music, or iTunes radio
- Cancel gym memberships; try at-home workouts
- Get magazines at your local library instead of buying them
- Rent movies from the library instead of buying them
- Find free or money-making hobbies
- Carpool
- Never buy toys new
- Plan gift-giving ahead of time
- Turn holed jeans into shorts
- Resell unused clothing
- Learn how to sew buttons
- Buy clothing used
- Shop clearance racks
- Find discount chains
- Shop out of season
- Avoid fads and trends
- Keep your wardrobe flexible for a mix-and-match
- Avoid spending temptations (people, locations, websites)
- Enjoy living in financial security!
Download the 40 ways to Save Money free printable here.
Conclusion
There you have 40 ways to save money that you can start doing today! The path to financial freedom is not an easy one but with these 40 ideas you can start saving and getting close to the journey.
Your turn: What are your thoughts about these 40 ways to save money? What would you add?
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