Do you need to tighten the budget and save more money? Every month we reevaluate our finances and make changes based on our goals.
Almost always I look at our finances and find ways we can cut back our spending. When the budget is being squeezed you have two options, make more money or spend less money. Personally I find it easier to spend less than make more.
It’s not even difficult. Usually it means reducing your spending and saving more money. If you truly evaluate where every penny goes in your budget it will be obvious where you can cut back.
For our family it’s ALWAYS food. Either grocery shopping or eating out. When I meal plan our grocery budget is always on track and we don’t waste money eating out.
Take a look at your budget and see if your family can implement these simple ways to save money.
Simple Ways to Save Money
Remember the way to save a lot of money is to save a little money every single day. In life it’s the simple things that have the most impact.
Stay home.
The more you are out the more money you will spend. Not only will you spend more in gas, you’ll increase the wear and tear on your car.
You are also more likely to make stops and purchase things that you don’t need.
If you are home it’s much easier to save money than to spend it!
Shop Smarter.
Never pay full price for anything! I use Ebates to get cashback when I shop. You can also use the Acorn app, which allows you to invest your small change from purchases.
It’s fairly straightforward. Basically you round up your change on your purchases and it is set aside for you by Acorns. It’s a simple way to save!
You get $10 just for completing your registration for the Acorn app!
Combine errands when you go out.
Gas isn’t as expensive as it was, but it still costs money and wear and tear on your car to drive around. Combine your errands into a once a week trip.
If you are in the car every day (carpool, work, etc) try to pick up the things you need when you are already out. This will save time and money.
Pay with cash.
This has been endlessly debated, but statistics show that people spend 12-18% less when paying with cash. Withdrawal your spending money from the bank once a week. When the money is gone, you’re done shopping!
For items that can’t be paid with cash (school tuition, bills) I have a credit card that I set up for auto pay. I asked some of my travel hacker friends which credit card was best for getting points on hotels and flights.
They all recommended Chase Sapphire Preferred. It does have a yearly fee (yuck!). However by using it for auto pay I should earn enough points each year to travel with the kids to their competitions for free. (We haven’t paid for a hotel room in years, thanks to our points and loyalty programs)
Eat at home.
Unless you are a single person eating off the dollar menu at Wendy’s, you will always save money eating at home.
If you are short on time (like me!) freezer cook on the weekends to save time during the week. There isn’t a single meal that I can make at home that is more expensive than eating out.
When you leave a room turn out the lights, electronics, and the fan.
It’s hard to believe you can save money doing something so simple and I am amazed at how many people don’t do this. Get in the habit of reminding your kids to turn off their lights and electronics when they are at school.
If you really want to get serious about saving on your utilities, here are five simple ways to save on your heating bill this winter.
Cut your shower time in half.
I admit, I take long showers when I have the opportunity. It’s my time to think!
However shorter showers save money, so get in and get out without draining the hot water heater.
Menu plan.
Once again, this takes a few minutes at the beginning of the week and save tons of money by avoiding extra trips to the store throughout the week or dining out because nothing is planned for dinner.
I’ve compiled tons of menu plan resources for you, so you don’t have an excuse not to do it!
Don’t grocery shop when you are hungry.
And don’t shop with your kids or big spending spouse. Shop alone and think of it as a tactical mission to get in and out of the store under budget. You will save on groceries when you eat before you shop and go alone.
Make a grocery list and stick to it.
No impulse purchases and stay away from the bakery and flowers (unless its on the list!). When we were paying off our debt, I committed to only purchasing what was on my grocery list.
I was able to cut my grocery bill in half.
Make one meatless meal a week.
Beans and rice are cheap and pretty good if you make them correctly. If you really need to save money prepare two to three meatless meals a week!
Who says spaghetti really needs meat sauce?
Get a library card.
The library is free entertainment, from books to movies, to music, libraries are an underutilized resource for free entertainment.
Remember to return your books on time to avoid paying library late fees. Check out our favorite way to avoid paying library fines.
Drink more water.
It is cheap and better for you than sodas or energy drinks. If you don’t like the taste of tap water add a slice of lemon, lime, orange or cucumber.
Replacing drinks with water not only saves you money, you’ll probably lose a few pounds. Remember when giving up soda kicked off my fitness journey.
Recycle.
I am not talking about putting things in your recycle bin, although that is a good idea too. Before you throw something out think about how you might use that item for something else.
Worn socks = dust rag, shoe box = free shipping box, coffee can= storage for kids crayons. The possibilities are endless.
If you can reuse it then you are probably saving yourself time and money by not having to purchase something new.
What is your favorite way to save money?
SandyCarlson says
All so true. Just wish I could cut those showers in half!
melissa says
good advice!! i really need to start trying some of these…and having my kids do things like, turning off the lights when they are done in their bedrooms or bathroom!!
Lauren says
Toni, you are really inspiring me! This is the first week in a while that I’ve planned out my meals and am only making ONE trip to the grocery store. Let’s hope it works!!
Barbara H. says
Great tips! Eating out is one of my weaknesses — I love it way too much.
Melissa says
Oh, all good tips! Thanks for stopping by! Happy TT!
terry says
These are all great tips!!
I stopped by to THANK YOU for commenting on my blog today for WFMW.
Alana says
Great ideas – as soon as this baby is born and I stop craving everything under the sun I am going to start planning weekly menus. Thanks!
eastcoastlife says
Hey, I do all those too!
