10 Ways to Save Money
Everyone has a few favorite tips for saving a dollar or two ... Today, I'm going to share TEN WAYS to save money ... and I promise, they won't be all that hard for you to incorporate in to your daily routine!
1. Pack your food and drinks for the day. I don't care if you are a stay at home mom or work full time at an office: don't leave home empty handed! Bring your snacks, drinks, etc. I pack a lunch daily, and always bring a water bottle along. I figure I save a minimum of $8 a day by doing this. That's 40 bucks a WEEK!!
2. Avoid that grocery store. Hold out as LONG as you can ... I am a big fan of counting the number of days til I actually step foot inside a grocery store. Seriously, try it. Shop your pantry and freezers FIRST and make do with what you have. Go ahead, I promise you, your family will not wither away if you don't buy groceries this week. Savings? Probably a minimum of $50 a week. Of course, it doesn't work so well if you go to the store and then stock up on everything you used!
3. Cash. Cash is KING in my mind. I pulled out all the credit cards and then the debit card. That was hard because "what if". Then I said, What If WHAT? I'm never more than 30 minutes from home if I absolutely needed to use a credit or debit card for something. Just saying that the mindset of "I don't have the money to buy that right now" works when you really don't have the means to pay for it right then and there.
4. Make your own coffee. Ok I'll admit that I do not go to Starbucks or any other fancy schmancy coffee place BUT know a lot of folks who do. And quite honestly, I'm shocked that a cup of java can cost upward of $4! I have recently cut down my coffee consumption in the morning to 2 cups of coffee and enjoy my 3rd cup at the office, reducing my K-Cup pod expense by $2.50 a week (figuring a sale price of $.50 per cup which is expensive!) It's a company perk, having that coffee available!
5. As much as I would love to say ditch the cable, that just isn't happening in my household. So, instead, embrace it and use it! Hubby loves to watch car related stuff, I prefer cooking stuff and then, of course, movies. Even though watching TV together is probably NOT the best relationship advice, for us, given Hubby's current chemotherapy plan, it's a way we can spend time together, without exerting his energy or brain cells. FYI - chemo-brain is real and frustrating, after only two treatments ...
6. Declutter ... and remove that clutter. Yup, all that stuff used to be dollar bills at some time before you spent that money. Sad, but true. Once that clutter is cleared out, you will not be buying something that you think you need but can't find ... a perfect example for me is pencils. I've got a junk drawer with all my pens, markers, highlighters AND pencils ... but it also has a lot of junk and I couldn't locate a single pencil. Guess what? The box was buried under all that junk. Had I taken time to clean and tidy that drawer up, I'd have saved myself a few dollars (and frustration!)
7. Use up what you have before you replace. Example, again, in my case is shampoo. I'm a shampoo snob and a bottle costs around $30. I ran out recently and decided to use up what I have in my bathroom freebie drawer. Uhm, I am on week 3 right now and haven't even put a dent in the shampoo sample supply. I don't wash my hair daily and a sample is good for ONE shampoo only (I have long, thick hair) but hey, it falls in with #6 too!
8. DO NOT CLIP COUPONS unless it's something you buy all the time. Seriously. I find coupons make me feel like I must buy something because I can save a dollar. Uhm, I would have save $4 if I hadn't bought that random item in the first place. Yes, if you are a Tide fan and have a coupon for Tide, then go ahead and clip it. Don't clip a coupon for something you don't normally use or buy.
9. Limit your driving. Maybe because I'm a homebody, but I try to group all my trips together for a one time outing. Once I'm home, I'm home. No running out to pick something up, go to the library, etc. If I'm home, I'm home. That errand can wait til tomorrow's excursions (for me, driving to work and home again!)
10. Which leads me to ... fill up that gas tank when you get gas. I hate getting gas. So every other Wednesday, thereabout, I stop and get gas on my way home from work. Yup, $40 ... maybe a little more this week as the price seems to have gone up. My point is, don't get $10 worth 3 times a week ... it's a waste of your valuable time AND makes it hard to keep a realistic gas budget ... consolidate your trips and you WILL be able to fill up once a week or every other week, I promise!!
So tell me what YOUR Money Saving Tip is?
