Like everyone these days we’ve been finding ways to save money. There are sometimes easy ways we’ve found to help us save money. And we didn’t need to go living off the grid to do it, they were simple changes.
1. Cooking on a Budget: When I wrote the post about Cooking on a Budget I did so because I believe it is the easiest way to save money & the fastest way to spend it when you aren’t paying attention. Food can really eat up more of your money that you think it will. When we didn’t go in with a plan, budget, and cook more at home we spent tons of extra money. I swear we spent just as much if not more money BEFORE we had kids as we do now that we are a family of 6. Before we bought lots of frozen meals, didn’t plan or budget, & we ate out more. Changing those habits alone was a massive cost savings.
2. Utility Budget Plans: We realized that we had months were some utilities were higher and others were very low or nonexistent. We called & found out we could do a budget plan. This means we pay the same amount of money EVERY month & we know exactly how much to budget. If you aren’t able to do a budget plan with the company, then create your own budget plan & stick to it. Factor in paying the same amount every month & pay it.
3. Turn down the thermostat: OK, I know everyone says to do this, but seriously it can add up. We just turned it down by 3 degrees and we are still comfortable. No one is freezing his or her tushie off & we save money on our bill.
4. Turn off the TV: Not only does the TV use extra energy and that WILL add up on the electric bill increasing your utility costs but it also is a time sucker. Turning it off a few hours a day gives you more time to do things (like cook at home, read a book, get outside to enjoy some fresh air) and it saves money.
5. Check out your local libraries: I use to spend SO much money on books. Now I make use of the local libraries & don’t spend a penny. Our libraries also allow you to use your card at a variety of different public libraries. It’s great for the kids and creating a day out as well. Just make sure you are turning the books back in on time.
6. Drink Water: When you drink water more often you save money on filler drinks like soda/pop and you get to see if you are really hungry or if you are eating out of boredom saving money on extra food. It also helps you feel better to rehydrate & you might lose a few extra pounds that those drinks are adding on.
7. Cancel any unused memberships and extra services: If you are one of those folks who has a membership that is going to waste to the gym or some other service then cancel it. We had a service that was automatically billed and it was to have a debit card. But it was an account we don’t use, it’s only a savings, while it was a small fee a month it added up over the course of a year. Canceling that fee saved money that can now stay in our savings.
8. Distinguish a need from a want: Probably the hardest thing in our materialistic culture. I know I struggle with this but taking an extra two minutes can make a HUGE difference. Ask yourself if you need what you are buying? Do you already have something that would work? Could you wait to buy it and come back a week later? (often you’ll find that you don’t even want it a week later). It helps with impulse want buys to do this, Target & Costco were my places that I had the worse time with. I would see something, think it was a need when really it was a want. For Hubby it’s Home Depot, we all have our weak spots.
9. Shop with a list: We use this when shopping for groceries and anything else now. It is another tool to distinguish a need from a want & keep us on track. It only takes a few seconds to make a list but it can save hours of worry over a bill or shortage on cash later in the month.
10. Use Cash: A good way to save money because when you have cash, actual paper money in hand, you spend less. Handing over cold hard cash for purchases makes us think about the purchase more and we are more likely to shop within our means. Debit cards, even though they come out of our bank accounts, don’t have the same outcome for us. I know that for Hubby he didn’t think about the little purchases on that debit card (that add up!) but with cash in hand he does. We also think more about big purchases if we are using cash versus credit or even a debit card.
What easy ways do you save money?
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