Whether you’re a fab grandma, mother, student, or any other individual, this post is for you! Together, we’ll go through 7 different ways to save money regardless of your situation. Some of these tips, tricks and tactics may already be things you do, while others may be completely new to you. Let’s see what the ideas are!
Buy on sale
Duh… Sounds really obvious, but most of us only buy items on sale when we’re at the store and we happen to see that they’re on sale. When was the last time you planned your groceries based on what’s on sale where? Thought so…! So, next time you’re getting ready to go grocery shopping and are making your shopping list, be sure to check out some of the weekly offers. Check out the Lowes Food flyer if you’re in the US or the discount flyer for FreshCo if you’re in Canada. It’s worth going in prepared when you’re looking to save money!
Track your income and expenses
This may just be the most effective tip on this list and is one that I can’t recommend highly enough to everyone. Whether you’re old or young, small or large, have a large family or are living alone, tracking your income and expenses is a fantastic way of saving money. Now, you might be thinking: “How will knowing what I spend and how much I earn help me save money? Surely this just takes up my valuable time that I could be using to watch Netflix or use to do an odd errand or two so I can buy another $10 coffee at the local coffee shop…”
This is one of those tips that doesn’t seem like it would have any impact on how much you save but is actually extremely effective for pretty much everyone. The reason it’s so effective is that you can see where your money is going. Getting one of those expensive $10 coffees everyday may help you get a little more work done, but it is costing you $300 per month. If you have Netflix, Spotify, YouTube music, Hulu, HBO plus and five to ten other subscriptions, you’ll see that each $5 or $10 subscription quickly adds up to hundreds of dollars per month.
By understanding where your money is going, you can save a lot of money in the long run. Try it out for a week or two and see what happens to your expenses.
Budget, Budget, Budget!
Once you’ve been tracking your income and expenses for a little while you’ll be in a great position to create a budget. By budgeting, you prevent yourself from spending too much. It also gives you the opportunity to save for something you’ve been wanting to do or buy for a long time. It may be the perfect opportunity to pay off your mortgage a little faster or save up for that vacation you’ve been wanting to go on for the past few years.
Reduce waste
Cut down on the subscriptions, buy only what you need and stop with those $10 coffees! As you track your expenses, you’ll be shocked at how much you spend on a yearly or monthly basis on things you don’t need, or worse, don’t use. By tracking your expenses, you are in a better position to recognize where your money is being wasted. On a yearly basis, these costs can add up substantially.
Reduce your debt
Debt can seem very useful until you realize that you’re paying way more money back than you’ve borrowed. The more debt you have, the more you pay in terms of fees. It’s important to think about how much you’re paying on your debt.
Although a mortgage is a huge debt, you only pay a small amount of interest on it compared to say, a credit card debt. This means that paying off $1000 worth of your mortgage is going to save you less money than paying off $1000 on your credit card debt. Pay off your most expensive debts first before moving on the less expensive ones. The more you pay off, the more you’ll have left over at the end of the month. Find out what the interest rates are on your credit card debts, and pay off the ones with the highest interest first.
Think about your subscriptions
All companies want to get you on some form of subscription. There are companies sending you groceries everyday for inflated prices, automatically send you razor blades and many offering online subscriptions for music, TV, and other forms of entertainment.
The subscriptions and monthly expenses you actually use aren’t really wasted. If you spend each night watching Netflix for three hours, it’s not going to be worth saving the $20 (although, you could be doing something more productive with your time… Just saying!). However, do you really need five different video subscriptions? Is it really worth paying for all three of those music applications you have?
Any cost that returns weekly or monthly is going to add up to a pretty penny on a yearly basis. Every $10 you save per month will mean you’re left with another $120 by the end of the year!
Use coupons, royalty programs and cash back programs
If I offered to give you $100, would you want it or not? Unless you believe that money is the root of all evil and that you’re better off living a life completely free of material things, you’re probably going to accept the generous gift. So, why, when a company offers to give you a discount of $100 by using a coupon, do so many people let the chance of free money pass by?
Sure, not all coupons are going to save you a great deal, and it’s important not to buy anything you don’t need. However, it can save you an arm and a leg if you do use the coupons at your disposal. Check the weekly flyers that stores give you and use all promo codes you can!
A few dollars saved each day can add up to thousands saved per year!
Conclusion
As you can see, saving money each month doesn’t have to be all too difficult. By keeping track of your expenses and preventing waste, you can save thousands of dollars per year with very little effort! Hopefully, after reading this post, you’ll be more inclined to spend a little less to ensure you save a little more.
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