The average family lives paycheck to paycheck, so money saving tips really come in handy. Some of these ideas may take some time to adjust to, and you may need to give up a few things you thought you could never live without. But if you just challenge yourself to try these tips for two straight weeks, you may discover that it’s not as hard as you thought! Read on for some stellar money saving tips!
One of my key money saving tips is to avoid grocery shopping every week if at all possible. The more you go to the store, the more money you spend! That’s because you grab a little of this and some of that with every trip, often unnecessary items. This method also forces you to think out a menu plan, so your meals are nutritious!
Now this may sound like too much work, but so many women have told me that it’s very easy to whip up a batch of laundry soap. You can make it in bulk so it lasts for quite a while! Depending on which recipe you use (they are found in abundance on Pinterest), your total cost usually boils down to $2.00 or less per gallon of laundry soap.
Why buy bags for lining your trashcans when you can just use the ones you get for free from the store? I save all of mine and store them in a cute little bag holder I made. They are easily accessible through a hole in the top, and I estimate this trick saves me about $5 a month on my grocery bill!
If you love to read or watch movies a lot, then stop renting or paying for Netflix and on-demand movies! Get a membership to your local library and borrow books and movies for free! Or, swap out with friends. Chances are you have enough friends that you could have enough new material to keep you busy for a while without spending more money or having a due date to return the items by!
If you have a cell phone, consider ditching your landline. You probably don’t use it that much anyway, and you could be saving a huge wad of money per month. If you realize that you use it more often than you thought, it’s no trouble to just bring it back.
Stop paying for lunch every day! Even if you spend $10 a day on lunch, that’s $50 by the end of the workweek, and $200 per month! You could save over 50% of that money by brown bagging it to work one month. Plus, your meals would probably be more nutritious.
With busy schedules and lots of obligations, it’s understandable that you forgot to pay a bill on time. But that leaves you with an ugly late fee! If you have trouble remembering to pay bills on time, then set up reminders on your phone or via email. You could also arrange for automatic withdrawal so you don’t need to worry about remembering every month!
Carpooling is a wise way to save gas money. Grab a few friends and split up the workweeks into days where you can each take turns driving your cars to work. If carpooling isn’t an option, consider biking or walking.
Having friends who are a bit more well-off than you are can be daunting. You will always feel pressured to keep up, or to spend money in their presence either to impress them or to keep from feeling inferior. If you have this problem, it may be time to find some new friends! Do it for your wallet’s sake!
These are my top tips for saving money, but I’m sure that there are so many more hints that could be added to this list! What are some of your ideas for saving money on an everyday basis? I love hearing from my readers, so please comment below and thanks for reading!