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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Another benefit of cutting cable is that it will lower your electric bill. I guess cable boxes are the second largest energy drain besides the refrigerator, at least that’s what I read. Our electric bill has been $5-$10 lower per month since we cut ours. Not sure if it’s all the cable box, but something is causing it to be lower.
Wow I didn’t know that!
Do it! Get rid of cable! We got rid of it two years ago in favor of Netflix and HuluPlus and never looked back! We’re saving about $60/month doing that, and once in awhile we will get a season pass on iTunes for a show we can’t get through there, but we are still saving a TON of money even when we do that.
Not gonna lie, the SAVING $500 on eating out is boggling my mind. We spend less than that total on groceries for the entire month, and that includes 1 or 2 Blue Apron deliveries. We usually only go out to eat once or twice a month, so it’s not like that reduces our grocery cost by much. AND we live in a HCOL area (NJ). But we do some serious meal planning – our schedules are so hectic, and now that we have a little one to take care of, it’s important to be organized when it comes to food. My crockpot is now my best friend. 😉
Oh, and I should add that the thought of not having at least 5 boxes of pasta in my pantry makes me feel a little panicky. Pasta + veggies + cheese/oil/herbs is one of my go-to quick and easy (and cheap!) dinners. 😉
I know, we used to spend way too much on going out to eat. We still have a long way to go too!
Has eating out less tied in with you working from home now? I worked from home for one summer and loved it because i could actually cook a lunch (like grilled cheese) and prepare for dinner (crock pot, marinade, etc) throughout the day. That pretty much covered all of the eating out I was doing.
Yeah, working from home has definitely helped with this. It’s easier now to just eat at home than go drive to a place and wait for them to cook it. It just seems so wasteful now.
Great stuff Michelle! We were shocked at how much we started saving when we shifted more meals out to meals at home. We estimated that it was close to $800 a month, which is crazy. We also just cut cable completely this year and I don’t miss it at all. Plus I love that we are only paying $15 a month for Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime.
Wow good job Shannon! That’s a lot of money saved.
I don’t have cable and I’ve been cleaning out my pantry lately. I can’t stop eating out for whatever reason. My husband routinely works 12 hours and I don’t like cooking so we eat out a lot. This week we’ve already eaten out twice and last week we ate out 5 times. I’m not sure how to start cutting back.
I used to hate cooking but I like it now. Hopefully one day you will enjoy it 🙂
That’s a good list! I’m also on a clothing fast for all of 2014 actually! We did the “eat everything in the pantry” trick earlier this year–I was amazed at how much food we’d stockpiled. And, you’re so right on the not eating out, that saves us an absolute ton. We were at an 82% savings rate last month, we’ll see how it goes in the fall!
Wow 82% is awesome. Good job!
Its great if you have savings each month, and we should have; its a must nowadays. We should always have something for emergencies. Anyways, isn’t $1200 a less amount?? 😀
Thanks!
We’ve got way too much food in our kitchen, but we still buy more stuff because we don’t want to eat the old stuff. Not okay!
Start eating the old stuff Ben! 🙂
If you really can’t bring yourself to eat it, then donate it! The local food pantry always has someone in need! Then start following the idea of getting just what you need and will eat. The real question for me is why is it so hard to stick to these good ideas. I’ve cleaned out my pantry (both by eating only from it and donating some) every one of our last three moves. Somehow it always tends to stockpile again! Good luck to you all!
My husband and I have been saving money by shopping at Aldi, eating out of the pantry and going grocery shopping less often and lastly we cut off cable! We currently just have Netflix and we love it! We are thinking of maybe adding Hulu to the mix!
We have to look into Hulu. I think that may be want we end up adding so that we can get rid of cable.
Great ideas! We started saving about $300/month by going out to eat less. We only have Netflix and I find that I waste less time watching TV now, too.
Good job Cami!
Didn’t know you guys got rid of the Camaro…I’m not a big car guy, but I know some who are. Was it a tough decision? It definitely is a great financial decision. We’re cleaning out our pantry too…but mainly because we’re moving soon and want to get rid of stuff. We need to do it more often!
Yes, it was a very tough decision. We still LOVE the Camaro, but it just wasn’t practical because it was a “race” car and couldn’t be driven in rain, cold weather (the tires couldn’t be driven in less than 50 degrees), snow, or anything else. So we would often go months without driving it and it was just making us mad.
I can relate to your cluttered pantry adventure. I cleaned out our pantry in the spring, and I’m sure we saved a week’s worth of groceries as a result. In my case, I kept buying things that we already had simply because I couldn’t see that we already had them. Our pantry was so cluttered, items were hiding behind other items, and I didn’t know what was in there. Things are different now : )
Good job!
We’re still adjusting after the baby was born, so we do tend to get overboard sometimes, especially when it comes to her. Not purchasing clothing for ourselves (we have enough anyway) and keeping an eye on the money we spend allows us to save a bit, though. I hope the following months my business will pick up more speed (it was a tad slow, especially since I can work about 2-3 hours max./day) and we’ll get back to a more aggressive saving.
I hope it starts to pick up speed. I’m sure it will!
I am trying to save $1000 a month by doing the majority of the things you’ve listed: clean out pantry, save on eating out and no spending on clothes. Another thing that I might try is to start up my side job again and earn some extra $$$. Though I enjoy my time after work, I think it’s about time to buckle down and save some $$$.
Good luck. You can do it! 🙂
That is awesome! I’ve been on maternity leave so we have unexpectedly be saving on eating out also. I’d like to continue to save on eating out once I return to work; however, it might be hard with less time, but we definitely would rather use that money to travel then to eat out! Great job on the savings though!
Yes, that is a big reason we are trying to save money. We’d rather spend that money in other areas!