*hi-5 with happy housewife*
Beki says
Such good ideas…as always! I need to get back to my menu planning. I have been off for a couple of weeks with everything that has been going on. It makes a HUGE difference! I think I’ll do mine tomorrow!
Nicholas says
You are so right re #4! We used to eat out a lot, at what we thought were pretty cheap places. Then the credit card bill arrived and we were shocked!. That seems to prove #3 too!
beeker says
The library is a wonderful place. In addition to books, dvds, and cds, our library hosts movie nights, book clubs, and other fun events.
Deb says
YEah I am a bad person, I do none of those……. I eat out alot and buy the books and cds.
melissa d. says
great advice 🙂
#11 is so true-the library by our old house even carried current dvd’s and cd’s.
thanks!
happy tt
Comedy Plus says
Excellent advice. I do most of these already. Very well done. Have a great TT. 🙂
Brenda says
Great tips! We’ve probably saved $150-200 a month by not eating out Sunday’s after church. I also am doing once-a-month cooking and that’s helped even more. Plus the extra time saved only having to put a salad and/or veggie together for supper. I enjoy frugal advise. Thanks.
Karen Bastille says
A fine list! I especially like #1 – Stay Home. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that everyone is always rushing about so – and it usually involves purchasing some “thing.” It almost always requires gasoline.
Stay home.
Read a book.
From the library.
Awtemnymf says
I must be doing something right *winks* I do all these things already!
Yay me (————-)
Great list!
AwtemNymf
tommiea says
Those are all such great ideas! Thanks for visiting my TT. Happy Sunday!
Natalie says
great tips. happy T13, a few days late. i TT too!
Nancy says
If you pay with cash, you definitely save at least 18 percent. I’d guess it’s more like 25 percent, because you HAVE to think about every single purchase.
One thing that saved us a lot of money was cancelling all our magazine subscriptions. The only mags we get now are those I get for free because I earn points by filling out online surveys or gift subscriptions. And definitely avert your eyes when walking by the magazine racks in stores! The library carries most of these subs, anyway…we saved a couple of hundred dollars per year by doing this.
TheHappyHousewife says
Great idea! I don’t buy magazines either, but I sometimes add them to my Christmas list. I should think about doing the online survey thing…
The Mommy Chef says
I especially love #11. We take advantage of the library as much as possible!
Molly says
Suggestion to shorten those showers – just turn the water off when you’re soaping/shampooing – it’s the “navy” shower. 🙂 I might spend 10 minutes in the shower, but I’m only using 3-4 minutes of water to get wet and later rinse off. The rest of the time I’m using to scrub myself clean.
Angela says
Very well said. We checked the library off our list yesterday, and I highly recommend it!
Sammy says
Great tips! Thanks!
angie says
Grandma taught us to turn off the lights if i could get my own children to do that I will be much better off
Rebecca C says
I have been trying to convince my hubby that we need to go to a cash system. He swears if we do, we will spend 90% less because he will avoid all stores.
Oh, and one great thing about recycling containers – they come with screw on lids. We keep colored pencils and pens in plastic mayo jars.
Young Wife says
Good tips. Here are a few of mine. Cancel cable and use Netflix instead. Clean with rags instead of papertowels.
Leslie says
I bet ya that within the next 15 years there won’t be a public library anymore! It is so terrible all the wonderful things that are there that just go unrecognized and unappreciated! I can’t wait until we move into our new house because I will be able to do most all of these!
Heather says
6 and 12 may prove too difficult for me. I think I must switch into slo mo once I get in the shower! Haha! And water….I have good intentions, but yuck. The rest I can do! Good tips!
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
Great tips! I do most of them, but can’t seem to stay home enough, with 2 teenagers and tween, I’m running all the time!
Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
Kalei says
I really like your tips. I’m trying to “train” my other half to turn off the tv instead of falling asleep with it on. & I noticed that I do a lot of the same tips already!! Thank you for sharing.
Stephanie says
Great tips! The only thing for us is we don’t have a town library so we have to go the next town over. They charge $60 a year to be a member. Ugh! Still it has saved me money overall so we do it. Perhaps someday we will have a nice big free library!
L2L says
we started the cash system this year and instead of paying for our checks to send in payments that we can’t pay online, we live overseas I get cashier checks, for free from my bank!!!! We get up to 2 a day and best thing is the money is taken out immediately and I don’t have to wait for anything to clear its already done plus I don’t pay for checks!!!!! (next month I am going to try and not by anything except what we need!!!! not want or desire but need only and get a feel for how much money we really waste!!! Humm maybe I’ll have to blog about that?!?
Lawanda says
When gas was $4 a gallon, I didn’t go anywhere but the grocery store every two weeks, and church. Ugh. We even quit going to story hour at the library every week, and only went to the library if we were going to a store nearby.
I normally (and this is now) go to the store once a week, so I can go to Weight Watchers, the library, and do other errands all at the same time. 🙂
When I menu plan it saves me tons of time and money. I love that.
Cassy says
Great tips. Although the meal planning & bulk cooking is a tough one for the pregnant wife & toddler of a deployed soldier. Thanks for the tips. I will be sure to use some of them now!
Tiffany says
I’m all about eating at home, since Eat at Home is the name of my blog 😉 Paying with cash also saves us money. It’s easier to keep track of what you’ve spent when you see it leaving your wallet.
memoona says
We should make priorities for our needs and spend only on the most prior things and should not spent lavishly