10 ways to save money
These are 10 ways to save money that I personally use, I hope one or more are helpful to you and your situation!
1. Excessive Utility Bills: Keep your A/C and heater tuned and cleaned, change your filters regularly and invest in thermal curtains to help cut costs.
2. Hair Cuts: We have little boys that are adorable with short hair. We purchased clippers, and cut their hair (and Nick’s) at home to avoid hair cut fees for four of the five people in our house!
3. Unnecessary Car Repairs: We are thankful to have cars, and take proactive steps with preventative maintenance to avoid these. Get regular oil changes, tune ups, tire rotations, brake services, transmission services, etc to keep things running well, and prevent engine, brake, transmission damage, etc.
4. Late Fees: Set up auto payment or when you get your bill in the mail, log on to the company website and set up a future payment for the due date so you can avoid these fees! You no longer need to buy a stamp, mail the payment, and hope it gets to the destination before the appointed hour on the due date and risk a late fee!
5. Bank Fees: There are ways to avoid monthly service fees at most banks. They may not be convenient, but it is possible. Sometimes though, it may be worth the fee to you to gain access to additional services. My husband has an account that is free with Direct Deposit via his employer. It has extras and features associated with it. For me, I use the e-account with just the basics for free. I do all of my banking online, at the ATM, or with a debit card. It costs extra to visit a teller, but I rarely if ever do that, so it works out for me.
6. Refinance loans: I have a friend that just bought their house 5 years ago. Rates are lower now, and after hearing me talk about how much we saved, she looked into it. She got a great rate, and they decided to keep their payment amount the same and reduce the number of payments they owed. They originally had a 30 year mortgage with 25 years left. With the reduced rate, they are paying the same amount, but it will be paid off in just 18 years, they shaved 7 years off their mortgage payments! Some might need lower payments and keep the 25 years, but just make sure the savings make up for the closing costs associated with your refi!
7. Eating Out and Convenience Foods: Everyone can save money by shopping at the grocery store and cooking meals at home. Compare the prices and sizes of the brands you use. Normally, if you buy a larger size, it’s less expensive, but not always. Avoid single serving packages. Buy in bulk, open the packages and break them down into smaller serving sizes when you got home. They’re easy to grab and you’ll save money with very little effort. If you work all day and have activities at night, make use of your slow cooker, and you can come home to a meal that is hot and ready to go!
8. Examine your bills: We recently noticed our cable bill was higher than normal. Upon examination, we saw that we were charged a fee in error. I called and had that $50 refunded. While on the company website, I noticed that new customers were getting a much better rate than ours, even after the introductory rate. I asked for a price reduction, and got it. It costs companies more to bring in new customers than retain current ones, so it’s in their best interest to keep your business. I’ve done this with our insurance, cell phones, and credit cards (when we had them). The worst thing they can say is no, so be sure to check regularly what the going rate is and keep yours as low as possible.
9. Plan your route: With gas prices so high, it helps to make a list and know what errands you need to run while your out. It also serves as a reminder so you don’t forget anything. We have a toll road next to our neighborhood. If I am going across town, it is less expensive for me to pay $1.15 for the toll than to drive the maze across town in traffic to get there, and it saves time. I keep a cooler in the trunk for hot days so refrigerated/frozen items stay cool. I start at my furthest errand, and work my way back towards home. I also know that once a week we have an appointment over there, so I try to plan all my errands in that part of town for that day of the week so I don’t have to keep driving all that way multiple times.
10. Use the items that you buy and get organized: When I buy fruits and veggies, I have found that if I don’t clean, prep, and keep them front and center, they’ll go bad before they get eaten. So, I take the few minutes to get them ready to eat, and place them at eye level for the kids. They WILL eat them if they see them. I also do this with shampoo, lotion, etc. Maybe I don’ t “love” the scent, but if I’m not allergic to it, I just use it anyway until it’s gone. If you’re allergic, that’s a different issue, and it needs to go – perhaps give it to a friend. Before I got the cabinets organized, I’d find myself buying things that didn’t need to be replaced. Now that it’s organized, I’ve trained the family to add items to the shopping list if they open the last bottle of something. I don’t have a huge stockpile, but I do keep 3-4 of most things we use daily in the cabinets when I get them on sale with a coupon. If we run short, I’ll grab a small bottle, and increase the amount I buy during the next sale. Learning what is a reasonable amount to “stockpile” for your family and your specific needs is a trial and error method.
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These are all great tips, thank you for sharing!
We live in town, so we do with only having one car. To save on gas $, I bike a lot of places (grocery store, to visit friends, etc.) and my husband will take his motorcycle to work when the weather is nice.
We’ve cut back on our utilities by beginning to hang all of our wash out to dry instead of using the dryer.
I hope to see some big changes in our electric bill!
Excessive Utility Bills: Great tip. We just don’t use our central heat/air unless we just can’t take it.
