Are you trying to find innovative ways to cut costs? These are 20 hacks from real people that will help you save more money.
I asked some of my friends who are finance experts and colleagues for their greatest money-saving advice, which I share in today’s piece.
I adore learning about cost-saving strategies. Finding out how other inventive and innovative people save money may be quite inspiring. There are a lot of them out there.
This post has tips for everyone, regardless of why you want to save money every month: you could be saving for a major purchase, wanting to retire early, losing your job recently, or just realizing you are overspending.
There are numerous ways to save costs, such as lowering your bills, doing projects around the house yourself, and obtaining free houseplants. Not only that, but you can see exactly how households and individuals save money and how it has affected them.
You will read about the money-saving tips in this article in the words of actual individuals. Some of them look extremely easy, while others employ a more sophisticated tactic. And I promise that some of the suggestions in this round-up will surprise you.
I suggest going through this list and choosing a few ideas that make sense to you if you’re trying to cut costs.
I know you will find the techniques, rules, hacks, and ideas on this list very helpful, and I look forward to hearing about your monthly money-saving efforts.
Here are the 20 Hacks to Save You Money
1. Make consistent contributions to your savings.
Make regular contributions to a savings plan for investments. This might be a high yield savings account that you set aside for investing, an IRA, or even a 401(k). You’ll be less likely to waste money on pointless items if you have this plan in place and make regular contributions to it because you’ll have clear objectives for your investments. I put 35% of my monthly salary into my investing accounts, which enables me to build wealth, save for retirement, and have peace of mind knowing that my future is covered. -Octavia Benson
2. Hold off on purchasing new models of electronics until they break down.
Although it seems easy enough, it requires a great deal of self-control. Every time a new phone, computer, or other gadget model is released, there’s always a new, must-have feature that makes people salivate and makes them discard perfectly good but still functional products. However, if you can persevere a little while longer, the gadget will finally malfunction. The old model is then discounted when you purchase the new one because it is no longer the newest and greatest thing.
For example, I owned a smartphone for about five years during which it experienced both good and bad times. It wasn’t until the phone’s screen began to ink out and the battery could barely last an hour after a full charge that I decided to get a new gadget. That’s my style! Although the method isn’t perfect, the savings are significant. On rare occasions, you might only need to wait a few months or years. -Marcus Johnson
3. Prepare your meals.
If you’re like me and detest having to spend a lot of money on takeout or premade meals from the grocery store, consider meal prepping. Meal planning can be a great money saver. I began saving up to $60 a week on food once I made the move to meal prep, and I also had the benefit of adopting a much healthier diet. -Sophia Martinez
4. Make your meal plans based on what you currently have.
Plan meals using what’s on sale and what’s already in the house, rather than creating a weekly grocery list of everything you want to eat. When your favorite products are on sale and at their lowest price, stock up. Additionally, keep an eye out for further discounts on discontinued goods or fresh produce, meat, and dairy products that are close to going bad. My family’s grocery savings plan saves them more than $2,000 annually. -Mia Wilson
5. I gave up buying milk.
I gave up spending on milk altogether. There are a few causes behind this. At the time, I was experiencing health issues, so I was shocked to hear that regular dairy had a lot of issues. I have learned that giving up dairy helps a lot of folks who have long-term conditions or even hormone issues. While not all milk is harmful, I was unable to obtain the healthful variety. Though I still purchase grass-fed butter to assist my kids avoid cavities, skipping milk has allowed me to save a lot of money over the years! -Ethan Brown
Looking for more ways to save money on grocery shopping, check out this post here for Top 10 Ways to Save on Groceries Amidst the Apocalypse!
6. Create your own DIY cleaning solutions.
I like to make my own homemade cleaners to save money instead of buying store-bought ones. For my family, I can quickly and simply manufacture my own using products I feel comfortable with. For instance, I can make my own countertop cleaning for less than $1, while store-bought countertop cleaners can cost $8 or more. -Isabella Garcia
7. Examine buying decisions.
Knowing where your money is going makes it much easier to save it. When I looked over my credit card bills a year or so ago, I saw some charges for automatic payments for apps that I had stopped using. I removed the apps and halted those payments. In addition, I began to manually record every transaction that left my bank each month. I can see where my money is going, how much I spend at the grocery store, and how much I spend on going out and useless household stuff thanks to this. It’s simple to make savings and spending reductions when you sit down and look over your expenses. -Aiden Zhao
8. Obtain gift cards at a discount.
Using my credit card points to triple dip is one of my favorite methods to save money. Every month, Chase provides gift cards at a discount in their Ultimate Rewards Store. This makes it possible for you to exchange your points for a gift card at a lower “cost” than you would typically incur. Whenever Home Depot cards are on sale for 10% less points, I love to spend my points to acquire them. I’m able to exchange $90 worth of credit card points for $100 gift cards by using this method. -Leo Kim
9. Start making smart use of your credit card.
I used to be against credit cards when I was 24, but then I started reading about the benefits and discounts they offered. Since then, I’ve come to understand just how much these cards can save you. The sole advice is to be cautious. I started making most of my purchases with credit cards to accrue points. I could fill up my automobile to the brim about two or three times a year, which took care of my road travels.
