Lately, we’ve been trying to save as much money as we realistically can.
We’re not doing anything too crazy, but we are trying to make a few lifestyle changes so we are not frivolously wasting money that doesn’t need to be spent.
We are mainly trying to save money so that we can put a large down payment on our next home. We also want to start investing more heavily and start taking more trips.
We’re saving money in many other different ways besides just the ones below. However, the ones below are areas we are primarily trying to work on and they equal a total savings of around $1,200 a month right now.
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Continue reading the money saving tips below! Hopefully you will learn a few valuable ways that teach you how to save money:
We’re eating out less.
I’ve talked about this in the past, but I’ve never really dived into this topic too deep because I’ve been ashamed. While we are spending no where near the ridiculous amounts of money that we used to spend on going out to eat, just a few months ago we were still not doing very well.
I estimate we are currently saving around $500 a month by not eating out as much over just a few months ago.
We have been able to cut down on eating out less by eating at home as much as we can. Of course that would be the case, but it’s really been meal planning and less food waste that has really helped us cut down on our food spending.
We now shop with a grocery list and stick to the grocery list as much as we can. We have no where near the amount of food waste we used to have. I believe I once read a statistic that said the average family throws away around 40% of the food they buy.
That’s a TON of food waste!
If you are wanting to learn how to save more money, this easy actionable money saving tip can be it. There are many ways to save money on groceries.
EDIT: I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well! If you are interested in joining for free, click here.
We’re cleaning out our pantry.
One of the ways that you may be able to save money on groceries this month is by cleaning out your pantry.
Our pantry and cabinets are nearly bare because of this one. We have been making meals out of the food products we already had in our pantry. I was sick of our pantry continually building up more and more. We had cans and boxes of food filled in our cabinets, so I made it our mission to finally start eating everything.
I’m sure some of you are laughing at this, but I know there are a LOT of you out there who are guilty of this as well.
At one point I believe we had around 5 different packages of spaghetti noodles in our pantry. That didn’t include the other 10 different kinds of pasta noodles we had in there as well. We also had cans of vegetables and everything else in there. It was ridiculous and it seemed like it was never ending.
Now though, I believe we only have a few cans left and we actually have NO pasta left. It’s like a whole new world here!
I believe we have probably saved around $100 by doing cleaning out our pantry. Seems like a lot but we had a lot of food in there, and I’m sure you do as well. This can be a very easy way to learn how to save money.
We have a fuel efficient car and right now this is our best way to save money.
Last month, we got rid of our Camaro and traded it in for a 2015 Subaru Legacy. The Legacy was more affordable and it gets twice as good gas mileage, which is amazing.
We were tired of having two cars that only got 15 miles to the gallon (our other car is a Jeep Wrangler), so we decided to trade in the Camaro.
This switch has been saving us around $350 per month already.
We are about to go on another road trip, and driving the Subaru will save us around $400 on this trip alone. That is a GREAT amount in savings.
We’re thinking about cutting out our cable completely. This might be your best way to save money.
This is one we haven’t fully done yet, but we did recently lower our cable package. We cut some channels out and were able to save $20 each month. If we were to cut it further, we could save around an extra $40 a month.
The reason why we are thinking about cutting our cable is because we hardly ever watch it now that we have Netflix. We signed up for Netflix around two months ago and haven’t really watched anything else.
This means a potential overall savings of around $50 a month from cutting our cable and adding Netflix to our lives. A GREAT way to save money!
Cable is something that many people do not need. Actually no one needs it. If you are looking for a money saving tip, then this may be your best way to save money.
EDIT: We no longer have cable and just have a digital antenna. These are super affordable and I highly recommend doing the same! You can read more about how we cut cable here.
I’m on an unexpected clothing fast as another great way to save money.
I haven’t been trying to lower my clothing spending, it just happened. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I bought any clothing for myself. I’m going to guess that it’s been around 5 months.