1. Pack your food and drinks for the day. I don't care if you are a stay at home mom or work full time at an office: don't leave home empty handed! Bring your snacks, drinks, etc. I pack a lunch daily, and always bring a water bottle along. I figure I save a minimum of $8 a day by doing this. That's 40 bucks a WEEK!!
This is an old picture of the pantry and really had to work hard
to whittle it down
3. Cash. Cash is KING in my mind. I pulled out all the credit cards and then the debit card. That was hard because "what if". Then I said, What If WHAT? I'm never more than 30 minutes from home if I absolutely needed to use a credit or debit card for something. Just saying that the mindset of "I don't have the money to buy that right now" works when you really don't have the means to pay for it right then and there.
4. Make your own coffee. Ok I'll admit that I do not go to Starbucks or any other fancy schmancy coffee place BUT know a lot of folks who do. And quite honestly, I'm shocked that a cup of java can cost upward of $4! I have recently cut down my coffee consumption in the morning to 2 cups of coffee and enjoy my 3rd cup at the office, reducing my K-Cup pod expense by $2.50 a week (figuring a sale price of $.50 per cup which is expensive!) It's a company perk, having that coffee available!
$35.99 for 72 K-Cup pods ... averages out to $.50 each cup
5. As much as I would love to say ditch the cable, that just isn't happening in my household. So, instead, embrace it and use it! Hubby loves to watch car related stuff, I prefer cooking stuff and then, of course, movies. Even though watching TV together is probably NOT the best relationship advice, for us, given Hubby's current chemotherapy plan, it's a way we can spend time together, without exerting his energy or brain cells. FYI - chemo-brain is real and frustrating, after only two treatments ...
6. Declutter ... and remove that clutter. Yup, all that stuff used to be dollar bills at some time before you spent that money. Sad, but true. Once that clutter is cleared out, you will not be buying something that you think you need but can't find ... a perfect example for me is pencils. I've got a junk drawer with all my pens, markers, highlighters AND pencils ... but it also has a lot of junk and I couldn't locate a single pencil. Guess what? The box was buried under all that junk. Had I taken time to clean and tidy that drawer up, I'd have saved myself a few dollars (and frustration!)
7. Use up what you have before you replace. Example, again, in my case is shampoo. I'm a shampoo snob and a bottle costs around $30. I ran out recently and decided to use up what I have in my bathroom freebie drawer. Uhm, I am on week 3 right now and haven't even put a dent in the shampoo sample supply. I don't wash my hair daily and a sample is good for ONE shampoo only (I have long, thick hair) but hey, it falls in with #6 too!
8. DO NOT CLIP COUPONS unless it's something you buy all the time. Seriously. I find coupons make me feel like I must buy something because I can save a dollar. Uhm, I would have save $4 if I hadn't bought that random item in the first place. Yes, if you are a Tide fan and have a coupon for Tide, then go ahead and clip it. Don't clip a coupon for something you don't normally use or buy.
9. Limit your driving. Maybe because I'm a homebody, but I try to group all my trips together for a one time outing. Once I'm home, I'm home. No running out to pick something up, go to the library, etc. If I'm home, I'm home. That errand can wait til tomorrow's excursions (for me, driving to work and home again!)
10. Which leads me to ... fill up that gas tank when you get gas. I hate getting gas. So every other Wednesday, thereabout, I stop and get gas on my way home from work. Yup, $40 ... maybe a little more this week as the price seems to have gone up. My point is, don't get $10 worth 3 times a week ... it's a waste of your valuable time AND makes it hard to keep a realistic gas budget ... consolidate your trips and you WILL be able to fill up once a week or every other week, I promise!!
So tell me what YOUR Money Saving Tip is?
#SavingMoney #MoneyTips #FrugalTips
I definitely try to limit my trips. It wastes gas and time to make multiple trips.
ReplyDeleteRight??
DeleteI'd love to buy food stuff that are on sale and there are times I forget about them and go to waste. This year, I haven't bought anything that I didn't use - gladly! Thanks for sharing these tips at Fiesta Friday party!
ReplyDeleteThat is GREAT that you are able to stay on top of the food waste situation! It's hard and I know half the problem is over buying! Thanks for stopping by!
Delete