In a similar vein, we intend to apply the incentives on our subsequent opulent vacation. With the points we’ve accumulated, we’ll receive a discount of up to $120. Aside from that, I’ve taken advantage of special offers. As an illustration, we recently visited a movie theater. We were able to get a complimentary ticket when we purchased one using a Citibank card. We were able to save money because of this and use it to buy groceries. -Jackson Lee
10. Spend less while traveling.
Through home and pet watching, my family and I have been able to save hundreds or thousands of dollars since the summer. We only make comments about homes we truly appreciate and about places we want to visit or investigate. We might have saved thousands of dollars by staying in these homes for free instead of booking them through Airbnb. We have been staying in opulent mansions for free for the past five weeks, and we have more houses booked for the remainder of the year. With this, you can locate a place to sit practically anywhere in the world and avoid paying for lodging when traveling. -Amelia Smith
11. Spend less on your wedding.
Look for substitutes for the typical goods and services you would utilize for occasions like weddings. You might save money by choosing a broader supplier for similar services or items rather than a traditional wedding-specific one! For instance, you might choose to use artificial flowers for your wedding bouquets rather than paying a professional florist. You can also choose to do things yourself, particularly if you have more time than money to invest! -Noah Patel
12. To save money, choose high-quality garments for your wardrobe.
I used to be a sucker for buying tons of accessories, handbags, and clothing, many of which had tags and were later donated. Upon realizing that I was squandering thousands of dollars annually, I decided to construct a capsule wardrobe consisting of classic and superior pieces. I was able to reduce my wardrobe to less than 35 items that I truly wear and adore thanks to this. I didn’t feel the need to buy new or trendy clothes for a few years until I wanted to replace something since, I made an investment in quality and opted for neutral colors.
I was able to save a whopping $500 a month in addition to a ton of time! I no longer have to rush or worry about what to wear because nearly every item of clothes can be combined to create a variety of looks, from comfortable and casual to elegant and sophisticated. Not to add that cutting back on trash from your clothing purchases is ecologically beneficial! -Lily Anderson
13. Consider sales and shopping at the start of the season.
Although many people are aware of the end-of-season deals and shopping, I personally like the start of the season sales. Since most people aren’t thinking about the upcoming season at that time, I shop ahead of time. I always purchase items when they are least needed. Here, too, the maxim “high demand, high prices” holds true. One can, for instance, purchase school supplies in early July as opposed to waiting until August. The deal on school supplies will expire in August if you wait. July is the month when school supplies are on super discount. -Oliver Roberts
14. Attempt a no-spend challenge.
Getting my family to take part in no-spend challenges on a regular basis is one of the ways I save money. My family attempts to go for a certain period without spending any money on anything but bills and regular expenses whenever I feel like we are slipping behind or have unforeseen expenses. It might vary in duration from a week to a thirty-day challenge. We can truly reboot and catch up with this. -Charlotte Jones
15. Ride together.
Try carpooling if you want to save money on gas! My spouse and I always do this, and it saves petrol. You can save a ton of money if you can get your coworkers to join you! With four weeks in a month, each of you can take a week off from driving, so you might only need to drive to the office once. -Lucas White
16. Purge unnecessary mail.
Don’t bring all those catalogs, advertising, and fliers inside the house to spend after getting the mail out of the mailbox. Enter your garage without turning around, go straight to your recycling container, and place all your spent entices inside. -Ava Thompson
17. I invest in ETFs.
Because it ensures respectable returns, index investment is a favorite among financial blog writers and Facebook groups. Since most fund managers are unable to outperform the benchmark in any case, it makes sense to join them. To further increase my savings, I make sure to purchase the exchange-traded fund (ETF) version of an index fund whenever it is available instead of the mutual fund version in my taxable brokerage account. Why? Since mutual funds and ETFs produce fewer taxable instances, when all else is equal, the ETF version of an index fund will result in lower tax liabilities for me than the mutual fund version. Moreover, money made is money saved. -Mason Wang
18. Increase the amount in your emergency fund.
By deliberately signing up for bank bonuses and putting my emergency cash in that bank, I can make over $3,000 a year in a secure manner. After just a few minutes of effort, I may make 8–10% FDIC insured with no danger on my emergency savings, which is a great return on investment. Incentives to open new accounts are frequently offered by banks, along with alluring incentives like “deposit $5,000 and get $1,500 bonus in 3 months.” These bonuses are available from smaller community credit unions to larger national institutions like Citi. As soon as the promotional period—which lasts for three to six months—ends, you can transfer banks to receive the subsequent incentive. -Harper Davis
19. No matter what, invest a fixed amount of money once a month in mutual funds.
From one paycheck, we save $100 every two weeks, or $200 every month. Even if it might not seem like much, the amounts do add up. This is something that my spouse and I have been doing for ten years. We save more if we have more to spare. It has proven to be a simple method of accumulating riches that requires no thought. Our financial advisor helps us choose the best funds according to our risk tolerance. One simple approach to conserve money is to act as though we don’t have any! -Elijah Rodriguez
20. Keep money hidden from yourself.
Hiding money from yourself is the best money-saving advice I can provide. I’m not referring to burying cash or anything else in a hole you dug in your property. But with today’s technology, you may easily transfer your money right away—without ever seeing it in your primary account—into savings or investing accounts. We accomplish this by opening a different bank account and having my paycheck put straight into it. This budgeting strategy is known as the “pay yourself first” approach. Lost from view, forgotten. When you’re not tempted to spend the money on a regular basis, you’ll be astonished at how quickly it can accumulate in a separate bank account. -Emily Taylor
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