Let’s face it! Saving money can feel like a real challenge with today’s rising costs. Fortunately, some smart, realistic hacks are available to help. Check out these 20 Doable Ways to Save Money to get started today.
Build A Savings Foundation
(The information presented in this article is not a source of financial or legal advice. It is simply educational materials. If you need financial or legal advice upon which to rely to make decisions, please consult a licensed professional.)
- Track your spending for a few months and then make a budget. By knowing what you are currently spending, you can realistically see what your fixed costs are and what you can cut back on.
- Avoid buy now, pay later offers-Splitting things up into 3 easy payments sounds good in theory, but can quickly push you into debt if you stall on making payments.
- When you get paid, automatically put some money aside.-The best way to accumulate some savings is to automate it. Even if it is only a small amount per paycheck, it adds up over time.
- Once you have built up some savings, put it in a high yield savings account-These accounts generally pay substantially more in interest than a regular saving account. And with a limited number of withdraws per month, you are least apt to reach for your savings when an impulse strikes you, instead saving it for emergencies and planned needs.
Save Money On Groceries/Food
- Shop off a list-When you make a list and stick to it, you become intentional about what you purchase, be it at the grocery, retail store, etc…
- Buy generic or house brand where possible.-For items such as canned vegetables, fruit, and beans, evaporated milk, and flour, sugar, and other cooking basics, you often cannot tell a difference between generic and brand name, but you definitely can in the price.
- Go potluck with friends and family from time to time.-Not only is a food cost savings opportunity, but also built in entertainment. You can try different themes and combine the meal with some card or board games afterwards.
- Plan ahead and bring your lunch and snacks to work.-The cost of eating out and hitting the vending machine can really add up in a hurry. By bringing your own food and drinks, you can save quite a bit of money over time.
Harness Savings On Medication
- Comparison Shop on Prescription Medication-If you don’t have prescription health coverage, have high deductibles, or are curious if you can beat the price insurance is asking you to pay (Yes, you sometimes can). try out GoodRx or SingleCare.
- Ask your doctor is they have samples of medication that they can give you.-This is especially helpful for medication that he or she has you trying out to see if it helps such as acne medicine or antidepressants.
- Go house/brand generic again.-On over the counter medicines, the house/generic brands are often comparable to the name brands as they are for the food products mentioned above.
Use Technology And Ingenuity To Cut Costs On Furnishing, Clothing, And Other items
- When online shopping, use some technology enabled tools to find the good deals, coupons, and rebates.-For Amazon shoppers, camelcamelcamel does a great job at showing the high and low prices for a product and allows you to easily set up and autotrack to alert you when price returns a certain level. Food and retail coupons are available from sources such as Capitol One Shopping and Ibotta.
- Consider thrift stores, consignment, and garage sales for furnishing, clothing, and other items.-With a little persistence you can uncover some great finds.
- Don’t subscribe to daily deal texts and emails. Although this may seem counter intuitive, scrolling deals regularly may cause you to overspend or make you more adept to make unplanned purchases because a offer is “just too good” to pass up.
- Whenever possible, before a significant purchase, wait a week and see if you still feel that you need to purchase an item. More often than not this will make clear whether something is is really important or would be just nice to have.
Take The Expense Out Of Entertainment And Excursion
- Cut back on subscription services-These services may not appear that expensive on their own, but they add up quickly, the more that you subscribe to. With easy enrollment, streaming services, subscription boxes, online fitness clubs, software add-ons, video game platforms, and more can start to cost you in a big way.
- Take advantage of free entertainment.-Do a Google Search for “free” and “community events” in your area to find some fun options. Examples include brown bag concerts, community festivals, visits to city parks, nature walks, art crawls, free fishing days at recreational areas, and more. Taking advantage of these opportunities can really help you save money.
- Use the resources of your public library right from your smart phone.-Many public library systems offer free check out of e-books and audiobooks, as well as, online access to movies and TV shows. At the library branches themselves, you can not only check out books, but a variety of other items including activity kits, games, etc.. depending on your location.
- Take advantage of discounts available to you based on your age, activities, occupation, and other categories. Students, senior citizens, veterans, and first responders may find special discounts offered to them. Also, check out any workplace benefits that come with employment.
- Consider off season vacations. Visiting a destination outside of the high season means fewer people, lower prices, and an opportunity to explore what an area has to offer in a different season.
For more easy-to-follow savings tips: