Everybody talks about saving money.
That’s a great idea – in theory.
But implementing the mechanics of it are another story.
To help you out, I’ve assembled a list of 67 money saving tips – some of them my own ideas, others provided by other bloggers.
Using just a few of these tips can turn into real money – like thousands of dollars each year.
In fact, by my rough calculations, I tallied that by using all of these money saving tips you should be able to add over $9,743 to your pocket.
Pick up the ones that will work well for you, and have at it!
1. Take Advantage of Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” For Travel
This one is from Tom Nitzsche at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. Tom books most of his travel through Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature.
With the help of a forum at BiddingForTravel.com he discovered bidding strategies and has saved an average of 60% vs. hotel direct rates, including 4-star hotels for as little as $45 a night and rented cars for as little as $9 a day.
2. Ask Yourself Did I need it yesterday?
Lena Gott at What Mommy Does recommends Five Words That Will Save You Thousands Every Year. The five words are “Did I need it yesterday?”. Think of it as a filtering question to keep you from spending money you don’t really need to.
3. Pay Yourself First
We’ve all heard this before, but Natalie Bacon The Finance Girl takes it a step further, recommending that you do it with your savings. You do this simply by setting up an automatic transfer from your paycheck to a designated account, so that the money will go into savings without you ever realizing that the money is missing.
4. Follow Through on Cash-back Rebates
Rebates are available with a lot of products, but especially with big-ticket purchases. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get lazy when it comes time to redeem those rebates. But don’t – you’re leaving easy money on the table if you do.
Make it a practice to redeem any rebates immediately after purchase. Usually, waiting just a few days is all it takes to forget about it completely.
5. Cook at Home
Kate Horrell recommends learning how to cook, then cooking at home as often as possible. The more meals that you could eat at home, the more you will save on restaurant meals. But the key is learning how to cook delicious meals, so that you won’t even want to go out to eat in the first place.
6. Get a Free Checking Account
Now that free checking is no longer automatic, many people just throw their hands up and accept a paid checking account as a fact of life. But it isn’t. Many credit unions offer free checking once you become a member.
A few banks do as well.
One example is TD Bank’s Convenience Checking account. You get free checking as long as you maintain a $100 minimum daily balance. If you now pay $10 per month for your checking account, this simple move will save you $120 per year.
7. Create a Compelling Savings Goal
Scott Maderer at Christian Stewardship Coaching recommends having a REASON to save. “You have to find your why, then set up systems to control behavior or you’ll never really save”, says Scott.
Create a valid reason to save, and you’ll probably have no trouble doing so going forward.
8. Cut Back on Your Cable TV Service
Eliminating cable TV is a common money-saving suggestion. But it can backfire. Cable TV is an at-home source of entertainment, and it will keep you from seeking more expensive forms of entertainment outside the home.
So rather than eliminating your cable service entirely, cut back to the minimum service available.
Depending upon what kind of plan you have, the savings can be substantial.
9. Pay Your Credit Card Balances in Full Each Month
Nothing complicated here, but with most credit cards no interest is due as long as you pay within the grace period. By paying off your balance at the end of each month, you avoid adding interest expense to virtually everything you purchase with the card.
10. Cap Your Christmas Gift Giving
Depending upon how you celebrate Christmas, it could be a major annual expense. But Rosemarie Groner of The Busy Budgeter recommends celebrating an alternative Christmas, and has written an article to describe it, $10 Christmas.
It involves changing the familiar gifts-for-everyone holiday routine over to doing a family event or trip, or a secret Santa gift exchange, or doing a favor – instead of giving a gift to everyone in your universe.
11. Buy a Refurbished Computer
Instead of buying a brand-new computer – which can easily cost over $1,000 – instead consider buying a refurbished computer. You can pick one up for a fraction of the cost of a new computer.
It’s a perfect way to save money if you are looking for a second computer, or to buy a starter computer for one of your children.
12. Increase Your Insurance Deductibles
This is one of the best ways to save money on all kinds of insurance – health, homeowners, auto – you name it. And there’s a way to do this without increasing your risk. Simply make sure that you have enough additional money in your emergency fund to cover the higher deductible in the event that it’s needed.
