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How To Save Money | 20 Money Saving Tips
The key to always having money is learning how to save money. In this article you will learn the top 20 money saving tips that will put money back into your pocket, while increasing your bank account balance. This is a list for some of the best ways to save money.
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How To Save Money
There is no magic trick to learning how to save money, because at the end of the day it all boils down to discipline. However, this ain’t your typically boring budget post. Learn REAL ways that you can start stacking up your dollars. These simple tips will help you to save some serious cash. This money can be used for emergencies, or to buy something that you really, REALLY want. Now, let the saving begin!
20 Money Saving Tips
1. Record Your Expenses and Income
The first money saving tip is to keep track of how much money you spend and where you spend it. To learn how to save money you must get used to recording EVERYTHING! If possible, get it down to the last cent. Do this by keeping a record of all your expenses, such as rent/mortgage, utility bills, groceries, dine out, gas, water, personal hygiene, house maintenance, etc. Then total them all up.
Next, do the same thing for your income as well. You should record all the money that you have coming in. This includes any income from your job, side hustles that you may have, or any other sources of money you have coming in. I know this can seem like a tedious process. But to make things easier we have included an expense and income tracker in our Free Printable Budgeting Planner that you can use for this step.
2. Create A Budget
If you are really serious about learning how to save money, then you should create a budget. This should be a fixed budget for everything you plan to spend money on. To begin only include your fixed expenses. Fixed expenses are your essential bills that stay the same amount every month. They are also usually due around the same time. For example: rent or mortgage, utilities, loans, phone bill, etc.
Outside of your fixed expenses everything else is considered a variable expense. These will be your expenses where the cost varies every month. For example: clothing, groceries, entertainment, house maintenance, personal hygiene, etc.
The usual spending rule is 50-30-20. Fifty percent of your total income should go to your basic needs, thirty percent are for non-essential expenses, and 20 percent should go to your savings account.
3. Set A Savings Goal
Set a savings goal for a certain amount of money that you would like to save by a certain date. This can be for a big purchase like a down payment on a home or a vacation. It can also be for something smaller like a new purse or laptop. Figure out the amount of money you need and when you want to save it by. For example, I want to save $1,000 for a weekend vacation in 6 months. Now, figure out how much money you need to save per month to reach your goal. Add this amount to your monthly budget.
4. Use a Budgeting app
If you’re not into using pen and paper, then go digital. There are plenty of budgeting apps that can help guide you through the whole process. Here a few suggestions to get you started. These apps are user-friendly and simply designed:
- Mint.com – mint is an amazing all-in-one budgeting app. You can connect your bank account, credit cards and bills. After connecting, the app will automatically organize them into categories. This app is 100% free to join and use.
- Pocketgaurd.com – Is a money tracking software that will track all your spending habits. This app is amazing because it shows you where you spend the most money, so that you can cut out unnecessary expenses.
- Acorn.com – This app is probably one of my favorites because it allows me to invest my money automatically. Acorn works by tracking your daily credit and debit card transactions and rounds them up to the nearest dollar. They then use that change to automatically invest. For example, If you buy a something for $3.75, they will round up to $4.00 and will automatically invest the $0.25.
I will admit that I just started investing. So for me, Acorns is an easy app to use for beginners looking to get their feet wet with investing. Their plans start at just $1 a month. If you are interested in using Acorns, sign up using my link and we both get an extra $5 added to our account. I will share more about my investment journey in another article.
5. Set-up Automatic Bank Transfers
Another simple money saving tip is to set-up automated transfers from your checking account to your savings account. Almost all banks offer this service. You just need to advise them of when you want the transfer to happen, how much, and which account to transfer the money to.
6. Pay Off All Your Debt
Once you establish a budget your priority should be to get rid of all debts. This is extremely important because most debt, for example loans, credit cards and car payments all have interest. Interest is the extra fee that your lender charges for loaning you the money. If you are really serious about saving money, then I recommend purchasing this book called The Total Money Makeover. This is the exact book me and my husband followed to get out of over $30,000 in debt!
7. Cook At Home
Let’s face it, eating out adds up really fast. If you are trying to save money, then you should cook at home as much as possible. Also, try to plan out your meals in advance. Not only will you be saving money, but you will be doing your body a favor by eating healthier. Here is an article to some budget friendly meal prepping ideas to get you started: 30+ Budget Friendly Meal Prep Ideas.
