Saving money is something everyone wants to do, but a lot of people feel like they can’t find it in their budget. In some circumstances this is true, but in most cases, you will be able to evaluate your spending habits and turn them into money saving habits instead.
- Get rid of Cable or Satellite TV
- Get rid of your home phone if you have cell phones
- Use Cash to pay for everything
- Put at least 10% into savings every paycheck (and leave it there)
- Carpool, ride a bike, or get a bus pass
- Cook at home (make a meal plan, create a shopping list from that plan, then go shopping)
- Do your budget weekly
- Pay your bills on time
- If you use a credit card, pay it off every month
- Avoid having more than 1 payment (besides a house) at a time. (like cars, trailers, ATV’s, bikes, etc).
- Only go to the store once a week. Make a list to take with you and stick to it.
- Eat before you go grocery shopping
- Use coupons when you can (on items that are ALREADY on sale)
- Evaluate your cell phone usage and cut down on your plan (or go to a cheap unlimited plan like T-Mobile)
- Do your own Mani/Pedi’s at home
- Drink tap water (if it is from a good source)
- Grow your own fruits and veggies
- Do your own yard and house work
- Check to see if you are getting charged fees at your bank, and switch to free checking (or go to a Credit Union).
- Keep track of what you spend
- Take leftovers with you to work instead of eating out
- Sell unused items around your house
- Evaluate your car insurance and get quotes from different companies
- Have a “Holiday” savings fund you put into every month for Birthdays and Christmas
- Shop clearance, sales, and consignment stores for clothes and many other items
If you have any Money Saving Habits you would like to share I would love to add them to the list.
Other posts about Money Saving Habits:
Financial Resolutions for the New Year
10 budgeting tips to help you plan for your future dream home now
10 tips to find extra money in your budget + free printable monthly budget pdf
8 weeks to a better Budget Workshop: Week 1 – How to setup a budget
Teaching your kids to budget
How to create a grocery budget
I do not have cable. There are great movies on You Tube.
Call up the type of movie you enjoy…
Thriller
Family
Comedy etc..
Doesn’t cost anything at all
I pass my kids clothes down to the next in line. The jeans are usually messed up at the knees so as soon as summer begins they get cut off and we have shorts for at least around the house.
We do that as well. This saves a lot of money on having to buy summer shorts! Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about 3 effective ways to make
money online. Regards
If you dont want to go as drastic as cutting cable. Try phoning cable company to negotiate a lower price. On top of my bundled discount for having phone, internet, and cable all together, they deducted $85 a month for next 6 months just because I asked nicely!
This is a great tip! We have done that several times. They are always willing to give us a deal.
I suggest for those who have reward points with their bank make great use of it! Believe me it goes a long way!
I love this! We just used SOME of our points to reserve a hotel so we could take our kids to a fun place for a couple days. It will cost us next to nothing out of pocket and will be so fun!
I don’t think I could save every $1 or $5 I get. I don’t even save all my change. One baby step I took was to save all the dimes I receive. 16oz soda bottle holds over $85 in dimes. Was easy, no stress way to put a little extra in savings.
These are some really great tips that I can’t wait to use! Thanks for sharing!
My husband and I got married and had horrible spending habits, this was due to him having a very nice paying job and me getting money from my school and a part-time job. Anyways, I changed schools, he changed jobs (then got laid off), and now we struggle daily with the debt we occurred. We have cut out satellite and other expenses! We have found that saving $1 bills have really helped in a crunch. When you get one, just stick it in a shoebox, you will be surprised how easy it is to get rid of a dollar bill and save it. These are some good tips you have 🙂
Thank you for sharing that! What a great idea. I have never thought about doing it. Going to make it a goal to start doing that from now on.
Thanks for the great tips.
Every time a $5.00 bill comes into my hands I save it. I don’t miss them and they add up fast for that vacation you have been dreaming of, pay off another bill, or just keep it for a rainy day.
I love this idea! I am going to have to start doing this and stashing it away. Thanks for the tip 🙂
I can’t even afford to 6% into my 401K. Let alone 10% in Savings.
It can be hard. We have been there before.
Great ideas! Some of these ideas we already do in our family, but some of these we hadn’t thought of. Thanks for the good info!
I hope they help. 🙂
god ideas, already changed auto/hme insurance this yr, dont and have never had cable, my phone bill is paid by retiree benefits, i make shopping lists every wk, sometimes not even go shop every wk, i use my cc b/c get money back, getting ready to move so cleaning out house, will take to auction or consignments
You are amazing. Doing so many things to save money. That is awesome Sandy!