1. CREATIVELY DECORATE
If you’re moving into a new place or looking to spruce up your environment, don’t go drop hundreds on home decor only to have a few additional pieces to the house. Try DIY‘s to give a special pizazz to your living area. It saves exponentially on decorating costs and can really give it a more personal touch.
2. MAKE YOUR LUNCH AT HOME
Not only is this a much healthier way to eat but you could be saving a butt load of money. Imagine you opt for lunch out every day. That’s about an average of $8 a day, 5 days a week, adding up to $40 a week your spending just on one meal. Throw in the $2 snack, $5 2:30 coffee, and your talking up to $188 a month! Just for food! A lot of people don’t like to cook, and we all gotta eat, but crock pot meals, and stir-frys are super easy and filling. Just give it a try. =)
3. DRINK WATER
We often don’t realize how much we spend on drinks such as juice, soda, teas, coffees, etc. Try cutting out everything but water and your other favorite drink for at least a month and ad up how much you’ve saved. Imagine a soda cost $1.90 with free refills, people eat out around 2 times a week, with 52 weeks in a year that is approximately $297.00 a year not including all the drinks you buy for home!
4. LEARN TO COOK
A 6 ounce salmon fillet, sweet potato, bottle of wine, and salad fixings will cost you about $25 at most grocery stores. That same meal with just a glass or two of wine will run you a little over $50 dollars. That is just one meal. I’m not suggesting cutting out all nights out but staying in and cooking even just 3-4 nights a month will save you around $200 a month. Learn simple cooking skills or have a friend come teach you a few tips and tricks for a fun friday wine night.
5. GIVE UP THE GYM MEMBERSHIP FOR OUTDOOR/INDOOR TRAINING
Close your mouths gym rats, I know you don’t own all that equipment (or you might) that the gym can offer, but you can still get in a great workout at home. Memberships are expensive, I know I used to work at one and there ARE hidden fees. Swap out that up to $20 a week your spending for outdoor running, swimming, hiking, rock climbing, even weight training. This could be putting up to $1,000 a year back into your account.
6. TRAVEL CREDIT CARD
A lot of banks have an option to gather travel points on everything you buy. So food, gas, any expenses gather points, then when you go to purchase a plane ticket you can use your points and reduce the cost by almost half. Definitely something worth looking into.
7. USE YOUR BANKS ATMs
We live in a technological world with a million aps and search opportunities. Almost every bank has a search on their site of where to find their ATMs where you won’t get charged the fees. Remember to stop at one prior to going out and the little fees ad up to money saved.
8. NIX THOSE MONTHLY SPA DAYS
Nails: $35, Hair: $115, Facial:$90….so on and so on. Cutting out these types of habits can save up to almost $300 a month! You won’t even think about these things while your experiencing the beautiful world around you.
9. SELL!
Take a look around your closet and under your bed. All that unused, unneeded, and forgotten stuff, sell it! Have a garage sale, or start putting things up on craigslist or ebay. Clothes can go to consignment shops, electronics to pawn shops, and jewelry to jewelry stores. All that unloved stuff can be your next plane ticket.
10. OPT FOR NIGHTS IN
Think about all your favorite nights with your girls (or guys), I bet (well at least if you’re like me) it was the wine nights that you laughed and talked all night, rather than the slight loss of dignity at a random bar spending money you don’t have. Pick a night of the weekend that you rent movies, stock up on snacks and wine and stay in. Not only does that entire bottle cost as must as just one drink at the bar but I bet they’ll be your new favorite nights.
11. REDUCE ON POWER, WATER, AND GAS BILLS
There are a lot of ways to save on these bills. Unplug all appliances (which can still suck up to 40% of their normal energy usage even when turned off) when you don’t need them. Take shorter showers, let your hair air-dry, and only run your dishwashers or washing machines, when they’re completely full. You’d be surprised how much these savings add up.