For example, if you raise your car insurance from $500 to $1,000, you won’t be increasing your risk at all by adding an extra $1,000 to your emergency fund. Your deductible will be covered, and your premium will decrease.
13. Reduce Your Internet Speed
This depends upon what it is you use your Internet for. If you use it for business, and you work out of your home, it’s obviously not recommended.
But if you only use it for surfing, shopping, and social media, you can save a few dollars a month by reducing Internet speed. How much you can say will depend upon your carrier, and the kinds of plans that they offer.
14. Question All Price Increases
This tip comes from David Rubenstein’s post 13 Financial Habits That Can Change Your Life For the Better. David recommends questioning all price increases, regardless of the source. He’s had success doing this with his cable company, but admits that you may have to threaten to cancel service.
If you do that with enough services, you can save a nice chunk of money every year, and largely reverse the automatic price increase mechanism that so many providers use.
15. Buy Your Next Cell Phone Through Amazon.com
You probably use Amazon.com for a lot of your purchases. But you can also use them to purchase your next cell phone. They offer virtually all of the top phones, that can be used with the major carriers.
But you can get them at a substantial discount over what you will pay to the major cell phone providers.
16. Improve Your FICO Score and Lower Your Interest Rates
This advice has so many applications, including saving money. After all, a better credit score translates to lower interest rates on all kinds of loans, including car loans and credit cards.
In addition, the better your FICO score is, the more opportunities you will have to refinance high interest rate debt into lower interest rate loans.
Set a course to increase your credit score by at least 50 points for the next 12 months – it will be well worth the invested time.
17. Target Student Loans With Your Pay Raises
Jeffrey Trull of Student Loan Hero recommends that you apply 50% of every pay raise you get towards repaying student loan debt, or any other debt if you have no student loans.
“When you get a raise, it’s easy to absorb 100% of the extra money into your normal budget”, says David.
“But if you’re already getting by or are comfortable on your current salary, taking just half of your raise and paying off student loan debt is reasonable and manageable for many borrowers. And of course, you still get to enjoy the other 50% of your raise!”
18. Pay Your Insurance Bills Annually
Most insurance companies give you several options when it comes to making payments. They can be monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually. The more frequent the payments, the lower they are, which is easier on your budget.
However, they typically charge a few dollars extra for each payment, compared to what you would pay if you pay the entire bill on an annual basis. You can find yourself saving $60 or more by paying an insurance bill an annual basis, and eliminating the monthly service charges.
19. Cancel Memberships You Don’t Use, or Hardly Use
Do some serious soul-searching here – do you have any memberships that you either don’t use, or use only infrequently? If you do, getting rid of them is one of the easiest ways to save money.
Cutting an unused gym membership is high on this list. Many people decide to join a gym either on a dare or as a New Year’s resolution, use the service a few times then never come back. This is a complete waste of money, and one you can eliminate by terminating the service.
20. Shop with eBates
Look into eBates and you may find yourself saving money on purchases you never imagined. eBates is a website that helps you to earn cash back on your online purchases. You’re going to buy online anyway, so give eBates a try – it’s completely free to use.
21. No Spending Days
Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog recommends adding as many “no spending days” to your calendar as possible. A no spending day is a day where you don’t spend any money at all (other than required payments).
It means not going to the grocery store, not going to the mall, and not going on recreational shopping sprees. Several no spending days per month can literally save you hundreds of dollars on unnecessary spending.
22. Don’t Celebrate Holidays on the Actual Holiday
Kirk Chisholm of Innovative Wealth recommends celebrating holidays on some day other than the actual holiday. He said that Valentine’s Day is a prime example. On February 14th, the price of cards, gifts, flowers, and restaurant meals go up.
But by celebrating a couple of days before, or a couple of days after, you can save a lot of money.
23. Take Advantage of Health Savings Accounts
Coach Chad Carson strongly suggests using a Health Savings Account (HSAs) with a qualifying health insurance plan. “A contribution to an HSA is fully deductible, which saves you taxes now,” says Chad.
“But what few people realize is that you can invest the HSA funds and not spend them now. Instead you can save receipts for medical expenses and get reimbursed many years later. The growth in the meantime is all TAX FREE, just like an IRA or 401k.”