I’ve been to the mall a few times, but nothing ever seems to work so I just haven’t bought anything. Also, working from home means I’ve been a little lazy when it comes to finding fun outfits to wear.
I’m going to guess that this unplanned clothing fast has saved me around $200 each month.
Oh yeah, and I also sold some clothing the other day and made $40. I plan on also donating around 6 bags full of clothing as well. WOOHOO! This is a another one of the great ways to save money!
Here are tons of other ways to save money as well:
Negotiate your car and home insurance bills.
Many have too much insurance. Yes, I said too much! I know someone who has full coverage with a deductible on a car that is worth $500, I know someone who pays for towing even though their new car comes with free towing, and more.
By shopping around, evaluating whether or not you should change your deductible, changing some of your coverage amounts, understanding insurance terms better, possibly taking a driving class, and more, you may be able to save a significant amount of money on your car insurance bill.
I also recommend simply calling your insurance agent and asking for a discount, many times they will offer a discount that will allow you to save money just for asking!
Many of these same tactics can be applied to your home insurance bill as well.
Find a more affordable cell phone plan.
Most people overpay for their cell phone plan.
If you are looking for a cheap cell phone service, check out Republic Wireless. They have monthly cell phone plans as low as $15 per month. Read Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless Review for more information.
Take surveys online.
Okay, so this isn’t really a way to cut back your budget, but you may be able to earn money without doing much. If you sign up for them all, you may be able to earn anywhere from $25-$100+ a month by taking surveys online.
Survey companies I recommend include Survey Junkie, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, Prize Rebel, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
Use Ebates when shopping for cash back.
Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 gift card bonus to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
Start using Digit.
With the Digit savings app, you link up your bank account to Digit and every few days Digit looks at your income and spending habits to see how much you could possibly save. Digit then automatically moves money from your checking account to a Digit savings account.
Each transfer averages around $18, but it could be higher or lower depending on your individual situation. You can read my Digit review here for more information.
Refinance your student loans.
I highly recommend Credible for student loan refinancing (they are the top student loan refinancing company and have great customer service!). You can lower the interest rate on your student loans significantly by using Credible which may help you shave thousands off your student loan bill over time.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. I earn over $100,000 a month online through my blog and you can read more about this in my monthly online income reports. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
- Look for coupon codes. I search for coupon codes for everything. Today, I have two for you. I have a $20 Airbnb coupon code and a free taxi ride with Uber. Both are great services that I have personally used.
- Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks allows me to occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
- Try InboxDollars. InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!
- Find a part-time job. There are many part-time jobs that you may be able to find. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I’ve found a legitimate job through there before), Monster, and so on.
How are you currently trying to save money? How much money do you think you save each month?
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Wow, some good figures there! Including pension account savings I’m saving about the same each month but I have a waaaay cheaper transport (getting 100 miles to the gallon!) and admit I’m currently guilty of an over-stocked kitchen. Time to start running down the current food stash before purchasing new.
100 miles a gallon is amazing! What do you have?
A little 125 manually geared motorcycle 🙂
Haha awesome!
I’m a momma with 30 thousand in student debt! How do I get started working from home? This debt is a constant worry, and would love to get rid of it as well! Thanks!
Hello!
This post may help you out – https://fund-rise.live/2015/01/ways-to-make-side-money-at-home-online.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Wow, nice ideas you have there and great tips too!
Thanks!
Nice work cutting that much out of your spending. It’s amazing what ends up lurking in pantries versus what gets turned over all the time. Some of our stuff we go through like mad, Lord knows how long some other things have been in there.
Yeah that was our main problem. Some items are eaten very quickly whereas others were sitting there for way too long. We would also buy things accidentally because we weren’t sure if we had any (such as spaghetti noodles) when of fact we had a ton.
I am guilty of an overstocked pantry, I try to buy items on sale and rotate them.
Awesome job on saving money! N and I saved a ridiculous amount when we stopped eating out. I’d say we were around your $500 estimate, at least. One benefit of eating at home is that we are also eating healthier!
