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Have you ever felt like you can’t ever save money? You’ve tried but still find yourself living from paycheck to paycheck? Tell me about it! You are not alone. I would struggle with saving money for months on end and still wouldn’t be able to build my emergency funds. They say you should always strive for a $1,000 emergency funds before you can begin saving money and tackling debt. The emergency funds is your security funds that no matter what happens such as a flat tire, property tax bill, etc. you will be able to take care of that without an issue. It’s important we all feel secured with our finances. To feel that peace of mind that we have the funds for emergencies, bills, and of course – our “fun” money.
Today’s post, I wanted to share with you the 30 realistic ways that has helped me and can help you with saving money! Try implementing these 30 ways into your lifestyle and I can guarantee you’ll start seeing results. Let’s get right into this post!
1-Change your mindset // You can’t expect to save money without changing your mindset first. This means figure out why you want to save money. Ask yourself; What is the importance of saving money? What are your end-result goals? Write down your income first and then all of your bills and debt. Begin with a strategy first so that you know what you can afford and cannot afford. Then the next following ways, will help you stay in budget.
2-Meal Plan // Pick a day for when you and your spouse is available to talk about meal plans for the entire week ahead. This helps motivate you to stick with a plan and no one will ask the question, you know..the most famous and argumentative topic; “what’s for dinner tonight?”
3-Buy a FireStick 4K // I feel like we all want to newest flat screen TV. With the fire-stick with 4k it will turn any outdated tv (must have HDMI port) into brand new again! A fire stick helped me save significant money I was throwing out monthly for such as cable. All you need is an affordable wifi!
3-Cancel unnecessary subscriptions // I am not saying get rid of all of them because we need some sort of entertainment that will help us spend more time at home than outdoors. Write out how many subscriptions you have then go through a process of elimination. Pick the subscriptions that you use more often than the other. You’d be surprised how much money you’ll save by canceling some of them. I’ve cancelled subscription boxes, Sirius XM, Starz, Spotify, etc. and saved just about $175.00.
4-Shop the clearance rack // Look, we all have to shop. So if you’re going to shop – shop SMART. Always be on the lookout for deals!
5- Start Couponing // There is no shame in couponing! It’s actually quite fun once you get the hang of it. Heck, once you realize how much money you are saving, you can make this a legit lifestyle! You can get $100.00 worth of stuff and only spend less than $10.00.
6-Carpool // Carpool if you can!! My coworker and I used to carpool each other every week to save gas. Especially if you live nearby each other and are going to the same place and also share the same hours.
7-Shop at your local Consignment stores // I definitely love a steal on brand items! I don’t know about you but I personally find scavenger hunting a fun thing to do. Especially for deals! I have bought several BRAND NEW leggings that are normally $25/piece. I have gone shopping for my kid’s clothes (cause man they grow so fast) and walked out with 4 BIG bags and spent just about $100.
8-DIY instead of buying // This is not only fun to do but you can create some amazing things by creating it yourself! I love going through Pinterest to get some fun ideas and save them onto a DIY board to try later on. A lot of affordable items to create a DIY would be found at your local dollar store.
9-Invite friends over instead of going out // For one, you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to wear out. Finding something to wear is just stressful by itself. For two, you’re in the comfort of your home. When you go out, you find comfort probably in spending especially if your friends are. And for three, you can cook at home for your friends which we all know would be the cheapest route. Overall, it can be tons of fun making plans for a friend gathering at your place instead of spending money out.
10-Start a budget // And stick with it!! This means a budget for groceries, necessities, bills, and miscellaneous things. Just write it all out or digitally plan a budget.
11-Use a bill organizer app // This aids in keeping me right on track with making sure I am paying my bills on time. I use Mint where it tracks my spending, tracks my credit score, gives tips on saving money, and also gives me reminders on when my bills are due. I can click PAY and it’ll take care of all my bills in ONE place as well. I highly recommend
12-Ditch Cable // Take it from me. I just ditched it and kept the high-speed internet. I went saw spending 200 to 100. That’s with Hulu+Live, NetFlix, Prime and, the internet all-together. Mind you, T-mobile has this program where NetFlix is added for FREE.