That’s some good advice!
24. Get Cheaper Cell Phone Service
John Schmoll at Frugal Rules suggests cutting your high cost cell phone bill by switching your service over to a different carrier. “The average monthly cell phone bill is $150 with the top carriers,” says John.
“You don’t need to spend that much, especially if you’re on WiFi most of the time! We recently left for a no-contract carrier and are saving $100 per month on what we had previously been paying with Verizon.”
It could work for you too.
25. Move Your Credit Card Balances to a 0% Card
There are plenty of credit card companies that are issuing 0% balance transfers. If you can qualify for one, you can eliminate interest on your current card for the length of the 0% period.
If you’re currently paying 14% on $10,000 in credit card debt, and can move the entire balance over to a 0% balance transfer card, you will save $1,400 in one year by making the switch.
26. Automate Your IRA Contributions
Robert Farrington recommends automating contributions to your IRA account. Most employers will allow you to make direct deposits into several accounts. Make one to your IRA, and your account will grow steadily without your ever seeing the money leave your paycheck.
27. Rent Movies Though Redbox
Redbox has thousands of kiosks all across the country, and probably several in your neighborhood. You can rent movies there for a dollar and change, which is even less expensive than many of the online rental services.
You can also use it to find movies that are not available from other sources. It’s like Blockbuster, but without the stores and without the high prices.
28. Prioritize – and Cut – Your Expenses
Joseph Hogue recommends prioritizing your expenses to help you cut them. He recommends listing your expenses by most important to least important – without listing the monthly cost. “The ones at the bottom will be first on the chopping block if you need to save money,” he says.
“When people list out the monthly cost of each expense, a lot of frivolous spending stays on the budget because, it’s ‘just a few bucks a month, no big deal’. But the problem is that the ‘little things’ can add up to big spending. Taking a first look without the cheap miscellany makes it easier to save all the money you can.”
29. Talk to Your Spouse Before Making a Major Spending Decision
Elle Martinez of Couple Money recommends talking with your spouse or making major purchases. The idea is to “update one another on purchases you’re thinking about,” she says. “Having that second opinion has been wonderful – not only do we stay on track for our goals, but we’re communicating more and that’s great in a marriage.”
30. Control the Biggest Expenses
Julie Rains at Investing to Thrive recommends that you control your major fixed expenses. “Don’t buy the biggest and baddest big thing for which the bank will lend you money,” she advises.
“Be careful about the amount you pay for your home and your car and big ticket items like private-school tuition, boats, bicycles, and more…Put a lid of the big items and it’s very likely you’ll have money available for discretionary spending (like groceries), charitable giving, and retirement savings.”
Makes perfect sense!
31. Get Rid of Your Landline Telephone
Are you one of the last remaining holdouts on this transition? Unless you use your landline telephone for business purposes, it’s almost certainly time to get rid of it. In an age of cell phones with unlimited talk and text, a landline telephone is mostly a blatant waste of money.
And as the number of traditional landline phones declines, the plans are only getting more expensive. For most people, this is one of the easiest ways to save money.
32. Marry Someone With Compatible Money Goals
Kara Stevens recommends marrying a partner that is financially compatible with your life’s vision. If you’re both on the same page when it comes to money, it will be easier to accomplish all things financial.
33. Pay Small Car Insurance Claims Out of Pocket
Chris Long from Longevity Insurance Brokers explains that if an auto insurance claim is small – particularly if it’s less than your deductible – take care of it without involving the insurance company. If it is less than the deductible, the insurance company isn’t going to pay anything anyway. But they will likely raise your premium as a result.
You may even find that it’s your advantage to pay out-of-pocket even if damages exceed your deductible. You have to make that determination based on the amount that your insurance is likely to increase as a result of the claim.
34. Get Rid of Cell Phone Insurance Plans
Never assume that getting insurance for your cell phone is the right thing to do. If you crunch the numbers, you’re very likely to find that having the insurance will actually cost you more money in the event of a loss than doing without it. This is particularly true of higher end cell phones.
Calculate the cost of the coverage over the term of your contract, and add in an amount for the deductible. If that amount is comparable to the cost of replacing your phone, you can save money by doing without it, and taking the chance that you will never need to replace the phone.