12. CUT OUT CABLE
This is not one for the huge tube watchers. If you’re like me and have just a few shows you follow there are so many ways to watch these for free. I don’t get home until around 6pm so its dinner, writing, then maybe a catch up on one of my shows. Cutting out cable can save anywhere from $30- $100 a month. Well worth giving up all those channels you don’t even watch, when there are so many other ways you could get in that TV entertainment.
13. MAKE YOUR GIFTS
When it comes to Christmas and Birthday gifts try going the handmade route. Their are so many DIY’s and How To’s on the internet now-a-days to help you craft your own gifts. Not only will this save you a crazy amount of money but its nice to know someone took the time to make you a present specific to you, rather than buying something from stores or online.
14. LOOSE CHANGE
Save all loose change in a jar, guaranteed if you searched your couch you could find at least a dollar. May not sound like much but it adds up fast. Any time I take money out at the beginning of the week, at the end of the week any loose dollars and change I have goes right into the jar. Also keeps you from spending it on needless little things. Such a simple task, yet so effective.
15. GIVE UP EXPENSIVE HABITS
Avoid daily routines such as Starbucks coffee rounds. Buying a coffee mug for $9 vs. a $5 drink daily. You could be saving up to $25.00 a week! That’s $100 a month!
16. RECONSIDER THOSE RAGS
Before you throw out that shirt you love because of faded colors or the old jeans with a hole in them, try repairing them and seeing them in a whole new light. Give the old clothes a look over again before going on that next shopping trip. Simple sewing can be done by anyone – a few minutes of sewing can save you tons of cash.
17. DON’T THROW AWAY LEFT OVERS
This may sound silly to some of you but I know a lot of people who throw away their leftovers. Making dinner at home and/or going out to restaurants and not taking home the leftovers could be throwing away up to half the price of your meal. Instead, save the leftovers and take them for lunch the next day. See #2
18. MOVE HOME
If your lease is ending soon or you’re about to graduate college, consider moving home if you have that option. This is one of the best ways to save money. Even if your commute is a little further, take a minute to write down the amount of money you’ll be saving in comparison to gas costs. This could save you up to $1000 a month saving on all bills including your rent. Well worth considering.
19. PICK UP SHIFTS
If you work somewhere where you can pick up shifts, try and snag a few when you can. I understand not wanting to give up weekends but consider doing every other or picking up a double shift. It’ll be worth it after all those hours when your jetting off to an island somewhere.
20. USE YOUR TALENTS
If you’re great working on cars, lend your time and expertise by the hour helping others on their cars. Or start a small business with your artistry like I did with Dianas TimeforWine. In my spare time I paint wine glasses and sell them to others for great personalized gifts. Use your expertise in any of your spare time to land some extra cash.
21. SAVE AUTOMATICALLY
Have your employer automatically put a part of your check into savings. With the money going into savings, in almost gives the feeling that its not there, therefore you can’t use it. Having a portion automatically saved by your employer, helps keep you from skipping saving a portion of your check each month.
22. GROCERY BUDGETING
Groceries are expensive! What’s even harder is for the healthy eaters, because oddly fruits and veggies are about 3x the amount of crap food. Learn to shop only for what you need. Fruits and veggies go bad quickly so don’t buy in bulk what you know you won’t finish. Prep a weekly meal plan so when you go grocery shopping you only buy what you need. This will save you from throwing away rotted food.
23. EAT LESS MEAT
Not only is it healthier to not eat daily, but its a huge cost cut to not eat as much meat. This could save on medical costs down the road. Try replacing your larger meat portions with more grains, fruits, and veggies, or cut out meat all together and fill those with protein packed veggies and filling grains.
24. FIND DAILY INSPIRATION FOR INTELLIGENT CHOICES
Find something or someone that inspires you. Plan a trip and hang the photos on the fridge as a daily reminder as to why you’re working so hard to save.
25. DON’T BECOME A STINGY ASS
Most importantly don’t become a stingy cheap ass who loses friends because you say no to everything to save money. A few simple changes in your life for future planning is a great way to help you travel. Remember to still enjoy life and enjoy the little things, just learn how to do it without breaking the bank.