13-Sign up for every free-reward program // Every opportunity you have, take it. It’s well worth the 2 minutes sign up for free rewards/cash-back.
14-Sign up for cash back rewards program (credit card) // Want to spend money but receive cashback for just simply swiping your card? Definitely opt into this because It’s the best way to save money while also building credit!
15-Sell things that no longer bring you joy // This goes for clothing, accessories, toys, so on and so forth. Watch how much money you can accumulate from doing a yard sale. If not a yard sale, opt into OfferUp/LetGo/facebook marketplace to sell things in your local area. You know that saying, “One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure.” Think of it like that first before tossing things in the trash.
16-Avoid eating out // We all know that eating out can be an addiction in itself. It’s easy, fast, and most of all convenient. Take a step back. Look at your past statement for an entire month. Add up how much you spent in a month alone on food!! Crazy huh? If you’re like me, I’ve spent over $400 on eating out/7-11/Wawa stores. It’s pretty bad. Have a budget of less than $150 a month. That’s $37.50 a week. That’s doable on weening off from spending so much money. Always make it a priority to bring your lunch and have a weekly dinner plan set out. It helps and saves you a ton of money.
17-Negotiate your bills // In most cases, your cellular service and cable services will work in your favor. Instead of canceling your service, you can mention that you’re looking for a lower-cost plan. Your company is paid to keep your services. A lot of the time they are running specials. Take advantage of it. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Especially if you have a budget!
18-Avoid bad habits // This could be anything that you know you shouldn’t be doing. Alcohol and smoking are not healthy and most likely draining your pockets as we speak. Opt into replacing your bad habits with healthier things that
19-Utilize your free time to do FREE things // We need things to do to occupy our time and keep us from spending money. You should definitely check out this post linked down below. I have a printable for you to keep on-the-go when you run out of ideas to do for free.
20-Create your current “Debt Snowball” // Write down your debts in order from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on the rest of your debt while trying to put more on top of the smallest debt until you pay that debt off. Once the smallest debt is paid off, take that minimum payment and add that to the next debt in line. Tackle that one while making the minimum payment for all the others, so on and so forth. Smartest decision you’ll ever make towards a debt free life! Read this article here regarding what is debt snowball.
21-Wash your OWN car // Spending money on car washes can all add up throughout the year. Why do that when you have the capability of washing your own vehicle for free?
22-Invest in your own purified water // To be honest, I used to be a water bottle drinker. I find it convenient and I always think that $8 a month for two big 32 bottle cases a month isn’t any big deal. In reality, It’s still $100 a year. After reevaluating that, I’ve ended up buying a Brita everyday pitcher. I just add the water into my everyday tumbler. I won’t be going back to plastic bottles.
23-Make coffee from home // Iced coffee from Starbucks/Dunkin donuts is my guilty pleasure! I am sure it’s everyone else’s. My outcome expense for coffee is like $20-$35 a week. That’s insane! I bought a Keurig DUO and just started to make coffee from home. It’s actually a routine I enjoy in my morning.
24-Turn off all the lights when not in use // And watch your electricity bill drop.
25-Become a “penny pincher” // Practice what you preach. When you’re trying to save money, it will be wise of you to start living like you are constantly on a budget. Saying you can’t afford something, can help you not overspend.
26-See if you can work more hours // Some jobs offer overtime. Take advantage of that when necessary!
27-Buy Generic // Sometimes, the generic brands are the same and if not better then the original brands. Just because it’s cheaper does not mean that it’s not going to taste just as good. Plus, it cuts your price in half per item you get.
28–Use credit card wisely // See this post for clarification on anything you need to know about a credit card and building credit! Only use the credit card for emergencies and/or purchases such as gas/groceries!
29- Download apps that help you invest or gives you money back from purchases // Such as Acorn, Earny, Rakuten, Honey, etc.
30- DoorDash, UberEats, etc // We all know that they can make good money too! I have come to learn that you can make 200 + a day. This could be a great side hustle for extra income to set aside for your savings!
These ideas are to help you start a path towards financial freedom. The best way to build wealth and success is to start making the smart financial decisions. Start today, don’t wait. You got this!!
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