35. Buy – Don’t Rent – Your Cable Modem
Jim Wang recommends you buy your cable modem rather than renting it from your cable company. This will not only give you ownership of your modem, but will also eliminate the monthly rental fee that you are currently paying your cable TV provider.
It is very likely that the cost of the modem will be recovered within the first year of ownership, as a result of the rental payments you will not need to make. He refers to this as the Upgrade & Save Strategy.
36. Avoid Paid Extended Warranties
Extended warranties can make you feel better about a major purchase, but they don’t usually save you money. Not only are they relatively expensive to purchase, but they often have a long list of exclusions in the fine print that will invalidate the coverage under common circumstances.
Most major purchases will be repaired by the manufacturer within the first year anyway, and it’s likely that any repair expense you encounter later will cost no more than price of the warranty.
37. Share Your Living Space
Elizabeth Colegrove at Reluctant Landlord recommends reducing your housing expense by renting out a room in your house. The income from that rental will reduce your monthly housing expense.
Also, if you are living in an area that is popular with tourists and travelers, check out Airbnb. It’s an online service that allows you to rent out part or all of your home to travelers, and can provide a nice extra income.
38. Buy Used Cars
Jacob Wade at I Heart Budgets recommends buying used cars, rather than new ones.
“The average new car loses about 60% of it’s value within the first 5 years. According to USA Today, the average new car costs about $33,000. After 5 years, that car is worth $13,200,” says Jacob.
“If you buy used, you can pick up that 5-year old car for almost $20,000 off. Do this every 10 years, and invest the $20,000 saved at 7% (in low cost index funds, of course), and you’ll have $29,500 after 10 years, $87,300 after 20 years, and $201,300 after 30 years.”
Do we have to say any more?
39. Invest Up to the Employer Match on Your 401(k)
An employer matching contribution on a 401(k) plan is like getting free money. If you’re not participating your company plan, you are virtually giving out free money. Contribute to your plan as much as it will take to max out the match.
If the company will pay a 50% match up to a 6% contribution by you, then make the 6% contribution each year. The company will match it with 3%. That’s a 50% return on your money – don’t let that get away!
40. Borrow Books and Movies from the Library
Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job recommends using the local library as much as possible to get books, movies, music, and even e-books. You can save quite a bit of money this way if you have young children, who are in constant need of entertainment. “Our kids absolutely devour books and our library lets us check out up to 100 books at a time,” says Steve.
41. Ask Controlling Questions When You Spend Money
Todd Tresidder at Financial Mentor recommends that you ask two questions before each purchase:
- Is this taking me toward my goals or away from my goals?
- Is this getting me the highest and best value for my money?
“When you ask these two questions you’ll align your spending with your deepest values and goals,” says Todd, “which will automatically reduce how much you spend without any discipline or deprivation because you’re going toward what you want most.”
42. Buy Term and Invest the Difference
Term life insurance isn’t just cheaper than a whole life – it’s MUCH cheaper. We could be talking as much as 90% cheaper. If you can pay $500 for a term life insurance policy, rather than $5,000 for whole life, you’d save $4,500 per year.
Imagine what that will do to your investment portfolio if you decide to invest it, rather than putting it into a whole life policy?
43. Impose a Waiting Period for Major Purchases
Nick Loper at Side Hustle Nation recommends that you impose a waiting period for major purchases. “One of the most effective ways I have to curb impulse spending is called The 30-day Waiting Period,” says Nick.
“I see some item I’d like to buy. Instead of purchasing it right away, I set a calendar reminder for 30 days out that says, ‘Hey, remember that item you wanted? You should totally get it now.’ But now a month has passed and my attitude toward said item may have changed.”
You’ll probably side against a lot of purchases if you have enough time to think about it.
44. Embrace the Fine Art of Brown Bagging Your Lunch
A lot of people buy lunch out every workday. Even if you are buying lunch at fast food restaurants at “only” $6, that’s still $30 a week, and around $1,500 per year. But cut that in half – by bringing lunch from home – and you can save $750 per year.