8. Stop Wasting Money
You know exactly what I’m talking about. Stop wasting money on things that you do not need. Do not buy anything extra that is not within your monthly budget. It takes a lot of self-discipline, but you can do it! Believe in yourself.
9. Skip The Coffee Shop
If you are a real coffee lover like me then this one will be hard! Skip the coffee shop and start making your coffee at home. Listen, buying coffee everyday really adds up. Let’s say you spend $5 a day on coffee, that’s $150 a month, and $1800 a year on just coffee alone. Invest in a coffee machine like the Nespresso Coffee and Espresso Machine Bundle and get similar coffee shop results at home.
10. Sell Your Junk
Have you ever heard the expression “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? This could not be truer, especially when it comes to selling used stuff online. So, instead of getting rid of your old clothes and electronics, start making money online by selling the things you no longer want. Here are few online marketplaces where you can sell your used stuff.
- eBay
- Poshmark
- Facebook Marketplace
- Mercari
11. Ditch The Credit and Debit Cards
Here’s an old school money saving tip! Ditch the credit and debit cards and pay for everything with cash. This way you can see exactly how much money you have left and when it’s time to slow down on the spending.
12. Budget With Cash Envelopes
Budgeting with cash envelopes was one of the methods that was taught in the Total Money Makeover. The first step is to establish your budget and have all your spending categories together. Next, create an envelope for each of the categories. Do this by writing the name of the category on each envelope. Now, after each paycheck put in the amount of money that you budgeted out for month into the envelope using CASH.
that were created for budgeting.
13. Wait 72 hours Before Buying
Wait 72 hours before purchasing anything not included within your fixed expenses. Why? So that you can stop impulsive buying habits. Maybe it is something that you think you want now. However, after letting it sit in the online shopping cart for 3 days you realize you do not want it as much as you thought you did. This actually WORKS. Trust me, I shop online all the time. After waiting 72 hours the urge to go back and checkout is gone. Some may call this “winning” I call this “SAVING”!
14. Use A Grocery List
Have you ever gone to the grocery store when you are hungry and end up spending way more money that you planned to? Well, I have. ☹ For this reason, I never go to the grocery store without a grocery list. Having a grocery list also helps me to plan out my meals in advance for the week. Because of this I am able to save money because I didn’t buy anything extra that was not included on my list.
15. Shop Smarter & Save Money
Every…single…dollar…. counts when you are trying to save money. Lucky for us, there are money saving apps that are made to put money back into your pockets. Here are a couple of my favorites. These apps give you money back for online purchases that you were planning to make anyways.
For money back (rebates!):
16. Use Coupons
This is another great tip for how to save money. Before you shop search for coupons online. This has become an automatic process for me before I make any purchase. My favorite places to look for online coupon codes are Retailmenot.com or coupons.com. There is even a browser extension called Honey that automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout without you having to do anything at all. You can download their free browser extension here.
17. Carpool
If you have co-workers or friends that are going to the same place you are, then why not carpool? Not only will you save on gas, but you will also be cutting down on emissions and helping the environment.
18. Buy Used
If you need something, then consider buying used and save some money. Not only can you sell on the online marketplaces that I listed above, but you can also buy from them too! Not all the items on there will be used. A lot of them are in brand new condition, but they may be open box or missing the original price tag.
19. Skip Going Out & Stay In
Sometimes you just want to have some fun! That is okay but be smart about it. Instead of going out to eat, try inviting your friends over for some fun. Not only will you save money on food, but you will also cut costs on entertainment. Maybe have a potluck where everyone brings a dish or bottle of wine to share. Enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal, a night of charades, karaoke, or movies! This can also be a great date night idea to do with your significant other.
20. Share Entertainment
If you have family or friends with a Netflix, Hulu, HBO or sling account, then save money by sharing a plan. Most of these platforms allow you the option to watch on multiple devices at the same time. It usually only increases your monthly subscription by just a few dollars each month.
How To Save Money Overview
There you have it folks! Our list of the best ways to save money. I hope you found these money saving tips useful. Our goal is to help you level up your life by providing you with tips and tools that you can use in your everyday life. Are you ready to make the commitment and start saving money now? Don’t forget to snag your free copy of our Budgeting Worksheets to help you stay on track.
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