Yes, eating healthier is a huge plus!
Gas makes such a huge difference. I’m currently trying to talk my brother into selling his Expedition for….well, anything! He only gets 13 mpg!
Yes 13 is bad!
Cut the Cable! Especially if you have Netflix, you won’t miss it!
I need to eat through my pantry, I’ve got so much that just lines the back of my cupboards. I also need to get better about eating out. It’s so easy give in to easy. Hopefully now that fall is approaching, I’ll lose the excuse of ‘I don’t want to heat up the kitchen”
Haha I use that excuse as well. I hate how hot it gets when I cook at home sometimes.
Sometimes I challenge myself to play “iron chef” in the kitchen. I force myself to use whatever random stuff is in the pantry to make a yummy meal.
Love that! That’s what we’ve been trying to do and it’s worked out well so far.
We’ve been lax about our frugality over this summer because we’ve been so busy at work. I’ll have to come up with a plan for the fall, though, since we need to cut our expenses. I think I’ll start with the grocery bill – tighter meal planning to avoid waste, like you said, and keeping an eye on sales.
I’m sure you’ll be able to do it. Food spending is an area we are always trying to work on.
Great strategies! I have become much better at repurposing leftovers and using what we have on hand. I shudder to think of how much food (and money) we’ve wasted over the years!
We’ve also begun seriously discussing cutting the cable cord. The thing that would be hardest for me to give up is news coverage, but I don’t get to watch much of it anymore, because my daughter is very interested and I can’t watch most of it in front of her.
Congrats on your Legacy! We had one a few years ago, and were very happy with it. When it finally died, we replaced it with a Camry, which has a little more room for a car seat and kid gear.
Yeah it would stink to give up CNN and channels like that.
Some really solid tips in here 🙂 Crazy to hear how much more fuel efficient your new car is! I am spending about 1/3 of what I was back in New Zealand here in Asia, so that’s a saving of around $2,500 a month! 😀 I am very happy with that.
Good job!
I say get rid of cable. I cut mine over a year ago and don’t miss it one bit. There’s just so much stuff to watch on netflix and hulu. We also have Amazon Prime and you can watch a lot of free movies and documentaries as well. Downton Abby in on Amazon Prime and not on Netflix.
Thank you! We are definitely thinking about it.
Cut the cable! I don’t even have Netflix anymore either. I watch ALL my shows/movies from solarmovie or cucirca! Solarmovie has movies that are currently out on theatres as well (quality is a tad questionable BUT a few weeks/updates later, dvd quality!).
I’ll look into that!
These are basically all just my “ways of life” right now because I am in debt repayment mode. I drive a hatchback to and from work, and just for errands. Costs me about $120 in gas per month (2 fillups). I have a bare-looking fridge, but it’s to minimize waste. I am going through the pantry right now to try to rotate through some of the staples. I am trying to avoid eating out as much as possible. I don’t have cable. Hmm, looks like I’m doing okay!
You’re doing well!
Very good suggestions. When looking to save money, I try to focus on ongoing expenses. I have saved money by eating out so much but I have worked harder at things that are monthly expenses like lowering my cell phone bill. Recently I did a major overhaul there and my updated service is actually around $100 a month less.
Over the years (I have a lot more of them then most!) I have adopted many of these ideas. The one lesson I learned above all others is that it is essential to have controls in place to keep the spending you save in one place from being swallowed up by increases somewhere else. Adopting a good way of budgeting or managing expenditures is the key to that.
Thanks James!
Cutting cable is great! We cut ours entirely three years ago and haven’t looked back since. We have Netflix and Hulu, both of which stream through our X-boxes. We also have an extensive DVD collection. Have you heard of a capsule wardrobe or Project 333? Both are wardrobe projects full of ideas about intentionally keeping your wardrobe small (and affordable). I recently gut my closet and am putting together a capsule wardrobe and I LOVE it.
I’ll have to look into the capsule wardrobe. Great idea!