I also hang out my clothing on the line to dry. We have saved lots doing this. I then bring them in and put them in the dryer for just a few minutes on the wrinkle release and it softens the clothing and you’d never known they were on the line. Saves so much!
planning out my route would help a lot
We haven’t done the Excessive Utility Bills tip just yet, we need to get our A/C tuned and checked out to make sure everything is running well, thanks for the tip!
Only have one car so we save on gas… I am the only female in the family and i cut my own hair. Dont have to pay for hair cuts.
These are all really helpful tips and I appreciate that you took the time out to help!
Thanks! =)
We so very rarely eat out and don’t have cable.
I got rid of the cable box which they charged a monthly fee for. I don’t miss it.
I like tip 10. Use the items that you buy and get organized I really need to get organized in so many areas its not funny
I have always heard it said that you should pay yourself first! great way to work your bills too. Make “yourself” your smallest bill and put money toward it until its gone and then move up the ladder until you are all paid off. That is what I did! I started with 9 credit cards and in two years I had none!
all are good tips and like the haircut idea. We have always hesitated doing it on our own, but we can save a lot of money doing it.
Call your cable company and negotiate for a lower rate, threaten to cancel and go elsewhere and they will pony up a discount real fast!
I want to try to refinance our house. I also am paying off the credit cards- starting with the highest interest and when that was paid off, I doubled the payments on the next to the highest.
I have been eating out less and grocery shopping more. It saves a lot of money if you add it all up! I also opened up a savings account and started putting money in there out of every pay check.
I really need to cut back on eating out. I waste a lot of money at dunkin donuts too so I’m going to be using my coffeemaker and bringing coffee with me to work.
I don’t indulge in hair salons or get my nails done.
Common items that go on sale I stock up on….I hit clearance sales after the holidays to stock up on cards & wrapping paper (& presents) for the next year
I save money by couponing
One way I save money is by using coupons and price matching deals. Also I do not eat out very often because this really costs a lot.
In the winter, we use wool dryer balls to shave 15-20 minutes off each load – the savings really add up fast on the utility bill!
Great tips! The best way we save money is eating at home, buying what is on sale, and using what we buy. Thanks
I save money by cooking at home.
I cook at home and don’t waste money on going out to dinner!
I save money by just not buying what I can’t afford.
I’m going to try and put the money I earn in the bank before I can spend it
Recycle, stock up when things are on sale if can afford to, buy things from the second hand stores, dont eat out at restaurants
I use coupons, and buy when its buy one get one free at the store
Coupons, Coupons, coupons! AND REWARD CARDS/PROGRAMS
never eat out and i dont have cable. also COUPONS
I liike to use coupons with sales to save money
I rely on coupons and clearance racks/aisles to save money, and I also buy store brand or generics whenever possible.
I like to save money by buying things online when I see a great sale. Thanks!
I use a coupon for just about everything clothing, restaurants groceries etc
I use to rebate & coupon a lot, but learn that rebating can become a buying or spending trap–where you end up buying something that is rebate just because it IS suppose to be free/almost free. Just like with anything on sale-first rule of saving money is NOT to buy it unless you NEED it. A big habit I had to break myself of (“but honey, it’s a really good price” doesn’t mean we do or will need it.)
Things I do to make our one income household work-
1) we have a rewards checking acct: no fee, but earn (really good) interest if we use our debit as a “visa” 12 times a month and check online at least once. This is actually better interest than anywhere else I have found, too!
2) Watch what and where you get your utilities–cable, phone, netflix and others all provide similar services now-a-days for entertainment, internet, and phone (land and cell) services. Do you need a land and cell line? Do you need a web phone and internet? As for TV, cable, etc- Depending on how us use is, canceling cable and using internet and netflix (or hulu) online is much cheaper! Just make sure you don’t double up on these. Hubby still does want to cancel ANY of these services! Drives me crazy!
3) Watch cell phone issues. We go with a simple phone and simple plan and save huge amounts each month. We happen not to text or use the web on our phones, so we don’t miss the complex plans, but we also only spend $40 for 2 phones!
These are just a few things that prove if you get creative, that are more than the standard thing from above that we all have heard for years. Modern life is more complex, but there are ways to keep it affordable.
we buy a lot of things second-hand, and I make my own baby food for our 6-month old
I stalk http://slickdeals.net/ for deals on everyday items. I buy diapers, wipes, toilet paper, coffee, paper towels on Amazon and save a ton. The Amazon Prime membership is worth it for free shipping alone. Not to mention Amazon Prime has a streaming video service much like Netflix.
P.S. I agree that cutting your family’s hair yourself is a GREAT way to save a lot of money. I watched youtube vids to learn how and I am pretty decent at it. I even cut my own now! :-O
I like to put all my change in a jar.
We recently dropped our cell phone plan and opted for prepaid phones its 170 dollars cheaper for this. The only downside is sometimes the min run out a day or two earlier