45. Save Up Your Loose Change
Jessica Garbarino at Every Single Dollar recommends saving of your loose change. “Put all your loose change in a jar or cup,” she advises. “It’s an easy way to save for something without even thinking about it. When I was growing up, this was how our family of nine was able to pay to go to the Minnesota State Fair – parking, admission, food, and rides. We even came home with extra money!”
You could do the same, and it wouldn’t hurt a bit.
46. Quit Smoking!
Let’s say cigarettes are $6 a pack – that’s just a rough guess, hey, I’m not a smoker! But if you smoke a pack a day, that’s almost $2,200 a year. Quitting will not only save you that kind of money, but it will also improve your health and probably extend your lifespan. This means your life insurance premiums will also go down. This is because life insurance on a smoker is much more expensive than that for a non-smoker.
47. Buy Generic Medicines Whenever Possible
The difference in price between name brand medications and generics can be huge. Sometimes the cost of generics are even less than the copayments on a prescription drug plan. But going with generics is even more important you don’t have a prescription drug plan.
Ask your doctor to recommend a generic medication for any prescription. If you forget, ask the pharmacist to make a substitution, it’s the prescription permits it.
48. Never Assume that Buying Online is Always Cheaper
It’s often assumed that merchandise is cheaper when you purchase it online. That is true most of the time, but never assume that it’s always the case. Look for the best price you can find online, and then see what’s available from merchants in your area.
Always remember as well that you have to factor shipping into the cost of any item you purchase online. Sometimes buying local is actually less expensive.
49. Change the Air Filter in Your Furnace Regularly
It’s generally recommended that the air filter in your furnace is changed on a regular basis. But it’s also very easy to forget doing this. If you fail to do so, and the filter becomes clogged, air will have difficulty passing through the filter into the unit, forcing it to work harder and run longer. That will increase your heating (or electricity for air conditioning), often substantially. The filter can be changed out for a few dollars, resulting in big savings.
50. Become a Regular Thrift Shopper
If you add shopping trips to thrift stores once or twice a month, it’s likely that you’ll come up with needed items at deep discounts. Shopping in thrift stores has to be something of a habit. That’s because it’s generally not possible to go to a thrift store looking for something specific.
You should become a periodic shopper, that way you will find needed items as you go. And don’t be surprised if you’re saving $.90 on the dollar on the items that you do buy.
51. Buy Offseason
Whenever stores stock up for the upcoming season, prices will be at their peak. But if you can buy off-season, you can usually take advantage of closeout sales. For example, since very few people buy bathing suits in August or September, you’ll find the prices to be much lower than what they are in May and June.
52. Always Sell What You No Longer Need
Most people throw out items that they no longer need, and do so without much thought. But instead of throwing out those items, try selling them first. If it’s something that’s small and has a high dollar value, try to sell it on eBay. If it is a larger item, try selling on Craigslist. The idea is to try and get at least some money on everything that you are planning on getting rid of.
53. Make Having a Garage Sale an Annual Event (at a Minimum)
Having periodic garage sales will not only help you clear the clutter out of your home, but will also give you an opportunity to make some money in the process. Plan on having one or two sales per year, and whatever doesn’t sell, you can try to sell on either eBay or Craigslist.
54. Use the Mall for Window Shopping Only
It can be fun to shop at the mall, but it’s also ridiculously expensive. Retailers pay higher rents to be in the mall, and they will pass those costs on to you in the process. So use the mall only as a place to go window shopping, but make your actual purchases in non-mall stores.
55. Barter Services with Family, Friends, Neighbors and Co-workers
This is best explained as an example. Let’s say you have young children, and you need babysitting on occasion. Your neighbor – who is a perfectly suitable babysitter – has a small business, and needs help with bookkeeping. Since you have an accounting background, you can do her bookkeeping, and she can babysit your children. You both get what you want, and no money changes hands.
Work out similar arrangements with other people, and you can save thousands of dollars each year.
56. Buy Fuel Efficient Cars – No Matter How Cheap Gas Is
It’s common for people to drop their guard and buy gas guzzling premium vehicles when the price of gasoline is low. But when gas prices rise, you face two problems:
- You’re stuck paying high prices to keep your tank filled, and
- The value of your gas guzzler drops, while the price of fuel efficient subcompacts rises
No matter how low gas prices are, when you buy your next car, pretend that gas prices are at $5 a gallon. You can’t go wrong with that strategy.
