4 Big Ways To Save Money

If there is one thing that I know for sure it is that in order to save money and get ahead on bills you need to reduce what you are spending. When you are thinking like a saver and less like a spender you make drastic reductions in your spending habits. Let’s look at 4 big ways to save money so you can get ahead.

For the first time in my life I actually have a good sum of money set aside for emergency. Sure enough this past week the starter on my car went out and I need to replace it. What’s awesome is I’m not even concerned about it.

Due to drastic decreasing in our expenditures I am capable of fixing my broken car quickly. This is because I started thinking like a saver. I watch where I spend every single dollar. I spend nothing above and beyond what I need to to stay on top of my bills to avoid late fees.

This is what I hope to do for you. Today you are going to learn the biggest ways to save money to get yourself out of debt, saving money, and on the road to a better lifestyle.

First, you will need to sit down and write out every single expense you have. Down to the random piece of candy that you buy.

In order to decrease your spending you need to be fully aware of where you are spending your money. This will help you to make wiser choices in spending. Additionally, it helps in making sure you actually need some of the services you pay for.

Ways To Save Money

You will need to make a decision on how drastically you want to cut your expenses. It’s not always easy to lower the amount of money you spend each month. That’s why I’m sharing slight changes that can decrease how much you spend and drastic changes that will help you save even more money.

The ways to reduce slightly will be a little easier to handle and offer just slight lifestyle changes but they will not allow for larger savings. The ways to reduce drastically may be extremely difficult, however, they will get you to a better savings point faster.

Rent

To reduce slightly, try finding a cheaper place to rent. Even if you decrease by only $100 per month and pay for a mover chances are high that over a course of a year you can save $500 or more in expenditures. Cutting your rent down goes a long way when you are looking to start a savings plan.

For a drastic reduction start talking to family and friends. Let them know that you want to get out of this hole you are in and having a hard time getting out from. Start asking if you can live with them to drastically reduce your expenditures. Offer to pay to help with bills and their home costs.

While as an adult it can be especially hard to move back in with your parents you can save quite a bit of money very quickly doing so. Make sure to set up an end date. Budget your income, share your goals, and keep the people you are living with up to date on your progress.

If you have a family member like a parent who needs help financially make sure you are all aware that this is a team effort in order to save money by splitting the costs. When we moved in with my mother in law this really helped with money stress.

By doing this not only was I able to go full time on my blog but the drastic cut in expenses created the ability to save loads of money. Additionally, we now have family around, whereas before we had no one nearby.

Check out my post The Ultimate Savings Plan.

Utility Bills

Turn off your lights, computers, and TV’s. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth or scrub dishes. Keep the home cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer. While it’s a small adjustment to living these small steps can save loads of money.

Unfortunately, there are no extremely drastic ways to save money with utility bills. We all need water, gas, and electric. To reduce garbage costs you can recycle everything and start a compost.

Wrap your windows in plastic to keep drafts at bay and keep your heating cost down. Also consider baking bread, muffins, and other baked goods. Generally, baking will warm up your house due to residual oven heat. Additionally, this can be a cheaper way to have more food in the house.

Food Expense

Gone are the days of extreme couponing. Manufacturers aren’t releasing nearly the same types of deals we used to get. You can usually get better deals when you shop the sales and buy store brand products.

Stock up on all your canned goods when they go on sale. Get a minimum of three months supply. You should not need to buy them again until they go back on sale. While it takes about a month or two to build up enough a supply, once you do your grocery bill will go down drastically.

You also want to shop smart. Get anything you can from the dollar store and Aldi. Check around for the best prices on the products you like. It takes a bit of extra time to plan out and do the shopping but overall you can save loads of money doing so.

Finally, plan your meals for the week. Make a list and stick to it. Not only does this stop the 20 minute dinner conversation that results in ordering a pizza or getting fast food, but it makes planning your day a lot easier.

Planning your meals also allows for you to buy only what you need resulting in less food waste.

Check out my post 7 Tips for Grocery Shopping On A Budget.

Misc Expense

There are a lot of miscellaneous expenses that should be considered when you are trying to start a savings plan. These can be anything from subscription boxes to cable TV.

First off, cut the cord and subscribe to Netflix. Negotiate for a cheaper internet with your internet company. We saved about $50 a month by negotiating a new rate on our internet, one that didn’t reduce our speeds at all.

Next, get rid of the storage unit. People waste so much money on a storage unit they do not need but want because you can hold onto things that one day you might need. It’ll be cheaper in the long run to get rid of things and buy them again when you need them than it is to pay for a storage unit.

Go ahead and purchase Amazon Prime. Amazon prime can actually save you time and money on a lot of things. Free 2 day shipping means you save money on diapers, wipes, toilet paper, cleaning products, and so much more. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Stop using paper towels, napkins, and paper plates. Use a dish towel in the kitchen to wipe hands after dishes. Use rags to clean windows and spills. This will save you loads of money.

Finally, check out your subscription boxes. Loot Crate is awesome and filled with all sorts of amazing geeky products. The problem is you don’t need it. However, sometimes a subscription box can actually save you money.

For instance, we all know makeup can become extremely expensive. I spend $10 a month on Ipsy, that little bag of makeup has prevented me from going and spending about $20 a month on makeup. So yes I’m still spending $10 but I’m not spending the other $10 on makeup because it’s being shipped directly to me.

Final Thoughts

Cutting your expenses is key to increase your savings. Cutting your expenses drastically allows for you to save a lot more money and get rid of that soul sucking debt.

If you just want to save an extra couple hundred dollars a month take some not so drastic approaches in lowering your expenses. Find a cheaper place to rent, be aware of the utilities you use, and shop the sales when grocery shopping.

Absolutely negotiate lower cost on your phone and internet services. Cut the cord and get rid of your TV and opt for a much cheaper option with Netflix or Amazon Prime. Even getting both is still cheaper than paying for the basic cable package.

Remember to cancel those unneeded or unused subscription boxes and opt for ones that will save you money instead. Subscription boxes are great but only if they are actually useful and save you money.

Reducing your spending drastically now will set you up for financial success in the long run. Better retirement funds, never worrying about emergencies, and being debt free will free you from that financial stress you are feeling.

What expenses did you cut in order to save more money? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your money boards.

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Jeanine Byers

September 24, 2018 at 9:25 PM

I’m going to try to cut the grocery bill. But when you say to get loads of whatever is on sale, it means you get less of whatever else you might have gotten, right?

winomom
September 24, 2018 at 10:58 PM
Essentially, by shopping the sales I have very little that I need to buy every week that isn’t on sale. So I may buy pasta and canned goods one week when it’s on sale and I pick up enough for a couple of months. Chicken will go on sale the following week and I will pick up enough for at least a month worth of dinners, because chicken goes on sale about once a month near me. Instead of meal planning before shopping I constantly stock my pantry and freezer when prices for our basic products are at their lowest then build meals around what I have stocked. For a more in depth look at how I cut my grocery bill check out my post 7 Tips For Grocery Shopping On A Budget.