57. Buy a Second Refrigerator – and Buy it Second Hand
One of the best ways to save money on your grocery bill is by buying in bulk and buying what items are on sale. But that will do you little good if you have nowhere to store perishable foods.
For that reason, you should have a second refrigerator or freezer to store the overflow. And when you buy one, buy it secondhand to save even more money.
58. Invest in No Load Funds Only
If a fund returns 10% in a year, but you have to pay a 2% load to buy into the fund, your actual return is just 8%. If there is a back load, you’ll pay twice. But by investing only in no load funds, you’ll eliminate loads, and improve your investment returns. That’s about saving money on your investments.
59. Invest in Index-based Funds Whenever Possible
You can save even more money on your investments by putting your money into index-based funds. These funds have lower, lower investment expenses – and lower capital gains taxes – because they don’t trade as frequently as actively managed funds do. They change their stock portfolios only when the underlying index changes, and that doesn’t happen very often.
60. Minimize Your TV Viewing
When we watch TV, we think we’re doing it to be entertained. But the reality is that were being sold. That’s what advertising is all about. In a single half-hour TV program, you’ll watch eight minutes of commercials. Each one is an attempt to get you to spend your money on something that you wouldn’t otherwise buy. The process is very subliminal, but it’s also highly effective. The more time you spend watching TV, the more money you are likely to spend. That makes a strong financial case for spending as little time as possible watching.
61. Grow Your Own Food
Growing your own food enables you to eat organic food, without having to pay the premium prices that grocery stores charge. Unless you live on a farm, you won’t be able to grow all or even most of the food you eat. But you can save a substantial amount of money if you can produce at least 10%. For example, if you spend about $8,000 per year on food, you can save $800 by growing 10% of it yourself.
A relatively small patch your backyard is all the land that you will need. And if you live in a condominium or apartment, look into growing food at a local community garden. The food will be healthier, and you can save some money.
62. Buy Used Video Games
Most gamers play a game only until they master it – then it goes into storage for “later”. But as a rule games aren’t cheap, so look to buy them secondhand for a savings of 50% or more. You can do this through Gamestop, which has hundreds of stores across the country. Not only can you buy the games there for less than retail price, but you may be able to get some money selling your games to the company as well.
63. Payoff a Debt – Then Another…
One of the very best money-saving tips is paying off debt. If you owe $2,000 on a credit card, and pay a $40 per month minimum, you can save $40 per month – permanently – by paying off the debt. Payoff your smallest debt as soon as you can, and then go for the next smallest. You’ll save money with each debt that you eliminate.
64. Participate in Referral Programs at Work – It’s Easy Money
There is a very good chance that your employer has some kind of referral program in place. It could involve referring new customers, new employees, or even making valuable suggestions. Find out what they offer, and then participate whenever and wherever you can. If they pay $100 for a referral, try to make as many as you can in the course of the year – it’s easy money, and it can add up.
65. Buy Generic Brands Wherever Possible
If you’re addicted to name brand items, you’re spending a lot of money that you don’t need to. This is commonly when it comes to buying food, but it can also apply to other purchases, such as clothing, toys, and recreational equipment. Buy brand names only for very special – and limited – items. And buy generic for everything else.
66. Always Grocery Shop With a List
By using a grocery list when you shop, you’ll not only be aware of exactly what you need to buy, but you’ll also know what you don’t need to buy. That can be even more important. Not being sure if you need something can turn you into an impulse shopper. That will always cost you more. Make a list, and follow it religiously. You’ll almost certainly find your grocery bills going down as a result.
67. Cook Enough for at Least Two Meals
Many people go to fast food restaurants on those nights were they just don’t feel like cooking. But you can work around this by cooking at least enough for two meals when you do cook. That will provide you with quick meals that you can warm up in short order, rather than taking a run to a restaurant.
Not only will that save you money on restaurant meals, but it’s also likely that it’s less expensive when you cook in bulk. That’s a way to save money on two fronts.
Like I said at the beginning of this long-list post, if you implement just a few of these tips, you’ll save thousands of dollars every year. That’s worth changing a few habits – don’t you think?
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